Speech

I remember very well the first lecture of that semester.

My teacher, a native of India, described his childhood as one of “growing up on an island of Christianity in an ocean of Hinduism.”

Himself a Methodist pastor, he had followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather. Their home was “Nazareth,” a tiny Indian village, converted to Christian faith by Methodist missionaries in the 19th century.

“This class,” he said, “is called, ‘Christian Encounter with Hinduism,’ and that is a lovely name. The problem, however, is that such a title sounds like something you can do by reading books.”

He paused, for effect, and continued, slyly, “This class should really be called ‘Christians Encountering Hindus,’ because that is what we intend to do --- encounter one another.”

That is exactly what we did.

Don’t get me wrong. We definitely read plenty of books. We read the Bible and sacred Hindu texts side-by-side. We read the scholarly reflections of our teacher and other authorities on Christian/Hindu dialogue. We read about the culture and philosophies of India and other Hindu nations. But the experiences of meeting real Hindu people have stayed with me far longer than the best written of those texts.

That semester, for me, was a study in what “diversity” can really mean. We didn’t pull any punches, and we didn’t soft-sell the hard work that interfaith dialogue really is.

I remember the undergraduate students who came to our class and spent 90 minutes sharing about their faith, fielding questions from those of us who understood so little about their belief and practice. They were earnest and sincere young people --- like young people from Christian families, they ran the gamut from those who seemed very pious and committed to others who felt that religion was something for their grandparents’ generation.

I remember the little, tiny, ancient, white man who came dressed in his Hindu priestly vestments. At over 80 years of age, he was the picture of health and vitality. As a young spiritual seeker, he had taken off across the U.S., hitch-hiking and looking for God.

He said that he stopped at church after church, and no one could show him a path that would open up his heart for communion with God, until finally he knocked on the doors of a Vaisnavite community in Chicago. Yoga and meditation spoke to him in a powerful way and he eventually committed himself fully into a Hindu religious order.

I remember the Indian professor of physics who visited us, sharing about the role that faith played in his family, and what it was like to be Hindu in a Christian culture.

Most of all, I remember our trip to a Hindu temple in Atlanta. We met priests and witnessed their conduct of a Hindu worship service. There, I experienced a pocket of India, hidden just off an Atlanta street. Sights, sounds and smells I had never known overwhelmed my senses.

This ol’ Methodist boy came away having learned a lot.

For one, Hinduism and Christianity are really, really different.

That was a lot of tuition to come to such an earth-shaking conclusion, huh?

What I mean is, I learned that understanding diversity doesn’t mean trying to over-emphasize similarities while pretending that differences don’t exist.

Hinduism and Christianity are really, really different.

I found that I don’t agree with everything in Hindu thought and practice.

I found out that I really do love Indian food (big shocker).

I also found that nowhere along the way did anybody asked me to agree with anything. They didn’t even ask me “whether” I agreed with anything. At no time did anyone threaten my faith in Jesus.

I found out that Hindus and Christians can be friends.

At another seminar that same semester, I remember a different professor saying, “diversity isn’t ‘look how much we’re alike, isn’t this wonderful!’ but more like ‘wow, we’re really different, and we choose to live with one another and respect each other anyway.’”

“Respect” and “agreement” are not mutually exclusive.

It’s possible to be “fully” Christian --- a dedicated follower of Jesus Christ, clear about one’s own personal identity --- and also still be a person who holds respect for all people, building relationships and living in harmony with everyone, no matter our real differences.

In fact, it seems a shame to me that I would even have to write that sentence. Shouldn’t faith in Jesus inherently enhance our capacity to “love one another,” even when the “others” don’t look, act or think like we do?

I know. I can already hear the hairs on some of your necks standing tall as you wonder, “then what makes us Christian? Is every religion just as good as another one? What about the cross? What about the need to bring other people to faith in Jesus? Don’t you know that Jesus is ‘the way, the truth and the light, and that no one comes to the Father except through him???”

As far as I can tell, no part of faith in Jesus – no part of the cross – no part of walking in His steps tells me that I have authority to judge another person.

Nowhere does faith in Jesus tell me that I have the authority to define who will be my “neighbor,” no matter how badly I might want to. And I’m pretty sure The Book is clear about two things Christians are supposed to do: we love God, and our neighbors. Jesus says those neighbors are the ones you’d least suspect – or choose.

