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It's a great achievement for Islamic leaders and scholars as well as Newsweek and the Washington post to present this imperative opportunity for inter cultural and global philosophical dialogue. What's important is that by exchanging our ideas and comments regarding inter religious relations and world events that affect our views of each other as fellow human beings. Since the advent of humanity, We strove to make sense of the world we live in and the lives we've experienced. Worldwide curiosities to learn the true nature of life and our universe is an exceptionally rare virtue upon life on Earth. In other words, we're the only known species on the planet who've pursued to unravel these great mysteries and developed written philosophies based upon our understanding of the world around us.
One such philosophy that lasted throughout the ages of humanity is commonly known as religion and spirituality. Ever since our early belief in the Sky God and the God Mother from ancient Pagan times, we vigorously pursued to unravel the truth about our most profound questions. As any educated person would know that religion and their core beliefs or faith have evolved over time. Paganism, Monotheism and Polytheism have been influenced by humanity as these great philosophies have influenced our perceptions and decisions in life over the ages. Over time humanity has embraced diverse religious faiths and spiritual convictions that continue to influence our behavior in our times and most likely beyond.
What's vital for humanity's progress and even survival is to know the true nature of faith itself. To understand the true origins of faith. But most of all, is to accept the truth for whatever it may be. Each one of us will learn the absolute truth once we die. But until that time comes for anyone of us to depart this world, we really don't know the answer to God's existence nor do we have the absolute truth in regards to the true nature of God. Besides if we did possess the truth, there would've been only one religion on Earth with no diversification of any way, shape of form. There would only be one holy scripture written throughout human history.
Considering one's religious faith to be absolute, while considering others to be false would be ethnocentric at best. While collectively searching to unravel the mysteries on nature, life and the universe through sincere reasoning and serious research would be enlightening at its worst. Most importantly, we must accept the fact is that none of us have conclusive evidence to confirm our core beliefs and there's always an immanent change that our most cherished beliefs could be wrong. Our greatest challenge would be to tolerate the truth no matter what it may ultimately be. With such an open mind, we would be able to overcome any future discovery that would contradict our faith regarding the true nature of life, spirituality and divinity.
Humanity does have the ability to achieve such a social achievement. However, it's solely up to humanity and not any other entity or groups of entities to decide our destinies. Each one of us has a choice to make; either hopelessly engaging into meaningless inter cultural conflicts or combine our scientific and cultural gifts to thrive into an enlightened global civilization that could ultimately expand beyond our solar system. The choice is yours, and the time to make it is now!

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Anonymous,

Thanks for your post. There's nothing to apologize for. I enjoy your posts (or at least most of them) and I know I'm not too kind in some of mine.

Best wishes to you.

Norrie Hoyt

Good responses to my post. Apologies.

Anonymous,

I think you might lighten up a bit.

I grew up virtually in the shadow of Harvard Yard and have a degree from one of its graduate schools [NOT, thank the Lord, George Bush's Busy School].

When I wrote that the fact that Dr. Graham is Dean of the Harvard Divinity School militated against the possibility of his being a Christian, I was attempting a bit of humor based on the stereotypical view of religion at Harvard, particularly in its Divinity School

And, no, I'm not offended by the possibility that the Dean of a divinity school is not a Christian. In fact, I'd prefer having a Buddhist or a secularist as the dean. I'm not a Christian and generally dislike all of the organized Christian churches.

On another of your points, it's my own observation, and a widely-held view, that Harvard Arts & Sciences professors do know all about the beliefs of others, but rarely espouse any of their own [if they have any] with any degree of fervor.

Just as no one knows how s/he would react in combat without having been there, no one knows ahead of time whether s/he would accept martyrdom rather than violate their beliefs.

I suggested that a truly convinced and authentic Christian should not have a problem accepting martyrdom, particularly with the carrot of Heaven thrown into the decision mix. Many Christians in the past seem willingly to have accepted maryrdom without much difficulty.

When a "Christian" rejects turning the other cheek and chooses to fight, s/he seems to me to be violating Christ's own teaching and the practice of his life, and also does not really believe in the possibility of a heavenly afterlife. So I wouldn't consider him or her a Christian.

