For a while I have been contemplating the possibility of going to Grad School, but was never sure of what I'd go for if I went. I have this mixed emotion of being ready to be done with school and just learn from experience and real life opportunities, but also liking school and having a place that pushed me, as well as offers resources and forms discipline to continue learning. But what to go to school for?
After the summer in Chicago, I was almost ready to just be done with school and jump into work/ministry/whatever. The thought of Grad School certainly was not n my mind unless He put something on my heart and sparked a new interest. LA Term has been great. I have loved experiential learning, and getting outside the four walled classroom into the world classroom. As people said move to Chicago for grad school, I thought "why go to grad school, I can just learn by doing." And this for quite some time had been my thought. I have flirted with other ideas, as I have began writing more again and my love of writing has really started coming back I have considered going to school for some sort of journalism or writing. Maybe I could become a traveling journalist or write things for organizations websites around the world or in the inner city? Or maybe I could become a teacher of creative writing at an inner-city South Side Chicago school and coach a baseball team? Fun thoughts, but are they truly things I am interested in and crave to learn more about, or is it a skill I semi-want to sharpen because it sounds cool for the future?
For quite some time I have been interested in other religions, but also used to be really afraid of them, seeing them as entirely "wrong" and at times "evil" (I think the church as a while is pretty good at condemning other religions). Last semester was a stretching semester for me, in a beautiful way. For quite some time, and last semester really emphasized and highlighted it, I have been wrestling with God, more specifically with Christianity and Western Christianity. Two classes in particular last semester really drove these wrestling home. The major question that has arisen is, "Who is this God I believe in and lean on." It has not been a questioning of faith or in my belief in God, but rather a questioning of my belittling of faith and God. Am I putting God in a box? Is He bigger than the restraints of the Christian religion?
Last semester I had a class called "Anthropology for Everyday Life." In this class we talked about other cultures, other religions, we had a cultural mentor and attended a religious service other than our own. Over the course of the class, the question arose, Can God/Jesus reveal Himself in ways other than Christianity? If we believe Jesus is the only way, do we believe that His name...and that He in Christianity is the only way? Can people find Jesus and not even know it or claim it, and it not resemble Christianity? This was a difficult question, and one I was not able or sure how to answer. We continued wondering, if all people are made in the image of God, and people have found other religions, can/do other religions have some element of truth, or show some element of God? I think of the division in Christianity alone, and how we love to condemn one another. Do we really believe ONE of our theologies is ENTIRELY correct? I highly doubt it. However, this has not made me lose faith, rather is has made me lean more on Him because I know I don't have it figured out, no person does.
This semester we are taking a class called "Urban Religion." In this class we read about various religions and have site visits at some of their centers/temples or have a Rabbi etc. come visit us. This is not limited to non-Christian religions, as we went to Emmanuel Presbyterian Church (who has a woman associate pastor and are trying to push to make it okay to have an openly gay pastor as well) and an Eastern Orthodox Christian Church (talk about opposite sides of the spectrum). So far we have also visited a Buddhist meditation center and met a Buddhist monk (who plays banjolele, a mix of banjo and ukulele), and went to a Hindu Hare Krishna center. Along with this we have a project where we choose one religion and find a center to visit multiple times, to talk to people and to learn their stories, their connection to the religion, what they believe, their impact on the community etc. etc. We go in groups of two or three, and there is a wide range of religions being studies. We simply have to choose one different from our own. Some are going to Pentecostal and Catholic Churches, some are studying Ekenkar, Buddhism (the list is long). Myself and two others selected Islam.
I personally chose Islam because of the huge tension between Christianity and Islam. Traditionally, these two have clashed. There is a lot of fear around Islam, and I know for me personally, a strong lack of knowledge. I want to learn more about Islam and meet people within that faith to learn. How can I love people as Christ loved if I don't even understand them and their beliefs? So myself and two others are doing our project on the Islamic Center of Southern California.
My first visit there, we attended a short bit of a conference (as the conference changed the usual schedule and what we had planned on doing when we planned to go). This was the second annual conference the center held on contemporary issues in Islam. One thing highlighted was how to deal with "the other," and this notion in Islam or this misunderstanding by others to fear and reject "the other." The speaker, however, highlighted the importance of learning and understanding. She spoke of how she and her father (who wrote some books on "the other" which I'd love to get) dislike the term "tolerance" (as do I). "Tolerance" seems to mean to "put up with." They didn't want to be "tolerated" nor the "tolerator." Rather, they wanted to live in harmony. In order to do so, there need to be understanding, you must learn. They emphasized learning about Christianity, especially from Christians. This was a major call out. Do we ever speak of this in our faith, to learn about other religions and to learn about other religions from people of other religions? Not necessarily to convert them, but rather just to understand and better love them. Interesting....
