“The great fault line in the world is not between Americans and Arabs or Muslims and Christians. It is between the moderates of all traditions and the extremists who belong only to one—the tradition of extremism.”
Category Archives: Interfaith
Eboo Patel
“The great fault line in the world is not between Americans and Arabs or Muslims and Christians. It is between the moderates of all traditions and the extremists who belong only to one — the tradition of extremism.”
Kenneth Cragg
“The first task in approaching another people, another culture, another religion is to take off our shoes, for the place we are approaching is holy. Else we find ourselves treading on people’s dreams. Worse, we may forget that God was there before our arrival.”
Buddha, Gautama Sidhartha
“All instruction is but a finger pointing to the moon; and those whose gaze is fixed upon the pointer will never see beyond. Even let him catch sight of the moon, and still he cannot see its beauty.”
Kahlil Gibran
“I love you when you bow in your mosque, kneel in your temple, pray in your church. For you and I are sons of one religion, and it is the spirit.”
Albert Einstein
“All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree. All these aspirations are directed toward ennobling human life, lifting it from the sphere of mere physical existence and leading the individual towards freedom.”
Elbert Hubbard
“Religions are many and diverse, but reason and goodness are one.”
Speaking Through Thatched Cottages — Sermon by the Rev. David Pyle
Last Preached September 25th, 2011 Opening to Sermon A Sermon is not something that comes into existence in the mind of a preacher. A sermon does not begin its being when words are placed on paper. When a sermon is put onto paper, it is merely an essay. When … Read more →
Customized Military ID Tags
I was reading through the stories on Military.com this evening, and came across a story on the young soldier, now facing a court martial, who leaked classified information to Wikileaks.com. The story made me sad in so many ways… sad that this young man felt he had to do this, … Read more →
The Space Between Experiencing and Knowing
I love it when the responses to an article prompt me to another article. One of my most respected teachers, Joshin Roshi, responded to my last article on the symbolic construction of reality by reminding me not to miss the forest for the trees… to not discount the direct experience … Read more →
Should Military Chaplains Meet Civilian Chaplaincy Certification Requirements?
Most times I take a position on an issue when I write an article for Celestial Lands. This time, I am torn. I know the reasons that I chose to complete at least the base educational requirements for becoming a Board Certified Chaplain by the Association of Professional Chaplains (APC) … Read more →
The Commoditization of Religion
The recent media attention that Fox News personality Brit Hume drew for himself by suggesting that Tiger Woods find his way out of his current marital and image problems by converting from Buddhism to Christianity, because Christianity offers a “better” (perhaps easier) form of forgiveness, has gotten me thinking about … Read more →
Evangelicals are Praying for Me!
I can rest easier in this world knowing that each and every night, and perhaps even in the morning, there are Evangelicals associated with Liberty University praying for me. Why? Because I am a Liberal. I am not only a liberal, I am a flaming, NPR loving, socialized medicine supporting, … Read more →
Why We Should Engage With Conservative Christians
Recently, I have had a wonderful conversation through blog postings with an old friend of mine who is a conservative Christian minister. Now, if you read that conversation, it might not seem so wonderful to you, but it has been to me. Over the last three years as a military … Read more →
Defining Fundamentalism (for Celestial Lands)
I am well aware that there are those who view the term “Fundamentalist” as a positive label, and that they often are confused by the way that I use the term, and so it is probably appropriate that I be clear about what I mean by a fundamentalist. I have … Read more →
The Myth of Objectivity
I have a colleague here at seminary who shares with me several things, including that we both name our cats after Gods, and that we both have Bachelor’s degrees in History. Yet, we have a fundamental disagreement about the method of the study of history. He was trained to try … Read more →
Grudgingly for State Recognition of Marriage Equality
I grudgingly support the equality of state recognition of all people to get married, regardless of their sexual orientation. Why grudgingly? Not because I do not believe in the rights of each and every person to have equal protection before the law… I certainly do. Not because I do not … Read more →
Realizations from Sesshin
Now that I have been home from my first Zen Sesshin for about a week, I feel I am able to write about the experience. I have tried to stay out of my discursive mind as much as possible this week, although that is challenging when you have final academic … Read more →
Titles and Clown Noses
During a ceremony today at the Zen Temple I attend, my teacher became a Roshi, receiving the final “seal of approval” from his own teacher. As the ceremony was beginning, with his students sitting seriously with just a little bit of awe (at least I was), he reached into the … Read more →
THE QUESTION (Part 4)
Go to Part 1 Opening the answer to the Inquisitive Question “So, can you tell me a little about Unitarian Universalism?” and drawing more questions. This may come as a shock to those brave and committed souls who read the long blog articles at Celestial Lands, but the two keys … Read more →
THE QUESTION (Part 3)
Go to Part 1 The inquisitive “can you tell me a little about your faith?” and Questioning the Questioner. This version of THE QUESTION “Just what is Unitarian Universalism?” is my favorite. It often comes from someone genuinely interested who is trying to understand. It is not an invitation to … Read more →
THE QUESTION (Part 2)
Go to Part 1 Understanding the difference between representing your beliefs and representing Unitarian Universalism. One of the first challenges I faced in learning how to respond well to THE QUESTION “Just what is Unitarian Universalism” (asked most often by my more conservative Christian colleagues) was learning to separate with … Read more →
THE QUESTION (Part 1)
Just What is Unitarian Universalism, Anyway? One of the great benefits of spending several weeks (or even months) taking a course with my military chaplain and chaplain candidate colleagues (and now chaplain assistant colleagues too) is that I get asked “THE QUESTION” over and over. When I was at the … Read more →
Tribal Gods
You might have noticed that Celestial Lands has calmed down (less blog posts) over the past week or so. That is because my mom came to Chicago to spend a week with us and hear me preach on Mother’s Day. It was the first time she has come to visit … Read more →
Defining Religious Language: Tolerance and Engagement
Tolerance is a word that gets used a lot, often by people who have not thought through the implications of the word. When we say that we are tolerant of someone, or that we practice tolerance, or that we believe in religious tolerance… what we are really doing is reinforcing … Read more →
Unitarian Universalism and Military Chaplaincy
A few years ago, at a Unitarian Universalist Houston Network event, a young woman challenged in a loud and public way how I could dare call myself a Unitarian Universalist, and be willing to serve in the military. I was not actually in the military at the time; I had … Read more →
Becoming Better Christians
Rev. Cynthia Cain, in her blog Isten Aldjon, Y’all, has posted the story of evangelical Methodist college students coming to the worship services of her UU congregation in Kentucky and accosting members and visitors about why they were attending a UU church. Sadly, I am not surprised by the story. … Read more →
Models of God
This past summer I had a conversation with a very conservative Christian pastor at the U.S. Army Chaplain School, in which I, a Unitarian Universalist, had the audacity to use the word “God”. He looked at me with an angry eye and said “So who’s your God, Mammon?!?” I have … Read more →
Fingers and Moons
“All instruction is but a finger pointing to the moon; and those whose gaze is fixed upon the pointer will never see beyond. Even let him catch sight of the moon, and still he cannot see its beauty.” — Buddha I can imagine the Buddha, seated in the Jeta Grove, … Read more →