Deep in roots of religion, more unites than divides us

On this page two weeks ago, we read a hopeful article reprinted from The Fig Tree newspaper about the new Muslim mosque in Spokane.

One of the Muslim leaders quoted, Nissar Shah, said the mosque has been a dream of their congregation for a long time, “so we would have a place for Muslims to gather, but also for Muslims, Christians and Jews to come to learn that Islam is peaceful. …

“It’s a big responsibility. The Creator is one, so all people should be compassionate to each other.”

I think Shah has captured the “heart of spirituality” pretty well.

The image of “heart” as a metaphor is used in so many ways. Today, for instance, is the last day of February, the month when millions of hearts are passed out as valentines. Hearts mean love, fondness, affection – so many levels of caring.

When I read about the Muslim mosque, I found courage (a “strong heart”). People of faith were invited to reach across faith traditions to explore the hearts – the essence – of Islam, Judaism and Christianity.

For decades, I have believed with my heart and mind that if we looked carefully at the essence of the world’s primary religions, we will find so much more that unites us than divides us.

But I’m also quite aware within my own tradition that many people are comfortable staying divided, separate, from other religious traditions.

One way we do that is to settle for a divisive interpretation of one verse from the Gospel of John. There are more gracious interpretations to be found for this verse.

As Jesus eats and visits with his disciples during “The Last Supper,” he speaks of his pending death and promises his friends they will follow him. Thomas confesses that they don’t know where Jesus is going, so how can they know the way to get there?

To which Jesus says in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except by me.”

This one verse has caused so much turmoil within the hearts of people who passionately believe Christianity is their best way, but not only way, to experience God’s grace.

It is also the verse that causes untold numbers of skeptics to write off Christianity as a religion that doesn’t practice the grace it preaches.

So let’s briefly look at another credible way to understand Jesus’ words. He was not preaching to a crowd, but was engaged in a heart-wrenching farewell with his closest friends. These were not words of proclamation, but of intimate devotion.

It is legitimately argued that this story was in John’s Gospel to reinforce the love Jesus had for his disciples. It is the language of devotion and love. Is the language of love always literal? No, it is often poetic beauty and exaggeration.

Marcus Borg, in his provocative book “The Heart of Christianity,” writes of that verse in John: “Poetry can express the truth of the heart, but it is not doctrine. And such language, when not hardened into doctrine, can continue to express Christian devotion.”

John 14:6 is devotion, not dogma.

I am a Christian because Jesus is my way to both experience God and to share that experience with other people. But I cannot use Jesus to force other people to make my experience their obligation.

To his followers, Jesus is indeed the way to experience God, to know God. But when we deny other faiths their way to know God, we deny one of our own essential beliefs – that God’s grace is unconditional.

When we disagree doctrinally or traditionally, we can practice the essence of our Christian faith by affirming John Wesley’s invitation, “If your heart is as my heart, give me your hand.”

In my heart, I truly don’t understand why that threatens some Christians.