Course Summary by Wayne
December 5th, 2005
From the outset, a key characteristic of The Battle for God course was this:
To struggle with what it might mean to move from a posture of demonization to embrace of those advocating religious fundamentalism and terrorism in our world today.
In addition to the Armstrong text, we developed a focus for this subject by using reviews I have written over the past several years (these reviews appear on the website):
Seven Books on Contemporary Fundamentalism and Terrorism:
- The War for Muslim Minds (Kepel, 2004)
- Fundamentalism: The Search for Meaning (Ruthven, 2004)
- Terror in the Name of God (Stern, 2003)
- Strong Religion (Almond, Appleby and Sivan, 2003)
- Abraham: A Journey to the Heart of Three Faiths (Feiler, 2002)
- In the Aftermath: What September 11th is Teaching Us (Taylor, ed. 2002)
- When Religion Becomes Evil (Kimball, 2002)
One of the following seven issues was raised for discussion during each session:
Fundamentalism:
- a passing fad (or) entrenched reality?
- a clash of civilizations (or) a war within civilizations?
- as traditionalists (or) as innovative manipulators?
- an exclusive (or) an inclusive world (of East and West)?
- demonization (or) embrace?
- a battle using weapons (or) wise choices?
- Abraham - a faith family divided (or) united?
Here is my summary statement on each of these issues based on memory and
notes taken during our weekly discussions:
- Fundamentalism is not a passing fad. It is an integral part of modernity
and unlikely to fade away in the forseeable future. We must learn to live
with it.
- There appears, on the surface, to be a clash of civilizations - East/West;
Fundamentalism/the Rest; Islam/the West, etc. Yet, contemporary political
science, history and experience inform us that internal conflicts within
traditions are as significant and perhaps even more significant, than external
ones. These conflicts exist globally, nationally, locally and within individuals
themselves.
- Fundamentalist leaders are, in many respects, very modern people. While
they speak about a return to basics established in the past (back to the
Bible, the Koran, etc.) they are in reality very selective of what those
basics are. They focus on what suits them from their particular religious
traditions and often ignore or downplay the rest of it.
- We cannot afford to live in a world of religious, cultural or political
exclusivism. We must find inclusive ways of living (ways that take us beyond
colonialism, neo-colonialism, racism, sexism, oppressive religious systems,
etc.)
- It is human nature to demonize what we fear and dislike. Our faith, and
the best of the other faith traditions studied - Hebrew, Christian and
Muslim - all advocate an inclusive embrace of the other (e.g. the Golden
Rule) and together emphasise the shared values of compassion and justice.
- When faced with the challenge of fundamentalism and violence, we can make
wise choices by rejecting militarism and warfare as outdated and impractical
ways of solving problems. Christians have a major support for the wisdom
of peacemaking in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew, chapters 5-7).
- Abraham can be a defining and unifying symbol for Jews, Christians and
Muslims alike. In the past, Abraham was interpreted by each of these traditions
in sectarian, self-serving ways. We must come to accept him as our common
Father.
|
