Farnaz continues to amaze as she professes to be an atheist but defends the Jewish god like said god was real.

It is wonderful that the media is finally understanding Islamic ideals with socialist leanings. The media is so accepting to understanding the struggle of the real Islamic teachings of all is one and one is all...thank you ABC, CBS, CNN & PBS.

Perhaps of interest:

Jewish Analysis PDF | Print
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Speaking the Truth (Dabru Emet)
by Prof. Peter Ochs

The world, says Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel, rests on three things: Hadin, HaEmet, V'Hashalom: on justice, truth, and peace (Pirke Avot, 1:18). May God bless "A Common Word" and receive it as a powerful contribution to the peace, truth, and justice that uphold the world. This Word is worthy of the tradition of Aaron, and it enhances and extends the tradition of the sage Hillel, who taught that the "disciples of Aaron love peace and the pursuit of peace, love their fellow creatures and seek to draw them to the study of God's word" (Pirke Avot, 1:12).

"A Common Word" therefore comes as a gift, as well, to those who practice Judaism, for it does honor and service to the One God whom they acknowledge as sole Creator of the Universe and Redeemer of humankind. It draws into fellowship the two other children of Abraham's faith, thereby extending Abraham's blessings to all the nations. In this way, "A Common Word" contributes to and extends the obligatory service of all Jews to repair the world and bring glory to God's Name.

Before adding any other word about Judaism, let me say that "A Common Word" merits praise and blessings l'shmah — for its own sake — as a blessed moment in the history of God's work on this world. Its authors and signatories merit praise, with prayers for their well being and for the strength of this good work.

Kalin: Establishing religious and cultural accord is difficult anywhere in the world. This is especially true for the long and checkered relationship between Islam and Christianity. Islam's rise to the stage of world history in the 7th century when Christianity was struggling both in Europe and in the East created a sense of rivalry and urgency among Western Christians. Islam's claim of restoring Abrahamic monotheism and rejection of the Christian Trinity was received as a theological challenge

Pardon me. Did I miss something? Why did Islam think it necessary to restore "Abrahamic monotheism"? I hadn't heard that Judaism changed its mind about the oneness of the deity (Hashem), from its inception some five thousand years ago.

Farnaz: It remains the same with respect to its radical monotheism: "Hear O Israel. The Lord, the Lord is one."

Kalin:the Common Word asserted that there is a ground for theological engagement between Christians and Muslims (as well as Jews)

Farnaz: Oh, uhm, gee, thanks. But Jews are not an afterthought, certainly not where Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are concerned. Judaism is the first thought.

Farnaz:Until you get that, live with it, indeed, embrace it, until you stop trying to displace our religion, to exile it as you have exiled Jews from the Middle East, we have no commonality with you. You have prevented it.

Excuse my tag.

The whole point of upper class dialogue is to provide talking points and arguments of reason that can be used to gain respect combined with concurrence for the other, whenever you meet someone at the grassroots/neighbor level.

Dialogue assumes what??---mutual ignorance and disrespect in need of correcting!

The laities need to be given edifying education about the "other". Their learned elders constantly agree with each other about the need for and actual ability to attain some degree of ecumencal agreement on basic religous issues. If the laity hears of this, they will turn an ear toward this friendship, as if looking for betrayal or treason, and finding instead a surprising twist of mutual respect and commonality they didn't know was possible.

If the masses are listening to the extremists, why can't they listen to the peacemakers; extremism is easy to start but it wears on you after a while, becoming hard to uphold. Even Americans are afraid of another war; that's why they voted for Obama.

One effective tool to defuse extremism is to get your flock to criticize themselves for the wrongs committed by their side. This would reduce unnecessary hatred and make audiencese less prone to reacting to hate speech.

It is easy to criticize yourself when you realize that is what the other side is saying about you, except they are doing it, not you.

"They" hate; "They kill"; "They" are angry; "They" accuse; all probably for good reasons, not just stupid reasons. Learn to criticize unto ourselves as they would criticize you.

All these meetings, talks and prayers by senior clergymen, theologians and academics of the three Abrahamic faiths are very nice......But how do you reach ordinary people, the masses and youth: especially the sngry Muslim youth attracted to extremism and terrorism, the Christian fundamentalists and "Palinites" full of prejudice and hostility towards Muslims, and the Israeli young extremists who also commit acts of violence against Palstinians. Live in the real world! Pious statements by a bunch of old guys do not have much effect. How many people are listening to them?

