| True Religion Creates Community | 1 comment |
 12 Oct 2006 @ 15:49, by Roger EatonThe following article is by Rev Stewart, key sponsor of the upcoming Unity-and-Diversity Global Assembly dialog. He is a kind hearted man and a thinker, as you can see from his words. His Unity-and-Diversity World Council website is worth a look. ---------------------------------------------- RECONCILIATION: A Celebration of Our Common Humanity - by Rev Leland Stewart Put away from you all bitterness and wrath ... and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another. --Christianity (Ephesians 4:31), Science and Spirituality, p. 140 Religions are many, but the Spirit of Life is One. Religion in our time must therefore embrace diversity and in the midst of that diversity create unity, a sense of the wholeness of all things. Let us be reconciled to one another and live in harmony. True religion creates community. At the beginning of an age, life comes together in a spirit of unity-and-diversity, accepting differences and learning from those differences. In the midst of the challenges of our time of transition, we are discovering a new sense of community which is global, universal. It is all-inclusive, reconciling misunderstandings and forgiving different ways of living. The days of nation building are being transcended in the need for building the earth. The new community is that of the globe as a whole, as we also become conscious of belonging to the universe of many planets and solar systems. Life is sacred in all its dimensions. Our respect for life is essential to the building of community, of discovering our common humanity. Today we are suspended between the dying of western civilization and the birth of global civilization. It is this transition which has brought about a temporary sense of chaos and confusion. It is the task of religions and spiritual groups to move beyond that transition and proclaim the new sense of meaning which can unite us all in a new sense of purpose. We are told that world peace will come when the religions of the world are reconciled to each other and begin to build a sense of their common humanity. The interfaith movement is now beginning to build this new sense of trust and common ground. May our gatherings help bring about that sense of reconciliation. Our time cries out for a new way of Being that affirms the sacredness of life and of every living thing. In the Spirit of Unity-and-Diversity!!! |