Knowing that truth and putting it into practice is in no way contradictory to the good news of the Gospel. Rather, it is its highest fulfillment.

It is time for all people of faith to reclaim the podium from the militants. If they won’t turn loose of the microphone (and they won’t), then maybe we at least need to find a way to pull their plugs. TV’s do have on/off buttons (not that I use them nearly enough).

Media outlets are drawn to controversy, extremism and fear-mongering like moths to flame. If we let them, they’ll fill our own individual worlds with the same.

This week, Pope Benedict XVI gave an academic speech at a German seminary where he had taught in the past. Attempting to link faith to “reason,” not “violence,” he quoted a medieval text about Islam, written by a 14th century Byzantine Emperor.

Though the overall direction and content of the speech was appropriate and needed, in my opinion, those specific words were, at best, unfortunate. The ancient quote stated that, the only new things Muhammad had brought to religion were “bad and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.”

In reaction, Muslims set fire to seven churches in the West Bank of Israel and burned effigies of the Pope in violent protest around the world. Governments have protested against the Pope, and his planned trip to Turkey is now in jeopardy.

The media coverage of this story has been intense, and certainly, there has been real tension around this incident that should not be downplayed.

However, overreaction and violence are not the whole story. Extremists aren’t the only ones who should have the microphone, or find the camera.

The Pope has worked to make apology and to bring clarity to the intention of his statements, and he should be commended.

It is time for some moderate response and clear leadership from Muslim leaders, and it is starting to happen. Remember, moderate comments don’t make headlines.

Muhammad Habash, director of the Center for Islamic Studies in Damascus, Syria, was quoted in the NY Times today, saying, “it is now our turn for calming the situation.”

Ali Bardakoglu, the top Islamic cleric of Turkey said that the Pope’s, “expression of sadness is a sign that he would work for world peace.”

Admittedly, I have longed for a united front of Islamic leadership, loudly condemning suicide attacks and violence perpetuated in the name of Muhammad and Allah. Those condemnations have seemingly been much too few and far between, or at least rarely reported in our media.

But there are things that moderate, thoughtful Christians ought to get loud about sometimes, too. And most often, we don’t. Fear, uncertainty and apathy should never silence people of faith, whether Muslim or Christian. We have a message that needs to be heard.

Here’s my plan: I want to be a Christian “encountering” people. I want our church to be one that is clearly and unflinchingly Christian, but also open and respectful of others. I want us to build relationships, start conversations, and always, always show love of God and love of neighbor in our actions.

I want us to believe in free speech. We should insist upon our own right to it, and defend that same right for others, even when we don’t like what they have to say. I want us to see the world around us and engage it, positively, in the name of Jesus Christ.

I love those words of Muhammad Habash, and I think there’s a way for us to put them into practice --- somehow, some way, right here in Douglasville, Georgia.

“It is now our turn for calming the situation.”

Grace and Peace,
Adam

LIFE AT SOTH:

Worship Notes: This Sunday will be week three, and the conclusion of the sermon series “Cracking Up,” all about dealing with the pressures of real life. We’ve looked at “time,” and “money,” and this week will be all about family. In keeping with that theme, SOTH will highlight one of its greatest ministries, our Preschool!

Preschool director Leslie Mousa will be on hand to share with us about the excellent work that our preschool is doing, and we’ll have lunch after our 10:00 a.m. service to celebrate our congregation’s connection to all that our preschool does in ministry.

A special offering will be received at the 10:00 service to help support the ongoing progress taking place in our school.

Fall Community Groups: Don’t miss your chance to join a fall community group! Sign-ups will continue this Sunday and more info will be coming to those of you on our prayer/ministry e-mail list this week. Five groups are forming at various times and locations, and groups will begin meeting the week of September 25th.

Our text will be John Ortberg’s If You Want to Walk on Water, You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat, which are available for $12 each outside of our worship space.

UM Men News: Our Rock Eagle Men’s Retreat is this weekend, and we’re excited to announce that SOTH will be sending an entire cabin of 18 men to the retreat! This was an excellent response, and the weekend will be very meaningful for every man involved.