Is Interfaith Cooperation Possible?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Eric_Hyom
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
E

Eric_Hyom

Guest
I have been invited to an interfaith forum on Monday, and I hope to test the waters by asking if we can work and pray together.

Christians are starting to work together out on the streets late at night, through an initiative called Street Pastors. This involves going out late on a Friday night, and coming into contact with drugs, aggression, drink, gangs and rowdy behaviour. I feel so blessed that I am able to do this with Christians from 8 denominations, we pray for each other, we pray for the people on the streets.

My hopes and prayers would be for some kind of interfaith cooperation, whereby Muslims, Christians, Hindu and all others could work together.

I have been a Street Pastor for two years now, and it is such a wonderful ministry, here are a couple of short videos on Street Pastors,

Torbay
Longsight

Blessings and peace be with you all

Eric
 
In my opinion, no, it’s NOT possible. And that breaks my heart. Too many Protestants think Catholics are damned, too many Catholics think Protestants are damned. The two main forms of Christianity in the US and UK are too busy arguing with each other to even think about working together as one. When they finally realize that the culture war is lost, they will have one to blame but themselves.
 
Margaret Fell Fox wrote…“Service unites, doctrine divides.”
 
Of course interfaith cooperation is possible. In fact, it is widespread, at least around here. The churches work together re the local soup kitchen. Women of different Christian denominations meet several times a year under the banner of Church Women United. At Christmas there are ecumenical walks, during Holy Week cooperative events, ecumenical services during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in January. Etc.
Code: 
Beyond that, this coming week there will be an interfaith Thanksgiving service held annually in a different house of worship (this year, in a United Church of Christ, Congregationalist). Present will be representatives of most Christian groups, but also a rabbi, a Muslim Imam, and a Sikh - maybe a Buddhist, etc. I think it's great.

Whatever resistance we meet seems to come from three sources. (1) Militant Catholics who think they are compromising to worship with any other group. (2) Fundamentalist Protestant sects who are separatists - that is, they believe they cannot join with Catholics or suspect Protestants. (3) Jehovah Witnesses, of course. 

 There has been a bit of controversy as to how mainline Christians should view Mormons. Should they be regarded as fellow Christians, or is their version of Christianity simply too far removed from traditional Christianity? They have different scriptures, different prophets, and a host of very different teacbings. They are welcome at interfaith gatherings but there is some skepticism when it comes to ecumenical Christian events.
 
Margaret Fox sounds silly. Doctrine speaks to Truth, and it’s the Truth that sets us free. Without truth, as Pope Benedict XVI has said, charity degenerates into sentimentality.

There is nothing wrong with Catholics and Protestants, or Catholics and Muslims working together on things like pro-life issues, helping people with drug abuse, etc. But religious issues? No way, no how.

The principle of non-contradiction is still kinda important.
 
AlabamaCatholic said:
Margaret Fox sounds silly. Doctrine speaks to Truth, and it’s the Truth that sets us free. Without truth, as Pope Benedict XVI has said, charity degenerates into sentimentality.

There is nothing wrong with Catholics and Protestants, or Catholics and Muslims working together on things like pro-life issues, helping people with drug abuse, etc. But religious issues? No way, no how.

The principle of non-contradiction is still kinda important.
Click to expand...
When Friends opened their soup kitches and invited other Christians to assist…they were chastized for their lack of “evangelism”…Friends didn’t require anyone to sit through a sermon to receive a meal…other Christians objected…so Friends ran the kitchen on their own and gave freely…one’s religious beliefs do not satisfy another’s hunger or need for shelter…when belief becomes more important than service…“the least of these” tend to be marginalized and used as pawns for “evangelism” and the “truth”.
 
I’m not saying interfaith service is impossible. Of course it’s possible. If Catholics and Protestants want to band together a run a soup kitchen then fine. But don’t distribute religious literature that rejects or contradicts the Catholic faith, or hides it out of ecumenical motives.

We all care about the poor and helping them. I hope we all volunteer our time and talents in some ways. Quakers have done a lot of good work, but you do realize the Catholic Church has probably done more charitable work for Christians and non-Christians alike than any organization or institution in world history, right?

Ultimately we also care about the souls of those people; souls best saved in Our Lord’s One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.
 
I vote for the Society of Friends. I was fortunate enough to attend a Quaker-founded college (Swarthmore) and became a strong admirer of that tradition. I especially was impressed by their modesty, their lack of hardcore ‘you-must believe’ theology, their diversity when it came to religious views, their emphasis on meditation, their disregard for hierarchy, their emphasis on humanitarism without regard for religious affiliation, and their commitment to peace and justice.
If we all were to imitate the Quakers, interfaith cooperation would be a simple matter.
 
