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Posted by Pope Reverend I, BV on 12/24/2007, 10:24 am
...all walk into a bar...
Oh, wait a minute...
No... That's a Totally Different Story Allllltogether!
In THIS Story...
They all sit down for an interview with a reporter...
And, the reporter asks them their views on... Jesus, the Christ!
Who Was Jesus?
Leaders representing four distinct religious traditions confront differences over the meaning of Jesus' life
Douglas Todd
Vancouver Sun
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Many Jews think of him as an ancient Jewish teacher named Yeshua.
Muslims look up to him as Isa, one of the five major prophets, or messengers, of God.
And Christians revere him as Jesus, the Christ, the ultimate manifestation of God on Earth; for many the actual only son of the Supreme Being.
As Christmas approaches, The Vancouver Sun sought to explore the various meanings that a noted Roman Catholic, Protestant, Muslim and Jew see in Jesus of Nazareth, arguably the most famous figure in history, undoubtedly in the West.
The four religious leaders and scholars met this week at St. Andrew's-Wesley United Church. They gathered around a table in a small salon in the grand, neo-Gothic, stained-glass-filled church at Burrard and Nelson.
They began a tad nervously.
Interfaith dialogue doesn't happen often in Vancouver and these accomplished specialists in their traditions were brave enough to honestly confront differences over the meaning of Jesus' life and death at a sensitive time of year: Christmas, when Christians celebrate Jesus' birth and most others go shopping.
During their exchange it soon became clear that Muslims hold Jesus, or Isa (his name in Arabic) in what many may consider surprisingly high esteem.
Though global politics and war make it seem Christianity and Islam are hopelessly in conflict, Muslims are captivated by the life of Jesus -- and even place more emphasis on his mother, Mary, than most Protestants.
University of B.C. Muslim academic Seemi Ghazi graphically illustrated how Muslims embrace their own version of Mary's virginal conception of Jesus and her birth labour -- and have a unique understanding of the Christian crucifixion story.
While Jews definitely do not see Yeshua, the original Aramaic name for Jesus, as their saviour, some see him as a Jewish sage, or rabbi, whose followers mistakenly came to believe he was divine.
As Vancouver scholar and rabbi Robert Daum made clear as he wished Christians a "very happy Christmas and a meaningful one," many Jews try to respect Christian convictions.
The dialogue did not take long to illustrate how questions about the meaning of the birth and death of Jesus bring out deep contrasts within various streams of Christianity.
Roman Catholic Coadjutant Archbishop Michael Miller of Vancouver and Protestant Gary Paterson, minister at St. Andrew's-Wesley United, differed on whether to accept Jesus' virgin birth and resurrection as literal facts or profound metaphors.
THE CONCEPTION
Miller started the discussion with an impassioned explanation of the "truly spectacular" divine conception and ensuing birth of Jesus at Christmas.
"The fact Jesus is God who has become man is startling," said Miller, who worked in the highest echelons of the Vatican before Pope Benedict XVI assigned him to the Vancouver archdiocese in September.
The more than 700,000 Catholics who live in B.C. are taught to take the virginal conception of Mary "at face value, as literally true," affirmed the long-time educator who is serving as an auxiliary Vancouver archbishop with Archbishop Raymond Roussin.
The Christmas birth story is about the "incarnation" of God to poor parents in Jesus, Miller said.
"The first sound of the son of God on Earth was the cry of a child [in Bethlehem]. The eternal Son of God who became flesh is truly God and truly man. It is a mystery we cannot plumb."
However, the strong distinctions between traditional Roman Catholic beliefs and progressive mainline Protestantism immediately arose when Paterson followed up on the archbishop's remarks.
Paterson said it doesn't matter if the virgin conception was literally true -- the ancient New Testament story still serves as a beautiful metaphor, a powerful symbol, of Jesus' uniqueness.
The Christmas accounts of the birth of Jesus point to "the close relationship between God and Jesus," said Paterson, a veteran in the United Church of Canada, the country's largest Protestant denomination with almost 400,000 adherents in B.C.
"Jesus was a teacher and mentor and person of wisdom and we need to take that more seriously. He was also a prophet. But he is more than that," said Paterson.
"When he is called the lamb of God, the son of God, we need to take that metaphorically. Jesus is the lens through which God is illuminated for Christians."
Then the group heard just how reverent Muslims are toward Jesus, or Isa, from Ghazi, a Sunni Muslim with north Indian roots who teaches Arabic and religious studies at UBC.
"Many well-read Christians and others have no idea Jesus is even an important figure and prophet for Muslims," Ghazi said. "Jesus is one in a lineage of five prophets that began with the first human being, Adam, and included Noah, Moses and Abraham."
Muslims do not believe Jesus, nor their religion's founder, Mohammed, were divine.
But when Ghazi referred to Jesus by name, she would add the honorific, "upon him be peace."
That is what Muslims also do when they refer to Mohammed, whom they consider the final and greatest prophet.
Ghazi said Muslims, as inheritors of Jewish and Christian tradition, believe Jesus was a human being who was fully "attained," "realized," "whole" and "perfect."
The Koran, the Muslim holy book, contains more than a dozen references to Jesus.
The Koran recounts Jesus' teachings, includes miracle stories of him "breathing life" into a clay bird, claims Jesus was not crucified on a cross and promises that he will return to Earth at the end of time.
As with traditional Christians, virtually all of the more than 70,000 Muslims in B.C. and elsewhere would literally believe in Mary's virgin conception, Ghazi said.
But the chapter in the Koran devoted to Mary, Ghazi emphasized, has a dramatically different birth story of Jesus from that of Christian tradition. The Koran has the angel Gabriel involved in the conception of Jesus.
The holy book also explains in graphic detail how Mary felt alone and terrified while in labour, said Ghazi.
However, Daum, who fills the Diamond chair of Jewish law and ethics at UBC, said he felt like "an honoured guest" at a dialogue over a figure who is, to put it bluntly, not particularly meaningful to Jews.
The article contines...
If you're interested in reading any more of it...
Enjoy.
And...
A Merry Winter Soltice Festival to You All!
-PRev1-
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