One of the tasks of faith communities as they engage in interreligious dialogue is to look beyond themselves and their world to acknowledge and respect the world of others and to recognise the strength that comes from working together for the good of society and the world. Sometimes the message within the community appears different from the one addressed to those beyond it. This has been obvious in the first weeks of the new pontificate of Pope Leo. To the catholic community he has said, “we must be a missionary church together. We want to say to the world with humility and joy. Look to Christ! come closer to him! welcome his word that enlightens and consoles! Listen to his offer of love and become his one family”. This is an approach to mission that lays on Christians the responsibility to preach the good news to the ends of the earth and to encourage others to accept Jesus as their saviour. It can take the form of proselytization which actively and persuasively tries to change someone’s beliefs and convert them to the Christian religion.
But addressing people of other faiths and Christian traditions shortly after his inauguration Pope Leo also spoke of a call to service “with our sister Christian churches, with those who follow other religious paths, with those who are searching for God, with all women and men of goodwill in order to build a new world where peace reigns. “We are called”, he said, “to offer God’s love to everyone in order to achieve that unity that does not cancel out differences but values the personal history of each person and the social and religious culture of every people. "In a world wounded by violence and conflict, each of the communities represented here brings its own contribution of wisdom, compassion and commitment to the good of humanity and the preservation of our common home. I am convinced that if we are in agreement, and free from ideological and political conditioning, we can be effective in saying 'no' to war and 'yes' to peace; 'no' to the arms race and 'yes' to disarmament; 'no' to an economy that impoverishes peoples and the world.
Is there a contradiction in these two approaches? As an interfaith practitioner I have been a bit suspicious of the word evangelisation and do not likethe notion of proselytization. It reminds me of dark times in the Church’s history where the faith and culture of others was disrespected, seen as false and truth lay solely within the Christian and catholic faith. For the sake of their eternal salvation people needed to be converted, sometimes by being forced to listen to sermons about the Christian faith as were Jews in Spain in the Middle Age and to adopt what was a European rather than a Christian culture in continents like Asia and Africa. I have felt increasingly uncomfortable with the call to make disciples of all nations and to baptise all people as expressed at the end of Matthew’s gospel as I have grown in knowledge of the wisdom and holiness to be found in other faiths and been inspired by their scriptures, their beliefs and their practices. My understanding of Christianity has been deepened and broadened by my experience of other faiths and I can see no reason why I should want my interfaith friends to abandon a faith that is obviously deep and leads to a holiness expressed in good works.
So, what do I do with this command to preach the gospel and what exactly is the gospel to be preached? Within the Catholic Church we now speak of a new evangelisation. It is a term first coined by Pope John Paul II and then taken up by his successors. It is firstly an effort to renew the faith of Catholics and to encourage them to share their faith with others. But not in the way it was done in the past. Pope John Paul himself saw that it was not a repetition of the past but a way to forge new paths in responding to contemporary circumstances and conditions. It is not a question of re-evangelisation he said, “but rather of a new evangelization; new in its ardour, methods and expression.” Interreligious dialogue is one place which offers the opportunity to share one’s faith but not in the hope of converting others. Rather it is to share the wisdom and truth which we believe is at the heart of our faith, a truth which has something to offer everyone.
Other faith communities feel exactly the same of course. They believe in their truth and its relevance to their own life and to others. We all believe we have a universal truth and wisdom, and it is easy to slip into a preaching mode when talking about it. I have been to some interfaith meetings when I have felt I was being preached at and a desire to share one’s faith needs to be balanced by a desire to know about others and to recognise that they too have their truth. It is to set out what we believe with a humility that acknowledges that what we are saying are statements of faith, not statements of objective facts. It is to offer the insights of our faith with humility and love. For me this means trying to explain the heart of Christianity in a way that shows its universal significance and does not rely on traditional religious terms that sound exclusive but rather in terms that make sense to everyone. Perhaps more of that in a future blog. For the moment I feel that what I do in interfaith relations and what Pope Leo is doing is balancing two aspects of our faith while focussing on cooperation and friendship that will allow for common concern and action for the good of humanity and the preservation of our common home..
But addressing people of other faiths and Christian traditions shortly after his inauguration Pope Leo also spoke of a call to service “with our sister Christian churches, with those who follow other religious paths, with those who are searching for God, with all women and men of goodwill in order to build a new world where peace reigns. “We are called”, he said, “to offer God’s love to everyone in order to achieve that unity that does not cancel out differences but values the personal history of each person and the social and religious culture of every people. "In a world wounded by violence and conflict, each of the communities represented here brings its own contribution of wisdom, compassion and commitment to the good of humanity and the preservation of our common home. I am convinced that if we are in agreement, and free from ideological and political conditioning, we can be effective in saying 'no' to war and 'yes' to peace; 'no' to the arms race and 'yes' to disarmament; 'no' to an economy that impoverishes peoples and the world.
Is there a contradiction in these two approaches? As an interfaith practitioner I have been a bit suspicious of the word evangelisation and do not likethe notion of proselytization. It reminds me of dark times in the Church’s history where the faith and culture of others was disrespected, seen as false and truth lay solely within the Christian and catholic faith. For the sake of their eternal salvation people needed to be converted, sometimes by being forced to listen to sermons about the Christian faith as were Jews in Spain in the Middle Age and to adopt what was a European rather than a Christian culture in continents like Asia and Africa. I have felt increasingly uncomfortable with the call to make disciples of all nations and to baptise all people as expressed at the end of Matthew’s gospel as I have grown in knowledge of the wisdom and holiness to be found in other faiths and been inspired by their scriptures, their beliefs and their practices. My understanding of Christianity has been deepened and broadened by my experience of other faiths and I can see no reason why I should want my interfaith friends to abandon a faith that is obviously deep and leads to a holiness expressed in good works.
So, what do I do with this command to preach the gospel and what exactly is the gospel to be preached? Within the Catholic Church we now speak of a new evangelisation. It is a term first coined by Pope John Paul II and then taken up by his successors. It is firstly an effort to renew the faith of Catholics and to encourage them to share their faith with others. But not in the way it was done in the past. Pope John Paul himself saw that it was not a repetition of the past but a way to forge new paths in responding to contemporary circumstances and conditions. It is not a question of re-evangelisation he said, “but rather of a new evangelization; new in its ardour, methods and expression.” Interreligious dialogue is one place which offers the opportunity to share one’s faith but not in the hope of converting others. Rather it is to share the wisdom and truth which we believe is at the heart of our faith, a truth which has something to offer everyone.
Other faith communities feel exactly the same of course. They believe in their truth and its relevance to their own life and to others. We all believe we have a universal truth and wisdom, and it is easy to slip into a preaching mode when talking about it. I have been to some interfaith meetings when I have felt I was being preached at and a desire to share one’s faith needs to be balanced by a desire to know about others and to recognise that they too have their truth. It is to set out what we believe with a humility that acknowledges that what we are saying are statements of faith, not statements of objective facts. It is to offer the insights of our faith with humility and love. For me this means trying to explain the heart of Christianity in a way that shows its universal significance and does not rely on traditional religious terms that sound exclusive but rather in terms that make sense to everyone. Perhaps more of that in a future blog. For the moment I feel that what I do in interfaith relations and what Pope Leo is doing is balancing two aspects of our faith while focussing on cooperation and friendship that will allow for common concern and action for the good of humanity and the preservation of our common home..
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