interfaith conference

The conference has just finished and I am sitting in the Mezze Bar in Auckland to recover from two days of listening and talking to people from different faiths. I still have to think about what I make of it all. We also bought an interesting looking book ‘The quiet revolution’ by Peter Kirkwood.

Perhaps as a first feedback: It was good to see that there are successful projects, such as the interfaith centre in Brisbane (at Griffith University) and the multi-faith centre in Darby. Will check out links later. Need a coffee now.

One-ness

I am still in Canada. This afternoon we went to the Lethbridge Buddhist Church and were shown around by the Reverend. It is called a Buddhist _Church_ more for historic reasons (as it was easier for the Canadians to get their head around the concept of a church). The Reverend/Sensei pointed out how it was “being like water” and taking the shape of the receptacle but not changing who you truly are. He promoted open language, like “The Enlightened One” instead of Buddha, that gives people access to an idea without the hurdle of an unfamiliar term. Finding the words that show how similar the various religions and denominations are instead of focusing on the differences. It was so good to hear a Buddhist talk about the need for interfaith communication.

Listening to the Sensei I felt unreal and very much there at the same time. The things he said were on one hand so much like my picture-book understanding of Buddhism; I guess he tried to make it easy for us. At the same time it made perfect sense. He definitely succeeded in using open and inclusive language that makes the understanding easier. He emphasized the concept of one-ness: in you looking at the mountain the mountain and you become one (compared to the idea of ‘conquering’ a mountain).

I am currently reading about theories of ‘revelation’ (revelation as doctrine, revelation as presence, revelation as experience, revelation as history) and find “revelation as experience” certainly appealing. Experiencing God, become one with God in your moving, your being.

‘Being’ not as static but as flow and experience. Not (passively) seeing God but moving towards a unity. Dancing faith. Breathing God. I like that. I found a book today by Alla Renee Bozarth, one of the first women to be ordained in the Anglican/Episcopal Church in Canada in 1974. She writes in one poem: “God is a mighty roaring verb” and “God is in me now, being new, stretch strike lightning, soar sound. Godlike”

Can you choose your own God?

This question came up in this morning’s study group. Can you ‘just’ pick your own beliefs so that they suit you? I would say – yes. There is no need to pick a God (i.e. a faith) that makes you feel miserable. Or guilty. Or powerless and insignificant.

Only if we are fully ourselves ad happy with it can we truly share the gifts. I do not believe in ‘being good’ because God asks us to. I want to ‘pick’ a God/faith that mirrors (or is it me mirroring?) my ethical beliefs. To me, it has to make sense. I cannot see sense in putting people down and telling them that they are not enough (not good enough, not trying hard enough …).

The other question, which came up yesterday, was about God’s grace – are there any conditions? Do you have to be good, trying hard, chaste, to receive God’s grace? My answer is a definite NO. What kind of God would be sitting there with a checklist to see if you did everything ‘right’? And what happened to ‘free will’? God’s grace is for everyone, even if you are naughty or ‘bad’, even if you could have known better.

If I only do good things because God / the church told me – how honest is that? I would want to be judged in the end (if I were to believe in the last judgement) by my own standards. I think you cannot ask for more than that people behave according to their own beliefs. Not out of fear! What a poor God that would be, if doing good would be enforced by fear of the judgement. And again, it defies the idea of having free will.

Overall, I think everyone can decide on their own. If you want a punishing God – well, if that is really helpfull for you – go for it. I prefer a loving God, no strings attached.