Love one another

Almost 30 years ago a friend in the Episcopal Church in Arkansas asked me if I had ever considered being a part of the Arkansas Interfaith Council.

At the time I did not know what it meant when they said interfaith.

Chlastak

I was soon to learn as I began working with the group that interfaith dialogue referred to cooperative, constructive and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions and, or spiritual or humanistic beliefs, at both the individual and denominational levels.

Our work centered around dialogue which promoted understanding between different religions or other beliefs to increase acceptance of others, rather than to create new beliefs.

Many times we forget that our founding leaders created a nation based on a theocracy, or a simple belief in God. Although our founding leaders believed in a supreme being when they wrote the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights neither God nor Jesus are mentioned. Many settlers traveled to the American colonies for freedom of worship. Quakers, Puritans, Jews and people of other faiths arrived to create communities in what would become the United States.

Over the course of several years I met people of different faith traditions: Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, as well as people from various Christian beliefs. Out of that these various interactions, I gained some amazing understanding of differing faiths. For example, I learned that the Hindu temple is built in the form of a human. The outer court is raised on pillars and opens on all sides and represents the human body, the inner court with its wide spaces is the human mind, and the shrine room is the human soul. A believer moves within them from self to self and there finds the presence of God. I also learned that the Muslim mosque is built in the form of a human figure. The central dome represents a person’s head and the minarets are their hands upraised in prayer. Muslims believe humanity comes to God through acts of adoration and obedience.

Churches, temples and mosques come in all shapes and sizes.

Many Christian Churches are also built in the shape of a human.

In this case the shape of a man stretched upon a cross.

The first mosque in the United States was built in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 1934. During the 19th century, large numbers of Christian and Muslim immigrants arrived to the United States from Syria and Lebanon and moved to the Midwest. Many families settled in the Midwest, making a living as farmers, dealers or shopkeepers. I also learned that the first Jewish temple was dedicated on December 2, 1763, some 13 years before the Declaration of Independence, in Newport, Rhode Island.

People of the Christian, Muslim and Jewish tradition all share a common heritage that can be traced back to the covenant God made with Abraham. The Christian church does not ask its followers to find their way, or to discover truth within. The Christian church says Jesus has shown us the way and the truth to help us get to God.

Our denomination (Christian Church — Disciples of Christ) is part of a movement toward wholeness for a fractured world. Those of us who are Christians put our faith in knowing Jesus. Yes, Jesus gives us life.

For us this has made all the difference. It has changed and shaped us. It has made us whole.

All religions have different places that they go to for praying and getting closer to their creator of the world. Christians go to a church. Hindus go to a temple. Muslims go to a mosque. I believe that all the hatred and vitriolic rhetoric in the world today is because we do not take time to learn about people and ideas that are different from us, especially our different religious beliefs.

All the major religions of the world have a version of the golden rule.

Which is basically do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Sometimes all it would take is for us to sit down over a cup of coffee, tea or favorite drink with someone of another faith or denomination, look them in the eye, and have a genuine conversation about what they believe. We would find that we are not so different. We all have the same values, hopes and dreams. We all live on this planet together and we can either make the world better for the future or we can through our actions, destroy it. Ultimately, we’ve got to love each other so that we can work toward having a better world, not only for us, but for our children.

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Editor’s Note: This is a regular series featuring area religious leaders writing about faith, family and community. To participate or suggest a church, contact us at news@darnews.com or 573-785-1414.