items of interest

with contributions from Bill Sherman, Eric Rutgrink, Dinah Eng, Jim Wallis

"Do Jews, Christians, and Muslims all worship the same God? That question was addressed [last month] in a well-attended forum at Peace Academy, Tulsa's Muslim school. All four speakers — a Jew, a Catholic, a Protestant, and a Muslim — generally agreed that each of the Abrahamic faiths worship the same God, the Creator of mankind. Steve Cranford, executive director of Tulsa Metropolitan Ministry, one of the sponsors of the forum, . . . said the United States has become the most religiously diverse society on Earth. 'Now it is up to us to learn to live together,' he said. . . .

"Don Pittman, dean of the Phillips Theological Seminary, said most in his tradition would affirm that the God of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam is 'one Creator and Judge of us all.' He quoted a scholar who said there are three positions people can take on the question. The first is to believe there really are many gods. The second is to believe only those in their tradition worship the true God, and others do not. The third, and most probable, he said, is that there is but one God, Maker and Lord of all, and His infinite fullness and richness 'exceeds all of our human attempts to grasp it. This stance is open to mutuality and common truth-seeking,' he said. 'We have much to talk about with one another, on some of the most profound questions of our time,' he said. 'There are important signs that we're entering into a new religious era. I feel God is leading us into a new future. I'd see it as a future in which all of our traditions enrich one another,' he said."

Bill Sherman
"Four faiths come to an understanding"
Tulsa World
September 20, 2003

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