One of the the greatest reasons for creating this blog is the creation and development of friendships. Out of this I have come to make a new friend and also come to know older friends better. This post is the latter.
The discussion happened when I met up with Jonathan who was doing a fundraiser to raise money for Evergreen Hillel that morning. It was originally for the Undergraduate Thesis but the discussion moved beyond the questions as we talked.
Jonathan is one of my friends from my Freshman year of College but who I didn't really talk to in depth until today. In the discussion I found that both of us saw God similarly and I learned what being Jewish means to him. We talked about connection with God through music, nature and community. We also discussed the Reform movement and about it's more universal approach in preaching the Torah by having services be in both English and Hebrew.
Near the end we got on the inclusiveness and exclusiveness of certain religions. Specifically the more Orthodox faiths in any religion who see other interpretations of the religion as not the true interpretations. It's from this mindset that of "the Other" that so much conflict happens in the first place. God's truth becomes something that breaks people apart and causes people to die for reasons that can sometimes mirror nationalism verses the sacrifice and compassion of a loving, just, universal God who speaks in many contexts and brings out virtue in people no matter their cultural practice or experience of the Divine.
It was rich discussion in which I learned so much. I'm excited to visit Temple Beth Hatfiloh the Reform Synagogue in town later this week.
A philosophy professor once told me that religion is the empty husk of wisdom. An earlier philosopher described it as "a superstition, with a kernel of truth encased in a shell of doctrines that can and ought to be cast away."
ReplyDeleteOnce religious doctrines are seen as more important than the truth they are encasing, strife occurs. Once you understand the truth, the doctrines are no longer of any use. It is like the Buddhist parable of the ferryboat: you use the boat to get across the river, but "once he reaches his destination at the far shore, does the wise man pick up the ferryboat and carry it with him?"