In May 2002, President George W. Bush and Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia met at the president's Texas ranch to discuss many topics....Middle East peace, arms deals, oil production and others. I was surprised to learn that they also discussed prayer. "Abdullah told [the president] that he relies on God when he makes tough decisions, and the president said he prays a lot to God to guide him as well (Maureen Dowd,
The New York Times, 1 May 2002)."
Which raises the eternal question of the relationship between religions that make exclusive truth claims. The crown prince is a Muslim. The president is a Christian. Is ours right and all the others wrong? Is ours more true than others? Or are all religions ultimately equal, each striving in its own way, with its own history and culturally influenced symbols and institutions, to know the unknowable? Is our God the only God, our way the only way, all the others counterfeit? Some think so.
Years ago, when I visited missionary friends in Egypt, I was surprised to learn that Allah is simply the Arabic word for God. The Book of Genesis in the Arabic Bible begins, "In the beginning Allah created." Arabic speaking Christians worship Allah.
So the issue is, when a Muslim and a Jew and a Christian, each speaking Arabic, pray to Allah, who is listening? What exactly is happening? Are there three deities? Is there one God who hears all three prayers, or one God who chooses one prayer and hits the delete button for the other two?
The question is no longer purely academic. In fact, it's an urgent question for our city, our state and our nation. What will be the relationship among people of different faith traditions?
This weekend, we'll continue our sermon series
One Community, Many Faiths by offering a sermon conversation with Dr. Grace Burford, the Buddhist Chaplain at Davidson College. We'll plumb a few of the riches of the Buddhist tradition - and especially its perspectives on suffering - and offer complementary Christian teaching on the topic. It promises to be a rich time.
Warmly,
