Going back to my September 13, 2008, blog post where I reference "Integral Spirituality," I am reminded of Ken Wilber's assertion that conventional religious groups may be holding humanity back from an interfaith movement because of an unwillingness to engage "the other" in a curious and respectful way. Eboo Patel's Acts of Faith (2007) is a compelling example of how young people are beginning to seek the interfaith dialogue that Wilber foresaw as the beginning of second-order consciousness - consciousness that transcends a specific perspective, embraces others as having legitimacy, and deepens individual faith.
Eboo Patel's book relates the story of his youth in Chicago (Rogers Park) as the child of an Indian family who sought to improve their life by first seeking education and then residence and citizenship in the U.S.A. Although his parents raised him to understand Islam (i.e. reciting prayers to Allah, demonstrating modesty, and caring for others), he either withheld, or was shunned by his peers, into avoiding the discovery of his own deep cultural and religious background. When he arrived at the University of Illinois as a university student, he began to feel the freedom to explore his cultural background and began to embrace his Indian heritage and his Muslim spiritual identity.
Patel's discovery of his own faith identity drew him to relate to others with different, but related, faith commitments. Not until he encountered the Dalai Lama did he fully understand how important it is for those who want to engage interfaith questions to first understand their own faith. Without the solid foundation of knowing what we stand for, it is very difficult to be able to truly encounter another person whose views may be very different than our own. There simply is not enough secure, deep conviction to allow us to risk inviting exposure to another's faith. This is a key point of why many conventional churches and evangelical groups are reluctant about the idea of interfaith engagement. The fear of interfaith groups may expose their own weakness in the face of others' faith.
Patel has given voice to a youth interfaith movement that includes Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Hindi, and more. This movement is intended to deepen the faith of each and every participant while demonstrating the transcending beliefs that these great religions, and their prophets, embrace. Mohammed, Prophet of Islam said:
O mankind, We have created you
male and female, and appointed you
races and tribes, that you may know
one another. Surely the noblest
among you in the sight of God is
the most righteous.
This statement acknowledges that God created races and tribes - "to know one another." Not to demean, to defeat, to kill - but to know. Patel and the interfaith movement are working to create the dialogue that allows young people to know one another; our global community needs them and their knowledge of each other so badly. This is the only way I can see that we will be able to deal with the current divisive tribes, some of which do not want to know, and therefore seek to destroy, others.
The rise of religious prominence in the 21st century is predicted to replace the rise of the nation-states of the 19th and 20th centuries. There are those who now believe that religion and how it connects across the nation-states will either be the divider that destroys or the connector that will help us relate and therefore aid each other in the pursuit of a better life. My vote is for faith that embraces and connects and it may just create a place for us all.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Sunday, July 19, 2009
History of the World
I recently finished what seemed to be a never-ending, but only 1,188 page, book. I've not read anything of this length (other than text books) since I read Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand in the 1970s (that's another story - why I read it and how it influenced me). The book, History of the World (J.M. Roberts, 2007), is a massive collection of 4,000+ years of history across geographic borders, cultures and civilizations.
The thing I enjoyed most was that History of the World included a great deal on the Middle East, Asia, and Africa before turning to Europe and North America. My recall of the history classes I've taken is that not much beyond Europe and North America was covered in any depth. Maybe it was simply my ethnocentric and selective perceptions. History of the World gave me a sense of the flow of civilizations over history, how each influenced others, and the issues with which they struggled.
It's impossible to capture the essence of a book that is 1,188 pages in length so I'll not even try. Suffice it to say that the book is very authoritative and provides amazing detail about the contexts of history. When I realized that I was observing the march of humanity with its triumphs and struggles, I grew in my pride of what humans have been able to do with the resources and circumstances that we've been given. I also realized that humanity has faced many, many seemingly insurmountable threats over the millennia, including a number of times where it appeared that we were on the brink of destruction. The gift of humanity and God is that somehow the resources, the adaptability, and the creativity in our souls allowed us to survive. I believe this as much in contemporary times as it has been demonstrated throughout human history.
My critique of Roberts' work includes two broad issues. First, there is surprisingly little about the visual and creative arts and how they reflected or stimulated changes in our world. Second, the closing chapter claims that Europe and its influence on the world has had the most profound impact on human history and striving. Europe's Enlightenment, Reformation, Colonialism, and other periods have had broad and deep impact on the globe. However, it seems unnecessary to claim these human accomplishments as superior to the many others that have occurred across time and in so many different geographic pockets. In contrast to accepting Europe's domination of history, Roberts' history actually returns to one place more than any other across all time - the Fertile Crescent where Iraq and Iran now lie. Whether it was the first civilizations (Babylonia and ancient Persia), the first time that a seat of government portrayed peaceful allies (Persepolis), the by-land or by-sea crossroads of trade (the Silk Road), the first multi-cultural community governed by mutual agreement (Medina), or the spread of Arab-world architecture and culture throughout Asia, Africa, and Europe, I have trouble understanding why Roberts chose to say that Europe influenced the course of humanity more than any other. Especially as we look at much of the contemporary world's news, Iraq and Iran are most assuredly back in the news.
All in all, Roberts' history was extremely helpful and I now find myself contextualizing things I observe or hear in much deeper ways than ever before. It is well worth reading if you have several months to dedicate to it.
