Angels

Many of us associate angels with the Christmas season. When we put up Christmas trees in our homes, or decorate our homes outside, we include angels. And while we’re decorating, we may well be singing carols, some about angels bringing messages, such as “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” or “Angels We Have Heard On High.”

However, in the Abrahamic faith traditions, angels have always figured prominently as messengers to humans. For example, the Old Testament reports many visits by angels, including one to Hagar in the wilderness (Genesis 16:7-14); and two angels appeared to Lot (Genesis 19:1-22); and an angel prevented Abraham from sacrificing Isaac (or Ishmael) (Genesis 22: 11-18).

The angel Gabriel visited Mary, mother of Jesus of Nazareth, to announce her impending pregnancy. Though a virgin at the time, she would bear a son. (Luke 1:26-38).

Gabriel also visited Mohammed, not once but many times, and revealed what would become the Holy Qur’an, with its systems of behaviors and beliefs. These visits continued over 23 years (610 – 632), and resulted in 114 chapters.

It should not surprise us that angels have visited others, perhaps even you. The Writer’s Almanac [September 21, 2010 at http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/] recently reported that, “On September 21,1823, Joseph Smith Jr. claimed to have been visited by an angel named Moroni, who told him how to find golden plates that contained the text of the Book of Mormon. Joseph was visited five separate times during the night and early morning, in his family's log cabin home near Palmyra, New York.”

According to Mormon belief, the angel was seen by others, specifically, Oliver Cowdery, Martin Harris, and David Whitmer. They were “… three early leaders of the Latter Day Saints movement who signed a statement in 1830 saying that an angel had shown them the golden plates from which Joseph Smith, Jr. translated the Book of Mormon and that they had heard God's voice testifying that the book had been translated by the power of God.” [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Witnesses] Some 11 or 12 others also claimed to have see Moroni.

In case you haven’t seen an angel recently, here’s Smith’s description of what the angel looked like: "He had on a loose robe of most exquisite whiteness. It was a whiteness beyond anything earthly I had ever seen.… His hands were naked and his arms also a little above the wrists.… Not only was his robe exceedingly white but his whole person was glorious beyond description.” [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angel_Moroni]

While you might not see Moroni, or Gabriel, you will see angels on Christmas trees, and in store-front windows. You might even see some of those angel lapel pins that have become quite popular. Should you see any such angels, pay special attention to the messages they bring us humans, especially those announcing joy, and peace on earth.

Tolerance

Are Christians more tolerant than people of other faiths? Some of us probably would say “yes.” After all, they claim, we live with the Constitution which says, as the [mostly Christian] framers wrote, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;…” These words were written in the first amendment, and result from the usual legislative process in the U.S. House of Representatives, and the U.S. Senate. The amendment was ratified by the States in 1791. So we expect that we all can worship in this country as we choose.

Yet we know that many in this country seem unwilling to “allow” a Muslim congregation to build a community center within a couple of blocks of the site of the former World Trade Center in New York City, because that center would contain a mosque. [Apparently all the local laws and ordinances have been satisfied by those proposing the construction.] Most of those who have taken a position against the building claim to be Christian. I wonder if they are demonstrating tolerance.

I recently read of a Christian pastor who will burn Qur’ans on September 11, 2011, to “memorialize the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.” [“Pastor stands by his plan to burn Qurans” published in The Sacramento Bee, August 26, 2010, Page A6] I can only ask, “Why?” Does his behavior represent the tolerance one would expect of America?

While some seem very uncertain of the Pastor’s motives, I’m sure that to the Pastor, his motives are quite clear. He’s described in the article as “evangelical.” And in the article, he claims the Qur’an is “filled with lies.” Therefore, he believes, as an “American Christian,” he has a right to burn the Muslim holy book. A right? Who in the USA has a “right” to abuse another’s belief set this way, especially the holiest book in their faith tradition? Is this what Christians are taught about how to treat other people? [This is being written before September 11, so when you’re reading this later, you will know how this ended.]

Laurie Goldstein writes in the New York TIMES that many Muslims are feeling very insecure about their future in this country. She reminds us that, after the September 11 attacks, our President Bush “…went to a mosque and said, ‘Islam means peace,’ and said, ‘Muslims are our neighbors and friends,’ [emphasis mine] and distinguished between terrorism and Islam.”

