I find myself becoming increasingly a worse human being the longer I stay on the fence on the issue; the polemic spirit, the hot-headedness toward those who don’t want to try to understand other positions, the bitterness toward the church, and the self-centeredness of being so focused on preventing my own damnation through reasoning (not that I didn’t have these traits before, my struggles are just making them worse).

As a doctoral student at Marquette and as just a human being, M Anderson is trying to figure things out. -gw

Other revealed monotheisms fail for the same reasons as Christianity; they never support theirthings  claims enough to give me something to legitimately trust. Plus, I see very little evidence of providence or a personal God. So, Islam, theistic Hinduisms, and Judaism are out (not that the latter is looking for converts). I see more philosophically inclined Hinduisms as still too ethnic, at least in my area; the same for Jainism and Sikhism (I want a religion, not a cultural get-together, and I want something with some experience in adapting itself to different cultures). Liberal Christianity and Unitarianism seem to lack any cohesion; even less liberal churches have struck me as more like congenial get-togethers with “inspiring” messages. Do-it-yourself religion doesn’t really appeal to me; I plan on cobbling my own thoughts together from different sources, but I want to pull from the best of those traditions through the last couple thousand years and under the guidance of people from those traditions. I’m not sure where Baha’i fits in; there is a nearby temple, but I’m wary of too-new religions. And Pluralism? I can’t stomach the thought of deluding myself into the mythological type, if I have any thought that some religion could be substantially more right than others; and I’m too skeptical of reason for the Rationalist sort. I’m not sure of what other sorts I could find.

http://pulpitumvulpei.blogspot.com/2009/04/new-direction.html

Photo: Uploaded on August 24, 2006 by ajneue on flickr,licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 Generic

Living Together Is Possible
Interfaith Youth Summer Institute
Organised by
National Council of Churches in India (NCCI)
Interfaith Coalition for Peace (ICP)
15 – 22 June 2009             Pilar Retreat Center, Goa

There is a great ship on which all humans are embarked and which is launched, upon the high seas of existence laden with all their painfully acquired treasure. Religion is general speaks for this perilous but hopeful voyage. It declares that this community partners in the great enterprise of replacing evil with good and good with better, so as to achieve the best possible. It is the office of religion and of every religion in particular to proclaim this proud purpose and to hearten human in its pursuits                                                                     – R B Perry

Concept Note
Living together as good neighbors, brothers and sisters has become a dream of the distant past, thanks due to the turbulent situations created by terrorism, communalism, nationalism, casteism, economic stratification etc that are adding hostility and enmity among communities and individuals. In these times the goal of humanity is not just building better structures of governance rather creating new kind of relationships that would make a healthy community living. Religious role needs to be therefore always comprehensive and integrating force so that humans feel at home in this extensive universe, in society, and in history. By living together means to intensify our loyalties to our own particular faiths, but dedicated for the common task of social upliftment by working, journeying and living together.

Humanity is bound together in many ways like, a conviction of the fundamental unity of the human family, the equality and dignity of all human beings, a sense of value of human community, universal interdependence and openness to others, protecting mother earth, a readiness to share one’s resources etc. Thus the spirit of concern and sharing becomes the touchstone of community living together. For this process to begin we must first take stock of all the actual influences wielded by or available to interfaith initiatives and activities, secondly we must also assess our limitations and capacities and then plan for some reasonable and realistic targets to be achieved, perhaps in collaboration with other like minded young people. …

We need not understand by community living as one homogeneous system or universal way of living, there are far too many divergences for such a community of living together, like community’s view of history, their understanding of the present historical situation that way they speak or write about the ultimate, their attitudes to signs, symbols and their experience of God etc. Therefore one must take a pluralistic understanding of community and living together which would mean that people living everywhere in their local contexts, regions and religions interacting and living harmoniously together in communion with each other. 

Living together must not be concentrated solely from religious and spiritual levels but encompassing economic, social, cultural and political spheres. The living dialogue has to be built up in a relationship and an interaction between people committed for social up-liftment and strictly it must not be between belief systems. Religious dialogue does not necessarily mean that  two persons speak about  religious experiences, but rather that they speak as religiously committed persons with their ultimate commitments and religious outlook on subjects of common interest coupled with social responsibility.

The humanity need to humbly repent because of the religious institutions, structures and people have also been, whether by commission or omission has inflicted suffering and denying human freedom against humanity under religious auspices. However due to the past and present intolerances of religion youth need not loose courage or doubtful in journeying further towards the way of living together. A tourist inquired of a Indian native how far it was to Himalayas, and how to get there, then the native replied, “It is a long way to Himalayas but you can get there only by doing all walking in that direction”. …

Objectives of Summer Institute:

1.   To enhance the youth reflection and commitment to the interfaith cooperation and partnership 
2.   To gain skills in doing analysis of Indian realities and contextual study regarding interfaith dialogue 
3.   To strengthen the network among young interfaith leaders 
4.   To rethinking interfaith tasks in the face of contemporary and emerging issues relevant to the Indian context. 
5.   To strengthen the interfaith cooperation among the youth from various religious backgrounds through capacity enhancement training programme …

Target Group:
Youth activists / students / theologians / leaders / youth member from following religious backgrounds
1. Bahai (10 youth – 5 females & 5 males)
2. Buddhist (10 youth – 5 females & 5 males)
3. Christian (10 youth – 5 females & 5 males)  
4. Hindu (10 youth – 5 females & 5 males)
5. Jain (10 youth – 5 females & 5 males)
6. Muslim (10 youth – 5 females & 5 males)
7. Sikh (10 youth – 5 females & 5 males)

Arrival: 15 June 2009 Departure: 22 June 2009

Please send the attached Registration Form duly filled by courier or email before 30 April 2009.

http://www.nccindia.in/news/events/o_104.htm

Thanks, Praveen. -gw

Since the monks are still in town, I opened the show talking a bit about them and about the Beastie Boys support for Tibet. Here’s a video from their Tibetan Freedom Concerts with some sweet break dancing clips.

