This is a dialogue assembled based
on conversations I've heard or engaged in between perspectives from East and
West. The characters are fictional but each represents a unique perspective.
Gary Vardin is an extreme caricature of Christian fundamentalism. I've never
met anyone as extreme as him but I've read, heard or seen them speak in books,
television and the radio. I don't have the
East's version of the fundamentalist because I haven't come in contact with
them yet.
INTERLOCUTOR: Thank you for
joining us today for this very important dialogue between East and
West. With us here are Gary Vardin, Miriam Thornton, Greg Rice, Sarah
Brennan, and Arianna Phillips. Let's begin with each individual to hear
a little bit about them and what position they represent. Every voice
here will be heard at some time in this dialogue and differences of
opinion will not be repressed. Greg Rice, let's begin with you.
GREG: Hello, I'm Greg and I'm here to represent
the Buddhist perspective of the East.
GARY: I'm Gary Vardin and I'm here today
on behalf of my master, Jesus Christ.
SARAH: I'm Sarah and I'm here to present a balanced perspective between East and West.
MIRIAM: My name is Miriam Thornton and I'm
here to spread the good news about my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
ARIANNA: My name is Arianna Phillips and
I am attempting to unite East with West.
INTERLOCUTOR: Let me begin by asking a question
sure to be relevant in the new century. Do any of you believe humanity can successfully
build a united Earth civilization, integrating East and West under the control
of a democratic global government?
GARY: I believe
human nature is too sinful and corrupt for us to save ourselves. Global unity will only
come after the return of Christ.
SARAH: I often Imagine what would happen if Jesus or Buddha decided on returning
April 9th, 1912 to take passage on Titanic's maiden voyage. Being as concerned
and compassionate towards people as they were thousands of years ago, I can
imagine they'd do everything in their power to warn the crew and captain about
their catastrophic rendezvous with the ice berg.
INTERLOCUTOR: Can you please elaborate?
SARAH: Christ and Buddha have
already done their work. They came to warn us over 2,000 years ago that
we need to wake up and change our course or we'll all sink with our
Earth ship. Jesus and Gautama were prototypes of two among many
brothers and
sisters.
GARY: What are you talking about?
SARAH: I'm talking about those brave human beings who follow their example.
There's way too many to mention. Christ
and Buddha were the trailblazers who millions have since followed.
GARY: War and violence is in our DNA and
that's the reason why we will never succeed in freeing ourselves completely
from sin and reaching our full potential. There has only been one man who has
transcended sin and humanity's corrupt DNA and his name is Jesus Christ.
MIRIAM: Any of us can discover the peace
that Jesus found by living justly, loving mercy and walking humbly with God.
SARAH: I believe we'll eventually open our
eyes and see the direction the world is taking. To use a metaphor from a trilogy
of movies completed in 2003, the Matrix of deception can't keep us all blinded
and needlessly suffering forever. I'm optimistic because like Neo or the Buddha,
I believe we'll take the red pill and awaken to our situation in time. We will turn
this ship around while there's still a chance.
INTERLOCUTOR: Turn what ship around?
SARAH: The ship of humanity that's sailing
for an ice berg of ecological catastrophe and world war III. We need to
warn the captains (G-8 nations) and hope they don't discount us by living with
an arrogant faith that their ship is unsinkable.
MIRIAM: It will be hard to save ourselves
when so many are such a mess. Every year a new nation tries to join the nuclear
club and now a small bomb in a suitcase can level an entire city. The gulf between
rich and poor grows larger and two billion people barely survive on less than
two dollars a day. We're destroying the environment at an unprecedented rate
and there's nothing to make us believe anything is going to change our behavior.
GARY: The world is a powder keg waiting
to blow up and ignite the End Times. You all better start taking the Bible seriously
because Jesus is coming back to judge the living and the dead.
GREG: As a Buddhist I don't share your religious fatalism. The
Judgment has always been right here and now in the eternal moment. And unless
you've had a profound awakening like the Buddha, your actions will be controlled
by your Karma and first tier evolutionary forces.
SARAH: Ok, let's entertain Gary's idea for
a moment and say Jesus returns with the objective of judging us. I'm sure he
would be pleased if he came back to find a number of concerned people doing
all they can to help make a difference.
GARY: Trying
to make a difference isn't enough. Unless you are covered by the blood of the
Lamb, you will not pass the Judgment into Eternal Life. Biblical prophecy has
made this clear and it is the infallible word of God.
