Posted on: Saturday, November 20, 2004

EXPRESSIONS OF FAITH
Diversity need not be divisive

By the Rev. Dr. John R. Heidel

After all is said and done, what is God's name? When you address the transcendent reality that provides you with spiritual nourishment and gives meaning to life, what name do you use? God, Yahweh, Allah, Buddha, Brahma? Does it really make a difference?

It's time for people of all spiritual traditions to seek reconciliation and harmony. We expend too much time and effort arguing about the differences, trying to determine whose beliefs are right, than celebrating the beauty of this diversity and learning from one another.

The more I understand another person's faith, the deeper I can grow as a Christian. In addition, if we would seek areas of commonality, incredible opportunities would become available for national healing, politically and spiritually; for solving problems of social justice and human need; and for becoming an international model as a peaceful and compassionate nation.

It's time to put aside our religious differences and explore a nonviolent path toward the challenges before us. "Faith ... must be enforced by reason. ... When faith becomes blind, it dies," Gandhi once said.

When we can get beyond the doctrines and practices, those things that are distinctive and potentially divisive, we can recognize that most spiritual traditions teach the possibilities of love and happiness. These personal aspirations transcend all other boundaries.

As the Dalai Lama said, his religion is simple and based on kindness: "There is no denying that our happiness is inextricably bound up with the happiness of others. ... Thus we can reject everything else: religion, ideology, all received wisdom. But we cannot escape the necessity of love and compassion."

Yes, things become more complicated when we move beyond individual happiness and encounter issues facing our community, nation and world, but the same principles hold true. Faith is intimately personal and individual. Each follows a unique path and draws upon a variety of resources, people and holy writings to enable a spiritual journey.

My parents started me upon the Christian path; I became a Christian minister, and I'm still a practicing Christian. However, in the past 40 years I've also learned a great deal from the richness of other faiths.

Today, I'm concerned about the appropriate expression of faith in the public arena and the importance of living out the principles of one's personal faith. There is often tension where these concerns intersect, hence the significance of "appropriate."

We need to allow for the full freedom of choice, respect each other's choices and guard against the imposition of one person's choice upon another. When we discover we have different solutions to particular issues, we need to encourage civil dialogue.

There is additional tension and polarity when different perceptions of faith lead to disagreements about some social and political issues, such as gay marriage, abortion and physician-assisted death. In the same way we guarantee freedom of religion, we should uphold the freedom of choice in these decisions about our personal life. Rather than legislating a common morality that polarizes, we need to respect personal choice. We can agree to disagree on the issues that divide us and work together on issues that enhance the common good.

All spiritual traditions teach a version of the Golden Rule, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." If humanity could adopt this quality of life and service as a primary operating principle, we might make some progress toward a nonviolent, peaceful world.

Jesus suggested a reinstitution of some old teachings when he said, "Love your enemies. Blessed are the peacemakers." These teachings transcend religious doctrine and political partisanship.

If people of different faiths can worship and work together, perhaps nations can find a way to live together in peace.

The Rev. Dr. John R. Heidel is a minister of the United Church of Christ, a member of Christ Church Uniting Disciples and Presbyterians in Kailua, and president of The Interfaith Alliance Hawaii.