The thing I enjoyed most was that History of the World included a great deal on the Middle East, Asia, and Africa before turning to Europe and North America. My recall of the history classes I've taken is that not much beyond Europe and North America was covered in any depth. Maybe it was simply my ethnocentric and selective perceptions. History of the World gave me a sense of the flow of civilizations over history, how each influenced others, and the issues with which they struggled.
It's impossible to capture the essence of a book that is 1,188 pages in length so I'll not even try. Suffice it to say that the book is very authoritative and provides amazing detail about the contexts of history. When I realized that I was observing the march of humanity with its triumphs and struggles, I grew in my pride of what humans have been able to do with the resources and circumstances that we've been given. I also realized that humanity has faced many, many seemingly insurmountable threats over the millennia, including a number of times where it appeared that we were on the brink of destruction. The gift of humanity and God is that somehow the resources, the adaptability, and the creativity in our souls allowed us to survive. I believe this as much in contemporary times as it has been demonstrated throughout human history.
My critique of Roberts' work includes two broad issues. First, there is surprisingly little about the visual and creative arts and how they reflected or stimulated changes in our world. Second, the closing chapter claims that Europe and its influence on the world has had the most profound impact on human history and striving. Europe's Enlightenment, Reformation, Colonialism, and other periods have had broad and deep impact on the globe. However, it seems unnecessary to claim these human accomplishments as superior to the many others that have occurred across time and in so many different geographic pockets. In contrast to accepting Europe's domination of history, Roberts' history actually returns to one place more than any other across all time - the Fertile Crescent where Iraq and Iran now lie. Whether it was the first civilizations (Babylonia and ancient Persia), the first time that a seat of government portrayed peaceful allies (Persepolis), the by-land or by-sea crossroads of trade (the Silk Road), the first multi-cultural community governed by mutual agreement (Medina), or the spread of Arab-world architecture and culture throughout Asia, Africa, and Europe, I have trouble understanding why Roberts chose to say that Europe influenced the course of humanity more than any other. Especially as we look at much of the contemporary world's news, Iraq and Iran are most assuredly back in the news.
All in all, Roberts' history was extremely helpful and I now find myself contextualizing things I observe or hear in much deeper ways than ever before. It is well worth reading if you have several months to dedicate to it.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity...
Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin, quote William Butler Yeats' "The Second Coming" in Chapter 20 (p. 276), "Tea with the Taliban," in Three Cups of Tea:
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold.
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
As I came near the end of Three Cups of Tea I was troubled by this dismal quote and how there are many today who believe that this is the state of our world. Nevertheless, Mortenson's story of building schools to educate girls in the rugged mountains of Pakistan and Afghanistan where the Taliban are entrenched challenges any pessimist who might try to deny that one individual, working respectfully with and through others, can make a difference.
I found much to ponder as I read Three Cups of Tea and it renewed me as I returned to the work at Qatar Foundation. The work in Qatar isn't nearly so difficult as Mortenson's yet there are critical lessons to be taken from Mortenson's work. The first lesson (p. 150) that I found most helpful is in the title itself - a lesson about culture (accepting tea as a gesture of hospitality) and the importance of being patient and building relationships when we try to bring about change. The second lesson (pp. 299-300) is in the proof of Mortenson's work - exemplified when late in the book, the first of the girls to graduate from the mountain schools comes into a circle of men in a conservative Islamic village to ask for support in pursuing further education. This young woman, Jahan, demonstrated the power of education and its transforming impact when she saw more possibilities for herself and her village by continuing her education. This particular example was observed by a journalist who was so overwhelmed that he helped to place the story in the April 6, 2003, Parade magazine, which itself transformed Mortenson's fledgling enterprise into a major force for peace-making in this troubled area about which we all have concerns.
Patience, relationships, perseverance, and faith - lessons to sustain hope and to counter a pessimist's view that "The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate (and sometimes destructive - added comment) intensity."
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold.
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
As I came near the end of Three Cups of Tea I was troubled by this dismal quote and how there are many today who believe that this is the state of our world. Nevertheless, Mortenson's story of building schools to educate girls in the rugged mountains of Pakistan and Afghanistan where the Taliban are entrenched challenges any pessimist who might try to deny that one individual, working respectfully with and through others, can make a difference.
I found much to ponder as I read Three Cups of Tea and it renewed me as I returned to the work at Qatar Foundation. The work in Qatar isn't nearly so difficult as Mortenson's yet there are critical lessons to be taken from Mortenson's work. The first lesson (p. 150) that I found most helpful is in the title itself - a lesson about culture (accepting tea as a gesture of hospitality) and the importance of being patient and building relationships when we try to bring about change. The second lesson (pp. 299-300) is in the proof of Mortenson's work - exemplified when late in the book, the first of the girls to graduate from the mountain schools comes into a circle of men in a conservative Islamic village to ask for support in pursuing further education. This young woman, Jahan, demonstrated the power of education and its transforming impact when she saw more possibilities for herself and her village by continuing her education. This particular example was observed by a journalist who was so overwhelmed that he helped to place the story in the April 6, 2003, Parade magazine, which itself transformed Mortenson's fledgling enterprise into a major force for peace-making in this troubled area about which we all have concerns.
Patience, relationships, perseverance, and faith - lessons to sustain hope and to counter a pessimist's view that "The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate (and sometimes destructive - added comment) intensity."
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