In examining an ecumenical basis for promoting interfaith communication the first point of opportunity must be the common ancestry these faiths have in their father Abraham. One of the few generalities one can be comfortable with is that all brothers are rivals for their father's affection.
Rivals or brothers, the Qur'an (Q.29.46) confirms that Muslims, Christians and Jews worship the same God. Indeed, they all view God as the creator of the world and all life on it and He is all powerful and all knowing.
Each of these faiths believe that God has sent mankind many prophets, messengers of His word. Each believes that in the end, God demands an accounting from His children for how they have conducted their lives.
In each of these religions, charity is a valued attribute. Prayer is a common central component in all these faiths. They all value honesty and social justice. They all promote loving ones fellow man and cherish the ideal of living life in peace.
In the most basic ideals, each of these religions can make a strong argument for being an ecumenical partner in a growing interfaith movement. The stumbling block that needs to be removed also happened to be a trait all three religions seem to have in common. It is articulated well in a 1992 publication by the World Council of Churches who note that Muslims and Christians tend to view themselves in the ideal and the other in the actual.
http://www.oikoumene.org/resources/documents/wcc-programmes/interreligious-dialogue-and-cooperation/interreligious-trust-and-respect/issues-in-christian-muslim-relations-ecumenical-considerations.html
Showing posts with label Islam. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Islam. Show all posts
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Friday, August 20, 2010
Two Dead Per Minute Due To War
According to the BBC, every minute, two people die in a war somewhere in the world.
In Chad the Libyans have attempted to create an Islamic republic by force.
In Lebanon, the islamic republic has strong sympathies for the Palestinians, who lands are occupied by Israel. Hostilities have included the loss of life at the beginning of this month between Israel and Lebanon.
Like Kosovo v. Serbian conflict, the conflict in Cyprus between the Muslim Turks and Christian Greeks has a religious components, it is really more of an ethnic conflict.
Syria is not directly at war with Israel but it has deployed hundreds of scud missiles along it's border which are aimed at israel.
In Afghanistan, the Taliban have destroyed historic buddhist idols and waged war on even less orthodox muslims in an attempt to impose an extreme Islamic orthodoxy.
Pakistan was formed specifically to give Islamic indians a self ruled land. The tensions between primarily Hindu India and Islamic Pakistan have always run high.
The United Nations maintains a middle-east peace keeping force headquartered in Jerusalem where Jew, Muslims and Christians all have very strong feelings and the risk of conflict is always high.
According to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life; "Among the world's 25 most populous countries, Iran, Egypt, Indonesia, Pakistan and India stand out as having the most restrictions." They also conclude that "Brazil, Japan, the United States, Italy, South Africa and the United Kingdom have the least."
There are wars in the furtherance of political independence such as in the Western Sahara but in general we fight over how we think others should worship.
http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/currentops.shtml
http://pewforum.org/Government/Global-Restrictions-on-Religion.aspx
In Chad the Libyans have attempted to create an Islamic republic by force.
In Lebanon, the islamic republic has strong sympathies for the Palestinians, who lands are occupied by Israel. Hostilities have included the loss of life at the beginning of this month between Israel and Lebanon.
Like Kosovo v. Serbian conflict, the conflict in Cyprus between the Muslim Turks and Christian Greeks has a religious components, it is really more of an ethnic conflict.
Syria is not directly at war with Israel but it has deployed hundreds of scud missiles along it's border which are aimed at israel.
In Afghanistan, the Taliban have destroyed historic buddhist idols and waged war on even less orthodox muslims in an attempt to impose an extreme Islamic orthodoxy.
Pakistan was formed specifically to give Islamic indians a self ruled land. The tensions between primarily Hindu India and Islamic Pakistan have always run high.
The United Nations maintains a middle-east peace keeping force headquartered in Jerusalem where Jew, Muslims and Christians all have very strong feelings and the risk of conflict is always high.
According to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life; "Among the world's 25 most populous countries, Iran, Egypt, Indonesia, Pakistan and India stand out as having the most restrictions." They also conclude that "Brazil, Japan, the United States, Italy, South Africa and the United Kingdom have the least."
There are wars in the furtherance of political independence such as in the Western Sahara but in general we fight over how we think others should worship.
http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/currentops.shtml
http://pewforum.org/Government/Global-Restrictions-on-Religion.aspx
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