| Response:
Religion does not cause wars: people do!
Each person is responsible for interpreting and expressing his or her
values and/or religious tradition. The ideals of a faith tradition are
seldom lived fully by adherents, even those who are considered leaders
or devoted followers. But this is no excuse for abandoning the values we
most need, however disillusioned we may be by religious representatives
or organizations. The Tibetan Buddhist teacher Chogyam Trungpa warned
about “spiritual materialism,” the tendency for the ego to distort and
use the spiritual path for its own limited purposes. The list of
situations in which people active in religious traditions did nothing,
caved in or were co-opted by corrupt governments is a long one (the
Holocaust, for example). Yet people inspired by religious ideals have
favorably influenced historic events such as the civil rights movement
in the United States and the end of apartheid in South Africa.
The search for a “global ethic” is one of the most promising aspects of
interfaith dialogue. “Religions should be able to agree that human
beings should not live inhumanely” is how theologian Hans Kung puts it.
Agreement about basic values and their application to international
human rights issues should take precedence over sorting through
differences about metaphysics or theology in dialogue between religious
groups. Religious
|
|
extremism, one of the most serious
threats to world peace, will be most effectively countered by religious
groups acting in union, rather than having their voice weakened by
rivalry and ideological competition.
Tillich pointed out that everyone is religious: each person’s actions and
choices reflect his or her ultimate concerns, be they money, God, family
or football. The issue is not religion as
such -- it is human maturity.
- Rev. Dr. Deborah Barrett |