Daily Excerpt: An Afternoon's Dictation (Greenebaum) - The Call to Interfaith, Chapter Two
Today's book excerpt comes from An Afternoon's Dictation by Steven Greenebaum. This book has been in the Amazon top 100 among interfaith and ecumenical books on many occasions.
PART ONE: THE CALL TO INTERFAITH
CHAPTER TWO
“Religion is but a language for speaking to Me.” It’s hard
to overstate how crucial this revelation was.
In the 50 years of my life that preceded the revelation,
that thought had never once occurred to me, now that it was laid in in my lap
it made perfect sense. It made sense and answered a bucket-full of questions.
The first and most pressing question it answered for me was this: if there were
indeed one and only one “right” answer to the question of God and how to relate
to God, why didn’t humanity know what that answer was? After thousands upon
thousands of years, why were there so many differing answers?
The ancient Greeks were no dummies. They’d gifted us
Sophocles, Socrates, Aristotle, Plato, and so many other brilliant thinkers. If
the truth of it is that there is only one God, why did the Greeks worship
twelve? The ancient Hebrews embraced one God, as did Christianity, but
Christians quickly divided God into three very different aspects (Father, Son,
Holy Spirit). So, which was it, one God or a God with three very different
personas? And then there was Buddhism. The Buddha, as best as I understood him
in 1999, embraced the sacred but not God. I didn’t really know much at all
about Islam at that time, but I did understand this was yet another way of
approaching God. And there were the Native Americans and indigenous peoples
around the world. I had a Masters in mythology. I knew of the diversity and,
yes, profundity of our many myths. So again, if there were truly one and only
one answer, why were there so many different spiritual traditions? I could not,
and do not, subscribe to the idea that God is incompetent. Yet, if God were not
incompetent, then what gives? Could it be that there is no one right
answer?
The idea that one group of people, be they Hebrews,
Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, or any other group, somehow “got it right” and
everyone else was wrong seemed an incredibly arrogant way of seeing our
religious differences. Earlier in my life, I’d quit my job as High Holy Days
choir director at a temple because the cantor there kept insisting that Judaism
was the one right religion. I felt deeply that Judaism was “an answer” and a
good answer for me. That said, to leap to the conclusion that because it was
good for me it was the one right answer for everyone seemed hugely arrogant. Still,
I had no real answer as to why there could be so many good and righteous
spiritual traditions. Now, “Religion is but a language for speaking to Me” made
things crystal clear. It was a spiritual awakening, the dawning of what would
become my new life. I had briefly studied comparative linguistics and more
deeply studied comparative mythology. It now became clear that the two were far
more closely linked than I had thought.
As I wrote in my first book on Interfaith (for a fuller
context, see The Interfaith Alternative. New Society Publishers,
2012, especially pages 85-88.), “A language is neither good nor evil. A
language is neither true nor false. A language can neither save nor damn you. A
work of incredible beauty and profound significance can be written in any
language and indeed has been. The fact that a profound book has been written in
Russian, Chinese, Latin, or Swahili does not lessen its value. It simply needs
to be translated into words we can relate to and understand. It needs to be translated into words we can
relate to and understand. Old English was not a “false language.”
But we no longer speak it, and so Old English too must be translated.”
Does this mean our spiritual traditions aren’t important?
No! I believe our traditions are deeply important. Try communicating with
someone without using language. Indeed, try thinking about anything, let alone
sacred matters, without using language. We need
language. What it does
mean is that like all of humanity’s languages, past and present, our sacred
language will vary from era to era and culture to culture.
It came to me that seeing our religions and spiritual
traditions as crucially important languages for speaking to and about the
sacred but not structured repositories of the one right way of approaching it
allows us to find answers to questions that have been around since humanity
first began thinking about them.
First, and perhaps foremost, seeing our spiritual pathways
as languages allows us to answer the question: “If there is only one right
spiritual pathway, why after all these centuries haven’t we found it?” Some
Christians may say that they have the one right answer. Some Jews may disagree
and say they have the one right
answer. Some Muslims, Buddhist, Hindi, Jain, and so many others may think they
have the one right answer. Yet the truth of it is most of humanity has never, not once, ever adhered to a belief
in the correctness of any one single path. Not once! There may indeed be
millions of Christians, but there are also millions of Buddhists, Baha’i,
Muslims, and so many others.
