Guidelines for Interfaith Dialog
and
Towards an Interfaith Theology . . .
Rev. Dr. George Wolfe,
Muncie Interfaith Fellowship
Coordinator of Outreach Programs
BSU Center for Peace and Conflict Studies
Contributing Writer, United Religions Initiative
Author of The Spiritual Power of Nonviolence: Interfaith Understanding for a Future Without War
Guidelines for Interfaith Dialog
- Speak in terms of what you believe in, not what you do not believe in;
- Understand that Faith is not blind acceptance; rather it means to trust. We have faith in “that in which we place our trust.” Faith is also compatible with reason in that it is through reason and experience that we determine what we can trust or have faith in.
- Respect the spiritual experience of everyone. Their journey is as meaningful to them as yours has been to you.
Examples of core values that are shared among the great world religions:
- All of the great religions embrace some form of the Golden Rule;
- Each associate light with God, divinity or wisdom, and darkness with ignorance;
- Each emphasizes forgiveness and has some form of penitential season;
- Each encourages a form of reflective interior prayer or meditation;
- Each teaches that a person should disengage the ego and act from a level free from self-centered interests;
- And each religion calls upon its followers to share their wealth to help people in need.
Examples of the great religions equating God with light:
- From the Christian tradition: “God is Light, in whom there is no darkness at all.” (1st John 1:5)
- From the Islamic tradition: “God is the light of the heavens and the earth.” (Qur’an 24:35)
- From the Jewish tradition: “The Lord is my light and my salvation.” (Psalm 27:1)
- From the Sikh tradition: “God, being Truth, is the one light of all.” (Adi Granth)
- From the Hindu tradition: “…the world of Brahman is light itself.” (Chandogya Upanishad)
Examples of the great religions making reference to a person’s higher spiritual altruisitic nature:
- From the Jewish tradition: Humans are created in God’s image
- From the Hindu tradition: Everyone has the spark or light of divinity within them
- From the Christian tradition: Humans are called to discover and follow their inner light,
- From the Buddhist tradition: Everyone has Buddha nature