Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Seasons of Grace

Home
Catholic
THE COEXIST CONUNDRUM: A Noble Goal, or Pie-in-the-Sky Ideology?

THE COEXIST CONUNDRUM: A Noble Goal, or Pie-in-the-Sky Ideology?

Last updated on: September 8, 2016 at 7:52 pm by Kathy Schiffer

THE COEXIST CONUNDRUM: A Noble Goal, or Pie-in-the-Sky Ideology? 2016-09-08T19:52:02-05:00 Kathy Schiffer

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Can’t we all just get along?

Do you remember Rodney King? He was the African-American who was beaten by Los Angeles police officers after a traffic arrest in 1991. The beating, which was caught on videotape by a bystander—and the subsequent acquittal of the officers involved—enraged the black community in that city and sparked a race riot which played out on television screens across America. Before it was over, more than 7,000 fires had been set, the city had sustained nearly $1 billion in financial losses, and 53 people were dead.

Appearing on television on the third day of the riots, King posed the question we all remember: “People, I just want to say, you know, can we all get along?…. Can we stop… making it horrible for the older people and the kids?”

* * * * *

I was thinking about King’s plaintive appeal as I read about the June 26 initiative “Faith Shared: Uniting in Prayer and Understanding.” Co-sponsored by the Washington-based Interfaith Alliance and Human Rights First, the event is intended to demonstrate respect for Islam, following several anti-Muslim demonstrations at which the Qur’an was burned by anti-Islam protestors.

So next week, leaders of Christian congregations are encouraged to invite Muslim and Jewish clergy into their pulpits during their worship, to read from their sacred texts.

WELL-INTENTIONED NONSENSE

Which is, as one broadcaster stated bluntly, “well-intentioned nonsense.”

It is appropriate and good for delegates from the various faith traditions to meet in symposia, in conferences, in educational sessions, and to contrast and compare their faith traditions. However, this should never occur within the context of a Mass. According to the dictates of canon law, the homily—which is, after all, a part of the great drama of the sacred liturgy—must always refer to the readings of the day, usually the Gospel reading. Only an ordained priest or deacon, not even a lay Catholic, is permitted to preach.

For this reason, and not out of mere obstinacy or disdain for other religions, it is highly inappropriate to allow delegates from other faiths to speak during the Holy Mass.

Now don’t get me wrong: We should certainly be respectful of others’ deeply held religious beliefs. And we should try to learn more about their beliefs, and should build bridges—find points of unity, work together for our
common goals. This mutual exchange of ideas, though, is not the “stuff” of Sunday worship; rather, Catholics and Muslims should talk in the public forum or around the dinner table.

AN INTERCHANGE WITH GOOD RESULTS

One recent example of a very positive interchange between Catholics and Muslims is the West Coast Muslim-Catholic Dialogue which took place in Orange, California, on May 24-25. This twelfth annual meeting brought together representatives of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs and three Muslim organizations from the Sunni and Shi’a traditions. Presiding were the bishop of Yakima, Washington, Bishop Carlos Sevilla, and Dr. Muzammil H. Siddiqi of the Islamic Society of Orange County. The discussion focused on scriptural interpretation.

I learned a lot from reading about this dialogue, and I’m sure the participants learned as well.

I learned that according to Sunni Muslims, the two sources of Islam are the Qur’an and the Sunnah/Hadith, which are the “words, deeds and approvals of the Prophet, reported by his companions.
I learned that there are two initial forms of interpretation of the Qur’an: tafsir, meaning to explain, elucidate and interpret; and ta’wil, which seeks to return to the original meaning of a word or statement.
And I learned that Shi’a Muslims believe that no verse of the Qur’an has been left uninterpreted. One way that the Prophet would explain the Qur’an is through the Qur’an itself—using later verses to explain earlier ones.

But the difference is that this respectful dialogue occurred in an appropriate forum—and did not detract from the efficacy of Christian worship.

* * * * *

You may have seen those bumper stickers which read COEXIST. What, you wonder, are they talking about?!

There’s a somewhat tongue-in-cheek commentary floating around the Internet—I can’t cite the source because it’s been republished all over the place, with only slight variations. It explains the intended meaning of the symbols, and then explains why it makes no sense.

It goes like this:

C = Islam

O = Pacifism

E = Gay Rights

X = Judaism

I = Paganism

S = Taoism

T = Christianity

C wants to kill E, X, T and (by implication) O. If they achieved the world they wanted, I and S would also no longer exist.

O doesn’t allow for effective resistance or defeat of C.

E stands in direct opposition to C, X and T, and accuses those who speak against them of hate speech. Also, they’re trying to edge X and T out of public schools in favor of their own agenda. (They’re afraid C will be offended, so they get less trouble.) E is actually very, very intolerant.

X’s existence is threatened not only by C but also by O, who invariably supports C over X.

I and S are statistically insignificant and are mainly on there to complete the bumper sticker.

T is who the bumper sticker is really arguing against, but poses no threat to any of the others.

Oh, I don’t know—My husband, who is very generous in his evaluations of other people’s motives, considers this patently unfair.