SARAH: Biblical
prophecy is a cryptic, murky and poor excuse for avoiding reason and our responsibilities.
And what is your obsession with lamb's blood?
GREG: People want to bank their
salvation on the return of messiahs but there is never any consensus as
to when they're coming back to save us. Even the time of the
bodhisattva Maitreya's return is unknown to Buddhists. Like lord Buddha
taught, only you can be a light unto yourself to find salvation.
GARY: Buddha isn't my lord because he never
defeated death. The one and only true Lord who did is returning soon and you
will not escape him by scattering your ashes after you die. "Just as when a cursed,
barren tree is cut down, the branches that are still on it will also fall. When
the sinister and deceitful Buddha is defeated, the idolatrous fabrications that
proceed from him will also be destroyed".1 I offer you a chance to get right with God now
so you can be saved. 1 - Thich Nhat Hanh's book - Living Buddha, Living Christ - referring to what French missionary / imperialist said whose influence lead to the outlaw of a Buddhist holiday in Vietnam. (Page 5)
ARIANNA: We find salvation from war every moment we choose peace.
We find redemption from hate every moment we choose love. Should we depend on
someone else to bring us the salvation we can initiate right now?
GARY: But we can't because we are hopelessly
lost in sin. Unless you've accepted Christ as your personal savior, you're eternal
destiny and identity are in question.
ARIANNA: I
submit to you that the seeds of "Christ" reside within
all of our hearts. That's why you can take a human being who has had these seeds
nurtured, throw them into the Dark Ages of Europe and they'll feel a revulsion
towards the corrupt state of affairs. They then might grow
up as a Galileo Galilei and try to break the egocentric hold perpetuating Earth
as the center of the Universe. You can throw them in late 19th century America
and they might grow up as a Susan B. Anthony, rallying millions over to their
side in gaining the right for women to vote. You can throw them into the racism
of early 20th century South Africa as a Nelson Mandela and they will grow up
a powerful leader even after being unjustly imprisoned for over twenty-five
years of their life. History is filled with examples of these kind of people
who lived under adverse conditions while helping to move society further from
hell and closer to heaven.
INTERLOCUTOR: I'm sure everyone wants to
make somekind of difference in the world but how can we tackle all the daunting problems
unless we all become super heroes?
ARIANNA: Anyone can become a hero and this
doesn't mean having super human powers. It has traditionally been the ruling
elite through militarism who have decided the course of human history, but in the early 20th century,
a little man by the name of Mohandis K. Gandhi changed all of that. He began
a nonviolent movement that eventually drove the British Empire out of India
with surprisingly little bloodshed. You don't have to be physically powerful
and magnificent in appearance to make a difference in the world. The great success
of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings Trilogy can be attributed to this sentiment
which resonated with audiences. As Frodo the little Hobbit was told
by Galadriel, "Even the smallest person can change the course of the future."
GARY: How
come no modern day Gandhi has changed our present course yet? The only
thing that got people moving was 9/11. We did the right thing going
into Iraq because sometimes war and violence is the only answer to evil.
ARIANNA: Let's hope that we don't need evil before we take appropriate action. We don't need New York, Chicago or L.A. to
be destroyed by terrorists before we take the kind of reforms our world
needs to avoid an escalation of the hatred that breeds this kind of mega-violence.
INTERLOCUTOR: Let's shift this dialogue in the direction of global government again and examine
what you all think it will take to create one.
GARY: This idea is intolerable and blasphemous
to my faith. The only way it will happen before Christ returns is through the
work of Satan and the anti-Christ.
MIRIAM: I think having a world government
hold so much power over us is frightening. What would stop it from misusing
its power to turn our world into a distopian nightmare like 1984?
SARAH: That's
not the world government we the people would endorse. That's a fascist dictatorship
with no democratic checks or balances to curtail the worst in human nature.
INTERLOCUTOR: How do you propose curtailing
the worst in human nature?
SARAH: Just
like the police would protect you with force from anyone attacking or trying
to kill you, the world cops would use force to protect Kurds from being gassed
by Saddam Hussein. They'd also stop America from invading Iraq.
GARY: But absolute power corrupts absolutely.
I'd only accept one world government under the authority of Jesus Christ. Only
he will be able to govern humanity justly and create a world beyond borders.
SARAH: You
accept the government of the United States under the authority of George Bush
so why would you reject the leaders and political system of a global government?
