God's Changing Moods


My copy of the June 15th issue of Time has arrived -- it's about the Twittering phenomenon -- and I was struck by the article written by Robert Wright entitled: "Decoding God's Changing Moods." In what appears to be either an excerpt or summation of the argument found in Wright's new book The Evolution of God, Wright argues that buried within the scriptures of the three Abrahamic religions is a code that might lead to reconciliation and harmony between these three great religions. Indeed, it could provide the key to peace between Jew and Muslim, Israeli and Palestinian.

He writes:

If you juxtapose the Abrahamic Scriptures with what scholars have learned about the circumstances surrounding their creation, a pattern appears. Certain kinds of situations inspired tolerance, and other kinds inspired the opposite. You might even say this pattern is a kind of code, a code that is hidden in the Scriptures and that once revealed, unlocks the secret of God's changing moods.


The essay is challenging and unsettling. I expect most orthodox Jews and most Christians would find Josiah's attempt to cleanse the Temple and reform Judaism to be of a higher good than Solomon's syncretism, but Wright suggests that Solomon had found a way of living peacefully with neighbors, while Josiah imposed a faith on his own people.

Wright, who is an agnostic and a journalist (not a biblical scholar/theologian), wants us to consider the principle of "zero-sumness," that is an exclusiveness that doesn't allow for the other to believe differently and live, versus a "non-zero-sumness." He sees both present in the text of Scripture. Usually a sense of threat, such as the exile or pending invasion lead to a "zero-sumness." We see this in the Bible and in the Koran, which is why there is a seeming conflicting witness. The key to peace then, is to grab hold of the perspectives that allow for religious tolerance.

He closes by saying:

But at least we can quit talking as if this adaptation were impossible -- as if intolerance and violence were inevitable offshoots of monotheism. At least we can quit asking whether Islam -- or Judaism or any other religion -- is a religion of peace. The answer is no. And yes. It says so in the Bible, and in the Koran.


I've not read the book or seen the book. Perhaps some of you have. While I don' know if God's mood changes, I do know that our perception and presentation of God does change -- and this is, I think evidenced in Scripture and likely in the Koran as well. So, I would like to ask the question: Can we be monotheists and live at peace with our neighbors of other faiths? Or, must we insist on a purity within the neighborhood that will not allow for any other expression of faith (or no faith)?

Comments

Tripp said…
Hey dude. Post your question(s) here: http://dembones-dembones.blogspot.com/2009/06/interviewing-robert-wright-help-needed.html

Me and Drew are interviewing him wednesday and will ask your question.

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