http://www.interfaithing.com/blogs/chhockle/ Interfaithing is an interfaith community and resource. Daily interfaith news and positive news, interfaith groups and interfaith dialogue. en Fri, 10 Feb 2012 13:22:03 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.interfaithing.com/images/misc/rss.jpg http://www.interfaithing.com/blogs/chhockle/ http://www.interfaithing.com/blogs/chhockle/36-i-love-my-muslim-sisters-brothers.html Fri, 30 Jul 2010 15:39:54 GMT I'm deeply saddened today. I have heard far too much negative talk about my Muslim sisters and brothers. I can't simply sit and listen to it I must respond.

Whether it is the controversy over the building of mosques, miss representations in the media of what Islam says, people drawing the Prophet, or the heinous act of a Pastor planning to burn Qurans on 9/11 it has somehow become seen by some to be socially acceptable to be disrespectful to Muslims. The simple fact is, however, that it is not acceptable.

I spent a year teaching English in Bahrain a Muslim Country off the coast of Saudi Arabia. The Muslims I came in to contact with there were some of the most loving, peaceful and faithful people I have ever meet. I had the great privileged to have many discussions about faith with the people around me. In the end Muslims taught me to be a better Christian and I hope that I help them to follow their faith more fully.

I believe the controversy of Mosques and the negative things said about Islam come from a lack of understanding. To put it simply those out their who use the Suicide Bombs do not represent the reality of Islam anymore than those who bomb abortion clinics represent the reality of Christianity. The are radicals and should be named as such but we can not begin to judge a religion by the radicals. I know I don't want Christianity to be judged by it's extreme elements. As for the Quran, any negative thing you could say about it, you could find the equivalent thing in the book I hold as Holy, love and take very seriously the bible.

So today I'm here to stand with my Muslim sisters and brothers. The truly are my sisters and brothers and as their sibling it is my privilege to stick up for them. ]]> chhockle http://www.interfaithing.com/blogs/chhockle/36-i-love-my-muslim-sisters-brothers.html http://www.interfaithing.com/blogs/chhockle/35-spiritual-practice-vs-religiousity.html Sat, 24 Jul 2010 19:12:54 GMT The phenomena of people calling themselves “spiritual but not religious” is not new but it is a growing reality. It is tempting for those who... The phenomena of people calling themselves “spiritual but not religious” is not new but it is a growing reality. It is tempting for those who consider religion important to dismiss people who use this descriptor for themselves as somehow being less committed or “wishy washy”. My experience is that this is simply not the case.

Those who have taken on this descriptor have something important to teach us. Listening to those who call themselves “spiritual but not religious” what you often find are people who are deeply committed to spiritual practice but with no interest in the dogma that comes along with traditional religion.

Truth be told I see a great deal of wisdom in the distinction that they are making. Though I see great value in the shared history and guidance that religion can offer us, we must recognize that the heart of religion is in spiritual practice. We can go to worship all we want and hear stories about being compassionate, be told we need to be more loving, and sing songs about being a more just world but if we do not cultivate these attitudes within ourselves and in our daily lives than that worship is hollow.

It is exactly this talk without action that those who have taken on the “spiritual but not religious “ moniker are reacting against. The tricky thing about being a spiritual person is the more you learn, the less you realize you know. If we are to be compassionate people we must spend time cultivating compassion in ourselves everyday. If we are going to loving people we must meditate on love all the time. If we are going to act with justice we must incorporate justice into the fiber of our being.

It is this that faith is about, not about simply believing something but practicing to make the values mentioned above a part of our deepest being. We need to fight less about doctrine and focus more on cultivating those values that are at the heart of the religion that we practice. Maybe it would be smart for all of us to be more spiritual and less religious. ]]> chhockle http://www.interfaithing.com/blogs/chhockle/35-spiritual-practice-vs-religiousity.html http://www.interfaithing.com/blogs/chhockle/34-spiritual-practice-vs-religiousity.html Sat, 24 Jul 2010 19:12:22 GMT The phenomena of people calling themselves “spiritual but not religious” is not new but it is a growing reality. It is tempting for those who... The phenomena of people calling themselves “spiritual but not religious” is not new but it is a growing reality. It is tempting for those who consider religion important to dismiss people who use this descriptor for themselves as somehow being less committed or “wishy washy”. My experience is that this is simply not the case.

