PURPOSE OF WORLD SCRIPTURE
World Scripture gathers passages from the scriptures of the various
religious traditions around certain topics. Often these scriptural
passages support a common theme; sometimes they illuminate several
contrasting positions on the topic. This method of organization allows
each topic to be addressed with the resources of many different
traditions, often providing a broader and deeper understanding of the
topic than would be possible from the resources of a single tradition.
Each religion has much value to contribute to humankind's understanding of
truth, which transcends any particular expression.
All religions do not teach the same message. The contributors have
provided passages which fairly represent the main thrust of each
religion's teachings. However, since the tenets of each religion are
taken out of their ordinary frame of reference, there is always the danger
that they might be misinterpreted. Therefore, it would be a mistake to
read World Scripture as though it were proclaiming a monolithic, universal
teaching of all religions. Rather, the similarities and common themes
highlighted in this anthology should be viewed against each religion's
distinctive message. The reader is cautioned: until one takes the first
step of understanding each religion in its own distinctiveness, its
contribution to the unity of religions is likely to be misinterpreted.
Many would also suggest that to truly understand another religion, one
should first be deeply committed to one's own faith and its traditions.
Granting the integrity of each religion, it is significant for the
believer of one faith to find in other faiths common teachings and common
attitudes towards life, death, and ultimate ends. First, there is the
discovery that the transcendent Reality that is the ground of life in
one's own faith is also grounding the spiritual life of people whose faith
stems from different revelations, different revealers. This confirms and
testifies to the oneness of God, the Ultimate Reality, who appears in
different guises from age to age and culture to culture. Second, the
discovery that people of other faiths are leading spiritual lives similar
to one's own can promote tolerance of, and respect for, other faiths. By
understanding one another's religions in depth and with empathy, people
can find peaceful solutions to disputes which might otherwise degenerate
into dangerous conflict. Third, the teachings of another tradition may
spark new insights into similar issues in one's own life of faith. Indeed,
if each religion is but a witness to the Truth that transcends its
particular expression, then all of them should contribute valuable
insights to our understanding of any question. Fourth, humankind needs to
rediscover the spiritual foundations of values in order to overcome the
sterile, materialist outlooks and philosophies of our day. Despite both
the common moral values and the traditional spiritual wisdom found in all
religions, persistent squabbles among religions have served to discredit
them, making universal values appear to be relative and sectarian. The
foundation of a pluralistic society--its cultural expressions, legal
system, and public schools--requires values that are grounded in the
universal experience of humankind, not just in the doctrines of one faith.
Necessary to this foundation is testimony to the universality of religious
values such as found herein. Finally, a World Scripture can support a
world theology and guide us toward a unity of the world's peoples that is
grounded in God.
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