Yet if our spiritual traditions are languages for dealing
with how we see and speak about the sacred, then much that has been blurry comes
into focus. Differing languages develop differently, depending not only on
culture but also on the geography of where the speakers live. As one example,
it has been reported the Inuit (Eskimo) have scores of gradations for words meaning
snow, but the English speaker has far fewer. Does that make the Inuit “right”?
No. Does it make the English speaker “right”? Again, no. How one describes and
deals with snow depends on where you live. If I live where there is snow on the
ground every day and every night and indeed build my lodging from snow (as in
an igloo), how I relate to snow will be very different from someone who only
sees and interacts with snow in the winter, if then. It doesn’t make one person
“right” and the other a heretic.
Our religions and diverse spiritual traditions aren’t, then, unchangeable. Nor should we expect them to be. They are living, breathing languages for talking to and about the sacred. Crucial, yes! Crucial spiritual languages.
The deal was closed, if you will, with the revelation that followed.
Many have spoken for Me. They were righteous, and they did carry My words. But I am not human, and you are not God. Language can be a barrier between us as well as yourselves that can be all but impossible to breach. Seek truth in the commonality of religions—which are but the languages of speaking to Me. Worship not the grammar.
This one I had to ponder a bit, but as I did, it made such
sense! If God, Spirit, Cosmic Conscience, or whatever we choose to call it,
reaches out to us, that outreach has to be in a language we can understand or
it will make no sense. If, as example, we receive an absolute truth in
the revelation, “Mobli abuti, dicot bavariun, picicumaticus landri, biuntic jovand,”
what can we do with it? Nothing. No matter how true, there is nothing we can
do. The simple fact is, we can only understand revelation in terms of the
language we know (see Appendix C, “Shavuot Sermon”). And our languages differ.
Not only is English different from French, Spanish, and so many other
languages, but the English in the United States differs from that in Great
Britain, Australia, and other English-speaking countries. Indeed, there are
differences in English across the United States. If our languages are
different, how we hear revelations of the sacred will be different. That’s why the
revelatory guidance: “Seek truth in the commonality of religions” became a
driving force in my life.
Wow! Don’t seek the truth of the one “right” religion. Seek
truth in the commonality of religions. That was going to take work. Indeed, it
took years, and much study, but this revelation is what brought me to embrace
Interfaith and specifically Interfaith as a faith. “Seek truth in the
commonality of religions.” If we will embrace that, we are freed from so much. That
said, being shown an open door is meaningless unless we are willing to walk
through it. In Chapter 4, we’ll make that attempt! Yes, it took time—years of
study. And the first thing I had to grapple with was “worship not the grammar.”
Grammar is essential. No language will make sense without
the rules of grammar that organize it. Yet every language has different rules,
a different grammar. Should an adjective go before or after the noun? Obvious?
No. In English, we say it’s a beautiful house. In Spanish, however, it’s a
house beautiful. In German, the verbs can show up in places they never would in
English, but is one right and the others wrong? No! As crucially important as
grammar is in organizing (ensuring clear locus of meaning) each of our
languages, there can be no value judgement as to which grammar is “right.” So,
religious grammar? Worship not the grammar. What would that mean?
For one thing, it would mean letting go of the sense of
“rightness” of our differing rituals. Rituals may perhaps best be thought a
part of the grammar that helps us to order our spiritual traditions. To be
clear, our rituals can be crucial, as crucial as grammar is to making sense of
a language. It’s when we chisel our rituals into stone, righteous and
unchangeable, that we lose our way.
I’m a Jew, born in the United States. My native language is
English. Should my prayers be in Hebrew or English (or Aramaic)? It’s a
question of grammar. If I’m Catholic, should my prayers be in my native
language or Latin? Again, grammar. Should my head be covered when I pray?
Grammar. Is there a particular direction in which I should pray (like Muslims
face Mecca), and should I be on my knees or prostrate? More grammar. Again,
grammar is important. When I was the choir director at a Reconstructionist
Jewish temple, I needed to be able to understand Hebrew to successfully lead
the choir. I needed to learn to read Hebrew because as a Jew in the Reform
movement, while reciting prayers in Hebrew was a part of the tradition,
actually learning Hebrew wasn’t; it was an encouraged option, not a
requirement. I could be, and indeed was, confirmed as a member of our Reform congregation
without what is called a Bar Mitzvah. That’s the Reform movement. For
Reconstructionists, however, Hebrew was essential. Was one right and the other
wrong? I would say no. It was a difference of religious grammar. And now it was
clear: “Worship not the grammar.”