Well that’s just swell. The question should simply be this: Did Jesus Christ found one Church that He wants us all to be a part of or not? If the answer is yes, then Quakers have it all wrong. If the answer is no, then I think Quakers would still have a hard time justifying their religious beliefs.

Refusing to hold to a particular teaching on God is more a lack of conviction and a lack of faith than anything else. “Oh, it doesn’t matter what you believe.” What a joke and a modernist lie. That sort of indifferentism will cause countless souls to go to hell for all eternity.
 
Roy5 said:
I vote for the Society of Friends. I was fortunate enough to attend a Quaker-founded college (Swarthmore) and became a strong admirer of that tradition. I especially was impressed by their modesty, their lack of hardcore ‘you-must believe’ theology, their diversity when it came to religious views, their emphasis on meditation, their disregard for hierarchy, their emphasis on humanitarism without regard for religious affiliation, and their commitment to peace and justice.
Code: 
If we all were to imitate the Quakers, interfaith cooperation would be a simple matter.
Click to expand...
Funny, I know someone who despite agreeing with much that the Quakers teach can’t be a one because he won’t accept their doctrines of Pacifism.
 
AlabamaCatholic said:
Well that’s just swell. The question should simply be this: Did Jesus Christ found one Church that He wants us all to be a part of or not? If the answer is yes, then Quakers have it all wrong. If the answer is no, then I think Quakers would still have a hard time justifying their religious beliefs.

Refusing to hold to a particular teaching on God is more a lack of conviction and a lack of faith than anything else. “Oh, it doesn’t matter what you believe.” What a joke and a modernist lie. That sort of indifferentism will cause countless souls to go to hell for all eternity.
Click to expand...
As a Friend, I do believe in One Church made up of those whom Christ has redeemed and who live as a Christian. While I understand you and I do not share a “common faith” as I do not believe in your understanding of “Church” or “faith”. Faith is living in the firm belief that God “does all things well” and because I believe I am in “Good Hands”, I need not fear for the future or present. Past, present and future are in God’s domain, so I can live in confidence of my faith.

It does matter what one believes…if one believes that there is “that of God” in each and every person, and if I believe I am to speak to “that of God” in my neighbor and point them to the “Light Within” and I must live in peace and holiness without which no one shall see the Lord…then my life has significance as I seek to order my life as a person of faith.

However, if I believe that God is more concerned with “right doctrine” and “right ritual” and “right words” spoken during those “rituals” and no change on my part inwardly is required to receive the benefits of those rites and rituals…I’d say that kind of belief would indeed effect how I deal with others and how I treat my neighbor of a different faith.

I believe I would have a difficult time honoring “that of God” or the Light.Within my neighbor if I believe they were evil, deserving of hell, heretical, out side the household of my faith. If I believe that because of the work of Christ and the disclosure of God in Jesus of Nazareth all who seek to know Him with sincere desire to know Him…that will be honored by God…“Lord I beleive, help my unbelief”…but I would even go further…I am no ones judge…I have no idea in what way God is dealing with them even now as I write this…I am to offer a cup of water…a piece of bread…a warm blanket or a kind word to every man and woman I come in contact with…it is not THEIR ISSUE how they respond to me…it is mine…if I am met with agression…I am called by my Present Teacher and Guide to offer peace…if I am met with angry words…I am to offer words of healing and love…if I am met with “heretical teachings”…I am called to LIVE the Truth out before them…my words and the “doctrines” of my faith are meaningless IF they are not “incarnated” within me as I deal with the “unlovely” or “enemy” in my life…“Love your enemies, pray for them, love one another”…that is a True Living Faith in my estimation…and if I am wrong…I am still in Good Hands…the next life will take care of itself…if I end up in Judgement…I will accept that too from His Hands in faith that He does all things well…He is Just and Merciful…He is a Loving Father and His fullest revelation is found in Jesus of Nazareth…the “flames of hell” holds no fear for me…I am in Good Hands…“though I decend to the lowest hell, You are there.”

If someone is hungry or cold and in need of shelter…the only “faith” that will satisfy them is one that takes care of their needs before my “need” to share a doctrinal statement…I have convictions…but I will not use those convictions to keep food and shelter away from one in need just to tell them about the Trinity…or baptism…or the eucharist…my “living faith” is what they need…not my preaching.
 
