The modern Interfaither (part 1): 10 parts attitude to 1 part method.

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Jewish/Roman Catholic dialogue has been going on for many years with mixed results. Within much academic protestant theology there has also been this dialogue particularly from post-war German theologians. The reason is simple, very few Christian leaders were prepared to speak out against the Nazi persecution and murder of the Jews.

Why we need dialogue

Dairmaid MacCulloch, my favourite church historian, has made a startling accusation when speaking from the death camp at Auschwitz:

“This place is an offence against the Christian gospel. I mean it is an offence at an obvious level, it offends against mercy, pity, truth, love, but at a more profound Christian level. It offends against the fact that, at its basic level, Christianity is a story about a person. A person who is both human and divine. This place was designed to rob people of their personality, to make them less than human. It will not do to say that the Nazi's were anti-Christian, it will not even do to say that Jews died for racial reasons. And not because of their religion. Nazi's were able to do their evil destructive work because they were so good at playing on myths, the myths that lurk in peoples minds. And this myth was that the Jews were the killers of Christ, [so they were] the enemies of Christian civilisation. In that sense Christianity is implicated fatally in the murder of the Jews”

Right across Europe today there are growing movements that play on the myths in peoples minds about Muslims. They are (to use examples from my country), both political such as the British National Party, and grass roots such as the English Defence League. Likewise, within many Muslim communities there also exist those who perpetuate dangerous myths about Western civilisation. It is these myths that are leading people to commit to dangerous forms of Islam.

I was pleased therefore to recently hear that the Jewish/RC dialogue was looking to include Muslims as well. The Abrahamic faith groups have a unique role to play in European peacemaking because they have the propensity to understand each other both as monotheists, and as people of sacred texts. This understanding can then trickle down through the rest of our populations. The greatest enemy to negative stereotypes and politically toxic myths is relationship and dialogue becasue they lead to understanding and social cohesion.

Getting our attitudes right

Having been involved in interfaith dialogue at the local level for a number of years (and having got it drastically wrong as well as right) I have become convinced that the work is 10 parts attitude, to 1 part methodology. Therefore I want to use the rest of this post to discuss the attitudes that interfaithers need. For this there is no better person to listen to than Krister Stendahl. Stendahl (1921-2008) was a professor at Harvard Divinity School as well as being the chair of the World Council of Churches' Consultation on the Church and the Jewish People. Most people know him for his highly influential paper 'The Apostle Paul and the introspective conscious of the West', which changed the direction of modern New Testament scholarship, influencing current theologians such as N T Wright. For me, what he calls, “Stendahl's three rules of religious understanding,” sum up the attitude that the interfaither must take to the table:

1. When you are trying to understand another religion, you should ask the adherents of that religion and not its enemies.

2. Don't compare your best to their worst.

3. Leave room for "holy envy." in other words be willing to recognise elements in the other religious tradition or faith that you admire and wish could, in some way, be reflected in your own religious tradition or faith.

I would want to add to this, simply, that a forgiving attitude towards those you are in dialogue with is vital as everyone will make mistakes, and everyone will risk causing offence at some time. My experince of interfaith dialogue is that, whilst you need to take others seriously you need to chill out a bit yourself.

Further posts will examine some methodological approaches from the business world that can assist in managing interfaith relationships.