I had a hard time swallowing that Moses split the Red Sea, Jesus walked on water, Muhammad put a crack on the moon or Hanuman (Monkey in Hindu tradition) carried the mountain on his palm. Of course, I do believe in miracles now as metaphors to convey a point about the power of faith.
Texas Faith: Do we believe differently about different kinds of truths?
By Bill McKenzie/ Editorial columnist | wmckenzie@dallasnews.com | 4:57 pm on April 2, 2013
What does it mean that we may believe differently about certain issues, particularly about ultimate questions? I’m not looking for a discussion about how Jews differ from Christians or Christians from Muslims or Buddhists from Taoists or some other contrasts. Rather, what does it mean that as individuals we may believe differently about different kinds of truths? How, for example, do your beliefs in history or science differ from your religious beliefs?
This is a more theological and even philosophical question, so I look forward to your answers.
MIKE GHOUSE, President, Foundation for Pluralism, Dallas, and Speaker on interfaith matters, diversity and pluralism
When Neil Armstrong landed on the moon, I took pride in it against some of my Neanderthalic religious friends who did not believe. My Muslim friend said, it is against God’s will, and the Hindu said, it must be a camera trick. I laughed at them; I was a vainglorious rationalist then, a follower of the father of modern atheism, Dr. Abraham Kovoor.
Neil Armstrong’s words “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” have never left me. Reason and rationality must have made home in me. I believed in science and shied away from mythology. I had a hard time swallowing that Moses split the Red Sea, Jesus walked on water, Muhammad put a crack on the moon or Hanuman (Monkey in Hindu tradition) carried the mountain on his palm. Of course, I do believe in miracles now as metaphors to convey a point about the power of faith.
In the 1970’s, the vice-chancellor of Bangalore University, Dr. H. Narsimaiah, hadchallenged the famous Sai Baba of White Field to investigate his miracles. But the politicians shut him down.
My mother’s oft-used phrase, “Ashraful Mukhlooqat,” which means humans are honored creatures, came alive when the asteroid hit Russia and the meteor struck San Diego in February this year. CNN carried some thoughtful interviews, and one of them said that in the next fifty years we would have developed systems to detect and divert those loose cannons away from our planet.
I said, Praise the Lord!
In Chapter 55, Quran says, God has created everything, and has scheduled the sun and moon to function for you precisely. Elsewhere he says, look for the signs, you need to manage the planet for your benefit.
My father shared how humans were blessed with intelligence to survive the furies of nature while other species got blasted away with fire, lightning, floods and disease. Indeed, the first species that survived against all odds was the human species. The first such man was Adam, whose evolutionary path transitioned him into a new survivable creation: man.
It’s amazing to watch how religions throw out fantastic theories, and then the scientists go out and prove it. Who would have thought that the Prophet Muhammad would describe the process of baby birth fourteen hundred years ago, and the scientist would prove it twelve hundred years later. Indeed, science beefs up the belief in God and creation.
To see all the 15 responses, please visit: http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/2013/04/texas-faith-do-we-believe-differently-about-different-kinds-of-truths.html/
….Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel,India, interfaith, and cohesion at work place. He is committed to building a Cohesive Americaand offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. He believes in Standing up for others and has done that throughout his life as an activist. Mike has a presence on national and local TV, Radio and Print Media. He is a frequent guest onSean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News; fortnightly atHuffington post; and several other periodicals across the world. His personal sitewww.MikeGhouse.net indexes all his work through many links.