Searching for similarities

PAT JOHNSON

People of differing religions have caricatures of each other when what they need is genuine knowledge. That was one of the messages when Jews, Christians and Muslims gathered for a "trialogue" between the local faith groups at Christ Church Cathedral last week.

Rev. Dr. Richard Leggett, an Anglican priest and a member of the panel, said most Christian clergy do not know the rabbis or imams in their neigborhoods, and the unfamiliarity is mutual. Leggett is vice-principal of the Vancouver School of Theology and a co-chair of the Jewish-Christian dialogue group that has operated for years under the auspices of Canadian Jewish Congress, Pacific Region, which sponsored the event.

The dialogue group invited Muslims to join the conversation and conviviality was the order of the evening – so much so that a member of the audience asked what sort of success one could consider a happy trialogue among agreeable moderates of their respective faiths. All three clergy responded that the conversation had to begin somewhere, with someone, and, if they were moderates, so be it.

Leggett's clergy colleagues on the panel – Rabbi Laura Duhan Kaplan of Or Shalom Synagogue and Imam Mohamed Rachid of the Richmond Mosque – explained some of the parallels in their religious outlooks that defy the idea of deep theological divisions.

Rachid noted that, while they may call God by different names, the same divine being is worshipped by Muslims, Jews and Christians. "Allah is the Arabic word [for God]," he said. "It is the same God."

Similarities abound, agreed the clergy members and Rachid added that among Islam's core principles is the interdiction that is at the heart of all humanity: to treat others the way we would like to be treated.

Unity of the Divine is also shared across faiths, the imam and rabbi noted. "God is one thing and we are many," said Rachid. Kaplan explained: "We are all connected in the energy of God and within the presence of God."

In Jewish Renewal, the branch of Judaism with which Kaplan is associated, God is perceived as the only real being in the universe; everything else is a representation of God, constantly taking new forms. But this acceptance of the unity of God does not lead immediately to the unity of humankind – or even to the unity of Jews, she said.

"All Jewish theologians and most practising Jews agree that God is one," she said, "but we don't all agree on what it means that God is one."

Despite their differences, Rachid said, there is a special fraternity between the three monotheistic faiths.

"In Islam, Christians and Jews have a very special place," Rachid said. "They are called People of the Book." Muslims have an obligation to protect the Jews and Christians who live among them, he added.

The not insubstantial differences that do exist between religions originate from the fourth, fifth and sixth centuries, when Christianity became identified with the Roman state and, later, other states, explained Leggett. Because the original Christians were a group of breakaway Jews, the Christian Messiah was perceived in Jewish terms, said Leggett. Jesus was the embodiment of halachah, of Jewish law, he said, the personification of Jewish prophetic theology and the one who understands what is required of humankind.

The religious leaders were asked by the audience what other faiths could learn from theirs and what they could learn from others.

"I wish my own community could learn from the Muslim tradition about the role of laity," said Leggett, citing the Muslim tradition of prayer without religious leadership and Islam's emphasis on personal discipline. Christianity has traditionally been dominated by clergy, he said.

"From Judaism, I wish Christians could learn what it means to live in exile," Leggett said, pondering how one keeps a unique identity when in a continuous minority situation.

Kaplan admired the flexibility of Christian prayer and the proximity of Muslim prayer: "Christianity has a very, very broad concept of prayer," she said. "You can be praying 24/7. In Islam, with five prayer services a day, prayer is never far from your consciousness."

For his part, Rachid admired the Jewish tendency to remain distinct, while not being afraid to interact with the majority around them: "I hope we can learn to be as open as the Jewish community is," said the imam.

While there was disproportionate emphasis on what similarities exist, all of the clergy acknowledged divergences.

"Are there any differences? There are major differences," said Rachid, but he stressed that the conversation should emphasize the 90 per cent of areas where the religions agree. The most immediate shared threat to all religions is materialism and secularism, he said.

The difficulty of addressing these differences was illustrated by Kaplan, who said she and her daughter disagree about the proper way to load the dishwasher. If impassioned disagreement can arise between people who love each other over issues as insignificant as dirty dishes, imagine the challenge facing millions of strangers over core spiritual issues of far greater centrality, she said. But the imperative of intercultural exchange, while difficult, is necessary, she stressed.

"We are in a time of history when we really can't afford to close our eyes and our hearts," Kaplan said.

"We cannot be isolated," Rachid agreed. "Whatever happens in one corner of the world affects everyone else."

While the trialogue focused on areas of agreement between the faiths, one participant, Rabbi Philip Bregman of Temple Sholom Synagogue, warned against ignoring the differences.

"We shouldn't be simply discussing the things we have in common," Bregman said. "If we want to make sure the next 2,000 years are not as horrific as the last, we have to talk about the differences."

Pat Johnson is, among other things, director of development and communications for Vancouver Hillel Foundation.

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