About tolerance: Jesus taught us Christians to love our neighbors. Perhaps this is the time for us who claim the Christian name to act. Perhaps now is the time for us to ignore those religious and political leaders who would have us forsake Jesus’ teachings of love and forgiveness. Certainly it’s time now to question carefully our beliefs and actions as we consider what difficulties our Muslim sisters and brothers may be facing in our nation. Are we consistent in following Jesus’ way? Or are we adhering more closely to our earthly leaders?

Differences? Similarities?

This past spring, I visited friends in North Carolina, and while there, I glanced over their local news paper, the Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER. Like most papers, this one publishes articles meant to appeal to their readers. Among the many articles in the “Life” section were two about religion topics. Here’s a quick look at them.

Yonat Shimron had written an article (Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER, May 13, 2010, page 1D) about Stephen Prothero’s latest book, GOD IS NOT ONE: THE EIGHT RIVAL RELIGIONS THAT RUN THE WORLD – AND WHY THEIR DIFFERENCES MATTER. The article appeared with the headline, “Stop pretending all religions are alike, author says.” Well, many of us think that religions are NOT alike, and of course many of us go to great lengths to differentiate our religion from others. But Prothero focuses on the differences to increase his students’ (and the general population’s) religious literacy. He finds differences among religions much more impressive than the similarities.

Prothero tells us that the great religions ask different questions. For example, he says Christians ask how to be saved from sin, while Buddhists and Hindus ask how to break the birth/rebirth cycle of reincarnation. Do you agree? It seems to me that the Abrahamic faiths share the basic question of how to live with one another. Christians are commanded to “love one another...” and to “love your neighbor...” As I have written before, all three Abrahamic faiths tell us to care for widows and orphans.

Christianity is losing market share while Islam is gaining. Prothero says that’s because Islam is (1) more accessible in terms of conversion, (2) controlling the public conversation, and (3) makes a claim on our whole life in ways that Christianity doesn’t. This can be seen in the ways Christians rely (or don’t) on religion-based rules to live their lives. Although Jesus said that nothing has changed in the law (Matthew 5:17-18), few Christians live by the Mosaic law in the ways that most Muslims live by the Qur’an’s teachings.

The other article’s headline read, “Bow your head: Many prayers are universal.” (Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER, May 13, 2010, page 3D) This is one of a weekly series by Rabbi Marc Gellman, syndicated as “The God Squad.”

Here’s Rabbi Gellman’s statement that, in my estimation, refutes much of Prothero’s assertions that religions are not the same: Pray the Lord’s Prayer and accept that we should forgive others because we ask God to forgive us. That’s the central message in all the world’s great religions. He says,

• Jews can pray Christian prayers that don’t invoke Jesus as Messiah.
• Protestant hymns’ texts are often direct lifts for Psalms.
• Most Muslim prayers are also OK for Jews, except for the Shahada.

I don’t know if Gellman is correct that forgiveness is the central message of all, but it’s certainly important in the Abrahamic faiths. I think my task (and yours?) is to try to understand the differences and those who emphasize the differences and why they do, while searching for and celebrating the similarities among the great religions of the world.

Halal and Kosher

Recently, some of my family engaged in a discussion about Kosher foods. We wondered what is meant by Halal? What is meant by “Kosher?” Are these the same? Do they relate to each other? Are these foods healthier than others? Who “keeps Kosher?”

A couple of wikipedia sites (see footnotes) provide general answers some of these questions, and I urge you to explore them more fully if you’re interested in this topic. “Halal (Arabic:حلال, ḥalāl; means lawful or legal) is a term ... used to designate food seen as permissible according to Islamic law.“ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halal Permissible foods exclude pork, blood, carrion, and alcohol; plus “...an animal that has been strangled, beaten (to death), killed by a fall, gored (to death), savaged by a beast of prey...” and “Food over which Allah's name is not pronounced.”

Kosher food, on the other hand, is “fit for consumption by Jews according to traditional Jewish law.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosher The complex rules are set forth in the Torah. There are three categories of Kosher food – Meat, Dairy and Parve (or neutral). Meat, for example, can only come from mammals which have cloven hooves AND chew their cud. So, pork is forbidden. “Non-kosher birds are listed outright (Deuteronomy 14:12–18).” “Fish must have fins and scales to be kosher (Leviticus 11:9–12). Shellfish and other non-fish water fauna are not kosher.”

Both Islam and Judaism prescribe ritual slaughter methods, which have been called inhumane by some animal rights organizations; and both faiths’ representatives have denied it.

