Getting to the Heart of Interfaith

October 20 Discussion Questions

Question 1.  The pastor, the rabbi, and the sheikh traveled together to the land holy to each of them, but each perceived it very differently.  The situation stimulated deeper conversation about some of the differences between them.  Have you ever been on such a journey?  When differences were discussed?  Did they help people get closer, or did they provoke anger and greater distance?

Question 2.  Pastor Don recognized the pain that has come to others from his Christian tradition.  Perhaps all traditions can identify with this in their past.  What are the difficulties that you perceive emerging from your religious tradition in the past or in the present?  What pain has it caused others?  Do you think such past pain can be healed?

Question 3.  Rabbi Ted was struck by the paradoxical impact of religious institutions.  He noted that although they develop to support a more universal spiritual experience, they tend to become focused on matters of their own survival.  Does this reflect your experience with institutions of your faith?  Are you aware of the purpose for which those institutions began?

Question 4.  Sheikh Jamal was the only Muslim on this trip to the Holy Land, and he was immediately singled out for special questioning upon landing.  To his surprise, the people from whom he had anticipated difficulty turned out to be supportive of his interfaith mission.  How would you have felt watching him being pulled aside by security officers?  Have you ever experienced unexpected hospitality?

Question 5.  Sheikh Jamal was pained by the violence on both sides of the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, and by the wall of separation that has been erected between the two peoples.  He wondered about the walls that we create in our own lives, and the acts of violence we commit in our own “holy land.”  Are you aware of walls you build in your own world?  How do you understand the walls of separation that people build to protect themselves from others?

Question 6.  Each experienced Israel and Palestine differently.  Which experiences did you most identify with?  With which did you have greatest difficulty?  Would you be interested in sharing such an interfaith journey – whether literally or metaphorically?  With whom?  What do you think it would take for you to prepare to move beyond “safe” territory to embark on such a journey?