I am reading a book on Mother Theresa titled “A Simple Path”, by Lucinda Vardey. It is an interesting read. As you know Mother Theresa spent her time helping the poorest of the poor in Calcutta and the book discusses her philosophy and approach to life. There will be more on Mother Theresa later, but reading the book is one of the things that prompted me to write about religion and tolerance today.
In the news this week Pope Francis went to Brazil for World Youth Day and although he does not do interviews he apparently made an exception and the press made quite a bit of his remarks about not judging people. In this link Father Jonathon Morris sets the record straight on the pontiff’s remarks.
Also in the news lately, the Catholics and Protestants are fighting in Northern Ireland again. There has been a tenuous peace there for about 15 years, but people of a certain age may remember when Sinead O’Conner went on Saturday Night Live and tore up a picture of the pope. We have not heard from the Irish Republican Army lately but apparently a march by the Orangemen stirred things up once again between Catholics and Protestants. CNN reports in this link.
I realize that the violence in Ireland is not just religious but also has a historical basis, but I am incredulous that two groups of Christians would be fighting like this. On the other hand, we should take a quick look back in history and go back to the beginning of this division, in the form of one Martin Luther. First, let’s watch a quick 2 minute biography of the man born in 1483 who changed the world.
And for reference here are the 95 theses that Martin Luther wrote, in essence the things he saw that were wrong, that he disagreed with.
There is no need here to recount the violence that has been perpetrated in recent years by Islamic extremists. The September 11th attacks loom large but there are too many others to mention. We should stop and note that Christians, Jews, and Muslims all worship the same God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Together they are referred to as the Abrahamic religions. Muslims believe in Adam and Eve, Moses, Abraham, Jesus, Mary and then they add Mohammed. Here is a brief explanation of Islam.
For some reason most of the violence done by Islamic extremists is directed at other Muslims. It seems that when Mohammed died there was an argument about who should take over as the leader of Islam, and the two factions split into Sunni and Shiite Muslims. These two groups of Muslims like to kill each other and burn the other’s mosques.
But the violence does not end there. You see the Muslims also do not get along with the Buddhists, especially in Myanmar, which used to be Burma. In case you missed it, there was recently a major clash between the two. Here is a report.
There is a lot of discussion about Islam and in light of the violence whether it really is a religion of peace. This clip on a Christian broadcast compares Christianity and Islam.
As I discussed before I am reading a book on Mother Theresa. I admire her for her work and her simple philosophy, and so I was shocked to find that she is not, apparently, universally loved and admired. Next is a 3-part series of videos where a panel discusses Mother Theresa and her work. This was shocking to me.
One of the things Mother Theresa says in her book is that her order ministered to people of all faiths, and prayed with people of all faiths. People who did not believe in Jesus were told to simply replace Jesus in the prayer with God and pray along. Since she was in Calcutta, there were Hindus, Sikhs, Muslims, and Christians. In the next clip a Christian minister discusses Hindus and Christians.
Joel Osteen is very popular and is an inspirational speaker. I have listened to him on Sundays mornings and enjoyed him. But he has a fair number of detractors. During the last presidential campaign he was asked about Mitt Romney, who is a Mormon.
And then Joel was asked some tough questions in an interview with Larry King.
Some Christians really took Joel to task for his comments.
Richard Dawkins is not a fan of religion of any type. Here is a video on religion which does make some good points.
Before you get too down on Mr. Dawkins for his lack of faith, consider the following, from ABC on Mother Theresa. Did I mention I admire her? I also admire Pope Francis. And no, I am not Catholic.
I have posted this video before but here is a clip from Glenn Beck where he interviews Penn Jillette, a prominent conservative/libertarian and self-avowed atheist. Penn makes some good points.
Unlike Richard Dawkins and Penn Jillette, some folks, instead of saying “I don’t know”, say that they are certain. I have a problem with that but this is a good video anyway.
Here is a gentleman who was raised Hindu but then tried Christianity and now he ponders the two.
You may at this point be wondering what my point is. My point is that there are lots of different opinions in the world on the subject of religion. There is a lot of disagreement and people tend to get very emotional about the subject. Emotion is fine, but violence is not. Arrogance and intolerance are not values taught by any religion. People misunderstand their religion, and followers of Jesus are killing each other while followers of Mohammed are also killing each other. I wonder what Abraham would think?
I will leave you with two final clips. The first is from CNN.
It is one thing to be confident in your faith, and I applaud that but it is quite another to be confident and ignorant. Faith is not certainty; it is not knowing but believing anyway. Faith is a powerful force in many people’s lives, but we must remain tolerant of the views of others.
And finally, I am not endorsing the ideas presented in this clip but I always love George Carlin and he has a few thoughts on God. Hopefully this will lighten the mood a little. Religion is a heavy subject. Enjoy your Sunday.
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