If you laugh, if you find it at all funny, though, that’s because there is an element of truth to it. Despite the best sentiments of the Coexist Foundation and the Interfaith Alliance, not all of the religions of the world really want to be in the same room with one another.

And speaking as a Christian, I believe that my religion has some compelling Truth which cannot be found in other faiths. I’ve gotta say: Not all religions are equal.

I assume that you, if you are a believing Jew or Muslim, believe that your religion offers something unique and is not interchangeable.

I respect you, even like you; but my worship of the God Whom I serve cannot be shared.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

June 9, 2011

LIKE DAY AND NIGHT: Two Catholic Groups in Detroit This Weekend

Next Post

June 19, 2011 The Mystery of the Three-in-One

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category #Synod14 Abortion Abstinence Abuse Addiction Adoption Advent Adventure Advertising Aging Agnosticism All Saints Day All Souls Day Amish Anathema Angels Anglican Animals Annulment Annunciation Apocalypse Apologetics Apostles Apostleship of the Sea Apparitions Archangels Archbishop Cordileone Archbishop Dolan Archbishop Vigneron Archeology Architecture Art Art Buchwald Ash Wednesday Assisted Suicide Astronauts Atheism Athletes Babies Baptism Beatification Beauty Bible Biochemistry Bioethics Birds Bishop Lori Bishops Blasphemy Books Canon Law Canonization Capital Punishment Cardinal Burke Cardinal Dolan Cardinal George Caritas Catechesis Catechism of the Catholic Church Catholic Catholic Education Catholic Higher Education Catholic Social Teaching Celibacy Cemeteries Character Charity Chastity Cheapskate Christian Unity Christmas Churches Civil Rights Cloning Comedy Communion of Saints Community Kitchens Confession Confirmation Conscience Consequences Consistory Constitution Contraception Conversion Cooking Councils of the Church Creativity Criminal Justice Cristero War Crucifixion Crystal Cathedral Culture Death Death and Dying Death Penalty Department of Health and Human Services Diaconate Dictatorship of Relativism Dignity Disability Discrimination Dissidence Divorce Doctors of the Church Early Church Fathers Easter Economics Ecumenism Education Encyclicals Environmentalism Episcopal Church Eucharist Euthanasia Evangelism Evangelists Evangelization Evolution Excuses Facebook Faith Families Family Fashion Fasting Fatherhood Federal Government Feminism Fiction Film First Amendment First Communion For Greater Glory Forgiveness Free Speech Friends Friendship Gender Discrimination Germany Gnosticism Good Friday Government Grace Greed Gregorian Calendar Happiness Health Heaven Heresy History Holidays Holiness Hollywood Holy Land Holy Saturday Holy Spirit Holy Week Holy Year Home Sweet Home Homosexuality Hope Humanism Humility Humor Imagination Immaculate Conception Immigration Impulsivity In Vitro Fertilization Incarnation Indulgences Infallibility Internet Islam Italy Jerusalem Jesus Judaism Justice Kathleen Sebelius Labor Movement LCWR Lent Life Literature Liturgy Lourdes Love Magi Marketing Marriage Martyrdom Martyrs Mary Mass Media Medical Ethics Mexico Michigan Miracles Missionaries Modernism Modesty Monks Monothelitism Motherhood Movies Mushrooms Music Muslim Mystery Mysticism Mythology Nativity Natural Law Nature New Evangelization New Media New Year New Year's Resolutions Nostalgia Obscenity Occult Old Testament Origen Orthodox Orvieto Pallium Papacy Parenting Patience Patriarch Bartholomew Patriotism Peace Peace and Justice Penitence Pentecost People Persecution Philosophy Poetry Political activism Political Correctness Politics Polls Pop Culture Pope Benedict XVI Pope Francis Pope John Paul II Pope John XXIII Pope Paul VI Pope St. Pius X Pope Urban VII Population Prayer Preaching Prejudice Pride Priesthood Pro-Life Protestantism Psychology Purgatory Queenship of Mary Racism Rape Real Presence Reconciliation Reformation Relics Religious Religious Liberty Reliquary Renewal Reproductive Technology Resurrection Rights Romance Rome Royalty Sacraments Sacred Heart Saints Satanism Science Science Fiction Scripture Seal of Confession Secularism Seniors September 11 Seventy Times Seven Sexuality Sharks Sin Smoking Social Communications Social Justice Social Networking Social Sciences Space Exploration Spirituality Sports St. Luke St. Patrick's Day St. Paul St. Peter St. Teresa of Avila Stations of the Cross Steve Jobs Superstition Supreme Court Symbolism Synod Technology Teen Rebellion Television Terrorism Thankfulness Thanksgiving Theology Think This, Not That Tobit Toilets Toys Tradition Traditions Transplants Travel Trinity Twitter U.S. Air Force Uncategorized United Nations USCCB Valentine Vatican Vatican Archives Vatican Blogfest Virtue Vocations Where We Pray White Heart Women World Day of Social Communications World Meeting of Families World News World Youth Day Worship Writing Year of Consecrated Life Year of Faith Year of Mercy Youth

Select a Month December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Cast all your anxiety on him because he ____ for you.

Select your answer to see how you score.

Cares Provides Loves Watches