HARMONY OF RELIGIONS ... 1
This talk of the harmony of religions is mere sophistry. How can harmony be if some of the world's major religions are exclusive by divine dictate and by fundamental principle hold themselves to be the only true religion, the only path to godhead and salvation? Might as well harmonise fascism, communism and democracy. Is that possible?
We often hear liberal lecturers on religion speak of the harmony of religions humanity should work for. But these inter-faith dialogues -- welcome no doubt as first initiatives for peace -- invariably fail to produce any such intended harmony. The simple reason is that while Hinduism accepts all religions as valid paths to God, the Semitic religions all reject any such idea. Judaism, Christianity and Islam all hold their respective paths as the only true path to God and cannot on the basis of fundamental doctrine accept other religions as true. Islam goes one step further to say that it is the inviolable and final word of God. This would mean that all religions coming after Islam are fundamentally false. So, where will Sikhism, Gaudiya Vaishnavism, Brahmoism and the like stand? How then is harmony going to be achieved?
Is it not then that harmony is possible in the future only if exclusive religions drop the fundamental tenets that make them exclusive and amend some of their doctrinaire basis before they can in all sincerity become compatible for spiritual harmony with other faiths? But in the light of theirs being the revealed word of God, they can hardly be expected to do so without going against the very commandment of their God which is heretical for them even to consider. Can religious harmony then ever be possible?
Written by Sugata Bose
This talk of the harmony of religions is mere sophistry. How can harmony be if some of the world's major religions are exclusive by divine dictate and by fundamental principle hold themselves to be the only true religion, the only path to godhead and salvation? Might as well harmonise fascism, communism and democracy. Is that possible?
We often hear liberal lecturers on religion speak of the harmony of religions humanity should work for. But these inter-faith dialogues -- welcome no doubt as first initiatives for peace -- invariably fail to produce any such intended harmony. The simple reason is that while Hinduism accepts all religions as valid paths to God, the Semitic religions all reject any such idea. Judaism, Christianity and Islam all hold their respective paths as the only true path to God and cannot on the basis of fundamental doctrine accept other religions as true. Islam goes one step further to say that it is the inviolable and final word of God. This would mean that all religions coming after Islam are fundamentally false. So, where will Sikhism, Gaudiya Vaishnavism, Brahmoism and the like stand? How then is harmony going to be achieved?
Is it not then that harmony is possible in the future only if exclusive religions drop the fundamental tenets that make them exclusive and amend some of their doctrinaire basis before they can in all sincerity become compatible for spiritual harmony with other faiths? But in the light of theirs being the revealed word of God, they can hardly be expected to do so without going against the very commandment of their God which is heretical for them even to consider. Can religious harmony then ever be possible?
Written by Sugata Bose
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