Those who have taken on this descriptor have something important to teach us. Listening to those who call themselves “spiritual but not religious” what you often find are people who are deeply committed to spiritual practice but with no interest in the dogma that comes along with traditional religion.

Truth be told I see a great deal of wisdom in the distinction that they are making. Though I see great value in the shared history and guidance that religion can offer us, we must recognize that the heart of religion is in spiritual practice. We can go to worship all we want and hear stories about being compassionate, be told we need to be more loving, and sing songs about being a more just world but if we do not cultivate these attitudes within ourselves and in our daily lives than that worship is hollow.

It is exactly this talk without action that those who have taken on the “spiritual but not religious “ moniker are reacting against. The tricky thing about being a spiritual person is the more you learn, the less you realize you know. If we are to be compassionate people we must spend time cultivating compassion in ourselves everyday. If we are going to loving people we must meditate on love all the time. If we are going to act with justice we must incorporate justice into the fiber of our being.

It is this that faith is about, not about simply believing something but practicing to make the values mentioned above a part of our deepest being. We need to fight less about doctrine and focus more on cultivating those values that are at the heart of the religion that we practice. Maybe it would be smart for all of us to be more spiritual and less religious. ]]> chhockle http://www.interfaithing.com/blogs/chhockle/34-spiritual-practice-vs-religiousity.html http://www.interfaithing.com/blogs/chhockle/24-reflections-seeing-his-holiness-dalai-lama-speak.html Wed, 19 May 2010 18:41:15 GMT I was privileged yesterday to get an opportunity to hear His Holiness the Dalai Lama speak at the University of Northern Iowa. I got a lot out of the... I was privileged yesterday to get an opportunity to hear His Holiness the Dalai Lama speak at the University of Northern Iowa. I got a lot out of the experience and want to do some reflecting on it here.

One thing that has always struck me about His Holiness is that he exudes such joy and hope. In person this absolutely holds true. This is a man who has seen an awful lot in his life and has every reason to be less than optimistic about human nature, yet he is full of joy and optimism. His point of view is striking and lovely. He understands that we give violence power by having the perception that we live in a violent world when a vast majority of the 6 billion people on earth are not violent people. His view on violence does not come out of naivety, he knows first hand both the price of violence and non-violence. If this man who has seen the atrocity of China taking his country of Tibet can be committed to non-violence than we all can be.

His Holiness' respect for all people is a challenge to all of us. He points out that before anything else we are human, everything else is secondary. He is absolutely right that we go wrong when we lose that fact and let those secondary things keep us from being the human family.

I was impressed by his discussion on ethics and how ethics are essential to our world. Though religious ethics are great and where he himself gets his ethical ground, he makes the great point that one can be ethical without a religious background.

I'm spurred on by his commitment to interfaith dialogue. Not only does he speak of
interfaith dialogue but it is clear he lives it. I was greatly taken by the diversity of the group of people who came to see him speak. That says a lot about not only the man but about what he has to say.

When he speaks the things he says are not complicated but they are striking. It was a great experience to see him and that is something I have wanted to do for a long time. If you have never read any of his many books I highly recommend them. The Art of Happiness is very accessible and a good place to start. ]]> chhockle http://www.interfaithing.com/blogs/chhockle/24-reflections-seeing-his-holiness-dalai-lama-speak.html http://www.interfaithing.com/blogs/chhockle/14-christian-interfaith-narrative.html Wed, 21 Apr 2010 19:31:30 GMT This is a sermon given on November 8th 2009 at our faithspring worship service. In his book “Acts of Faith” Eboo Patel a young Muslim man and... This is a sermon given on November 8th 2009 at our faithspring worship service.

In his book “Acts of Faith” Eboo Patel a young Muslim man and creator of the Interfaith youth core relates a story of being involved with the Leaders School at the YMCA. As a part of this he had learned the song “Pass it On.” He sang that song around the house for weeks after. Sometime during those several weeks he overhead his father raise the concern to Eboo’s mother that the YMCA might be trying to teach Eboo Christianity. His mother responded in a beautiful way. She said, “I hope so. I hope they teach the kids Jewish songs and Hindu songs, too. That’s the kind of Muslims we want our kids to be.”

