About Me

My photo
Nazareth, Pa., United States

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Sister Joan: What the Great Religions Have in Common

This is from a Jackson Free Press interview with Sister Joan Chittister, a Benedictine nun from Erie, Pa.
One of the things that strikes me is the similarity of the message of all religions at their cores.
Of course it is (similar)! At (their) core, it's about these life issues, and the goodness comes out in every one of them. What each of them is talking about is how to live the good life. ... In 1993 at the Parliament of Religions, they had done a survey of the great religious traditions, and they found four items in each of those traditions—not just buried in them, but central to them: Thou shalt not lie; thou shalt not steal; thou shalt not kill; and thou shalt love rightly.

And love is the basis of all that, right?
Yes, of course.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm confused, are you bashing a nun for saying we should love each other?

Bernie O'Hare said...

No. I am pointing out that all great religions have more similarities than differences. It seems that, of all of them, love is the most common theme.

Anonymous said...

I love Big Government, which is the only religion that matters anymore.

CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN

Andrew Bench said...

Please, the true religion of America is capitalism and that has virtually nothing to do with love. At least government must be directed toward social goods--capitalism focuses on money pure and simple. There could be nothing further from religion's central message than that.

"Then Jesus said to His disciples, 'Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.'" Matt 19:23-24 (NKJV).

Not much has changed in 2000 years.

Anonymous said...

Publius- are you saying a rich man will never enter the kingdom? I would hope you understand the origins of Matt 19:23-24 , it doesn't seem you do.
Are you saying that capitalist are inherently unloving?
Are you saying government must be directed toward social good? You worry me.
Hmmmmmmm

Andrew Bench said...

@ 7:09. The scripture seems pretty self-evident to me. But, if you have an alternative reading, do tell. Also, the verse isn't suggesting it's impossible to enter if one is wealthy, but that it is very hard and that certain baggage needs to be unloaded first. (See wikipedia entry on this about unloading a camel). The "kingdom of God," here, also seems to be more rhetorical than literal--meaning, perhaps, community with others / love for others / extinction of the ego.

Jesus, my friend, was very much into radical lefty ways. It's probably why his disciples were so taken aback when he told the wealthy young man in this story he needed to sell all his goods to enter the kingdom. Once again, not that much changes in 2000-years.

Andrew Bench said...

Also, @ 7:09 are you saying government should not be directed at the social good??? Because that certainly worries me.

Anonymous said...

What is a post about love doing on a hate blog?

Anonymous said...

Being religious is an alternative lifestyle choice. The tables have been turned. More and more religious are closeted to avoid offending the Godless and becoming the target of ridicule.