Not
in God’s Name
Jonathan Sacks’ Not in God’s Name is rather
interesting discourse on sibling rivalry as the cause of religious violence. His discussion is based largely on the Hebrew
Bible, Midrash, Mishnah, and Talmud. He
analyzes the story of Cain and Abel, Isaac and Ishmael, Esau and Jacob, and the
sisters Laban, Rachel, and Leah. Sacks
points out that what is important about these stories in Genesis was the fact
that they led to blessings and redemption of all concerned.
Deuteronomy contains the word ‘love’ more than any
other Mosaic books. To Sacks ‘memory’
has also become a moral force that is found both in Exodus and
Deuteronomy. But the virtue of ‘love’
has to be tempered with ‘justice’ for laws and rights of the poor, and
destitute to be upheld. He addresses the
Islamic prediction and divisions that resulted with the fall of the Ottoman
Empire in 1922. And Sacks envisions that
the monotheistic faiths of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam should be able to
live in peace.
It was interesting to learn of the ‘commonalities’
of the three Abrahamic traditions. Yet
Sacks shows that the reading of scripture calls for study and reflection. For the ‘Word of God’ is subject to different
interpretations, and much depends on time and place. He states how the Hebrew language differs
than that of Greek, and how believers in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam have
differed in their beliefs. Yet he argues
that there should be no place for fundamentalist beliefs in society. People should do unto others like what they
would like to be done to themselves. And
they ought to love God, their neighbor, and the stranger. For divine living is all about ‘forgiveness’
and ‘reconciliation.’ So why nations
can’t heed these principles and live in peace?
No comments:
Post a Comment