Not a Believer Yet

~ by Samir Selmanovic

Yesterday, my two daughters had a debate in the car. It started with nine-year-old Leta stating, "I don't think Faith House will work out." When 11-year-old Ena probed into it, Leta strenuously argued that Jews, Muslims, and Christians won't be able to tolerate each other's ways. She said, "It is just too complicated. People just want to do what they want to do. And there are too many holidays to keep track of. I don’t think people can’t do it."

I interpreted her ways as saying that although monotheists might believe in the same God, they are all actually monomythic--believing that there is only one way, one truth, and one path that leads to one God. Monomythic monotheists not only reject all other gods, they reject all other explanations of one God.

I am convinced that all three monotheistic religions have internal resources that can help them not only tolerate, but embrace one another and be better Jews, Muslims, and Christians for it. Nevertheless, I was speechless listening to my daughters. Two of the most tender beings I know were discussing arguably the hardest problem on earth.

They have to. It’s their future that is at stake.

On my trip to Ethiopia couple of years ago, we took about two thousand pictures. It was only a year after the trip that I took a closer look at one of the pictures taken by my friend Larry Thomas. Here it is.

What is peculiar in this picture?

Do you see it?

Don't read on until you see it (tip: if you click on the image, the larger picture will pop up).

Each of the three girls wears a religious symbol. Can you name the three religions?

I remember the place where we took this picture. It was a brief stop on the street, not choreographed or arranged in any way. The three girls were playing together in the slums of Addis Ababa. It was a part of the city where people's religions had to work together for the benefit of one another.

Their families were struggling to keep food on the table and to send their children to school to learn to read and write. In the midst of their struggle to live, their religions were their allies, not part of the problem. I saw that over and over again. There was so much happiness in their lives together. Muslim leaders embraced Catholic nuns, and then both asked us to give a break to our driver who has been fasting all day observing his Orthodox holiday. One of the nuns told me, “We don’t care about which religion anyone is. We are all brothers and sisters. If we don’t care for each other, we die.”

So, I’m thinking, if it’s possible to live as brothers and sisters in humanity at this small scale, in slums of a big poor city, why not elsewhere? We too are coming to a place where we cannot afford to live out our religions only for our own benefit.

We are stuck together on this earth, whether we want it or not, and this reality dawns on us every time we leave isolated circles of our religions or ideologies. And every time we walk out on the street. Or turn on the news. There are more and more of “the other” in our midst. The difference between now and the past is that these encounters are becoming more frequent, and more is at stake each time. This goes beyond global communication, politics, and business. Most of us literally have someone else living in our family, or we will soon when our children or grandchildren marry.

Without living for the benefit of one another, our religions are becoming increasingly useless. If a religion cannot bless those who do not belong to it, it cannot bless at all. It has nothing more to say.

As things look right now, for my young daughters there is no way back to religion as we contemporary grown ups know it. The religion they would join would need to be great at blessing its non-adherents.

Is Faith House possible? My younger one is not a believer. Yet. Perhaps my life work is to show her and her friends that humanity and God are capable of making this happen.

Comments

[courtney Perry]

Samir--thank you. There is such wisdom and depth to your words, and this photo truly represents the Kingdom. I know it's trite, but it's a picture of the attidue we are all meant to have; approaching God as a child.

I have hope in this sacred tension. Your daughters are having the conversations that will hopefully change our future. Bless you all.

[melvin bray]

there are no words... my eyes swell with hope.