GARY: Because at this time in history, George
Bush has been called on by almighty God to lead us in these End Times. And when
Jesus returns, his enemies are in for a big surprise. The Savior will unfurl
his blood red flag while his true prophets will proclaim his jehad. They will
march with him into the final battle to rid the Earth of all evil.
SARAH: If Jesus
came back brandishing a flaming sword, creating a divine mass genocide by sending
infidels to hell, it wouldn't be a democracy, it would be a fascist dictatorship.
People wouldn't trust this display of preemptive force just as the Iraqi's are
having a hard time trusting America for invading them with "Shock and Awe."
I just hope none of our presidents or military leaders think like you. There
is a recklessness in End Times theology that could have an explosive combination
if it influenced politics on the world stage.
GARY: If I were you, I'd forget about politics
and be more concerned about the salvation of your soul.
ARIANNA: The imbalance caused
by focussing on the spiritual more than the material has given
birth to Liberation Theology. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X were
both keenly aware of this problem and how so many African Americans
were encouraged by the white power structure to accept their lot of
segregation because the salvation of their soul was more important than
the material benifits of social justice. Martin Luther King responded
to this insanity by saying, "any religion professing to be concerned
about the souls of men and is not concerned about the slums that
cripple the soul and the city governments that may damn the soul - is a
dry, dead, do nothing religion in need of new blood."
GARY: But your soul will always be in danger
until you've been born again.
SARAH: It's
the birthright of every human to experience the Cosmos anew right now. We can
all have a born again experience when we awaken to the miracle of life and how
precious it really is.
GARY: Well history has proven that every
attempt to unite the world has failed.
ARIANNA: Yes but every human advancement
has been brought about by continuing to persevere even in the face of failure.
I heard that Edison tried over a 1000 different permutations of the
light bulb before he found one that worked.
MIRIAM: But one must also be careful because
pride can blind you from seeing your need for God. He alone is good and is capable
of bringing us the final victory.
ARIANNA: I agree that we are all dependent
on God, the Cosmos. God is both spirit and force. The force of gravity keeps
our molecules from breaking apart and turning our bodies into quantum soup.
The spirit and personality of others keeps us from going nuts and talking to
volleyballs like Tom Hanks did in Cast Away. Humility is healthy and the recognition
that we are dependent on God, is a good way of negating the potential damage
of our ego.
SARAH: We are all aware that humanity is
being pushed to its limits. The human faith of God being an agent in our future
may perhaps be an evolutionary sub conscious awareness that there are other
influences out there who may yet shape our destiny. First contact with an advanced
alien civilization may be one of them.
GARY: Aliens are another tool of the Devil
to lead us away from Christ. Prophecy has made it clear that all of our attempts
to create a world government will fail and that the Son of Man will return at
a time you least expect him.
SARAH: If a
transformed super Jesus comes back to help us save our world,
I will be happy and rejoice with you. But if it is a wrathful Jesus who returns
with plans of divine mass genocide, I would fight against this tyranny just
like I would resist any other evil totalitarian world government that came into
power.
GARY: But you can't have victory against
evil and the Devil unless God is on your side and no one comes to the father
but by Christ Jesus.
ARIANNA: God or the Cosmos is on the side of anyone seeking to wake up or choose
what's right and just. Whether they are Jew, Christian, Hindu, Muslim,
Buddhist, Agnostic, Atheist, etc. There isn't any one religion who has "Jesus,"
or "Buddha" patented. The spiritual giants of our past are treasures for all
humanity to benefit from and they should be available without any strings attached
to any one group or institution. Just like water is something universal in Coke,
Pepsi, Sprite and Dr. Pepper, none of them can claim the rights for it or say
that water prefers their mixture of corn syrup, carbonation and food coloring
over any other. Water is the source for all, the one behind the many.
GARY: Do you deny the evil and blindness
of Islam? What other religion would cause it's adherents to fly planes into
100 story buildings?
ARIANNA: But there are also Christians,
Jews, Hindus and Buddhists who have been blinded while committing unspeakable
acts of terror. This is not a problem of religion, it's a problem of human nature.
SARAH: I want to go back to this issue of water as a metaphor for the source.
I agree with this. God transcends all words
and concepts. You can't accurately represent the grandeur and glory of the cosmos
let alone God with any single symbol, equation or word and this even goes for
a collection of words, sentences and paragraphs such as the Bible. You aren't
going to point to the reflection of the moon in a lake and say, "That's the
moon." It's only a reflection of the moon's image, a symbol trying to express
a greater reality that can only be more fully realized if you go to the moon
and explore it yourself. And this brings us to the word Jesus. It's fruitless
for Christians to be alarmed with those who use another word for the divine
other than Jesus. Jesus is a name that's a symbol trying to express a greater
reality of love, peace and eternity. Are you going to tell someone in Mexico
who pronounces that word as, "Hayseus" that they don't have the real Jesus?
