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Feb. 23, 2007
It's all about talking
Tolerance is only the first step, says Christie.
REBECA KUROPATWA
James Christie believes that moving forward as a united human race
is not a matter of choice. "Life is about doing the job you
have in front of you, and living according to your convictions,"
said Christie, during a speech about tolerance at the Asper Jewish
Community Campus in Winnipeg Feb. 8. "You are given the times
in which you live. The only question there is to ask yourself is
how will you respond, behave and live."
Christie is dean of theology at the University of Winnipeg, president
of the Canadian Council of Churches, director of the Christian-Jewish
Dialogue of Toronto and a 2002 Nobel Peace Prize nominee as chair
of the council of the World Federalist Movement.
"Tolerance," he said, "is not enough. The Mel Gibson
film The Passion of the Christ and the Dan Brown movie The
Da Vinci Code show that our society prides itself on tolerance.
But do you, in the Jewish community, truly see why many Christians
are disturbed by what is conveyed in the Brown movie, and can Christians
appreciate why the Gibson film troubles many Jewish people? At least
movies like these bring people of many faiths together in dialogue,
building mutual understanding and respect."
Christie said that, "On its own, tolerance doesn't lead to
understanding, relationships or change. At best, it leads to not
minding that there is a synagogue down the street."
He said the issues of today aren't those between Christians and
Jews, but between modern, secular materialism and religion. "Secularism
is good for religion," he said. "It keeps it honest. We
who are religious think we know how to run things, because we think
we know how God wants things. Without secularism, we probably wouldn't
be able to talk to one another. Religion is also essential for secularism,
as secular society without religion has no soul."
Christie told a story about a girl who is walking along a beach,
picking up starfish and throwing them back into the water. A man
comes by and tells her that there are too many and that she will
never make a difference. "The girl," Christie said, "throws
another starfish into the water and says that she made a difference
to that one. Similarly, Jews say if you save one life, it is like
saving an entire nation. Everything we do makes a difference. And
if we all do nothing, nothing will change.
"Most religious texts, on a surface level, can be seen as very
prejudicial," noted Christie. "This is why they shouldn't
be read without conversation, commentary and teaching. Both Jewish
and Christian tradition study and argue religious texts thoroughly.
"At times, we seem so far from understanding one another that
it is nearly enough to overwhelm you with despair," he continued.
"When Sen. Romeo Dallaire was trying to elicit support for
the Rwandan people during the 1994 Rwanda genocide, a western diplomat
commented, 'But what do you have here? No natural resources –
just people.' When someone can say that, only 13 years ago, progress
does feel pretty slow, but it is an ongoing, unfolding process."
Christie said it was impossible to simply say, "Never again."
What we can do, he suggested, is "be aware, vote carefully
and try to establish the institutions that protect the human community
against the recurrence of atrocities. It isn't enough to have slogans,
feelings or religious impulses – they have to be translated
into law.
"When we are puzzled or outraged by something," he said,
"we should not just sit back and do nothing. We've all been
told not to talk about politics, sex and religion, but that is exactly
what we should be talking about – that is what moves people.
The aim should be to go beyond tolerance to a strong society that
is rich in diversity."
Rebeca Kuropatwa is a Winnipeg freelance writer.
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