part 3
THEOLOGICAL REASONS
CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY
GENERAL THEOLOGY
1. All created by God
Theology takes the issues that have already surfaced and places them on a higher plane. The earth of which we are made ... (is) not just not just happenstance ... In particular, human beings are not just the random product of blind evolution... We are the process of evolution become conscious. Alone among creation, and its pinnacle, we are capable of acknowledging and responding to the Creator. ...made in the inage and likeness of God, we are destined for eternal communion with God.
The dignity that is ours by nature is incomparably enhanced by this divine election, which embraces every race, and tribe, and tongue, and religion. As such, all human beings belong together, we are one family. Not only by biology, not only by sharing a common human nature, but because we share the common dignity of being the children of God.
And children in a family talk to each other, learn from each other, support each other, fight with each other, and reconcile with each other, as they grow under their parent's tutelage.
As it is in the human family, so also in the family of God. So the fact that we are all created by God is a further reason for interreligious dialogue.
2. Jewish-Christian-Muslim
This is particularly so for Jewish, Christian and Muslim believers- nowadays often called the "Abrahamic religions" - for we share even more in common.
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We claim a common ancestry with Abraham and Sarah, though each in different ways
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Our religions are historical - we recognize that God acts in history, that under God's providential guidance our lives and our world have a God-wards teleology, purpose, and direction.
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We acknowledge that God not only acts in history but also speaks to us - through prophets, and seers, and sages, and holy men and women. God communicates with us, reveals God's purposes and even God's self.
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We all acknowledge God's revelation recorded in scriptures - but while there is some continuity, we also we recognize different books, and confer on them different status. Muslims identify us as "People of the Book" (though Christians would find this description inadequate [1]).
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Ours is an ethical monotheism - we acknowledge natural and God-given law, and that we are accountable to God: "our very eternals souls are all at stake".
All these common elements bind Christians, Muslims and Jews even closer together in the family of God, and make our differences all the harder to reconcile. Accordingly, interreligious dialogue among us is both more possible and also more fraught.
aside: The tri-lateral dialogue among Christians, Muslims and Jews is sometimes mistakenly called "trialogue". Riffat Hassan, a Pakistani-born Muslim feminist theologian and professor of Religious Studies and Humanities at the University of Louisville in Kentucky once commented that "trialogue really is a trial". She said that the Muslims and Jews very quickly come to agreement, on matters of theology at least if not politics, and then they have to sit around and wait while the Christians fight with each other!
aside: and in the context of Christian-Jewish relations it is significant that in the Curia of the Vatican, the Commission of the Holy See for Religious Relations with the Jews does not come under the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, but comes under Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. The reason for this is the special relationship that exists between Christianity and Judaism, which Pope John Paul II expressed as follows:
The Jewish religion is not 'extrinsic' to us, but in a certain way is 'intrinsic' to our own religion. With Judaism, therefore, we have a relationship which we do not have with any other religion. You are our dearly beloved brothers and, in a certain way, it could be said that you are our elder brothers. (John Paul II, 13 April 1986) [2]
Also, the Jews are the beneficiaries of an enduring covenant: "the people of God of the Old Covenant, never revoked by God." (John Paul II, 17 November 1980, Mainz).
Much more could be said about our common origins, our common nature, our common heritage, our common questions, our common responsibility for the common good, our common destiny ... but I think this is sufficient to make the case that the many commonalities religious believers share demand the mutual engagement that we call interreligious dialogue.
3. Eighth Commandment
I mentioned ethical monotheism. At some stage in our lives we probably all learned the Ten Commandments, which spell out the ethical obligations which are common to all people. The eighth commandment reads [3]:
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour (Ex 20:16; cf. Deut 5:20.)
I have already argued that increasingly our neighbour is Buddhist, Hindu, Jew, Muslim. I am sure that none of us would deliberately go out and give false witness against these neighbours - so the commandment sounds a bit quaint, old-fashioned. But I am indebted to Amy-Jill Levine, a Jewish scholar of the New Testament, for highlighting the relevance of the eighth commandment for interreligious dialogue.
In her book A Misunderstood Jew she makes a compelling case that Christian preachers and teachers have often stereo-typed Jews negatively to make Jesus look good. Thus, although "Good Samaritan" has passed into common language, often the implied and even explicit contrast is to a "Bad Jew". Hearing her speak and then reading her book has challenged me that giving false witness about Jews is not only not the way to preach Jesus, but does disservice to both religions [4]. Engaging in interreligious dialogue together about our texts and our attitudes is the best way of overcoming these stereotypes.