Or someone in the Middle East who uses the word, "Yashua?" These are all different
expressions of a symbol expressing the same reality. This is how mathematics
works. An equation can be expressed through any variable. For example, 5+5=10
can be expressed as the symbol, X, Y or Z. They are all different symbols that
can be used to express the same reality as 5+5=10. Before Jesus came into the
world, people knew about the ultimate reality he came to express. This is why
they recognized him in their midst and this ultimate reality was later connected
with the value of J-e-s-u-s. There are other people in other religions who also
know about this ultimate reality but express it through the different symbols
of Buddha, Avalokitesvara, Allah, the Tao, the Force, etc.
GARY: I'm sorry but there's nothing you can do to shake my faith. The more you try
to convince me to become an unbeliever, the more I am convinced in the existence
of the devil. I believe we are waiting for the completion of the Great Commission.
The Gospel shall be preached in all the world and then the end shall come. And
then the faithful will be caught up to meet Christ in the Rapture.
ARIANNA: Perhaps we could find some common ground in seeing
that while you're waiting for God to save us, we have to learn to live together
with one another and make this life as enjoyable and sustainable as possible.
And perhaps the long term solution for a world armed to the teeth with nuclear
weapons and maps of apocalyptic proportions, is to take the advice of your master,
Jesus quite literally. As we work towards a united Earth, we will only survive
by loving our enemies and having dialogue with those who disagree with us.
INTERLOCUTOR: Greg, I'd like to hear from you a little about what your perspective of the
Buddha's teachings are.
GREG: Buddha was a spiritual teacher in the fifth century B.C.E. who became the guiding spiritual
light of Asia. His teachings helped form a great civilization upheld by a vision
of humanity's great potential for peace. The essence of his teachings are compassion
for all beings. His Holiness the Dalai Lama describes the core of Buddha's teachings
in only one sentence, "Help all that you are able but if you can't help them,
don't harm them."
INTERLOCUTOR: According to Buddha, what can we all do to help the world?
GREG: I would argue that above all else, Buddha would tell us that we need a new universal
perception. It would be a perspective to help us see others as not being essentially
different from ourselves. This means we must transcend the egocentric and ethnocentric
attitudes that keep us from adopting a world centric ethic that embraces the
well being of all humanity. Only by first transforming ourselves can we move
the world in the direction of an enduring global peace. And to address Gary's
assertion that Christ was the only one to defeat death, Lord Buddha did just
this by transcending death and rebirth completely for the Pureland of nirvana.
INTERLOCUTOR: Here in this forum, you represent a very respectable Buddhist theology. Is it
true though that fundamentalist Buddhists exist?
GREG: Well, I wouldn't call them true Buddhists, but yes, unfortunately it is true.
I've heard accounts of some of them and they are just as fanatical as some
of Christianity's most zealous fundamentalists. I heard once of a famous American Buddhist teacher who traveled in Asia to study Buddhism from masters in India, China and Japan. When he arrived in Japan, he met some Buddhist monks there who basically told him that because he was an American, it was impossible for him attain enlightenment in this life time.
INTERLOCUTOR: That's very interesting. Miriam,
we haven't heard much from you. Can you tell us a bit about your Christian faith?
MIRIAM: It's a simple and beautiful faith
in Jesus Christ who I believe is the savior of our world.
INTERLOCUTOR: What exactly does that mean
to you?
MIRIAM: Jesus
was a prototypical human being showing us the authentic life
lived in harmony with the will of God. Thus, Jesus became a spokesman for the
Kingdom of God and was willing to die for all human beings whose sins don't
make them feel worthy of such a place.
GREG: But how does that save the world?
MIRIAM: First Jesus died so that all human
beings can be reconciled to God and become agents of his Kingdom. This is the
body of Christ moving through history to carry out his will by living the authentic
life. Second, Jesus also transcended death by rising from the tomb as a transformed
being. He returned to the Father for mysterious reasons we can't yet know. But
because of our faith, we believe he will come back as this transformed being
to help bring about the completion of the Kingdom of God on Earth as it is in
heaven.
INTERLOCUTOR: How and when do you believe
that will be accomplished.
