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| Photo credit: Elke Wetzig Via Wikimedia Commons |
I was so touched by his words, his example and his beliefs, I had to share some quotes from the book here.
"My first point seems overwhelmingly simple: that the accidents of birth and geography determine to a very large extent to what faith we belong." .... "You could so easily have been an adherent of the faith that you are now denigrating, but for the fact that you were born here rather than there."
"My second point is this: not to insult the adherents of other faiths by suggesting, as sometimes has happened, that for instance when you are a Christian the adherents of other faiths are really Christians without knowing it. We must acknowledge them for who they are in all their integrity, with their conscientiously held beliefs; we must welcome them and respect them as who they are..." ... "We must be ready to learn from one another, not claiming that we alone possess all truth and that somehow we have a corner on God."
"When we read the classics of the various religions in matters of prayer, meditation, and mysticism, we find substantial convergence, and that is something to rejoice at. We have enough that conspires to separate us; let us celebrate that which unites us, that which we share in common."
"It is often said, half in jest, that God created man in his own image and man has returned the compliment, saddling God with his own narrow prejudices and exclusivity, foibles and temperamental quirks."
"We have claimed to be a fellowship of compassion and caring and sharing, but as Christians we often sanctify sociopolitical systems that belie this, where the rich grow ever richer and the poor grow ever poorer, where we seem to sanctify a furious competitiveness, ruthless as can only be appropriate to the jungle."And of course you could substitute any religion in the place of "Christians" and this would apply to them just as well. We could all use more tolerance, more acceptance and less prejudice. Ignore those who would use words or actions (and backhanded compliments) against us, stand tall and stand strong - and remember that there are still those out there of every faith who are willing to extend their hands in friendship.
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40 Comments:
Wow, I love this post. A lot of amazing and wonderful points.
I was completely touched by what what he said. You are right you can easily change Christian to any other religion and the words would still ring true. Tolerance is a noble pursuit and we should ALL step up. My hand is extended in friendship...I hope there are many others as well.
Thanks for sharing, Mrs. B. The quotes you shared really show the wisdom coming from Archbishop Tutu.
Awesome post, thank you for sharing it!
I completely disagree with what Tutu said. How can you "unconsciously be a christian" ? That is the same as saying I am an unconscious Buddhist.
I am all for tolerance and peace, but I don't like having my personal beliefs belittled.
Wonderful thoughts. Thank you for sharing them with us.
Tishknits33, Are you speaking of one of the quotes in this post, or somewhere else? I honestly don't see Where Rev. Tutu has belittled anyone's beliefs.
"We must acknowledge them for who they are in all their integrity, with their conscientiously held beliefs"
"not to insult the adherents of other faiths by suggesting, as sometimes has happened, that for instance when you are a Christian the adherents of other faiths are really Christians without knowing it."
He's saying that it should not be assumed that people are unconsciously Christian and only *believe" that they are another faith - it should be assumed that they are truly *of* another faith.
To the "backhanded compliments" - ugh. The world never lacks snarky-snark-snarks, apparently! ;-)
I adored this post. This man? Walks with the Divine.
Wow, great find, I'm going to download this book and read it, thanks for sharing! I made a post on my blog inspired by your post and linked it back here to your blog, in addition to the amazon page. If you care to read: (that is if the link shows up. lol)
http://redontheright.wordpress.com/2011/06/02/book-god-is-not-a-christian/
I think everyone should listen to this mans words, and take them to heart.. That's truly touching. <3
Nice find. There are some good thoughts and ideas in this post. I'd say go beyond "tolerance" and learn to accept that the neighbor is not the same as yourself. Treat him or her the way you'd like your own family treated were the shoe on the other foot ... Accept and carry on with your own work on your own person.
Great post, thanks for always making us think deeper.
Holy Cow! How apropos!
This to me is spirit (by whatever name)making a statement. <3 <3
I think the implication of this quote:
"not to insult the adherents of other faiths by suggesting, as sometimes has happened, that for instance when you are a Christian the adherents of other faiths are really Christians without knowing it."
means that we should not assume that someone is of the same faith as we are, when we do not know this to be a fact. In any faith it becomes easy to assume that most folks live, think and breathe like we do.
Faith itself is a conscious "action" if you will. But unconsciously we can forget that others are autonomous in their beliefs. Just because it makes sense to us that something is one way does not mean it makes sense to another. Just a thought.
I think this is even easier for Christians because the community is so much more tightly knit. As a Pagan or a Witch unless we actively seek out our communities, we end up a bit isolated, and are more aware of our differences.
I remember the day my daughter brought home a new friend. I walked out of my bedroom to find the Mom staring at a plaque on my wall. My heart stopped. My daughter has had other friends who were very prejudiced against her because of MY beliefs (I encourage my kids to find their own paths). The Mom looked at me, and said, "Are you a witch?"
It was a moment of truth for me. Do I lie? Do I hide who I am? I took a deep breath and said, "Yes." Her face lit up. "Oh thank the gods. There aren't many of us around here."
That's the most positive thing I've read in weeks (especially after all the intolerance you dealt with so gracefully last week). I have faith, I just haven't been able to find my path yet; and reading your words and the Rev.'s words have been helping me immensely.
I loved this post! I tend to think of the world as sitting on a scale, like the one used by Justice. The scale is terribly off balance but when I read words like Rev. Tutu's I envision a small pebble of reason dropping on the scale and bringing it slightly more into balance. May we continue to see more wisdom in the media and mainstream so the world sees more harmony and less hate. Thanks for your posts!
Gratitude for this post -- I adore Bishop Tutu. Blessed Be!
That was lovely to read this morning. Thanks!
what a great post & i love how Rev Tutu worded it, and you are right you could swap any faith in place of Christianity. Tolerance is something that should be improved on all the time or that's how I look at it. Thank you for sharing this.
