Respondent, Mr. Jehangir Sarosh, President, European WCRP. Guest, Rev. David Hart, editor, Multi-Faith Britain.

Many Paths, One Planet

In reality, I do not think all of the great religious communities and traditions are trying to arrive at the same end. I think our purposes are sometimes very different. I believe one reason that it was possible in China for Confucianists and Buddhists to get along so well was that these were not two ways of trying to do the same thing. They were two ways to do rather different things."

-Methodist Theologian John Cobb, "Being Open to the Wisdom of Others" – Dharma World, 2003

In spring 2003 we are in the midst of a tragic war involving fundamental ideologies. Commentators on both sides denounce liberalism as enemy.

The 25^th of May 2003, will be the 200^th birthday of Ralph Waldo Emerson, perhaps the most quoted American Philosopher. Emerson died in 1882 at the age of 79. Emerson said, "Persist, only persist in seeking the Truth.

Persist in saying you do not know what you do not know, and you do not care for what you do not care." Is there a single answer? Power? Truth? Long life? Anthony de Mello, a Catholic priest who grew up in the multi-religious culture of India, tells this story:

According to legend, God sent an Angel to the Master with this message: "Ask for a million years of life and they will be given you. Or a hundred million. How long do you wish to live?"

"Eighty years," said the Master without the slightest hesitation.

The disciples were dismayed, "But Master, if you lived for a million years, think how many generations would profit by your wisdom."

"If I lived for a million years. People would be more intent on lengthening their lives than on cultivating wisdom."

Emerson writes, "Instead of wondering that there is a Bible, I wonder that there are not a thousand." To the America of the 1840s, this was a radical statement. Breaking out of the shell of the authority of the Bible, Emerson and Thoreau were discovering Brahma, Buddha and the Tao de Ching. Now, we are aware of thousands of scriptures, including the Book of Mormon and the writings of Ron Hubbard. At least once a year, when I visit Harris Manchester College at Oxford, I walk a quarter mile east to Hollywell Cemetery. I stop for a moment at the tomb of Kenneth Graham, who wrote, Wind in the Willows. Then I walk to a Celtic Cross as tall as I am, which marks the grave of Max Muller, who published the scriptures of the world in over 50 volumes. I think of his vision of the future. He wrote:

If you want to meditate, one of the best places is a Cemetery. Some tombstones have wonderful lines. On the tomb of Martin Luther King we read, "free at last, free at last." Near the end of one of his last sermons, King says, "Every now and then I guess we all think realistically about that day when we will be victimized with what is life’s final common denominator – that something we call death."

Some say that religion is the response to the fact that we are going to die. That is one side of the coin. For me, the other side of the coin is best expressed by Robert Jay Lifton. From his study of the survivors of the bombing of Hiroshima, Lifton developed the concept of "survivor guilt." This is the guilt we can experience in accidents, illness, or war, when we survive and others do not. Lifton found this experience seems to be universal. His next discovery was a motivation for anti-atomic-bomb demonstrations around the world. He calls this, "anticipated survivor guilt." That is the guilt we would have if the atomic holocaust happens, and we are among the handful of survivors. This is judgment day updated. Michelangelo’s THE LAST JUDGEMENT transformed into Picasso’s "Guernica," and movies such as "Dr. Strangelove," "On the Beach," and "Terminator I and 2."

This "anticipated guilt" helped bring an end to the cold war. It is part of the psychic motivation that leads millions to demonstrate against war today. Martin Luther King warned us, "Nations are caught up with the drum major instinct. ‘I must be first.’ ‘I must be supreme.’ ‘Our nation must rule the world.’ And I am sad to say that this nation is the supreme culprit. … God didn’t call America to do what she is doing in the world now. God didn’t call America to engage in a senseless unjust war…. And we are criminals in that war. We’ve committed more war crimes almost than any nation in the world, and we won’t stop it because of our pride and our arrogance as a nation." He was speaking of Vietnam, but to my mind his words are also true of our policy toward Iraq.