The qualifications for the writers and their well written articles shows their mental while the plight of education of some who sumbit their comments studded with fithy language show the difference.

Reiteration is education especially needed for the closed minds of Islamics!!!

CCNL

I believe you are paid for this work.
Readers! you can confirm my claim by going through every opinion of "ON Faith" and you will find his signs "disentry" of this man "CCNL" who is so coward that he even dont use his name but demand the others to prove him the things he dam care himself.
He should go to mental hospital for treatment because his burns are third grade.

CCNL is a lonely soul cutting and pasting the same things again and again. Does he suffer from OBSESSIVE, COMPULSIVE, PERSONALITY DISORDER?

Shouldn't he see a psychiatrist?

Has Georgetown sold its soul to Islam??

Anyway, to solve the topic problem, both Christianity and Islam need to be first cleansed of their historic and theological flaws and errors. Christianity is well on its way since the 1800's. Islam is unfortunately stuck in a time warp due to the threats of Islamic fundamentalists who threaten any Muslim or non-Muslim when they question Islam history and theology.

A synopsis of said flaws and errors in Judaism, Christianity and Islam:

1. Abraham founder/father of three major religions was either the embellishment of the lives of three different men or a
mythical character as was mythical Moses, the "Tablet-Man" who talked to burning bushes and made much magic in Egypt.
Many of the 1.5 million Conservative Jews and many of their rabbis have relegated Abraham to the myth pile along with most if not all the OT.
Current crisis:
Realization that the Jews are not god's not chosen people.
www.simpletoremember.com/vitals/ConservativeTorah.htm

2. Jesus was an illiterate Jewish peasant/carpenter/simple preacher man who suffered from hallucinations and who has been characterized anywhere from the Messiah from Nazareth to a mythical character from mythical Nazareth to a mamzer from Nazareth (Professor Bruce Chilton, in his book Rabbi Jesus). Analyses of Jesus’ life by many contemporary NT scholars (e.g. Professors Crossan, Borg and Fredriksen, On Faith panelists) via the NT and related documents have concluded that only about 30% of Jesus' sayings and ways noted in the NT were authentic. The rest being embellishments (e.g. miracles)/hallucinations made/had by the NT authors to impress various Christian, Jewish and Pagan sects.

The 30% of the NT that is "authentic Jesus" like everything in life was borrowed/plagiarized and/or improved from those who came before. In Jesus' case, it was the ways and sayings of the Babylonians, Greeks, Persians, Egyptians, Hittites, Canaanites, OT, John the Baptizer and possibly the ways and sayings of traveling Greek Cynics. http://wiki.faithfutures.org/index.php/Works_Cited
For added "pizzazz", Catholic/Christian theologians divided god the singularity into three persons and invented atonement as an added guilt trip for the "pew people" to go along with this trinity of overseers. By doing so, they made god the padre into god the "filicider".

Current crises:

Pedophiliac priests, atonement theology and original sin!!!!

3. Luther, Calvin, Smith, Henry VIII, Wesley et al, founders of Christian-based religions, also suffered from the belief in/hallucinations of "pretty wingie thingie" visits and "prophecies" for profits analogous to the myths of Catholicism (resurrections, apparitions, ascensions and immaculate conceptions).

Current crises:

Adulterous preachers, "propheteering/ profiteering" evangelicals and atonement theology.

4. Mohammed was an illiterate, womanizing, lust and greed-driven, warmongering, hallucinating Arab, who also had embellishing/hallucinating/plagiarizing scribal biographers who not only added "angels" and flying chariots to the koran but also a militaristic agenda to support the plundering and looting of the lands of non-believers.

This agenda continues as shown by the assassination of Bhutto, the conduct of the seven Muslim doctors in the UK, the 9/11 terrorists, the 24/7 Sunni suicide/roadside/market/mosque bombers, the 24/7 Shiite suicide/roadside/market/mosque bombers, the Islamic bombers of the trains in the UK and Spain, the Bali crazies, the Kenya crazies, the Pakistani “koranics”, the Palestine suicide bombers/rocketeers, the Lebanese nutcases, the Taliban nut jobs, and the Filipino “koranics”.

And who funds this muck and stench of terror? The warmongering, Islamic, Shiite terror and torture theocracy of Iran aka the Third Axis of Evil and also the Sunni "Wannabees" of Saudi Arabia.

Current crises:

The Sunni-Shiite blood feud and the warmongering, womanizing (11 wives), hallucinating founder.