Peace in a turbulent world

No. Religion cannot be a force for peace. Religion is the attempt of

humanity to get to or appease a god or gods. It is human effort.

Mostly, it is a human effort to remove some sense of guilt or

impending judgment.

Foundationally, religion is fear-based. Fear breeds fear.

Religious people fear the disfavor of their divine beings if they

don’t measure up. They fear the influence of other religions on their

culture and family. Religious wars erupt when fearful people try to

eliminate the theoretically harmful influence of one religion over

another, or it becomes a convenient excuse for political motives.

God’s intention in creating humanity was not the development of a

religious system that made people “good enough” to be in his

presence.

God created us to have a love relationship with him, not a

religion. I know of no definition of love that includes systems or

ritual. My love for my wife and family is far from systematic or

ritual. The New Testament tells us that we are saved by “grace ...

not as a result of works, for that would cause people to boast.”

Ritual breeds pride, and love is the antithesis of pride.

Religion is easier than relationships. Religion makes it easier to

measure who is meeting the standard, who is “in.” In my own faith

system, people have often gotten lazy with their relationship with

God and let it deteriorate into ritual. That ritual in turn begets

religion. So yes, many have in the name of Christ used their religion

to justify bombing and murdering, but that is not Jesus. Even people

who don’t go to church know Jesus isn’t like that.

Proverbs 21:3 says “To do what is right and just is more

acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.” Religious sacrifices mean

nothing to God if they are not done with righteousness and justice.

Righteousness and justice are only real if they come from the heart.

Righteousness without love is hypocritical, justice without love is

cold.

So to answer the question, as long a people are religious,

religion will play a part in global conflicts. It can never be a tool

of peace. If, however, religion is replaced by relationship, then

justice, righteousness and peace will follow.

ASSOCIATE PASTOR

RIC OLSEN

Harbor Trinity Church

Costa Mesa

Peace-Shalom-Salaam is a major focus and concern of all worldwide

religions. “Peace” occurs more than 300 times in the Bible and in

dozens of places in the Book of Common Prayer. Daily prayer and

thought lead to ever new understandings of “peace.”

In loyalty to the person, teaching and Lordship of Jesus Christ,

my Christian commitment is to God’s way of redemptive love: to pray,

study and work for peace and justice, and to confront, so far as

possible, all forms of violence. In fellowship with others I endeavor

to be faithful to our baptismal vows, including “to renounce the evil

powers of this world, which corrupt and destroy the creatures of God?

(Book of Common Prayer 302) and to wage peace across all boundaries,

calling upon people everywhere to repent, to forgive and to love.

In the book “Wishful Thinking,” Presbyterian minister Fred

Buechner writes, “Peace has come to mean the time when there aren’t

any wars or even when there aren’t any major wars. Beggars can’t be

choosers; we’d most of us settle for that. But in Hebrew, peace,

“shalom,” means fullness, everything you need to be wholly and

happily yourself. One of the titles by which Jesus is known is Prince

of Peace, and he used the world himself in what seems at first glance

to be two radically contradictory utterances. On one occasion he said

to the disciples, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace on

earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.” (Matthew 10:34)

And later on, the last time they ate together, he said to them,

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.”(John 14:27) The

contradiction is resolved when you realize that for Jesus peace seems

to have meant not the absence of struggle but the presence of love.

In my prayer book is a marker from the Episcopal Peace Fellowship,

which says, “You have prayed for peace today. What does this mean to

you?” At our Parish Church we have a “Peace Mass” on Tuesday mornings

with special prayers for peace; I do pray for peace daily. One day

praying for peace may lead me to write letters to our governmental

representatives. Another day having prayed for peace may lead me to

smile at that driver who obnoxiously cuts me off. Every Christian

should pray for peace daily, and doing so should motivate each of us

to some particular action every day.

THE VERY REV. CANON

PETER D. HAYNES

St. Michael & All Angels

Episcopal Parish Church

Corona del Mar

Religion does not cause wars; people do.

Each person is responsible for interpreting and expressing his or

her values and/or religious tradition.

The ideals of a faith tradition are seldom lived fully by

adherents, even those who are considered leaders or devoted

followers.

But this is no excuse for abandoning the values we most need,

however disillusioned we may be by religious representatives or

organizations.

The Tibetan Buddhist teacher Chogyam Trungpa warned about

“spiritual materialism,” the tendency for the ego to distort and use

the spiritual path for its own limited purposes. The list of

situations in which people active in religious traditions did

nothing, caved in or were co-opted by corrupt governments is a long

one (the Holocaust, for example). Yet people inspired by religious

ideals have favorably influenced historic events such as the civil

rights movement in the United States and the end of apartheid in

South Africa.

The search for a “global ethic” is one of the most promising

aspects of interfaith dialogue. “Religions should be able to agree

that human beings should not live inhumanely” is how theologian Hans

Kung puts it.

Agreement about basic values and their application to

international human rights issues should take precedence over sorting

through differences about metaphysics or theology in dialogue between

religious groups. Religious extremism, one of the most serious

threats to world peace, will be most effectively countered by

religious groups acting in union, rather than having their voice

weakened by rivalry and ideological competition.

Paul Tillich pointed out that everyone is religious. Each person’s

actions and choices reflect his or her ultimate concerns, be they

money, God, family or football. The issue is not religion as such. It

is human maturity.

THE REV. DEBORAH

BARRETT

Zen Center of Orange County

Costa Mesa