MIRIAM: Nobody knows the exact hour but
we believe it is very soon. We are approaching a dangerous time when all the
armies of the world will poise themselves to wage a final battle. And if it
wasn't for the promise our Lord gave that he would return, all life would perish.
ARIANNA: Isn't that a bit fatalistic? If
there is a body of Christ that you speak of, living the authentic life, wouldn't
they try to stop World War III?
MIRIAM: Yes, this is the duty of those living
for his Kingdom. The Body of Christ has stood in the way of evil and its plans
of taking over the world completely, but in the near future this may be a task
too difficult for even the most authentic and faithful among us.
INTERLOCUTOR: And why is that?
MIRIAM: Demonic forces still dominate this
world. Just as these forces contributed to the murder of our master, they may
try to bring about our destruction too.
SARAH: Don't you think it's a little unhealthy
to believe there is some Demonic entity terrorizing the world?
MIRIAM: How else can you explain the reason
for humanity's struggle against the darkness over the ages?
GREG: If you are talking about the primitive
side of our nature, evolution explains this struggle quite respectively. Do
you oppose the theory of evolution?
MIRIAM: No. God may choose to build up his
kingdom in any way he chooses, and this includes evolutionary means.
GREG: So if you are open to the theory of
evolution, isn't this sufficient enough to explain the dark side of human nature?
MIRIAM: It doesn't matter how you explain
it, this dark side is here and it has consistently opposed Christ and his Kingdom.
ARIANNA: Have you ever thought of this not
in terms of opposition but as growth? An Oak tree takes time to grow into its
full potential and not because evil forces oppose it. In the same way, the body
of humanity needs time on Earth to germinate into a global governance of full
potential with liberty and justice for all. When observing ourselves as an organism,
thousands of our cells die every day. Some are murdered by viruses and bacteria.
This is just a part of life and growth.
MIRIAM: I believe the evil that has manifested
in humanity's past and present can't be explained away solely by evolution.
There is something else at work in the heart of such men like Adolf Hitler,
Pol Pot and Jeffrey Dahmer. This is also true on the cellular level. There is
something else at work when cells turn cancerous and destroy an entire human
body.
SARAH: The law of the jungle has always
existed on Earth and even before religions were invented. Are you going to tell
me next that our Earth is only six thousand years old and that Adam and Eve
sired the human race?
MIRIAM: No.
As I stated earlier, there is no conflict between evolution and the teachings
of my master. If, with a sincere heart you reject religion but seek to be an
authentic human being that understands the world through evolution, there is
no conflict between us.
GREG: If I don't believe Jesus rose from
the dead or was a product of a virgin birth, I'm not burning in hell with the
other Atheist, Buddhist, Muslim, Jewish and Hindu infidels?
MIRIAM: Absolutely not. There is nothing
to fear in Jesus my master because perfect love casts out all fear. When he
returns, he will welcome you and any other non believers in his kingdom.
GARY: If you believe that, you're not a true Christian.
ARIANNA: Miriam, you're quite different than many
fundamentalist Christians I've encountered who believe in the return of a wrathful
Jesus. Am I correct in inferring that you aren't threatened or opposed to religions
other than your own?
MIRIAM: No, we have many brothers and sisters.
Christ said himself, "For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my
brother and sister." And, "My house shall be called a house of prayer for all
the nations." Other religions are also capable of creating authentic human beings
who do the will of God.
SARAH: So, Jesus isn't your God?
MIRIAM: He and the Father are one now but
during his time on Earth, he was a human being with God consciousness.
GREG: Would you say Buddha is compatible
with Jesus?
MIRIAM: If Buddhism helps people become authentic, love mercy
and walk humbly with their God, then Jesus and Buddha are brothers, not rivals.
INTERLOCUTOR: So, if Jesus is returning and
he's not launching a magical campaign of divine mass genocide, how will he rule
a kingdom of imperfect human beings who don't always love and get along with
each other?
MIRIAM: He will help transform them with new bodies and minds.
SARAH: Do you seriously believe that if
you die before Jesus returns, he will resurrect you and the faithful?
MIRIAM: Yes, Jesus has promised us eternal
life. Heaven will be a Utopia of peace and wonder nobody now can imagine even
in their wildest dreams. We will all be united with our families and loved ones.
SARAH: So this
includes Pagans throughout history who didn't believe in Jesus?
MIRIAM: God is merciful and gives everyone
a second chance to see the truth.
SARAH: So what
about those who still don't believe and don't want to be a part of his kingdom?