We only have to look around us to realize that we live in a world where interfaith dialogue is important. You can’t turn on the news without hearing about another conflict that is couched in religious terms. In which both sides are manipulating religion to justify some of the most horrific acts that can be imagined. Often times these conflicts are intensified by misunderstandings and sometimes outright lies about the other faith.

Not only this, but we live in a world where telecommunications allows us to instantly talk to someone on the other side of the world. And with the internet and social networking sites it is easy to have contact with those thousands of miles away.

We are not only able to talk to people around the world but do business with them as well. As industry continues to become more global it becomes more likely that we will be working with people that not only have different cultural values with but also religious beliefs.

Even within Christianity there are such a wide variety of faith traditions that dialogue can often be complicated among Christians. If you have ever visited a “Christian” chat room or message board you know how true this is. Often times these “discussions” become nothing but hate filled attacks at one another.

So we live in a time in human history when it is more important issue than it has ever been to be in conversation with those who differ from us. But this is not an easy thing to do because the dominate narrative out there is that conflict between people of different faiths is inevitable. This voice tells us that we must look out for own, we have to circle the wagons, because those other people are out to get us. We are made to believe that “they” whoever they may be are out to destroy the very things that we hold dearest. It’s us vs. them and there will be winners and losers. We are told that we need to come out on the “winning” side.

As Christians I believe that we are to live a different narrative. Our narrative calls us not only to actively be engaged in interfaith dialogue but to stand against that false dynamics that lead to conflict.

We can find the beginnings of this interfaith narrative at the very beginnings of our scriptural journey. In Genesis we find that it explained that Abraham is to be blessed so that his offspring may be a blessing to all other nations. This explanation of for Abraham’s blessing shows up explicitly not once, not twice but three times in Genesis and is implied a number other times. To bless another person means to have to know them, care for them, so that in and of itself makes interfaith dialogue a necessity. It calls us to not only be in conversation, but to be in cooperation to fight the injustices that exist in this world. The call to be a blessing directly leads to being in community with others. It breaks us out of the look out for only your own mentality. It speaks to cooperation instead of conflict. It is a narrative that breaks down fear, anger and hatred, replacing them with understanding, reconciliation, and care for all human kind.

Once we see the importance of collaborating with those of other faith traditions and religious beliefs the question becomes how. What should interfaith dialogue look like. The scripture we read earlier is a good guide. It is one of those scriptures that it is easy to gloss over, because it is a familiar scripture to many of us. But, today I hope we can look at it with new eyes. As Jesus is answering the question about what the greatest commandment is he lays out for us what I think is a really good model for being in interfaith dialogue. Jesus reminds us to love God with all our heart, with all our soul, and all our mind. In other words be grounded in your tradition, our narrative. Be grounded in God. Then love your neighbor as yourself.

Loving ones neighbor means getting to know them, it means knowing their hopes, knowing their dreams, and seeing the image of God that resides within them. It means moving beyond that win/ lose dynamic to a place where we can be in relationship. Jesus sees this grounding in the narrative of our faith and relationship building as so important he says that “On these two things hang all the law and the prophets.” In other words they are at the very core of our faith.

I can attest to the fact that being in true relationship with those of other faiths is truly rewarding. When it is at its best interfaith dialogue it will touch all involved in it. I have often in my life been taught to be a better Christian by those of other faiths and I hope that from our interaction that those people learned something about their own tradition that deepened their walk on their journey in that tradition.

I’m not saying that there are not differences but rather I’m saying that we are not to be afraid of those differences. Rather those differences should be celebrated and understood. Those differences can often help us to see our own faith in a new light.

