  |
|
|
|
Reclaiming W/holy IgnoranceEnvisioning Interfaith Solutions for Interfaith Problems
In light of interfaith problems worldwide, what is required is not an abandonment of religious principles, but an embracing of them as a step toward interfaith solutions.
Anyone who does not believe that many of the world’s major conflicts have their roots in religious ideology has been sleeping with their head in the sand since 9/11. This is not to say that the Bush administration is deliberately basing its choices and decisions on the theologies of fundamentalist Christianity (as opposed to Liberation Theology, Liberal Theology or Emerging Theology) but that the cultural background noise that is informing that decision is rooted in a certain theological conviction. One can easily draw the same conclusion about those the US are in military conflict with. Interfaith Problems Require Interfaith SolutionsThe sane choice that comes before humanity is to come to a place that recognizes that the world is facing interfaith problems and requires, more than ever, interfaith solutions. It is not being suggested that humanity take a ‘all religions are the same’ position that tries to eradicate the unique gifts and differences between faiths. Nirvana and Heaven are two different concepts. A thoughtful engagement with the idea of Heaven alone lets us see that even Christianity has never fully agreed on what this one phrase means – a life after death, or the radical in breaking of God's justice for the poor and the oppressed? It can be assumed that the same multiplicity exists in Buddhism in relation to Nirvana. A process of reductionism of the world’s great traditions would not benefit anyone in the conversation and would obscure the variety and diversity of the worlds various traditions. Likewise a suggestion that people become less religious would not benefit anyone. Religions are cultures, traditions, histories, songs, myths, stories, saints, rituals and practices. Interfaith dialogue can happen only when one engages deeply with our traditions, reclaiming our practices with a sense of wonder that allows us to appreciate the same experience in another faith. Christians who meditate with Centering Prayer or Christian Meditation tend to find themselves appreciating Buddhist meditation traditions (Catholic monk and a leader in the Christian Contemplative tradition, Thomas Merton, very famously spent 3 days meditating with the young Dali Lama before Merton's untimely death). Christians with lives shaped by prayer can appreciate the beauty of Islamic prayer. Going deeply into one's own traditions allows practitioners to connect to the spirit of mutual wonder that should shape interfaith dialogue. W/holy IgnoranceWhat is required is a form of w/holy ignorance. Deliberate ignorance is living in a world that teems with mystery, wonder, awe and diversity and to live in a manner that denies the beauty of the world or its traditions. W/holy ignorance is to live with an ignorance that makes whole, that confesses that we know so little of the world and kicks open a space for learning and becoming. But even then, we must stay in w/holy ignorance, stay in a place that confesses, “we do not have all the answers.” It is here that interfaith dialogue as a gift to the world can find its voice. As a form of W/holy ignorance interfaith dialogue invites humanity into the conversation of healing the worlds wounds and creating mutual understanding. It asks that the faithful listen to the voices of culture and faith and to make clear to the world that religions can and are a part of the solution.
The copyright of the article Reclaiming W/holy Ignorance in Religious Tolerance is owned by Jason Hubbard Rred. Permission to republish Reclaiming W/holy Ignorance in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
|
|
|
|