Finally, I would hope that Dean Graham would change his belief that there is such a thing as a just war. In other posts I've argued with Christian clergy who support the just-war idea that the idea is un-Christian. I can't use that argument with Dr. Graham because he seems not, by his own statement, to be a Christian.

So I'll just hope that something in his heart and his view of the cosmos would tell him that accepting death at the hands of an aggressor is preferable to fighting and killing to avoid that end.

Excellent column. So what's the next step. Do we hold public officials accountable for their actions, or don't we? It doesn't matter what you believe about God. What matters is how you act in the real world.

Norrie Hoyt

Are you offended by the possibility that the Dean of a Divinity School is not a Christian? It is really easy to say that a "true Christian" must be willing to be a martyr when you have never been faced with that choice yourself. Maybe it wasn't your family at Auschwitz, maybe it is easy to make a quick answer in the abstract. Why do you think that the fact that one teaches at Harvard means one does not have strongly held beliefs? Having taught there myself, I assure you that is not the case. I find your comment to be offensive in many ways.

As for Professor Graham's comments, they are cogent and reasonable, and he covers a larger number of the many issues than several of the other panelists have done. Notably, he is not trying to find a Christian theological perspective from which to support this insanity. I am not sure what else you might want him to say.

Tholomew, got any suggestion about how to accompolish your goal of stopping war, bringing the instigators to justice withoug war?

It's kinda sad but war has been the solution to war from the beginning of war. Only God can change that.

Did I say God? I meant to say Devil for war is the work of the "other" supernatural being. You know, the one people get down on their knees and pray to saying He's God at their "churches, temples, synagogues, mosques and pray." Got faith?

Tholomew, got any suggestion about how to accompolish your goal of stopping war, bringing the instigators to justice withoug war?

It's kinda sad but war has been the solution to war from the beginning of war. Only God can change that.

Did I say God? I meant to say Devil for war is the work of the "other" supernatural being. You know, the one people get down on their knees and pray to saying He's God at their "churches, temples, synagogues, mosques and pray." Got faith?

The title story of this site The Washington Post.com reads: 'More than 34,000 Iraqis killed last year', by Joshua Parlow. And follows; 'On average, nearly 100 civilians were killed violently per day, report finds. New death toll dwarfs Iraqi government's recent estimates.'

Most of those killed are innocent victims which render merit to atrocious charge against humanity. An even in the face of popular opinions and representative votes, the warmongers are still screaming for more soldiers and more weapons, and more war.

The only thing just about this is when the instigators of war are brought to justice.

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It's not close to that complicated professor. Great minds have agonized over how to take that to which they are not entitled, "the fruits of the sweat of the faces of others" using "just wars" for a very long time. We tend to go back a little way and declare ourselves to be at the beginning. There was a first war and it sheds more light on current events than all the great minds today.

There's one person who has taken war back to it's beginning. I don't think he's a panelist here because here we are proving validity of "faith" and he says all faith is in Devil, not God, that Devil justifies war. I've noticed his web site that is there for all to see free of charge and no strings attached. He's not a Harvard man but is being read at Cambridge no doubt. I have emails from Australia, UK and other places myself.

Try htt://www.hoax-buster.ore/gov101 It's poorly written but so is the Bible and a lot of sacred scriptures. Perhaps with your analytical capabilities you can understand what he says. I think I'm getting most of it myself.

Professor Graham,

The biographical note accompanying your essay does not mention any religious affiliation.

Though you say that you were molded by and raised in Christian traditions, I infer that you are not a Christian:

*** The fact that you are Dean of the Harvard Divinity School certainly militates against that possibility.

*** You say that you are "...opposed to any war that is not an action of last resort in opposition to aggression or oppression."

A true Christian opposes all wars because Jesus said to "turn the other cheek" and promised a place in Heaven to his followers who accepted death at the hands of an aggressor rather than becoming aggressive themselves.

I guess you are a true Harvardian, i.e., one who knows all the values held by others but doubts that he holds any deeply himself.