In 1950 Martin Luther King Jr. was a 20 year old seminary student he heard a sermon on Christian Passivism that spoke about Gandhi as an example of what life lived in Christian Passivism could look like. King was so taken by Gandhi that he later traveled to India to learn about what Gandhi had done. When he got there he discovered that the movement that Gandhi had put together was an interfaith movement. The values that Gandhi had found in his Hinduism, connected with the values that King found in Christianity and that was obvious true about others as well because Gandhi’s movement Seeks, Muslims, Hindus, Christians and Buddhists. King was quite taken by this fact so much so that from a pulpit in Montgomery, Alabama he began his prayer this way. “O God, our gracious heavenly father. We call you this name. Some call thee Allah, some call you Elohim. Some call you Jehovah, some call you Brahma." Later when he lead the bus boycott he took the principles that Gandhi had used in India and created an interfaith movement to fight for equality for all Americans.

King could have as easily listened to the dominate narrative that night and walked away saying that because Gandhi was a Hindu he had nothing that could be important. Instead King recognized the interfaith narrative that existed within the Christian tradition. And not despite of his faith but rather because of his Christian faith learned much from Gandhi so that he could better fight the injustices of this world.

If we can see past our differences there is much to be gained. Not only will we learn much about others, but there is a true opportunity to make this world a better place. If we actively engage in interfaith dialogue then maybe rather than fighting each other we could fight malaria and AIDS. Maybe instead of worrying what name we call God, we could worry about those who don’t have clean water to drink. Rather than worrying about who is right, could worry about who is suffering.

I don’t think that this kind of interfaith cooperation is just a dream or an idea. We can engage in it now and work toward a better world. Working together as brothers and sisters. We can share the journey even if we do have different paths. Because in the end just as Eboo Patel’s mother wished for him, I wish for us, that we might became that kind of Christian, the one sing the songs of faiths that are not ours while engaging fully our own faith traditions. May the faith we find in our hearts truly bless others. Amen ]]> chhockle http://www.interfaithing.com/blogs/chhockle/14-christian-interfaith-narrative.html http://www.interfaithing.com/blogs/chhockle/13-my-interfaith-story.html Wed, 21 Apr 2010 02:59:20 GMT I grew up in Wyoming so I did not grow up around a ton of diversity but I was lucky enough to grow up in Laramie where the University of Wyoming is... I grew up in Wyoming so I did not grow up around a ton of diversity but I was lucky enough to grow up in Laramie where the University of Wyoming is located where there is at least some diversity. I’m very thankful that I grew up in a family where knowing about diversity was seen as a value. Instilled with that value I have been always interested in other cultures and other religions, though I did not have much contact with people of other faiths.

When I went to college I went to a United Methodist School in South Dakota so while there was some ethnic diversity there was not a lot of religious diversity. I tried to seek whatever religious diversity I could in college feeling that it was important as a Christian to at least know about what people of other faiths believe, but there was just not a lot of opportunity to be in contact with those with different faith traditions.

As I entered into my adult life I continued to read books by those of other faiths, but I don’t think I could say that I really knew anyone of another faith. So when my wife and I got an opportunity to teach in Bahrain (a small Islamic island nation off the Coast of Saudi Arabia) we jumped at the chance. Though I never would have admitted it at the time and hate admitting it now looking back I defiantly felt some anxiety going to the Middle East. I worried about being treated in a hostile way simply because of my Christian faith. I was further made nervous as our excitement was often met not will equal excitement for us but with questioning. I will never forget the look people would get in their faces and the sound of concern in their voices as they grilled us about this being a good idea and if we were going to be safe.

So when we landed in Bahrain in the late summer of 2007 I brought all those concerns and anxiety with me. What I found there in the relationships with those people I met was very different than those fears that others and if I’m honest that I myself had had.

Soon after we got there it was the month of Ramadan and many of my students were fasting, I decided that I needed to understand as a teacher what my students were going through so I decided to fast in solidarity with them. The faith my students had in their fasting inspired reminded me of how Jesus had fasted in the desert to find direction and the focus that my students put on the poor during that month lead me to look again at how my scriptures dealt with who were less fortunate. My students through their Islam taught me to be a better Christian.

It is because of this experience and many others during that year, that I feel more connected to my sisters and brothers of other faiths. Through working and being in relationship with those of other faiths I have learned and continue to learn more about my faith. I become a better Christian through my friendships with those of other faiths and I hope that it deepen those others’ faiths as well. ]]> chhockle http://www.interfaithing.com/blogs/chhockle/13-my-interfaith-story.html