A Muslim example. Muslims today suffer a very bad reputation (with a stereotype) that all Muslims are violent-prone, extremists who are intent on taking over the world by force if needs be. The best way to counter such stereotypes, in our own minds first of all, is to go out and meet Muslims.
Dialogue and Proclamation states: "A just appraisal of other religious traditions normally presupposes close contact with them." (DP, 14) If you do go out of your way to meet them, you will discover that contrary to the stereotype:
most Muslims ... are peaceful, decent, god-fearing, honest citizens, trying to feed and educate their children in sometimes trying circumstances, leading moral and ethical lives, sometimes exemplifying the attainment of great spiritual wisdom.
This is a direct quote from the written testimony that I gave in the controversial religious vilification case in Victoria in 2003. I was subsequently told that a turning point in the case was when the barrister for the respondents did not challenge this statement. This same text is also quoted in The Jihad Seminar, a book length account of the case, where the author, Hanifa Deen, comments that my evidence "marked a significant watershed in the hearing". [5] Gary Bouma was another witness for the Muslim complainants.
Being cross-examined in a hearing was a gruelling experience which I hope none of you have to undergo, but when you are at homes or in the work places and hear derogatory stereotypes about Muslims, or other believers, do have the courage at least to express disapproval and if possible correction, lest on Judgement Day you be accused of condoning false witness against your neighbour.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:
As a result of ignorance and fear, false witness against our neighbour is very prevalent in society - stereotypes, prejudices, racism - perhaps including in our religious communities! How can we counter this?
Why is encounter with believers from other religions at once so attractive and yet so challenging?
What factors make it so?
CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY
Common origins, common nature and common destiny provide a common ground and common horizon for dialogue between believers. However, Christians who acknowledge the testimony of the New Testament and the subsequent development of that in the teachings of the Ecumenical Councils - the creed we recite in our Sunday liturgies - and in the tradition of the Church, have further pressing reasons for engaging in interreligious dialogue.
1. The Holy Spirit
Let us begin at the beginning, as suggested in Genesis, with the "wind from God sweeping over the face of the waters". (Gen 1:2)
Dialogue does not originate from tactical concerns or self-interest, but is an activity with its own guiding principles, requirements and dignity. It is demanded by deep respect for everything that has been brought about in human beings by the Spirit who blows where he wills. (RM, 56) [emphasis given by author]
... The Spirit's presence and activity affect not only the individuals but also society and history, peoples, cultures and religions. (RM, 28)
We are particularly indebted to Pope John Paul II for his teaching on the universal presence and action of the Holy Spirit (cf especially Dominum et Vivificantem, 53). As the Catholic Religious of Australia, it is appropriate to hear from his 1986 address to the indigenous people of this land:
But for thousands of years you have lived in this land and fashioned a culture that endures to this day. And during all this time, the Spirit of God has been with you. Your "Dreaming", which influences your lives so strongly that, no matter what happens, you remain for ever people of your culture, is your only way of touching the mystery of God's Spirit in you and in creation. You must keep your striving for God and hold on to it in your lives. [6]
When murmurs of criticism surfaced in Rome about the gathering in Assisi of religious leaders to pray for peace, Pope John Paul II gave a not so subtle rebuke in his Christmas address to the Curia in which he asserted his conviction that:
"every authentic prayer is prompted by the Holy Spirit, who is mysteriously present in every human heart [Address to Curia, Dec 1986)." (RM, 29 cf also DP, 27)
Seeking, finding and responding to the presence and action of the Holy Spirit in the religious life of the members of other religious traditions is a thirst that should drive Christians to engage in interreligious dialogue. But the presence and action of the Holy Spirit in the world and in people's lives cannot be separated from the Spirit's action in Christ (cf RM, 29).
2. Jesus Christ
We mentioned before the theme of creation as common to many religions. Christianity takes that further, with all things made in and through Christ (cf Jn 1:3), whose proportions are cosmic (cf Col 1:16), such that the whole creation is groaning (cf Rom 8:22) towards "new creation" (2 Cor 5:17).