** Publisher ‘Quaker’**
Code: 
While I am not a Quaker, I say AMEN to what you have written. I have attended Quaker meeting, admire what I see and hear, but - in all honesty - need a bit more liturgy than the Friends have. I missed the hymns especially. And I have tried but cannot embrace pacifism entirely, even though Christ may have been teaching that in the Sermon on the Mount. "Love you enemies" can be really tough after events like 9-11. At the same time, I cannot subscribe to the 'bomb 'em' insanity that some Christians seem to embrace, and I have strongly disapproved of some US policies, e. g., our total support of Israel in the past and our foolish invasion of Iraq - both policies that have aided and abetted bin Laden and Muslim terrorists.

When It comes to doctrine, however, I deeply appreciate the openness and lack of rigidity found in Quakerism. While at Swarthmore I learned to listen to various points of view that conflicted with my own.  I found that learned and devout and even saintly people held a wide variety of opinions that needed to be respected. If all of us followed their example interfaith cooperation would be quite natural and a joy. I am looking forward to our community Thanksgiving service here this coming week when Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs and others will come together to express their thanks for the blessings we have received.

 God bless people of every creed, color and country, and may religion become a bridge rather than a barrier.
 
Roy5 said:
** Publisher ‘Quaker’**
Code: 
While I am not a Quaker, I say AMEN to what you have written. I have attended Quaker meeting, admire what I see and hear, but - in all honesty - need a bit more liturgy than the Friends have. I missed the hymns especially. And I have tried but cannot embrace pacifism entirely, even though Christ may have been teaching that in the Sermon on the Mount. "Love you enemies" can be really tough after events like 9-11. At the same time, I cannot subscribe to the 'bomb 'em' insanity that some Christians seem to embrace, and I have strongly disapproved of some US policies, e. g., our total support of Israel in the past and our foolish invasion of Iraq - both policies that have aided and abetted bin Laden and Muslim terrorists.

When It comes to doctrine, however, I deeply appreciate the openness and lack of rigidity found in Quakerism. While at Swarthmore I learned to listen to various points of view that conflicted with my own.  I found that learned and devout and even saintly people held a wide variety of opinions that needed to be respected. If all of us followed their example interfaith cooperation would be quite natural and a joy. I am looking forward to our community Thanksgiving service here this coming week when Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs and others will come together to express their thanks for the blessings we have received.

 God bless people of every creed, color and country, and may religion become a bridge rather than a barrier.
Click to expand...
Thank you friend. For me the hymns and “liturgy” are a distraction to me at times…I find deep peace in the Living Silence among Friends.

I too have difficulty with “pacifism”…I like the term “Passive Resistance”…and yes while I believe situations like 911 causes deep and angry feelings…what better time to show that “there is a better way” than agression…forgiveness and peace heal…agression and angry words do not…they destroy.

I read many times on this board that “Christ commanded baptism”…so we MUST be baprtized…I read that “Christ instituted the eucharist…”…yet so often “love your enemies”…“do good to those who dispitefully use you”…“pray for your enemies”…“turn the other cheek”…“go the extra mile”…70 times 7 we are to forgive"…“as far as it is possible with you, be at peace with all men…” seems not to get the same “necessity” of faith as “rites and rituals” seem to engender…

I am a Friend because they have shown me “a better way”…along with Mennonites and Bretheren we are a small minority of people who seek to put the ethical and often difficult teachings of Jesus in action…we fail so often at times…but when we do…there is grace.
 
Roy5 said:
** Publisher ‘Quaker’**
Code: 
While I am not a Quaker, I say AMEN to what you have written. I have attended Quaker meeting, admire what I see and hear, but - in all honesty - need a bit more liturgy than the Friends have. I missed the hymns especially. And I have tried but cannot embrace pacifism entirely, even though Christ may have been teaching that in the Sermon on the Mount. "Love you enemies" can be really tough after events like 9-11. At the same time, I cannot subscribe to the 'bomb 'em' insanity that some Christians seem to embrace, and I have strongly disapproved of some US policies, e. g., our total support of Israel in the past and our foolish invasion of Iraq - both policies that have aided and abetted bin Laden and Muslim terrorists.

When It comes to doctrine, however, I deeply appreciate the openness and lack of rigidity found in Quakerism. While at Swarthmore I learned to listen to various points of view that conflicted with my own.  I found that learned and devout and even saintly people held a wide variety of opinions that needed to be respected. If all of us followed their example interfaith cooperation would be quite natural and a joy. I am looking forward to our community Thanksgiving service here this coming week when Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs and others will come together to express their thanks for the blessings we have received.