I had the blessing of supporting Martin King in the Civil Rights struggle and in witness against the America War in Vietnam. King welcomed supporters from every religion and even those of no religion. He was labeled a Communist, an agitator. He responded, "The agitator is the part that gets the washing clean." For King there was a reality greater than churches or temples. He perceived the holiness of justice and peace. His "Strength to Love" was grounded in Christian Scripture, but extended beyond it to embrace the whole planet. He could learn from the Hindu Gandhi, and from a non-church-goer like Henry Thoreau.

Are we in an ethical story? Is virtue rewarded? Do we live in a universe with a God who rewards the just and punishes the unjust? What can we trust today? In American on the last weekend in January, as 120 Million watched the Super Bowl, as in previous Super Bowl weekends, almost double the average number of wives were beaten by their husbands. Anthony de Mello tells this story of Jesus at the Football Match: The Protestant Pilgrims score. Jesus Cheers!

The Catholic Crusaders score. Jesus stands and cheers. HE is tapped on the shoulder. The fan behind asks, "Which team are you for?" Jesus replies, "I’m just here to enjoy the game." The fan turns to his neighbor and says, "Oh, an Atheist."

Also, on the last weekend in January, Microsoft Billionaire Bill Gates was in Davos, Switzerland, meeting with a World Summit of Business leaders. They were discussing the breakdown of the most important element of business. NOT PROFIT! The theme of the meeting was TRUST. TRUST is the subject of BBC lectures, new books on the virtues by French Philosophers. We live in a world in which the old standards of trust are breaking down. How do we create a world community of trust? What sense does it make to promote a common ethic when terrorists or war may destroy our lives and even our world?

Recently, l was formally installed as new minister of a Unitarian Church in Horsham, one hour south of London. I followed my wife, who had been minister there for six years. Speaking in the service were three friends from the World Congress of Faiths, Imam Abduljalil Sajid, Rev. Marcus Braybrooke, and Rabbi Jacqueline Tabick. Last year, Rabbi Tabick, with ten other rabbis, joined 300 British Jews in calling for an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank.

I also invited local clergy to participate in the induction service. The response was that they voted to SHUN the service. While two attended as individuals, there was a group decision by the Ministers Fraternal not to have any official participation in such an interfaith service. My own initial rage at being SHUNNED helps give me empathy for the Muslim, the Hindi and the Jew who are also SHUNNED. It reminds me of the words of Oscar Hammerstein II,

We used to think the world is getting better and better. Sadly, the SHUN is part of a rising tide of Fundamentalism. Many people who are frightened and distrustful, feel they can only trust those who share rigid religious convictions.

Christian, Islamic and Hindu Fundamentalists are quite different, but all have the same characteristic response to the challenge of our multi-faith world: "rejecting, condemning and opposing all those who project apparent criticism against them."

The World Congress of Faiths is one of over a dozen organizations which work to build TRUST between TRADITIONS. In 2002, our annual meeting was at the Sternberg Jewish Centre in North London. On the eighth of May 2003, "Inshallah – God Willing," our annual meeting will be at the Muslim College in East London. Starting the 20^th of July in Leicester, we will host a two-day conference asking the question, "What is the future of multi-faith Britain?"

What is the future of our Multi-faith World? Will we escalate from SHUNNING to burning Heretics with "SMART BOMBS."? In October 2003, there will two conferences reflecting on the 450^th Anniversary of the death of the first Unitarian Martyr in modern history. I look forward to attending the conference in Spain where Michael Servetus was born in 1511. He was burned in effigy by the Inquisition along with his books. Now, the Spanish government has dedicated his boyhood home as a national monument and is sponsoring a conference at the University of Zaragosa, 200 miles west of Barcelona.