The second visit, the three of us met with a man named Nathan. Nathan is the director of Youth Programs at the center. Nathan has an interesting story, and had a great deal to day! He grew up in Iowa, with a Baptist minister grandfather and a Pentecostal minister grandfather. His parents were also academic/scholars and smart individuals. From a young age, Christianity didn't fit right or Nathan. While he understood it, he didn't agree with it. He spoke to others about his beliefs and they told him he was a Muslim. Everything he believed in was Islam, so he believed in Islam before he had a word for it. There is a lot more to how he has grown and learned, he is an amazing man.
What really stuck out to me about Nathan, and has helped lead to inspire me, is his declaration that he is a scholar of religion. Growing up in Iowa there wasn't a lot to do other than read, so basically he has read and studied A LOT in his life. Since 15, he has pretty much studied religion/religions. He knew biblical stories better than we did. He knew history. He had travelled to Mecca, and also wants to go to Jerusalem because of the history and to be where this incredible biblical stories took place. as he spoke about his studying of religion, he mentioned that one of his rules is he will not read a book about Christianity written by a Muslim etc. He believes no one can express and talk about their faith and religion with the same amount of passion and conviction as someone who believes/practices it. You can write about it from an anthropological or a sociological stand point, but to better understand you must learn from someone who believes and practices it. While interviewing/talking with him, we asked him what he thought of other religions. Are they wrong, is Islam the only truth, the only way? He said no. "No one can have a monopoly on God" he mentioned. If you believe in God, and that someday you are going to stand before Him and be judged for what you do. He also mentioned that he thought if you believed that, you would stand before God and be judged based on the faith/path you had chosen/fit you. While I do not know that I agree with him entirely on all the points he mentioned, he still had a lot of good points.
Deep rooted in me, and now peeking out, there is a curiosity and fascination with other religions. Whether purely historical or academic, or also to better understand people and their beliefs and rituals, there is something about religions that captivates me. There is something about rituals, traditions, peoples beliefs and the way it moves them and leads them to live life. While I still have time to pray about and truly decide, I am seriously contemplating going to Grad School to get a Masters (and who knows maybe more) in Religion/Religious Studies. While I know I can learn without going to school, and still plan on learning outside of the school setting, school will push me to make those steps. School can help give me motivation, resources, opportunity, and form the discipline I need to continue learning, both about religion and in general. Something interesting about Islam is their lack of clergy, as it is everyone's responsibility to learn and study their faith even more, no reliance on "scholars" or "clergy" to tell them answers. I want to learn/study mine and other religions.
There is some difficulty. As I learn, questions come to mind. Is Christianity the only way? Is Jesus the one true way, and is learning about other religions or learning things from other religions contradicting this belief? What about evangelism and telling people about Jesus if Christianity is not the only way? These are hard questions, and questions that will probably NEVER be answered until death, and even then we will probably not fully understand as we are not God.
I am not out to make my own religion, to convert, or discredit my faith or Christianity. Quite the opposite. It is my deep rooted faith in God and love of Jesus that makes me yearn to know more, to understand more. And I do not believe our understanding of God can be limited to Christianity, as I do not think we can confine God to Christianity. We sings songs about how big and great our God is, and I whole heartedly believe this. I also think we put Him in a box, and He is far bigger and greater than we can know or understand. I am still deeply in love with Jesus. He is my everything. And as I look at how He calls us to treat others, to love others, to reach out to the marginalized, oppressed and poor, and as He pushes us to break barriers...it pushes me to want to learn more about other people, and a big part of that is religion. I do not want to form my own religion, but I also believe God can/probably has revealed Himself in other religions as well, and we can learn from these other beliefs how to better serve God and serve people. I do not know whether or not other religions lead to God or lead to heaven. I do not know if Jesus reveals Himself without the name "Jesus" being spoken and without the understanding of Christian religion or belief. But in order to better understand and love people, and to try and get a bigger picture and understanding of God, I see great value in studying these other beliefs and traditions. I agree with Nathan, I don't think anyone has a monopoly on God, He is too big for that.
I still got some time, but Grad School for Religion/Religious Studies is something that greatly interests me, and something I want to look into.
No comments:
Post a Comment