We have also mentioned the theme of human dignity. By the incarnation, by the Word assuming flesh, by becoming human, Christ is in some way united with every person (Redemptor Hominis, 13). In so doing, he has raised our humanity to a dignity beyond compare (cf Gaudium et Spes, 22).
Gaudium et Spes, the "Constitution on the Church in the Modern World", teaches:
... it is only in the mystery of the Word made flesh that the mystery of humanity truly becomes clear. ... Christ the new Adam ... fully reveals humanity to itself and brings to light its very high calling. It is no wonder, then, that all the truths mentions so far should find in him their source and their most perfect embodiment. (GS, 22)
We can find examples from Jesus own life. For example, his open attitude to the Samaritan woman (cf Jn 4:23), his commendation of the centurion's faith (cf Mt 8:5-13) [7] , working miracles for foreigners (cf Mk 7:24-30, Mt 15:21-28).
Ad Gentes, the Vatican decree on mission, urges us to:
...uncover with gladness and respect those seeds of the word which lie hidden in [the national and religious traditions] (AG, 11)
Seeking the presence and action of the Word in the lives and teaching of other religions, encouraging it to grow and bear fruit, and feeding on the nourishment that it offers, is a hunger that should drive Christians to engage in interreligious dialogue.
Nostra Aetate, the "Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions", affirms that the Church:
... has a high regard for the manner of life and conduct, the precepts and doctrines which, although differing in many ways from her own, nevertheless often reflect a ray of that Truth which enlightens all men and women. (NA, 2).
Seeking the light of Christ's truth reflected in other religions and making it shine forth to dispel the darkness is another Christian motivation for dialogue.
Breaking definitely with the ancient axiom, extra ecclesiam nulla salus, Vatican II affirmed:
For since Christ died for all, and since all are in fact called to one and the same destiny, which is divine, we must hold that the Holy Spirit offers to all the possibility of being made partners, in a way known to God, in the Paschal Mystery. (GS 22)
This gracious, all-embracing acceptance that Christ showed through his passion, death, resurrection and sending of the Spirit demands that the followers of Christ do no less, that we show a similar hospitality to those who journey with us in this life on earth.
Again, John Paul II teaches the universal outreach of Christ.
In Christ, God calls all people to himself and he wishes to share with them the fullness of his revelation and love. He does not fail to make himself present in many ways, not only to individual but also to entire peoples through their spiritual riches, of which their religions are the main and essential expression, even when they contain "gaps, insufficiencies and errors". (RM, 55)
Our sense of personal and communal incompleteness, of yearning for more, of not yet having arrived, should spur our efforts in interreligious dialogue.
3. Father
Reference to the Spirit and Jesus remains incomplete without reference to the Father who sent them into the world for our salvation. Vatican II teaches:
Whatever of good or truth is found amongst [peoples] ... is given by him who enlightens all men and women that they may at length have life. (LG, 17)
Whatever good is found sown in people's hearts and minds, or in the rites and customs of peoples ... (LG, 17)
... whatever truth or grace are to be found among the nations, as a sort of secret presence of God ..." (AG, 9)
... the riches which a generous God has distributed among the nations" (AG, 11)
Dialogue and Mission teaches:
The church has the duty of discovering and bringing to light and fullness all the richness which the Father has hidden in creation and history ... (DM, 22)
Discovering and sharing these gifts of the Father is precisely what interreligious dialogue offers.
4. Trinity
Mention of the Father, the Son and the Spirit, invite reflection on the Trinity.
"The Church, however, feels itself called to dialogue principally because of its faith. In the Trinitarian mystery, Christian revelation allows us to glimpse in God a life of communion and interchange." (DM, 22)
Christians confess that God is relationship, a communion of relations, a total and complete giving and receiving of the three persons of the Blessed Trinity to each other in love. Earlier I mentioned that according to Genesis we are made in God's image and likeness (Gen 1:26, 27). The revelation of the Trinity sheds light on that divine image in us. If God is a community, then should not we who are made in God's image and likeness strive to become community. And is not that urgency, that striving, making contacts, building relations, what interreligious dialogue is? So the Trinity is the ultimate model and inspiration for interreligious dialogue.
5. Church / Ecclesiology
And going a step further, founded by and in the Trinity, the Church is called to be a community, not just for itself, but for the whole world. We read in Vatican II's Lumen Gentium:
the church, in Christ, is a sacrament- a sign and instrument, that is, of communion with God and of the unity of the entire human race. (LG, 1).
