Presentation made by Terry Taylor, Executive Director of
Interfaith Paths to Peace, to CU meeting on May 12, 2005
Fun fact: Fifty years ago in the United States, what did the term "mixed marriage" mean to many people?
As one of three interfaith organizations in Louisville, Kentucky, Interfaith Paths to Peace was specifically founded about twenty years ago to make the community, nation and the world more peaceful.
Terry Taylor described how the official Roman Catholic dialogue with Jews and then Muslims and other faiths began in the 1960s with the Vatican II conference in Rome. Other Christian theologians, for example, Thomas Merton and more recently Matthew Fox, have encouraged this interaction also.
One River, Many Wells
Taylor described the types of individual views of religion as 1. Exclusivist - Ours is the only religion. 2. Inclusivist - There are other religions but mine is the best. 3. Pluralistic - My religion isn't any better or worse than others. Fox in his book One River, Many Wells, speaks of God as a river of spirituality and love that no one can dam up. As Taylor summarized it, "There are many wells, not just our own."
The Center of Faith and Action urges people to visit different religious institutions and houses of worship and then relate those experiences back to their own religion. Citing ways that Christians can learn from other religions, Taylor listed the practice of Jews to set aside the Sabbath, of Muslims to pray five times daily, of Buddhists to see themselves as part of the environment; of Native Americans and Wiccans to see natural resources as brothers and sisters, and of the Orthodox Christians to make beauty a part of worship. Taylor also urged people when they do interreligious activities not to reduce everything to one common denominator but to honor the differences between religions. He noted the Hindu idea of how each person will follow a different path depending on who he is and what he brings.
Vow of Nonviolence
Taylor also noted the charge of St. Francis of Assisi to "Preach the Gospel always; if necessary, use words" as an example of how members of all religions should try to integrate all aspects and actions of their lives, rather than parcel out faith into one part. In presenting the Interfaith Paths to Peace Vow of Nonviolence, Taylor noted that publicly embracing nonviolence is a way of affirming the commitment to treat others as we want to be treated, a command that is central to most of the world's great religions. This Vow can be seen on the website www.InterfaithPathsToPeace.org.
Taylor concluded with upcoming interfaith events and reading material, which are also available on the website www.InterfaithPathsToPeace.org.
Fun fact answer: "Mixed marriage" of course can mean the marriage between two people who are different racially, culturally or in other ways. But for many in the United States, the term used to refer to a marriage between Protestants and Roman Catholics.
Fun fact: Fifty years ago in the United States, what did the term "mixed marriage" mean to many people?
As one of three interfaith organizations in Louisville, Kentucky, Interfaith Paths to Peace was specifically founded about twenty years ago to make the community, nation and the world more peaceful.
Terry Taylor described how the official Roman Catholic dialogue with Jews and then Muslims and other faiths began in the 1960s with the Vatican II conference in Rome. Other Christian theologians, for example, Thomas Merton and more recently Matthew Fox, have encouraged this interaction also.
One River, Many Wells
Taylor described the types of individual views of religion as 1. Exclusivist - Ours is the only religion. 2. Inclusivist - There are other religions but mine is the best. 3. Pluralistic - My religion isn't any better or worse than others. Fox in his book One River, Many Wells, speaks of God as a river of spirituality and love that no one can dam up. As Taylor summarized it, "There are many wells, not just our own."
The Center of Faith and Action urges people to visit different religious institutions and houses of worship and then relate those experiences back to their own religion. Citing ways that Christians can learn from other religions, Taylor listed the practice of Jews to set aside the Sabbath, of Muslims to pray five times daily, of Buddhists to see themselves as part of the environment; of Native Americans and Wiccans to see natural resources as brothers and sisters, and of the Orthodox Christians to make beauty a part of worship. Taylor also urged people when they do interreligious activities not to reduce everything to one common denominator but to honor the differences between religions. He noted the Hindu idea of how each person will follow a different path depending on who he is and what he brings.
Vow of Nonviolence
Taylor also noted the charge of St. Francis of Assisi to "Preach the Gospel always; if necessary, use words" as an example of how members of all religions should try to integrate all aspects and actions of their lives, rather than parcel out faith into one part. In presenting the Interfaith Paths to Peace Vow of Nonviolence, Taylor noted that publicly embracing nonviolence is a way of affirming the commitment to treat others as we want to be treated, a command that is central to most of the world's great religions. This Vow can be seen on the website www.InterfaithPathsToPeace.org.
Taylor concluded with upcoming interfaith events and reading material, which are also available on the website www.InterfaithPathsToPeace.org.
Fun fact answer: "Mixed marriage" of course can mean the marriage between two people who are different racially, culturally or in other ways. But for many in the United States, the term used to refer to a marriage between Protestants and Roman Catholics.