Perhaps community building is supposed to take place with little fanfare.
The Rev. John Thompson, pastor of Park Hill United Methodist Church, has often endeavored to build community by stoking the fire of interfaith dialogue.
His efforts recently led to a conference at the Iliff School of Theology, called “The Convergence of Science and Spirituality: Healing the Earth and Healing the Self.” The conference was sponsored by Thompson’s own Interfaith Council and the Bhaktivedanta Institute, an Indian science and religion group.
Founded in 2000 by Thompson, the Interfaith Council encourages a dialogue between all of the world’s faiths. Unlike the Abrahamic Initiative – which is designed to build relationships among Jews, Christians and Muslims – all are heard and equally respected.
The main point of the conference was to learn how to respect one another, how to work spiritually and scientifically toward healing the Earth and its occupants without letting dogma trip us up.
In Christianity, as in Islam, adherents are continually at war with one another. Factional debates resemble shouting matches; we force everyone to agree that our beliefs are truer and our politics more right. It’s been the modus operandi of certain politico-religious groups for a century and is a posture recently adopted by radical Islamists. They shout and indiscriminately bomb to force the world to believe in radical Islam.
Believing that the health of the Earth is essential for life on this planet, the Interfaith Council tries to build bridges so all are heard by calibrating the roles of spirituality and science. In the process, the group bucks traditional religions that fear science might help oust God from our midst. The Kansas school board’s attempts to overthrow Darwin and impose a creationist dictatorship best exemplifies this.
Ideally, we should have mutual respect of others’ faiths, trusting in the integrity of their beliefs. In practice, religion is a club used to subjugate and enslave, perpetuating man’s dominion over women, whites’ hegemony over blacks and murder of millions in the name of God.
The conference covered wide areas of philosophy, theology and science. The Rev. Charles Gibbs, a global interfaith organizer, explained how ancient and modern spiritual freedom and science can together help humanity face our current environmental crisis, to preserve and protect the Earth for all generations.
Astrophysicist Jonathan Ormes gave a summary of how life began on Earth – not by God’s creation, but through physical and chemical forces. Yet, he believes, scientific knowledge can be reconciled with spirituality. Our responsibility to the Earth is a moral imperative with spiritual foundations.
Other scientists hold approximate views. Charles Townes, winner of the 1964 Nobel Prize in Physics, wrote in “The Convergence of Science and Religion” that “their differences are largely superficial.” Indeed, science doesn’t preclude God and to be charitable doesn’t require we convert to Christianity.
Other presenters professed the need for universal health access for all. How the power to transform the destiny of humanity is inherent in each individual’s life; empowered, each of us needs to network in our spheres of influence to forge alliances of like-minded people.
I believe that if used ethically and humanely, science will heal both the Earth and one’s self. Unlike religion, science is always honest, scrupulous and unprejudiced. It can help bring about the ideal society without cruelty, less pain and suffering, and a modicum of happiness.
I was honored to be one of the presenters at the conference.
I see a bright future, with more people joining the Interfaith Council. I’d love to see an expansion of the theological curriculum at Iliff and other colleges, to include lectures and discussions on spirituality and science.
It’s amazing what happens in our midst without us noticing it; perhaps we should pay more attention.
Pius Kamau of Aurora is a thoracic and general surgeon. He was born and raised in Kenya and immigrated to the U.S. in 1971. His column appears on alternate Thursdays.