Later in the same document:
All are called to this catholic unity of the people of God. ... and to it belong, or are related in different ways, the catholic faithful, others who believe in Christ, and finally all of humankind, called by God's grace to salvation. (LG, 15)
The catholicity of the church here refers not to any denominational identity, though of course that does apply when the text talks about "the catholic faithful". But catholicity refers to the church's universality, that it reaches out to everybody, that all either belong or are related to it, all without exception, no one is excluded.
This universality is confirmed later in the same document:
Christ when he was lifted up from the earth drew all humanity to himself (see Jn 12:32 Greek text). Rising from the dead (see Rom 6:9) he sent his life-giving Spirit upon his disciples and through him set up his body which is the church as the universal sacrament of salvation. (LG, 48)
Earlier we talked about the unity of the human race in terms of common origin, common nature, and common destiny. Now we see that in God's plan of salvation, the church is called to be "an effective sign of this unity" (cf DP, 5). And such unity can only be brought about by patiently building understanding, step by step, point by point, between the church and other religions, and among other religions (cf DP, 80), by the mutual witness that is interreligious dialogue (cf DP, 40).
6. Mission
Although Vatican II clearly endorsed dialogue with believers from other religions, I think it was basically saying that Christians should be on good terms with them for the sake of social harmony, and so that they would be more likely to accept the Church's message. While the Church was to harvest the seeds of the Word and the fruits of the Spirit, it really was a one way street, and the Church had nothing to learn from the others that really mattered.
Over the following decades of practice and reflection on dialogue, the Church slowly came to recognise that "interreligious dialogue is part of the Church's evangelizing mission" (RM, 55, cf. DP, 77). It is not incidental, or peripheral, or on the fringes, but an integral part of the Church's mission. It is not just for an elite, for specialists, but is part of the church's heart-beat.
Each member of the faithful and all Christian communities are called to practise dialogue, but not all in the same way. (RM, 57)
... all local Churches, and all the members of these Churches, are called to dialogue, though not all in the same way. (DP, 43)
Engaging in interreligious dialogue is not simply a matter of obedience to Church teaching, but of authenticity, of authority, of authorizing ourselves, of being who we are as Church - "those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also." (1 Jn 4:7ff)
7. Kingdom of God - Kindom of God
However, the church is not an end in itself, but is at the service of the Kingdom (some prefer the spelling "kindom", because it removes the patriarchal note, and emphasis kinship) (cf. RM, 20).
Vatican II's Lumen Gentium teaches:
... many elements of sanctification and of truth are found outside its [the Church's] visible confines. Since these are gifts belonging to the church of Christ, they are forces impelling towards catholic unity. (LG, 8)
Therefore the Church is called to the humble role of sitting at the feet of others and learning. Pope John Paul II put it as follows:
Other religions constitute a positive challenge for the Church: they stimulate her both to discover and acknowledge the signs of Christ's presence and of the working of the Spirit, as well as to examine more deeply her own identity and to bear witness to the fullness of Revelation which she has received for the good of all. (RM, 56)
In all my reading on this topic my favourite quote is from Dialogue and Proclamation:
In the last analysis truth is not a thing we possess, but a person by whom we must allow ourselves to be possessed. (DP, 49)
We who daily pray "they kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven" are acknowledging that the kingdom is far beyond our present achievements, is something that only God can give in its fullness. We can only grow in openness to receive that gift by exploring the myriad ways in which God has been and is dealing with believers from other religions.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:
What are we going to do? ... in our communities? ... in our ministries?
What am I going to do as a leader?
references
[1] "Still, the Christian faith is not a "religion of the book." Christianity is the religion of the "Word" of God, "not a written and mute word, but incarnate and living" (St Bernard, S. misssus est hom. r,11:PL 183,86) Catechism of the Catholic Church, (Homebush, NSW: St Pauls, 1994) 31.# 108
[4] Amy-Jill Levine, The Misunderstood Jew: The Church and the Scandal of the Jewish Jesus (New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 2006) 143, 223.
[5] Hanifa Deen, The Jihad Seminar (Crawley, WA: University of Western Australia Press, 2008) 228.
[7] "When Jesus heard him, he was amazed and said to those who followed him, "Truly I tell you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith." (Mt 8:10)
"And he was amazed at their unbelief." (Mk 6:6)
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