One thing all religions seem to have in common: they all think they are right. As much as they preach tolerance and peace and love, the preferred way of doing those things is whatever they at doing. It is hard to have open minded discussions when no one is really open to alternative views. So you seek common ground and hope for the best. Inshallah. God willing. I think God is willing, actually....
Anyway the common ground I noticed today is the levels of involvement in organizations of which people say they are members. Of the 98% of Moroccans there are many who do not make up a prayer they miss during the day or who don't give much to the poor during the year, but at Ramadan it all changes. Crime is down substantially. Generous giving is up. Same in holy days everywhere.
A few novel twists on the Christian understanding of the details of Jesus' life - most substantially that it was not Jesus who died on the cross but someone who looked like him. God came in at the last minute and took him to heaven. There's is no need for resurrection for sin because, in the telling of the creation story, Mohamed wrote that Adam and Eve asked God to forgive them before they left so there was no original sin carried on. But certainly Jesus teaching and miracles happened, and they await his coming as the Messiah at the end of time. Our goal is to live good lives here and stay in close communication with God to determine God's will. Good with that.
Of course no religious organization has lived out the teachings of its leader without succumbing to politics, power, control and land acquisition. It's a small world after all.
Anyway the common ground I noticed today is the levels of involvement in organizations of which people say they are members. Of the 98% of Moroccans there are many who do not make up a prayer they miss during the day or who don't give much to the poor during the year, but at Ramadan it all changes. Crime is down substantially. Generous giving is up. Same in holy days everywhere.
A few novel twists on the Christian understanding of the details of Jesus' life - most substantially that it was not Jesus who died on the cross but someone who looked like him. God came in at the last minute and took him to heaven. There's is no need for resurrection for sin because, in the telling of the creation story, Mohamed wrote that Adam and Eve asked God to forgive them before they left so there was no original sin carried on. But certainly Jesus teaching and miracles happened, and they await his coming as the Messiah at the end of time. Our goal is to live good lives here and stay in close communication with God to determine God's will. Good with that.Of course no religious organization has lived out the teachings of its leader without succumbing to politics, power, control and land acquisition. It's a small world after all.
No comments:
Post a Comment