Not that I was in any way off the hook. “Seek truth in the
commonality of religions.” Okay then, if I were truly going to seek truth, I
needed to study religions, a lot of religions. More than that, I needed to stop
judging the grammar of other spiritual traditions. What I was charged with was not
to be bothered by our differences, but to seek truth by seeking what our diverse
religions held in common. For me, that meant nearly a decade of study.
Last, and before we leave the subject, there’s the rather
crucial question of who is this “Me” we keep talking about? “Religion is but a
language for speaking to Me.” Who is this “Me”?
Many would say God, but then, in all honesty, they would
likely then argue over how to define “God.” Who or what is God? Is God a he? Or
a she? Others would say there is no God, but there is a moral force in the
universe, and then argue over the nature of that moral force. Still others
would embrace the idea that there is a sacred “something” that we should cleave
to, without placing any name on it. Then, being the rather arrogant humans that
we are, we would argue about it, often passionately, sometimes violently. Who’s
right? If our religions and spiritual traditions are languages for speaking to
and about the sacred—languages that keep changing over time and circumstance—then,
as there is no one “right” language, there is no one “right” answer to how we
speak to and about the sacred.
As for me, I embrace Thomas Huxley’s approach. I’m agnostic.
The cold hard fact of the matter is: I don’t know. My life-experience has led me
to believe that there is indeed a moral force in the universe that I personally
relate to as Cosmic Conscience. I call that Cosmic Conscience God but have no
interest in arguing about it. I believe in God, but I’m also agnostic. I
realize that my beliefs are not knowledge.
The critical truth of it is that most, if not all, of us
want to be able to speak to and about the sacred, however we choose to define
it. This is fundamental to our spiritual lives. Our religions are then hugely
important and not to be belittled. Our religions give us the language to grapple
with this so very important part of our lives. That these languages have
developed over time and developed differently not only over time but also from
culture to culture in no way diminishes them.
So, ok, fine. Religions are languages to speak to and about
the sacred. What do we do about it? Which brings us to one of the holiest of
expressions of our religious languages: scripture.
Book Description:
Indies Today runner-up
Firebird Book Awards honorable mention
Pacific Book Award finalist (runner-up)
American Legacy Book Awards finalist
For more posts about this book and its author, click HERE.
To purchase copies of any MSI Press book at 25% discount,
use code FF25 at MSI Press webstore.
Want to read an MSI Press book and not have to buy for it?
(1) Ask your local library to purchase and shelve it.
(2) Ask us for a review copy; we love to have our books reviewed.
VISIT OUR WEBSITE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ALL OUR AUTHORS AND TITLES.
(recent releases, sales/discounts, awards, reviews, Amazon top 100 list, author advice, and more -- stay up to date)Check out recent issues.
Interested in publishing with MSI Press LLC?
Check out information on how to submit a proposal.
We help writers become award-winning published authors. One writer at a time. We are a family, not a factory. Do you have a future with us?Turned away by other publishers because you are a first-time author and/or do not have a strong platform yet? If you have a strong manuscript, San Juan Books, our hybrid publishing division, may be able to help.
Planning on self-publishing and don't know where to start? Our author au pair services will mentor you through the process.
Interested in receiving a free copy of this or any MSI Press LLC book in exchange for reviewing a current or forthcoming MSI Press LLC book? Contact editor@msipress.com.
Want an author-signed copy of this book? Purchase the book at 25% discount (use coupon code FF25) and concurrently send a written request to orders@msipress.com.Julia Aziz, signing her book, Lessons of Labor, at an event at Book People in Austin, Texas.
Want to communicate with one of our authors? You can! Find their contact information on our Authors' Pages.Steven Greenebaum, author of award-winning books, An Afternoon's Discussion and One Family: Indivisible, talking to a reader at Barnes & Noble in Gilroy, California.MSI Press is ranked among the top publishers in California.
Check out our rankings -- and more -- HERE.
Comments
Post a Comment