Who “keeps Kosher?” About one-sixth of American Jews maintain the kosher diet. Many Jews observe the Jewish rules governing food preparation and consumption partially, by abstaining from pork or shellfish, or not drinking milk with a meat dish. Some keep kosher at home but will eat in a non-kosher restaurant.

Jews comprise only about 20% of the market for kosher food in the United States. A sizable non-Jewish segment of the population views kosher certification as an indication of wholesomeness. Strict vegetarians, Muslims, Hindus, and people with allergies to dairy foods, consider the kosher-parve designation as an assurance that a food contains no animal-derived ingredients, including milk and all of its derivatives.

Americans have long had some choices of Kosher foods in major supermarkets, and now Halal foods are increasingly available as well. We can expect that to become more widespread, for, in Surah 5:5 of the Holy Qur'an it is written: "The food of the People of the Book [Jews and Christians] is lawful for you [Muslims] as your food is lawful for them." As you say your blessing for/over your next meal, you might want to give thanks for these choices.

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Give All You Can Give

A few weeks ago we celebrated the March 30 birthday of Vincent Van Gogh, born in Zundert, Holland (1853). Garrison Keillor (The Writer's Almanac for March 30, 2010) told us that,

"As a young man, he was deeply religious and went off to do missionary work in a coal-mining region in Belgium. One day he decided to give away all of his worldly goods and live like a peasant. But his religious superiors thought he was having a nervous breakdown. They kicked him out of the mission and he had to go home."

Wait a minute! He did exactly what Jesus told the rich young man to do: "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." (Matthew 19:21) And so for following Jesus’ teaching, Van Gogh’s “religious superiors” made him leave the mission. Lucky for us who have seen his art, because that’s when he began to paint. Perhaps he was having a nervous breakdown. Still, was being “kicked out of the mission” to be Van Gogh’s “treasure in heaven?”

The online Wikipedia has an interesting discussion of tithing, with several references to the new or old testaments and the Qur’an, at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tithe. Some Christians are taught to tithe, e.g., give 10% (of their wealth, or their income) to the church. Jewish practice has usually included some form of tithing. And the so-called “alms tax” (zakat) is one of the five pillars of Islam. But I’ve only found the “sell all you have” advice in Jesus’ answer to the young man’s question.

John Wesley, founder of the Methodist Church, is credited with saying, “Make all you can, save all you can, give all you can.” As a young man, I heard the first part of the quote at every turn. Later, as I became an adult, I dimly heard the second part. But it’s much later in my life that I came to hear and understand the third part. Doesn’t this “give all you can” sound like a practical, modern version of Jesus’ teaching?

And now I read Suzanne Herel’s article in the San Francisco CHRONICLE (“Backing Good Causes Provides a Return.” Sunday, April 11, 2010, page D2) about Lily Kanter, age 45, who retired from Microsoft, “a multimillionaire at the age of 35,” who has started a new business. Herel writes, “Lily Kanter makes money so she can give it away.” In fact, her goal is to “be able to give away a million dollars a year.”

So, on the one hand, we have Jesus teaching that we should give it all away, (as Van Gogh did, and look what that got him); and on the other, a millionaire following the advice of John Wesley to make as much as you can (so you can) give as much as you can. Perhaps therein lies a lesson for the curriculum designers at the top MBA schools.

Rules? Or Love?

In his introduction to THE BOOK OF RUMI, Johnathan Star writes, “The goal of Sufism is to know love in all of its glorious forms; and every prophet, every practice, and every form of worship that leads toward love is, in essence, Sufism.” He subsequently quotes philosopher Ibn Arabi who wrote:

I follow the religion of Love
and go whichever way His camel leads me.
This is the true faith;
This is the true religion.

“...the religion of Love...” What an interesting way to put the view that Love is the god, the “true faith” and “true religion.” As a boy in the Lutheran church, I was taught that “God is Love.” How many of us define our faith by the love we show? Conversely, how many of us define our faith, or others’ faith as we perceive it, by the required behaviors and rules, and how they’re followed?

Last year, during Ramadan, I had lunch at a Persian restaurant, and I asked how it was that Muslim restaurateurs could serve meals during the time of fasting. I received the obvious answer: Some Muslims do not observe the rules that would prevent them from doing their work. Others, Muslims and non-Muslims, may judge that behavior as disobedience of the rules.

I thought about some of the other religious rules I know. For example, according to the Torah, Jews are supposed to avoid all work on the Sabbath: “Six days work shall be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on it shall be put to death.” (Exodus 35:2) Heard of any such deaths lately? Perhaps this rule is too strict to be enforced rigidly?