KKFI Play List

This is the play list for the Mid Day Medley from 10-noon Central Time on Thursdays 90.1 FM in Kansas City www.kkfi.org elsewhere

– shambala , Beastie Boys , Ill Communication , Grand Royal
– bodhisattva vow , Beastie Boys , Ill Communication , Grand Royal
– electric universe , Midival Punditz , Hello Hello , six degrees
– Four Sticks , Midival Punditz , Hello Hello , six degrees
– whole lotta love , vitamin dub , dub tribute to led zepplin , vitamin records
– te amo dub , fidel , crucial cuts , Nacional Records
– rio , Aterciopelados , rio , Nacional Records …
– hollow reed, maurice hayes , in his service , independent
– blessed is the spot, maurice hayes , in his service , independent
– oh lord, my god, maurice hayes , in his service , independent
– persian chant , mina zaeri , in his service , independent
– leonor dely , amame , amame , insignia
– leonor dely , posee un corazon , amame , insignia
– taki naki , state of bengal , visual audio , six degrees

http://ebarrblog.blogspot.com/2009/04/play-list-04022009-bahai.html

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The attack by a mob on the homes of Baha’is in a village in Southern Egypt was the topic of a post in the online edition of the most influential Portuguese newspaper, as reported on Marco’s blog Povo de Baha here. English translation is available on his site.  Portugal has a favorite son who is Baha’i, as the concluding paragraph in the post makes clear. -gw

There are approximately six million Bahá’ís worldwide, including thousands in Portugal, where the most famous of them is the Olympic champion Nelson Évora of athletics, the son of a Cape Verdean who married in Ivory Coast, where he was born.

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=pt&u=http://www.povodebaha.blogspot.com/

Ottawa, Ontario, 31 March 2009 (CBNS) — After a 90 minute debate, Monday evening 30 March 2009, Canada’s House of Commons adopted a strongly worded motion condemning the persecution of Baha’is in Iran and calling on the Government of Iran to immediately release Baha’i leaders currently in prison in Tehran. The debate was moving in the eloquence and well informed nature of the contributions from Members of Parliament representing virtually all regions of Canada, and as one MP noted, all parties were united in their concern about the situation of the Baha’is of Iran.

http://bahainews.ca/en/090331-houseofcommons

 

“Our first task in reimagining religion, then, is to move from the narrowly tribal, where our story is the only story, to a wider definition of “tribe” that can embrace stories other than our own, told by people who are different from us.” Alan Jones, Reimagining Christianity (New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons), Page 16

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Thus, the Bible is not God’s unique Word to mankind. Rather, it’s just one of many “equally valid fantasies.” It is not literally true, but is one of many “great works of imagination but are diminished when taken to exclude others as literally true.” At least he rightly acknowledges that his belief system is rooted in fantasy. Sadly, he equates that fantasy with God’s Word and the equally relevant religious books of Islam, Hinduism and Baha’i.

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Jones captures the essence of the interspiritual movement which is gaining popularity through Emergent teaching. That move is the eradication of a uniquely “Christian” set of doctrines by the intermarriage of them with those of other religions. In short, it is the full-frontal assault against salvation by grace through faith in Christ alone. In this new religion, Jesus is not the only savior and his story is not the only valid story. Instead, each is a mere reflection of the other; and all are telling the same story while using different names. None are understood to be mutually exclusive. He notes

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“Stories about a Muslim or Christian heaven are great works of imagination but are diminished when taken to exclude others as literally true. They banish other equally valid fantasies about a realm that can never be described.” Pages 163-164.

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 Thus, the Bible is not God’s unique Word to mankind. Rather, it’s just one of many “equally valid fantasies.” It is not literally true, but is one of many “great works of imagination but are diminished when taken to exclude others as literally true.” At least he rightly acknowledges that his belief system is rooted in fantasy. Sadly, he equates that fantasy with God’s Word and the equally relevant religious books of Islam, Hinduism and Baha’i.

http://www.returningking.com/?p=280

The writer of the excerpt above is not an advocate of an emergent Christianity. Baha’is would not apply the words “fantasy” and “works of imagination” to the revelations of the Manifestations of God, but the the words used to describe the next world or even God can only be metaphorical. The very emergence of an emergent Christianity is a reflection of reflected light coming from the revelation of Baha’u'llah in this day. -gw

Marcus Borg [(2003). The Heart of Christianity. HarperSanFrancisco. pp. 6, 13] defines the word emerging. Emerging Christianity or “the emerging paradigm has been visible for well over a hundred years. In the last twenty to thirty years, it has become a major grassroots movement among both laity and clergy in “mainline” or old mainline Protestant denominations. The emerging paradigm’s central features are a response to the enlightenment. Borg describes it as “a way of seeing the Bible (and the Christian tradition as a whole): historical, metaphorical, and sacramental. And a way of seeing the Christian life: relational and transformational.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emerging_church#.22Emerging.22_versus_.22Emergent.22

Image: Uploaded on July 23, 2008 by depone on flickr, under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 Generic

Note: I have elaborated on my comments since first posted. -gw