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Appreciate the Differences Too
Several of the regular contributors to this site are far more qualified than I to comment on the similarity or dissimilarity of the core themes in the messages of the world’s great religions. I can say that my own experience and study suggest that no matter the degree of similarity in message there are other differences which have enormous and far reaching influence on the way the message of the major faiths is understood and lived out.
One such difference is the political and cultural context in which the message is proclaimed. Within the Anglican Communion many African Christian leaders keep telling Episcopalians in the USA, that their African view of the Christian faith is strongly shaped by their colonial history and by the present reality of sometimes violent relationships with the Muslim majorities in their countries. I have seen and heard similar reactions in urban congregations embedded in turbulent neighborhoods, experiencing rapid change in the majority groups resident therein. The Scripture lessons read each Sunday are probably the same as those read in the settled, comfortable, churches on the other side of the city. Surprisingly, even the sermons and educational programs may be very similar. But, for people in the congregation, the filters for listening and the experiences for framing and interpreting the message are quite different.
Rituals and religious practices of the major religions are also quite different. Despite the Catholic emphasis, manifest in Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, and Anglicanism, to value, quite rightly I believe, the primacy of worship, prayer and religious practice in giving substance, form, and meaning to Christian belief, Christianity has tended to give priority emphasis to faithful allegiance to creeds and doctrines. In contrast, the principal ritual activities of the Muslim faith are called the Five Pillars of Islam, an indication of the degree to which religious practices are central to that faith.
So, as the Dalai Lama suggests, while there may be similar themes in the message of the major religious faiths there are most certainly other differences which must be heeded and appreciated if deeper understanding is to be reached. My own repeated experience is that exploring the differences is far more valuable than smoothing the similarities.
By
James Anderson
|
October 18, 2007; 9:55 AM ET
| Category:
Interfaith Issues
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i agree. understanding our differences seems at times to be far more effective in promoting respectful dialogue than blurring our similarities together as if religeous folks are all the same, deep down.
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