Huff Post
By John Backman: Writer and principal, The Dialogue Venture
We know very little about God.
This is hardly a new idea. Most of the best-known faith traditions, such as Hinduism and Buddhism, view God as utterly shrouded in mystery. The traditional Christian belief about God — one essence, three persons — is enigmatic to the core. Meanwhile, the Divine behavior is just as mysterious: in the stories of many sacred scriptures, God often acts in ways that defy just about any description of God you care to make.
Yet, Christianity touts specific beliefs about who God is and what God does, encapsulated in the historiccreeds. Moreover, the Church (in most of its manifestations) has spent centuries insisting on adherence to those beliefs, often to the point of violence. Some critics of the Church look at this and conclude that beliefs about God do more harm than good.
I have come to think of my beliefs not as settled facts or eternal verities, but as starting points. I live out of them because, at this phase in my life, they are what I understand to be true. I cherish them and take them seriously: I have invested many years in exploring them precisely because they speak profoundly of God to me. At the same time, I am open to hearing from others. If something comes along that speaks differently of God, my light hold on my own beliefs frees me to explore it, consider its truth value, and — if it is compelling — allow it to reshape what I believe.
Categories: Buddhism, CHRISTIANITY, Faith, Hinduism, Interfaith tolerance, Islam, Religion, Spirituality
We do need reasoned beliefs and absolute moral values, otherwise we are on the slippery slope of relativism.
If, John Backman.Writer and principal, The Dialogue Venture, reads the Muslim Times regularly and read a book Essence of Islam, he will begin to know God and beliefs better.