When religious scholar and author Karen Armstrong accepted the TED prize in February, 2008, she, like other recipients of the prize, shared a wish for the betterment of society. The former Roman Catholic nun who refers to herself as a "freelance monotheist" made the following request to the TED community:
"I wish that you would help with the creation, launch and propagation of a Charter for Compassion, crafted by a group of leading inspirational thinkers from the three Abrahamic traditions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam and based on the fundamental principles of universal justice and respect."
As a result of this request and the efforts of hundreds people from around the world, of all faith traditions, nationalities, languages, and backgrounds, Armstrong's Charter for Compassion is being released across the globe on November 12.
In the days leading up to the release of the charter, I began to see online banter that runs the gamut from enthusiastic support to speculation that it represents the single world religion in the end-time Biblical prophecies.
As with so many things related to this Christian faith that both delights and confounds me, I find these potentially controversial faith questions to be both fascinating and troubling. On the one hand, who can argue with a call to compassion? Empathy, caring for others, the Golden Rule, this is the good stuff. Then again, the premise that Jesus is the way tends to complicate inter-faith initiatives and create lots of noise in the blogosphere.
This led me to wonder, how might Jesus respond to this multi-faith initiative?
Rather than rely on my own best thinking, I posed the question to several thought leaders representing different Christian faith traditions, from conservative to progressive. I will share some of those responses here over the course of the week, starting with the thoughts of Phyllis Tickle, author of a number of books including The Great Emergence. Tickle writes:
Jesus, first and foremost, would have asked to see the document itself. [There is a considerable history of His having taken that tack when entering into a discussion fraught with controversy and laden with opportunities for divisive and derisive misunderstanding.]
Having seen the document, my guess--again based on known track record--is that He would ask of its authors and signers why it had been written. Of all people, He most would know that religions, or at least the major world religions, are very much alike in both their moral values and their wisdom. It is in their mysteries that they differ.
If therefore, the document and its fashioners have dedicated their work to explicating the unity of religious wisdom and morality, He would undoubtedly applaud that action as a very sensible and enlightened thing to do, especially in an ever-more-connected and shrinking world. If, however, when pinned down, those same fashioners had to confess as well to an attempt to make all religions seem to be little more than enculturated expressions of ways to the same God or end, I suspect He would have shaken His head and said, "Can we talk?"
But I also suspect that they, should that be their motivation, would likewise shake their heads and move off down the road.
Would love to hear your thoughts on this response and the charter itself when it is posted.
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Abel: Your response brings to mind some of the questions I had when reading the charter. What is compassion? What is justice? How are they manifest? I think of addicts. Some enablers feel like they are being compassionate when they give their heroine-sick loved one a fix. Others feel like they are being compassionate when they set a boundary. Arguments can be made for both. It will be interesting to see how/if these discussions develop as the charter moves from conversation to action.
kenneth: No doubt trying to get inside the head of Jesus is a challenge beyond measure. Still, I find the exercise of challenging thinkers from different spaces in the Christian mosaic to bring their understanding to bear to be interesting...
yes, my thoughts on compassion... COMPASSION comes with the human condition, via we are all human, and humanity bequests forgiveness, actually begs for it, and as we read this dialog that we live our lives each and every day ... we pray for forgiveness. The ability for compassion is inate. Every Soul has compassion, one just needs to learn how to channel the ability to access the Gift. It's really quite simple, if ... one allows it. This is simply my experience. Feel free to share.
I think many Christians dont feel comfortable telling others that Jesus is the way the truth and life. It does sound exclusive and arrogant..But it is true.
I spent my early years growing up in the east and have been around Muslims, Hindus,Buddhists and Christians. While all these religions teach us to good...I find only one person that demonstrated what true love is, and that is Jesus.
Show me a God that is willing to die for people wicked people... I will follow him. I dont thing its about doing good. Being compassionate is good and is needed..But what is the motivation behind it? we can fool people, but we cant fool God.
I dont think christians need to spend our time disproving or talking trash about other relgions..but encouraging people to love each other as Jesus loved us. Love covers a multitude of sins. If there ever was a time in history that needs to experience love, grace,compassion and mercy... That time is now.
Armstrong, prefaced by Karen, is devoted to Carin’. How homonymously self-fulfilling! How appropriate! How reeking of synchronicity. She’s been sung of late by those who love the pomp of it. And she sings her song so well. She strives toward our striving toward the harmony of all. And with this I cannot argue. Yet, in her mission is to resurrect the lost or failing compassion of such faiths as Christianity, she seems to’ve forgotten the myriad upon myriad of unsung missions of the various Churches devoted to Christ and His beneficent mission as found in His message of Matthew 25: 31-46.
Et CREDIS! Quid credis? Ac cur te non nuncupas ‘credo’?
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