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Robert Traer,
Quest for Truth: Critical Reflections on
Interfaith Cooperation
A PenMark Press Book
"[…] to call for interfaith understanding and cooperation is to
aspire for personal interaction between members of different
religious traditions in a way that enriches their faith. We organize
interfaith dialogue not to challenge the faith claims of others, nor
simply to learn about them, but to deepen our faith within our own
religious traditions by addressing issues of truth together." (from
the author's preface).
There are choices to be made in
clarifying the goals of interfaith cooperation, the language used in
dialogue, and the strategies undertaken. Quest for Truth
defines limits to interfaith cooperation, suggests ways of guarding
against religious propaganda, illustrates how dialogue about ethical
choices can affirm mutual respect and reject relativism, offers a
critique of the global ethic that encourages dialogue among
communities of faith, and in distinguishing faith from belief,
clarifies how the quest for truth might be pursued through
interfaith dialogue.
Description of contents
In Part One (the author) argues that interfaith cooperation should
be understood as a quest for truth involving repentance, forgiveness
and hope. Without such a commitment, interfaith programs may merely
provide a platform for religious propaganda. The first chapter
defines the issues, and the second chapter describes the limits of
interfaith cooperation. The third chapter argues that interfaith
activity, which promotes religious ideals but does not acknowledge
that religious communities often fail to live up to their ideals, is
not worthy of our support. The fourth and fifth chapters suggest
that the fruits of confession and repentance are forgiveness and
hope.
Part Two presents a number of reflections on the language used in
interfaith programs. In the author's experience, how we talk about
one another is as important as how we act toward one another. Our
language shapes the way we see the world and those with religious
traditions that differ from our own. Therefore, it affects the way
we understand what we hear and how we interpret the beliefs and the
religious disciplines of other faith communities.
The sixth chapter suggests how we might oppose the consumer
mentality of our society that can turn an interfaith program into a
religious bazaar. The seventh chapter argues that the language of
faith is as helpful, if not more so, than talking about shared
values. The eighth chapter asserts that a religious view of the
world, with awareness of ecological relationships and reverence for
life, may aid in resisting the devastation of development.
Chapter 9 urges that we acknowledge our pride in our interfaith work
as our sin, because our pride is an obstacle to realizing the goals
of interfaith cooperation. The tenth chapter proposes that the
stories of faith may be more helpful for understanding our problems
and the needs of our time than abstract analysis that implies
experts have all the answers. Chapter 11 suggests that we might
learn from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights how, through
interfaith dialogue, to affirm an ecological vision of life.
Part Three concerns international initiatives. Chapter 12 suggests
that it is important to understand how the cultures of the countries
in which interfaith events are held affect the nature of these
gatherings. Chapter 13 recommends more humility on the part of
interfaith leaders and a greater focus by interfaith organizations
on service. Chapter 14 uses the metaphor of climbing to explore the
issues that must be faced in assessing the prospects for forming a
World Interfaith Council. Chapter 15 explains why the author signed
the Declaration toward a Global Ethic and his concern that simply
promoting this Declaration may not be the best way to involve
leaders of the world’s religious communities in addressing the
pressing problems of our time.
Finally, Part Four concludes with five essays concerning the way we
talk about religion and religions. Chapters 16 and 17 distinguish
interfaith dialogue from the language used in the study of religions
and argue that a focus on issues of faith requires more than
describing the facts of religious traditions. Chapter 18 argues that
including religious issues within a course on the history of our
society is more acceptable in public education, and at least as
effective in teaching tolerance, as a course on religion or on the
religions. Chapter 19 suggests that religion may well be a rational
response to life, and the concluding chapter presents the argument
that it is important to see religion as a source for our humanity
rather than as a resource for improving the world.
Reviewer comments
“With urgency, humility, and great acuity, Robert Traer here shows
us what we need to do to establish new goals, language, initiatives,
and approaches to interfaith cooperation.”
— John Buehrens, President, Unitarian Universalist Association
“Reverend Dr. Robert Traer probes with great clarity the major
issues of multi-religious cooperation as humanity prepares to move
into the next millennium. Throughout his remarkable book, one is
struck by the author’s deep intelligence and creativity. In Dr.
Traer’s view, the required creativity among the religious traditions
must respond to the major problems that face the human family as
well as the inescapable pluralism of religion itself.”
— Dr. William F. Vendley, Secretary
General, World Conference on Religion and Peace
“Religions grapple with profound questions of human life such as the
possibility of repentance and forgiveness, of peace and justice, and
above all, of truth…Robert Traer brings a critical and questioning
mind to bear on key concerns of interfaith dialogue and challenges.
This is an important and salutary book which all engaged in
interfaith dialogue should read, and which should help to convince
critics that interfaith dialogue has a vital contribution to make to
human welfare and to a fuller understanding of Truth.”
— Reverend Marcus Braybrooke, Co-President, World Congress of Faiths
“…In these pages you will be provoked, prodded, and propelled beyond
the ‘interfaith bazaar’ and ‘religion as resource’ approaches to a
more honest, critical, and in the end, hopefully more productive
engagement in interfaith cooperation—one that respects the integrity
of diverse religions as the ground and source for ethical action at
both local and global levels.”
— Dr. Patricia M. Mische, President, Global Education Associates
Author
Dr. Traer is a minister in the
Presbyterian Church (USA). From 1990-2000
Robert Traer led the International Association for Religious
Freedom, an interfaith organization involving Buddhists, Christians,
Hindus, Jews, Muslims, Sikhs, Shinto priests, members of indigenous
traditions, Unitarians and Universalists. He is engaged
in human rights research sponsored by the Center for Ethics and
Social Policy of the Graduate Theological Union. In January, 2002 he
was a scholar at the Tantur Ecumenical Institute for Theological
Studies near Jerusalem. Dr. Traer also manages an online ministry at
http://christian-bible.com, and his books and essays on human rights
are available at http://religionhumanrights.com. Dr. Traer has a PhD
from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California, a JD
from the School of Law of the University of California at Davis, and
a DMn from the Divinity School of the University of Chicago.
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