We are talking about a wide range of fascinating topics, at the "Building Hope" Conference. We have started out with all three groups - Muslims, Jews and Christians - sharing about our beliefs and practices, with questions and discussions.
A theme, so far, that I find myself thinking about, is that of understanding and image.
More than one person has said something like, you (the other two groups) have a certain image of us. I would like it if you would let me explain myself (our group, our beliefs, etc.), and replace your image of me (us) with our image of ourselves (i.e., see us as we think we are).
This, of course, makes total sense, but how easy it is to forget. How easy it is to relate to others based on my image of them, rather than learning to know them as they are (this movement, I would say, is at the heart of what it means to move from relating to people ethnocentrically to relating to them ethnorelatively or ethnosensitively).
But an issue arises, of course - to what extent can we really understand "The Other"? Someone pointed out an author (I forget who), who said that we really can't fully/deeply/truly understand other peoples' religious faith. I seem to remember Wilfred Cantwell Smith saying something of the sort. This could be true not only between religious communities (how can I as a Christian, for example, know how a Muslim feels about the Qur'an, or the depth of the impact of saying the Shahada, in/on his or her mind, heart, soul?), but also within a religious tradition (can I really know the reality of another person's faith, what's going on in their heart and mind and spirit?).
Of course, we can work in the direction of understanding, but we need to observe, ask questions, listen carefully, and push ourselves to go deeper, not to stop at the surface. It strikes me how often our relationships with and understanding of each other, remain relatively superficial, either assuming we "know" the other, or perhaps not even thinking about it.
One other thing - self-awareness comes, in part, through coming to understand how others perceive us. If a Muslim or a Jew tells me as a Christian, "honestly, I tend to think of you Christians as polytheists," that can be a cause for interesting self-reflection, learning about myself as well as the Other. I find myself thinking, for example, what really is monotheism? what does it mean to worship God monotheistically? and how can I express my conviction of the fact that I am monotheistic, in a way that can make sense to Muslims and Jews in light of the different understandings we have of God?
I'm reminded of a classic statement of anthropological experience, that we "journey into (or among) the other, only to returned changed to ourselves" (to find ourselves, to know ourselves, in a new light).
A theme, so far, that I find myself thinking about, is that of understanding and image.
More than one person has said something like, you (the other two groups) have a certain image of us. I would like it if you would let me explain myself (our group, our beliefs, etc.), and replace your image of me (us) with our image of ourselves (i.e., see us as we think we are).
This, of course, makes total sense, but how easy it is to forget. How easy it is to relate to others based on my image of them, rather than learning to know them as they are (this movement, I would say, is at the heart of what it means to move from relating to people ethnocentrically to relating to them ethnorelatively or ethnosensitively).
But an issue arises, of course - to what extent can we really understand "The Other"? Someone pointed out an author (I forget who), who said that we really can't fully/deeply/truly understand other peoples' religious faith. I seem to remember Wilfred Cantwell Smith saying something of the sort. This could be true not only between religious communities (how can I as a Christian, for example, know how a Muslim feels about the Qur'an, or the depth of the impact of saying the Shahada, in/on his or her mind, heart, soul?), but also within a religious tradition (can I really know the reality of another person's faith, what's going on in their heart and mind and spirit?).
Of course, we can work in the direction of understanding, but we need to observe, ask questions, listen carefully, and push ourselves to go deeper, not to stop at the surface. It strikes me how often our relationships with and understanding of each other, remain relatively superficial, either assuming we "know" the other, or perhaps not even thinking about it.
One other thing - self-awareness comes, in part, through coming to understand how others perceive us. If a Muslim or a Jew tells me as a Christian, "honestly, I tend to think of you Christians as polytheists," that can be a cause for interesting self-reflection, learning about myself as well as the Other. I find myself thinking, for example, what really is monotheism? what does it mean to worship God monotheistically? and how can I express my conviction of the fact that I am monotheistic, in a way that can make sense to Muslims and Jews in light of the different understandings we have of God?
I'm reminded of a classic statement of anthropological experience, that we "journey into (or among) the other, only to returned changed to ourselves" (to find ourselves, to know ourselves, in a new light).
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