Then there’s the rule about selling your daughter into slavery: “If a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as menservants do.” (Exodus 21:7) Know anyone who’s sold his daughter, or even been permitted to sell his daughter, into slavery? What loving father would ever do such a think?

Christians learn that women are to be silent in the church, and be obedient to their husbands: "Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law. And if they will learn anything, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in church." (I Corinthians 14:34-35) I prefer that women NOT keep silent in church, as some of my best teachers in churches (and out) have been women. As for obedience, both the Bible and the Qur’an contain rules about that.

More important, Christians are to love God and one another. "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." (Matthew 22:36-40) I know that I don’t obey these commandments completely. And I suspect that many of us make judgments about our neighbors’ love for God and one another too.

My point here is simply this: Ibn Arabi’s writing that, “Love is the true faith and true religion” is quite obviously what Jesus commands us to do. I’m sure Jesus would have endorsed Arabi’s words. Perhaps, after all, Jesus was a Sufi?

Homosexuality in the Abrahamic Traditions

Loved or hated? Accepted or rejected? The story of Lot and the destruction of Sodom is told in Genesis 19, in Judaism’s Torah. Moreover, Leviticus 18:22 reads (in the Contemporary English Version), “It is disgusting for a man to have sex with another man.” This is repeated at Leviticus 20:13, but in that verse, the death penalty is added: “...and those who do will be put to death, just as they deserve.” Recall that Leviticus was written about 1400 B.C.E. when the Israelites were in the desert, having just escaped from Egypt. “In practice, the death penalty has not been practiced in Judaism for over 2,000 years.” (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_views_on_homosexuality retrieved 3 February 2010)

In Islam, homosexuals (called qaum Lut, the "people of Lot") are condemned in the story of Lot's people in the Qur'an (15:73; 26:165). Of the four legal schools in Islam, at least two would punish homosexuals as adulterers. In fact, since its Islamic revolution, the Iranian government has executed more than 4000 people charged with homosexual acts. (See http://www.religionfacts.com/homosexuality/islam.htm, retrieved 31 January 2010)

While many Christians welcome gays, others definitely do not. Perhaps you saw this news story: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/04/world/africa/04uganda.html?scp=1&sq=uganda%20homosexual&st=cse ((retrieved 31 January 2010) “Last March, three American evangelical Christian preachers, whose teachings about ‘curing’ homosexuals have been widely discredited in the United States, arrived here in Uganda’s capital to give a series of talks...The theme of the event, according to Stephen Langa, its Ugandan organizer, was ‘the gay agenda — that whole hidden and dark agenda’ — and the threat homosexuals pose to Bible-based values and the traditional African family.”

Those American preachers said they never meant to “help stoke the kind of anger” that led “a previously unknown Ugandan politician, who boasts of having evangelical friends in the American government, [to introduce] the Anti-Homosexuality Bill of 2009, which threatens to hang homosexuals...” Perhaps they didn’t mean it, but the connection between their presentations and the Ugandan bill looks quite direct.

From my personal perspective, those three Americans, and the Ugandan, hold extreme views, and preach and act on those extreme views. I don’t understand what “threat” homosexuals pose to Bible-based values and the traditional family, but I do understand the threat extremists pose to homosexuals.

Apparently some American Christians want to put homosexuals to death too. Frederick Clarkson describes one movement or philosophy, called “Christian Reconstructionism, whose founders favor executing (exterminating) homosexuals.

“Reconstructionism is a theology that arose out of conservative Presbyterianism (Reformed and Orthodox), which proposes that contemporary application of the laws of Old Testament Israel, or ‘Biblical Law,’ is the basis for reconstructing society toward the Kingdom of God on earth...Generally, Reconstructionism seeks to replace democracy with a theocratic elite that would govern by imposing their interpretation of Biblical Law...So severe is this theocracy that it would extend capital punishment beyond such crimes as kidnapping, rape, and murder to include, among other things, blasphemy, heresy, adultery, and homosexuality." (http://www.publiceye.org/magazine/v08n1/chrisre1.html, retrieved 31 January 2010)

Homosexual people continue under threat in some branches of Islam and Christianity; and their status in Judaism varies, depending on whether the group is Orthodox, Conservative or Reformed. We must be watchful, ready to act to prevent the application of “Biblical Law” against gay and lesbian citizens.

The common ground? The liberal subgroups of each of the three Abrahamic traditions express more tolerance for homosexual people and homosexuality than do the conservatives.