Pastor’s Pen | April 2023
At the end of March, I had the distinct privilege of participating on a “Philosophy of Religion” panel hosted by the Congregation Beth Israel in Scottsdale for their midweek teen education program. Panelists represented a range of religions including Baha’i, Islam, Buddhism, Judaism and Christianity. Each panelist was asked to share their core religious beliefs, their holy book and how it is used in their faith communities, and to reflect on what they want others to know about their faith group.
Somehow, in that brief hour, we panelists recognized not only what makes us distinct from one another, but also what we share in common. In fact, when we were asked to share what we want others to know about our faith, every panelist urged the teenage audience to get curious about the nuances of religious beliefs, because no religion is monolithic. One of my fellow panelists compared religion to a sponge: “it soaks up people, languages, values, and culture into itself.” Suffice it to say, we were surprised that all our responses to this question were, in fact, the same.
I was so struck by the hopefulness produced by this panel. When so many of us are concerned about the deep divisions within our world, and we wonder if it’s foolish to hope for a better world, a group of six people from different faiths and backgrounds came together for an hour to share, listen and learn from another. And in our sharing, we found commonality, beauty and healing. As Christians, we are Easter people. We believe God can and does the impossible: bring life out of death. And, so, as we observe holy week this year, I wonder if we might put our concerns, fears, and hopelessness into the tomb and trust that the Spirit of God will resurrect these into something joyful, something hopeful, something new.
Keep the faith, beloveds. Trusting that it is faith, which keeps you.
Together in Christ,
Pastor Beth Gallen
Philosophy of Religion Panel
SPEAKER: Sara Ettinger | Congregation Beth Israel and Jewish Educator
SPEAKER: Rayan Farhoumand | Baha'i Faith from the Baha’i Community Center in Scottsdale
SPEAKER: Huaiyu Chen | Associate Professor of Buddhism and Chinese Religions, School of Historical, Philosophical, and Religious Studies, Arizona State University
SPEAKER: Han Hsien Liew | Assistant Professor, historian of the premodern Islamic world and is currently Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies in the School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies at Arizona State University.
