Re: Another way to view exclusivity:

On 10/15/04 10:28 PM, "Dawsonzhu@aol.com" <Dawsonzhu@aol.com> wrote:

> I share your misgivings about exclusivism. However,
> I am wondering if considering Abraham as being the
> person who _happened_ to grasp the right thing at the
> right time might soften the issue of "exclusivity". It
> would be a matter of Grace in that case, and although
> it went to the Jews' heads sometimes (and sometimes
> goes to our own heads as well when we're not careful),
> it was (and is) always a matter of Grace.

My concern is with any religious community that declares itself special,
having a favored position in relationship to God compared to all other
groups. Perhaps that attitude would would be discouraged by a recognition of
the Grace of which you speak.

> In that sense, it is not so much that we should reject
> the claims of other religions or judge people who have
> been raised within those traditions. God could have
> worked through some small tribe in the location of Burma,
> or whatever. But by Grace, God chose to work a message
> through the Jews. That leaves the final decision on how
> other people are to be judged in the hands of God (where
> it should be), and allows one to accept the troublesomely
> arrogant claim of exclusivity. The Jews were simply lucky,
> or I guess the word is sometimes "blessed".

But you still speak of a divine _choice_ to treat one small Ancient Near
Eastern tribe differently from all other cultures. Lucky does not connote
choice, "blessed" does.
 
> At any rate, much of scripture is more like a "teaching tool"
> rather than a book of laws and rules, and we are to examine
> it and see a reflection of ourselves within it. The
> circumstances were different, but there is nothing new
> under the sun, and that I see it as our responsibility to
> glean from scripture and prepare ourselves. We are
> all weak, we are all afraid, but the example of others
> (good and bad) is what needs to be written on our hearts,
> that we will chose the good example, but we should not
> see ourselves as better than others for that.
>
> We can appreciate _anyone_ who stumbles on true wisdom,
> but that does not make them better than anyone else, just
> that chance, circumstance and environment prepared them to
> do (or say) the right things at the right time. So I am just
> wondering if this is a way to work through your dilemma on
> the issue of "exclusivity".
>
Yes, your way seems very open to valuing the religious experience,
traditions and histories of others. I do not see you as an exclusivist.

Howard
Received on Sat Oct 16 10:41:33 2004