Interfaith Creed: A HELPING HAND
Creed for the World Interfaith Movement presented and adapted in the
First World Interfaith Summit held on Nov. 24-26, 2004 in Manila, Philippines
and to be introduced in the First Mindanao Interfaith Congress
To be held in Cotabato City, Mindanao, Philippines
God did not create me to be a judge over others for He alone is Judge and therefore, I have no right to judge you. Not by the color of your skin or the kind of clothes you wear, nor by the way you speak or by the language of your birth. Not by the kind of food you eat and, certainly, not by the way you pray to the same God who fashioned us both. Nor do I have the right to think that my own culture is better than yours nor to feel any superiority over you, because I am as human as you are, as frail and as needy and as hungry of God’s grace, as thirsty and as longing for His love. And, since God has generously apportioned to me so much opportunity to do well in my brief journey in life, I will not waste such a precious gift by withholding any good thing I can do for others.
So, I offer you, not argumentation but understanding, not confrontation but respect for your right to be different. Go ahead then, and express any opinion, any belief, no matter how different it is from my own, no matter how far away and distant from my own point of view, as distant even as North Pole is to the South Pole. Express those opinions freely, indeed, but with calmness, like the calmness of the deep and undisturbed ocean floor, especially if you feel in your heart of hearts that your opinion and your beliefs were all the truth there was in heaven and in earth, in this life and the next, certain that such beliefs are God’s direct revelation sealed and signed by his own hand and inscribed in your Holy Book! Express them with calmness, I pray, not with anger, not with antagonism and not with violence. Express them, please, in the same spirit of love and friendship, in the same spirit of understanding and respect that I have for you. And for that, I would offer you a pair of good ,listening ears, an eager, open mind, a warm, generous heart and a gentle, unwavering spirit -- even if I did not agree!
Yes, I would stand by you like a knight in shining armor, to defend your right to have a different belief or opinion or interpretation about anything in life. And, at the same time, rather than presenting to you another opinion or interpretation which you might only reject anyway, I offer you a helping hand instead, so we can rebuild together what others have destroyed and bind up together any wound that might have been inflicted -- and begin anew together, with a daring hope that whatever friendship, whatever love and whatever help I am able to give –whatever good work -- would render my own faith alive, not dead and buried under a neatly systematized set of opinions and interpretations, and would redound, I hope, to the good of all, not just for you, not just for me, but for the whole world -- and for God’s glory alone!
First World Interfaith Summit held on Nov. 24-26, 2004 in Manila, Philippines
and to be introduced in the First Mindanao Interfaith Congress
To be held in Cotabato City, Mindanao, Philippines
God did not create me to be a judge over others for He alone is Judge and therefore, I have no right to judge you. Not by the color of your skin or the kind of clothes you wear, nor by the way you speak or by the language of your birth. Not by the kind of food you eat and, certainly, not by the way you pray to the same God who fashioned us both. Nor do I have the right to think that my own culture is better than yours nor to feel any superiority over you, because I am as human as you are, as frail and as needy and as hungry of God’s grace, as thirsty and as longing for His love. And, since God has generously apportioned to me so much opportunity to do well in my brief journey in life, I will not waste such a precious gift by withholding any good thing I can do for others.
So, I offer you, not argumentation but understanding, not confrontation but respect for your right to be different. Go ahead then, and express any opinion, any belief, no matter how different it is from my own, no matter how far away and distant from my own point of view, as distant even as North Pole is to the South Pole. Express those opinions freely, indeed, but with calmness, like the calmness of the deep and undisturbed ocean floor, especially if you feel in your heart of hearts that your opinion and your beliefs were all the truth there was in heaven and in earth, in this life and the next, certain that such beliefs are God’s direct revelation sealed and signed by his own hand and inscribed in your Holy Book! Express them with calmness, I pray, not with anger, not with antagonism and not with violence. Express them, please, in the same spirit of love and friendship, in the same spirit of understanding and respect that I have for you. And for that, I would offer you a pair of good ,listening ears, an eager, open mind, a warm, generous heart and a gentle, unwavering spirit -- even if I did not agree!
Yes, I would stand by you like a knight in shining armor, to defend your right to have a different belief or opinion or interpretation about anything in life. And, at the same time, rather than presenting to you another opinion or interpretation which you might only reject anyway, I offer you a helping hand instead, so we can rebuild together what others have destroyed and bind up together any wound that might have been inflicted -- and begin anew together, with a daring hope that whatever friendship, whatever love and whatever help I am able to give –whatever good work -- would render my own faith alive, not dead and buried under a neatly systematized set of opinions and interpretations, and would redound, I hope, to the good of all, not just for you, not just for me, but for the whole world -- and for God’s glory alone!
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thats my daughter. thanks for the compliment. she's a green advocate, too. :))
ang ganda naman ng ngiti mo..
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