In these “On Faith” discussions we have dealt several times with the Islamic faith as it seeks its place and voice in the American religious landscape. We might call those discussions “Religious Pluralism 101”. We have dealt with the Mormon faith and the prospect of a Mormon president. We could describe those discussions as “Religious Pluralism 201”. And now we are discussing a Hindu chaplain from Nevada, Rajan Zed, who is the first Hindu to deliver the morning prayer before the U.S. Senate. This is “Religious Pluralism 301” or, “Introduction to Non-Monotheistic Faiths.”

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The Hippocratic Oath, still taken by young doctors-in-training, requires them to pledge that they will practice their craft “only for the good of my patients.” Recently, physicians and pharmacists have started to claim a “right of conscience” in regard to informing patients about medical practices or dispensing medicine prescribed by others about which they claim to have a moral objection. These physicians and pharmacists are putting their own private conscience ahead of the “good” of their patients and, in the case of the pharmacists, ahead of the care prescribed by licensed physicians for the well-being of the patient. As with so much else in health care today, the “good of my patient” is now becoming the last consideration of some health care providers, not the first and foremost as Hippocrates taught.

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“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” (Matthew 5:9)

When I was confirmed in the Lutheran Church at age 13, the pastor had us each pick a verse of scripture that we wanted to guide our lives. I chose “Blessed are the peacemakers.” I have really tried to live by that teaching and it is ironic that the duty of the disciple to be a peacemaker ended up being the reason I left the Lutheran Church and joined the United Church of Christ at age 18.

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The ELCA has taken a good step toward full equality for their gay male and lesbian clergy by instructing Bishops not to discipline those in same-gender relationships. This step falls short of full affirmation for these pastors, but it is genuine progress.

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What a tragedy it would have been for Mother Teresa’s letters to be destroyed. The publication of her piercing confessions of doubt and spiritual loneliness will be of immeasurable help to the millions of people of faith, like myself, for whom God’s silence is a constant companion and who live with piercing doubt every day.

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