 God bless people of every creed, color and country, and may religion become a bridge rather than a barrier.
Click to expand...
Publisher said:
Thank you friend. For me the hymns and “liturgy” are a distraction to me at times…I find deep peace in the Living Silence among Friends.

I too have difficulty with “pacifism”…I like the term “Passive Resistance”…and yes while I believe situations like 911 causes deep and angry feelings…what better time to show that “there is a better way” than agression…forgiveness and peace heal…agression and angry words do not…they destroy.

I read many times on this board that “Christ commanded baptism”…so we MUST be baprtized…I read that “Christ instituted the eucharist…”…yet so often “love your enemies”…“do good to those who dispitefully use you”…“pray for your enemies”…“turn the other cheek”…“go the extra mile”…70 times 7 we are to forgive"…“as far as it is possible with you, be at peace with all men…” seems not to get the same “necessity” of faith as “rites and rituals” seem to engender…

I am a Friend because they have shown me “a better way”…along with Mennonites and Bretheren we are a small minority of people who seek to put the ethical and often difficult teachings of Jesus in action…we fail so often at times…but when we do…there is grace.
Click to expand...
Amen to both of you!

I come from a non-Protestant Christian faith that, like the Quakers, appreciates that everyone has a different walk with God, puts emphasis on service to those in need as being the method by which we show the Love of Christ, and doesn’t evangelize. When the church would hold events, open houses, etc., we had a hard time bringing people in; people tend to be suspicious (and I can’t blame them) that anything a church sponsors is recruitment in disguise. 😦 Luckily, once a few people gather the courage to come in, the word spreads quickly that “yes, it’s really JUST a coffee house and no one talks religion unless you ask them to!”

Miz
 
Rascalking said:
In my opinion, no, it’s NOT possible. And that breaks my heart. Too many Protestants think Catholics are damned, too many Catholics think Protestants are damned. The two main forms of Christianity in the US and UK are too busy arguing with each other to even think about working together as one. When they finally realize that the culture war is lost, they will have one to blame but themselves.
Click to expand...
Well it is NOT possible,if they have the wrong approach or attitude.
 
Dear Eric: First let me say that I checked out the Street Pastors website and you all seem to be doing some great work, and I thank you and your fellow members for that. Regarding your question, I think the answer is yes, but with a few qualifiers. I think that there are people from all faiths who are capable and willing to work with people from faiths other than their own. Within those same faiths there are others who are not inclined to do so. Of the faiths I am familiar with, the message is one of compassion and being an example of our faiths by our own actions. This does not include “sizing up” the other person’s faith as a prerequisite for caring and cooperation. My personal opinion is that whether you are a Hindu, Christian, Jew, Muslim or whatever, the best examples of each of these faiths are the ones who do not see Hindus, Christians, Jews, Muslims or whatever when they look at other people. These people see only God wherever they look and in every face. These people will work with you. The people who won’t work with you simply have some work to do on a personal level before they are ready to work with others. I think the answer to your question is yes, but not everyone from every faith, rather, many from every faith.

Your friend
Sufjon
 
AlabamaCatholic said:
Refusing to hold to a particular teaching on God is more a lack of conviction and a lack of faith than anything else. “Oh, it doesn’t matter what you believe.” What a joke and a modernist lie. That sort of indifferentism will cause countless souls to go to hell for all eternity.
Click to expand...
Dear AlabamaCatholic: Perhaps heaven and hell are not places you go to, but states of being you achieve. Perhaps people in heaven and people in hell are in the very same place - a banquet table full of wonderful things to eat, only the knives and forks are 4 feet long. The people in hell are trying to use the utensils to feed themselves and the people in heaven are using them to feed the person across the table from them. Perhaps it is in this loss of the self and concern for others that achieves heaven. I think that there are people from all faiths having each of the two experiences. In my view, the sincerity of the love within you is the measure that matters, without regard to whether this doctrine or that was properly understood. If what I am saying is true, the basic message is to love God and to see Him in yourself and others.

Your friend
Sufjon
 
Thank you for the heartfelt responses Sufjon. Yours, like those of Publisher, Roy5 and Miserys Fence, strike at the heart of the issue, I think.

As a Unitarian Universalist, the issues of salvation and dogma are moot.

But, we place high emphasis on doing good works, not because we have to, but because we want to as they are the right thing to do.

As Publisher said, dogma or liturgy or hierarchy matter little to someone who is hungry, cold or despondent.

The light of God is in every eye, even those who hate me. It is my duty to try to see that light and treat each person accordingly.

By doing this, we could indeed have cooperation among different religious groups - and we should.

Seeker
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top