The second conference will be in Geneva, where Servetus was burned alive by John Calvin on the 27^th of October 1553, along with his books. The story of Servetus and his books is told in a new book, Out of the Flames by Goldstone. If you want a good read, get it. Why are leaders from many faiths joining in these dialogues on Servetus? It is not just that the encounter of Servetus and Calvin became a classic case in the struggle for religious freedom. Or that Servetus was a scientist who discovered the pulmonary circulation of the blood 75 years before Harvey. It is that Servetus was trying to prove the common "HOLY" worshipped by Christian, Muslim, and Jew. His issues are background to today’s battles of faith and no-faith. Servetus was haunted by the expulsion of Jews and Muslims from Spain in 1492, just 19 years before his birth.

In dialogues, such as the Servetus Conferences, and the recent IARF (International Association for Religious Freedom) Congress in Budapest, we build "trust" and "friendship" between faith communities. We learn from the spiritual practice of one another. We need both international and local interfaith encounters to build TRUST. To overcome the fear and the SHUN.

In January, Jopie and I had the privilege of being at an IARF/WCF Conference at Palm Springs with Huston and Kendra Smith. Huston challenged us that ETHICS, even a GLOBAL ETHIC, is not enough. Ethics are like STOP LIGHTS. For our human community to flourish, we need VIRTUES, which are GREEN LIGHTS: THE GO SIGNALS!

Some of you will remember the book, HONEST TO GOD, by Bishop John Robinson. Over a year ago I heard a talk by his widow, Ruth Robinson. She told us her new version of Paul’s three virtues, "faith, hope, and love."

She spoke of TRUST, HOPE AND COMPASSION. Along with GRATITUDE AND HUMILITY, I can think of no better virtues for our multi-faith world.

TRUST - Being trustworthy. Not just blind faith in some ancient creed.

But the nurturing of relationship in community.

HOPE - Some vision of the future worth living for. Not that you know it is going to happen, but that you love this world enough to try to save it from the fools who are willing to destroy it.

As Reinhold Niebuhr said,

"My thinking and knowing are pessimistic,

In Californian, Jesus Seminar Scholar John Dominic Crossan warned us that the United States is acting like the Roman Empire. He gave us a text from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible. God is speaking to Jonah, Chapter 4, verse 9. "GOD ASKS, "IS IT RIGHT FOR YOU TO BE ANGRY ABOUT THE BUSH?" Jonah replies, "YES, ANGRY ENOUGH TO DIE." Thanks to one million in London who showed that they are committed enough to live and to march for peace.

Finally, have

COMPASSION - active love that reaches out in generosity that forgives when people do not live up to your expectations, that includes forgiving yourself.

Three virtues: TRUST, HOPE AND COMPASSION.

In our multi-faith dialogue, we have learned that while we share a common humanity, all religions are not the same. This is good, in that we can learn from one another. By knowing another religion, we can enrich our own. We can enrich our prayer from Buddhist meditation, and our physical health from Hindu Yoga.

Think of the religious landscape of our planet as a mountain with many paths. In the old theology, only one path led up to Heaven, and all the others led down to Hell.

Early 20^th Century religious teachers like William Ernest Hocking saw many paths up the mountain, but found that the mystic from whatever tradition will recognize another mystic. Thus, all religions meet at the top of the mountain.

The Hawaiians also tell us "The Mountain has many paths." But in the Hawaiian tale, while we are all on the same mountain, one path may end at a waterfall, another path may go down to the ocean, yet another path may end in a cave. A path may lead to a village of friends or to solitude. Our paths may be different, but we have a common task – to preserve the mountain.

We can learn from one another without losing our identity. We can taste SALT without becoming SALT. Somewhere in every tradition is the teaching that "Nothing Human is Alien to me." To preserve the mountain, we are called to overcome the SHUN.

The mountain is our planet, the one reality on which human life will depend for many centuries.

From our planet we look out to the stars.

The Universe is not Christian or Jew,

Muslim, Buddhist, or Hindu.

There are many paths, but one Reality.

From the Universe, a Cosmonaut looked back at our planet and wrote,