moving from exclusion to inclusion
Respectful & Constructive Dialogue
Resources
At the 26 October 2004 meeting of the All Believers Network in Honolulu, we tried to summarize how different religions view the Eternal Being. This is summarized in the following table. None of us present at the meeting claimed to 'represent' our respective religions; we only claimed to represent our views as individuals, based on our limited knowledge of our respective faiths. With that spirit, we share this with you. We will appreciate your input both in changes you might suggest, as well as in adding other religions and attributes to our list.
One thing which struck us immediately are the commonalities in the perception of the Eternal Being among the 13 religions listed. There are at least six such common attributes. In the case of some religions (for example Islam and Hinduism) many more attributes can be added; on the other hand, the Unitarian in our group felt that the only commonality among all religions is that we have no idea of how to describe this Being. We all agreed that the only way we can try to fathom the Being is through human experiences—as reflected in the types of adjectives we use to try to describe Him/Her/It.
Thus, the table is neither exhaustive, nor definitive. This reflects our preliminary thoughts on the subject, for further discussion. For example, we haven't touched upon 'negative' attributes such as the Giver of Death. We agreed that the Eternal Being is far greater than what we describe, and that our descriptions reflect what we have been able to grasp of this Divine Reality.
There is no 'Pride of Authorship' in what appears below. And while we welcome challenges, it will be best if these are accompanied by alternative ways to approach the issue. While one could take the view that there is no commonality among religions and that this is a 'wasteful' exercise, the 'raison d'etre' of the All Believers Network is to strive to understand the commonalities among religions; for us to realize that all of us worship the same Eternal Being. Hence we should build upon our common ground to help save humanity from the senseless path of destruction it seems to be currently moving along. In order to lay a solid foundation for understanding of one another's traditions and to facilitate inter-faith dialogue, the All Believers Network is developing tools such as the table of attributes of Eternal Being in various religions.
Description of the Eternal Being in Various Religions
|
Eternal Being’s Attributes |
Religions |
||||||||||||
| Bai | Bud | Chr | Dao | Hin | Isl | Jai | Jud | Skh | Sbd | Suf | Zor | Uu | |
| Unknowable | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Eternal | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ND |
| Inside us | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ND |
| External | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ND | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ND |
| Creator | Y | ND | Y | Y | Y | Y | ND | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ND |
| Truth | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ND |
| Wisdom | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ND |
| Compassion | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ND |
| Judge | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ND | Y | Y | Y | ND |
| Violent | ND | ND | Y | ND | Y | Y | ND | Y | ND | ND | ND | ND | ND |
| Non-violent | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ND |
Y= Yes (the Eternal Being is believed to possess this attribute)
ND=Not discussed (there is no mention of this attribute)
Bai=Baha’i; Bud=Buddhism; Chr=Christianity; Dao= Daoism; Hin=Hinduism; Isl=Islam; Jai=Jainism; Jud=Judaism; Skh=Sikhism; Sbd=Subud; Suf=Sufi; Zor=Zoroastrianism; Uu= Unitarian Universalist
Where and when did the founders of ancient religions
(before Christ) live?
|
Year |
Holy Person |
Location |
Religion |
|
5,000 BCE |
Unnamed Rishi |
India |
Hindusim |
|
3,000 BCE |
Zoroaster |
Iran/Central Asia |
Zoroastrianism |
|
2,500 BCE |
Abraham |
West Asia |
Judaism, |
|
2,000 BCE |
Rushabdev |
India |
Jainism |
|
500 BCE |
Lao Zi |
China |
Daoism |
|
500 BCE |
Guatama Siddharta |
Nepal |
Buddhism |
|
400 BCE |
Kong Zi |
China |
Confucianism |
Note: This table excludes founders of “more recent” religions – such as Jesus Christ, Muhammad, Guru Nanak, and Baha’ullah – as it may be argued these founders built upon the foundation of one or more of earlier prophets.