Can Anything Really Unite People?

NO MATTER what your beliefs, you probably agree that there must be lovers of truth in nearly all religions. People who deeply appreciate what is true and who are willing to search for it can be found among Hindus, Catholics, Jews, and others. Yet, religion seems to divide mankind. Some even use religion for evil ends. Will it ever be possible for sincere people from all religions who have a love for what is good and true to be united? Could they be gathered together for a common purpose?

How disturbing it is to see that religion is increasingly the cause of division! Consider some of these conflicts. Hindus fight Buddhists in Sri Lanka. Protestants, Catholics, and Jews have shed blood in various conflicts. “Christians” fight Muslims in Chechnya, Indonesia, and Kosovo. And in March 2000, two days of strife linked with religion left 300 Nigerians dead. Indeed, religious hatred has fueled the ferocity of these conflicts.

Sincere people are often dismayed by the evils practiced in the name of religion. For instance, many churchgoers are shocked that clergymen who have abused children sexually have officially been tolerated by some churches. Other believers are greatly embarrassed by divisions within many so-called Christian sects over such issues as homosexuality and abortion. Clearly, religion has not united mankind. Yet, there are genuine lovers of truth in many faiths, as the following experiences show.

They Yearned for the Truth

Fidelia was a sincere and devoted worshiper in the Catholic Church of San Francisco in La Paz, Bolivia. She prostrated herself before the image of Mary and placed the best candles she could buy before the crucifix. Each week, she donated great quantities of food to the priest to distribute among the poor. However, five of Fidelia’s babies died before they could be baptized. When the priest told her that they were all suffering in the darkness of Limbo, Fidelia wondered, ‘If God is good, how could that be?’

Tara, a medical doctor, was brought up as a Hindu in Kathmandu, Nepal. Following the centuries-old customs of her ancestors, she worshiped her gods in the Hindu temples and had idols in her home. But Tara was perplexed by such questions as these: Why is there so much suffering? Why do people die? She found very little in the way of satisfying answers in her religion.

Panya, on the other hand, grew up as a Buddhist in a canalside house in Bangkok, Thailand. He was taught that suffering results from acts  committed in previous lives and that freedom from it can be attained by ridding oneself of all desires. Like other sincere Buddhists, he was taught deep respect for the wisdom of the yellow-robed monks who came to the house each dawn for alms. He practiced meditation and collected images of the Buddha in the belief that they brought protection. After being involved in a serious accident that left him paralyzed from the waist down, Panya visited Buddhist monasteries, sincerely hoping for a miraculous cure. He did not find a cure or spiritual enlightenment. Instead, he was exposed to spiritism and started dabbling in it.

Virgil was born in the United States and joined the Black Muslims in college. He zealously distributed their literature, which held that the white man is the Devil. That, they thought, was why the whites committed so many atrocities against the blacks. Although sincere in his beliefs, Virgil was disturbed by questions: How could all whites be bad? And why did so much of the preaching revolve around money?

Even though Charo grew up in predominantly Catholic South America, she was a sincere Protestant. She was pleased to be no part of the idolatry that surrounded her. Charo enjoyed going to church every Sunday for the emotion-charged service, where she shouted “Hallelujah!” and joined in the religious singing and dancing that followed. Charo sincerely believed that she had been saved and was born again. She paid a tenth of her income to the church, and when her favorite TV evangelist asked for contributions, she sent him money for children in Africa. When she asked her pastor why a God of love torments souls in hell, however, she realized that he had no meaningful answer. Later, she also discovered that her contributions were not used to help children in Africa.

Although from different backgrounds, these five individuals had something in common. They loved truth and sincerely sought truthful answers to their questions. But could they really be united in true worship? The next article will answer that question.

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Is it possible for people of different backgrounds to be really united?

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G.P.O., Jerusalem