Tikkun Daily Blog Archive (https://www.tikkun.org/tikkundaily/category/religion-spirituality/interfaith-religion-spirituality/page/5/)
9/11 became much more important than just a terrorist attack. It became an impetus for change within ourselves. Each anniversary brings us closer to healing, but never to forgetting the lessons learned. When I say “never forget”, I don’t mean it in a vindictive way, but to remind myself never to forget the resilience of my society, the things I learned, and the ways I improved myself. Never forget.
We have a clear vision for how to move our world toward a politics of love and care, and we are already hard at work to turn that vision into a reality. We invite you to join us in casting off the ethos of scarcity and individualism that global capitalism requires and step with joy into a new understanding of the abundance and power that is already in our hands.
This weekend Rabbi Michael Lerner will be the keynote speaker for the Awards Dinner at the Peace House in Ashland, Oregon. Michael and Cat Zavis, executive director of NSP, will then co-lead two separate workshops on empathy.
Some Muslims use the Quran verse, “O You who have believed! Do not take the Jews and Christians as your allies (Auliya). They are allies of one another. He among you who takes them for allies is one of them. God does not guide the oppressive folks” as a way to justify hatred towards Jews. Ro Waseem uses his knowledge of the Quran to dismantle this myth.
In Downtown Oakland on August 31, a group of Buddhists and interfaith allies sat in meditation, blocking the doors of the Marriott Hotel. The group was protesting the hotel hosting Urban Shield this week, a militarized police expo and SWAT Team training. Nichola Torbett shares her friend’s reflection of the demonstration.
Blatant religious violence is still ongoing in our world today, where in the name of “God” people fight and kill people who are not like them, launch vitriolic hate-filled speeches against one another, and kidnap young school girls. Beyond lazy hate speech against religion, in a world confronted by extremism, how might we as religious and non-religious people play a thoughtful role in creating the conditions for a healthy God-view in our society?
Disparaging comments about another group are unfortunately common in many communities. When these kinds of off-hand remarks emerge in our own homes or in the homes of our friends, how are we supposed to respond? Abe’s Babes, a group of six Jewish, Muslim, and Christian women in Sydney, Australia, may have found an answer.
As scholars and theologians reach new conclusions about biblical history, the details in their findings may deconstruct the comforting familiarities of what we thought we knew about the life and time’s of Jesus, and even shape our contemporary world and how many of us identify ourselves.
Indeed, when it comes to the issue of Israel/Palestine, the unwritten rule of the Jewish establishment has always been, “toe our line or feel our wrath.” By voting for divestment, the PC(USA) declared itself ready to stand down this ultimatum. There is now every reason to believe other denominations will now follow suit.
“Truth” is what the dominant group declares truth to be. “Knowledge” is anything the dominant group defines as “knowledge,” though “knowledge” itself is socially constructed and produced. How many must we humans kill before we realize that there are many ways toward the truth, not one way for everyone when it comes to religion and spirituality?