What an awesome post! While trying to get past it, my heart has been sad over the recent turmoil on the Circle of Mom's Faith Blog listing. Just last night, I thought to myself, that if those detractors had been born into a different culture, how it would affect their spiritual beliefs. .and wondered if they have ever given that any thought.
There is SO much here to absorb, I'm going to buy my own copy. EVERYONE should read it, and give themselves an honest and true heart to mind examination.
@ Delia. .how wonderful for you! If it had been me, I don't know if I would have laughed, or shed a few tears of happiness. .probably a little bit of both.
When you are a Solitary, whether by desire or design, it is always wonderful to find a kindred spirit. I imagine that you brightened her day considerably!
This is POWERFUL! Thank you for sharing. It has hit so many of the things that often upset me and hurt my heart when I see the actions of others toward those around them. His words are eloquent and unarguable.
I love your blog and am grateful that we have you to bring to our attention information that can unite us of every faith and make us stronger as a human race. My hat is off to you and I vote for you every chance I get! (wink)
I also wanted to say that I like to read from every faith and often find that there are principles of all faiths that inspire me. Thomas Moore is a catholic, but I love to read his works as well.
I am so thankful for people who follow Christ and 'get it'. I pray the others will wake from their tempestuous slumber very soon.
As a Christian, I believe to have faith means to be confident in what we hope for, and hold assurance in what we cannot see. I agree that it is important to be kind and tolerant to those of other religions and beliefs, however as a Christian, I believe 100% in the teachings of Christ, and I have faith that everything He says is true. Scripture tells us that Jesus said HE is the ONLY way, truth, and life, and no one can come to the father except through him. Unfortunately, Christians are sometimes thought to be closed minded and intolerant because we believe that, as sinners, the ONLY way to connect with God is through his sin-less son, Jesus, and other religions are misled. Anyone with faith in Christ believes this, just as other faiths believe their own virtures to be true.
We love you, Girlfriend. Hang in there.
Caity, are you sure that 'everyone' who believes in Jesus, believes what you just described? That might be a bit presumptuous to think you know the hearts and minds of everyone who believes in Jesus.
Food for thought. Thanks for sharing.
It is my belief that intolerance is based solely in fear and misunderstanding. I think education goes a long way in the promotion of tolerance. Thank you for sharing, and I plan on reading his book soon!
The Future Mrs. T, of The Pagan Housewife http://thepaganhousewife.blogspot.com/
Hi Mrs. B, long time no see!
I saw Desmond Tutu deliver a message at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit back in 1984 -- and he looked old then! I saw his face on a billboard the other day, and I thought, "I cannot believe that man is still alive." (Especially considering that he has lived in dangerous times.) He is a very wise person. I wish we had millions more like him in positions of power.
People like Mrs. B make me proud and indeed honored to be pagan.
Hi Mrs B. First time commenting on your blog. I found your blog because I've been learning more about paganism and I find it fascinating and beautiful and not all the weird stuff I thought it to be growing up. I was raised Mormon, but I have disaffected from that faith. Doing so has allowed me to see beauty and truth in so many diverse places, like a pagan soccer moms blog. ;)
I too loved Desmond Tutu's words, as they reflect so much of what I've come to believe.
Mrs. B.
First let me say I have been offline the past few days, but was beyond thrilled to be back and cast another vote for your blog. I was the 10,000th one!
Second, thank you for posting such powerful words. Archbishop Tutu is a very wise soul and it is cool that you liked it so much and that his words moved you.
I am always perplexed when people throw out words from the bible that say, "Jesus said HE is the ONLY way, truth, and life, and no one can come to the father except through him."
My religious interpretation of that probably differs from most people, because my heart tells me what Jesus means is more along the lines of, "The only way to my father is by following my example(through me) by feeding the poor, sheltering the homeless, being loving and forgiving, caring for the sick, and treating each other as I have treated you. (truth and life)" No where can I find him saying, "You must be a Christian to get into heaven."
I can't tell you how many times I have had an argument with someone, who has believed and preached Jesus was the first Christian. He was Jewish, and if only Christians get into heaven, where does that leave him, even if he was without sin?
Your blog rocks and I am including a link to it in my next post! Keep up the good work!
Thank you fro sharing this with us, Mrs. B. This sounds like something that is right up my alley to read and it has put words to many of my thoughts. Thanks again.
Feisty Charlie: Thank you for posting that so eloquently! I completely agree.
If that were not the meaning of his entire message, why did he use examples such as the Good Samaritan or the prostitute story to show that "unacceptable" people in the culture of the day were also good? Why did he embrace everyone, including the so called "undesireables"?
To turn your back on someone because they dont accept that passage at what some Christians take it--FACE VALUE--is ignoring the very heart of everything Jesus'story speaks of. And doing so is completely against what Jesus did his entire life; if you take his story literally as THE truth.
But if you believe his "way" is the message of that passage, and follow that he taught compassion, forgiveness for past hurts, fighting for human dignity in the face of adversity, no matter the cost to you, then yes. He is THE WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIGHT.
This post is so beautiful Mrs. B.
Thank you for the tidbits of wisdom you find and share with us!
Delia
I've been really surprised too how many of us are around. When I decided that I didnt need to keep who I am inside a secret anymore, it seemed like I found acceptance and kinship in belief every time I turned around. I didnt look for it or ask about it. But it seemed to find me.
I remember how wonderful it was to realize for the first time, I wasnt odd, alone, or as much a minority as I thought. It was and still is a great feeling to suddenly find that connection.
"not claiming that we alone possess all truth" intelligent words indeed!
! Loved this post. Such wisdom and love. Thank you for sharing this.
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