MIRIAM: Would you oppose someone if they opened the gates of paradise
for you?
GREG: As long as it's not a fascist paradise,
No.
MIRIAM: And neither will anyone else if their eyes are opened
to the glory and grace of my Lord.
ARIANNA: Well, if Jesus isn't a fascist
like so many fundamentalists make him out to be, I'd enjoy being in the utopian
kingdom you describe.
SARAH: Aside from some confusing aspects
of your theology and your stated belief in the devil, you don't sound like most
fundamentalists who create so much opposition to their faith. Perhaps then you
can give me a satisfactory answer as to why a transformed Christ didn't come
in the beginning to fix the world? And if Jesus is destined to return and make
everything perfect, what responsibility does that leave for you and the Body
of Christ?
MIRIAM: When we see evil we are to seek
its transformation through good and prepare the way for our master. There are
still many mysteries concerning our God that even the faithful don't yet fully
understand. I have often wondered if perhaps the time we have spent waiting
for our Lord is tied up with his plans for redeeming Satan.
GARY: That's absurd! Although I agree with
some things Miriam says, most of her theology has been poisoned. Satan is irredeemable!
Only the cleansing fires of Christ's wrath can forever remove him and his minions
from our world.
GREG: Miriam's faith has a lot more integrity
than yours.
GARY: Integrity doesn't buy you salvation
nor does it keep you out of hell!
INTERLOCUTOR: Ok, let's not digress here.
We need to keep this civil.
SARAH: That's quite an interesting theory
Miriam posited. But why oppose the Devil or World War III at all if your Lord
is going to make everything better in the end? If there's no danger of eternal
punishment, why not just live it up now and let God sort it out later?
MIRIAM: Because we are coworkers with the
Lord, it would be impossible for us to ignore evil and live it up as you say.
For those who reject Christ and don't care about an authentic life, they will
become a prime conduit through which the Devil will do his work. It is these
people who will also fear the wrath of God the most and worry about hell as
their fate. It's the uncertainty about the next life that becomes the greatest
judge over people without Christ. I know our Lord is merciful and will never
give us more than we can bear. When the evil forces begin to overwhelm us on
Earth I have faith that Christ will come to deliver us.
GREG: But there is something a bit odd in
your theology that needs to be addressed. You just stated that God is merciful
and will not give you more than you can bear. You speak of God as if he is controlling
the actions of the Devil or allowing them by his inaction.
MIRIAM: Yes, God allows some of it because
this is the price we pay for our free will.
SARAH: Why should you be peacemakers for
your Lord if World War III is inevitable and only Jesus can come back to save
all life from perishing? You also say that the Devil will use people to carry
out his work to force the last battle and final judgment. Doesn't this fatalism
and duality fuel the apocalyptic fires of fanatics who think God wants them
to be agents of World War III because they believe we must destroy the world
before it can be saved? And what use is it trying to transform evil, when in
your equation, your being overwhelmed by it is the condition needed for Christ's
return?
MIRIAM: We don't understand
God's plan completely. But I do know we must work for peace and oppose war because
Jesus our master would do the same thing. We may fail in stopping the Devil
and his plans to destroy our world but I have faith that Christ will finish
what we cannot.
ARIANNA: But won't we be more motivated to stop the world's destruction if we see ourselves
as more responsible? Does a child grow up if they always think their mom or
dad will come and fix the disasters they create through reckless living?
MIRIAM: But we are not completely responsible for the condition of our world. Satan
has corrupted all of creation here and we need the help of our Lord.
INTERLOCUTOR: Now I want to turn to you
Arianna and talk a little about your efforts to unite East and West. I know
that you have studied Buddha's teachings extensively with other scholars but what about your perspective
of Jesus?
ARIANNA: Jesus stands as one of the
greatest symbols from the West for which the prototypical human being is modeled
after. The teachings he left us speak to the deepest human longings of finding
a place where we feel loved and valued by others.
INTERLOCUTOR: Why are you so passionate
about integrating East and West?
ARIANNA: I was born in a family
split down the middle by the two paradigms of East and West. My mom,
her sister and father went down the fundamentalist Christian route
while my other aunt and uncle immersed themselves in the ways of the
East and followed a Guru. I was raised with stories from the Bible
about Jesus while my cousin was raised with stories from the Bhagavad
Gita about Krishna. I could always feel the tension between these
opposing religious sides among the adults in my family and it made me
feel uncomfortable. In order to transcend the conflict and subtle
spiritual warfare going on between them, I decided I must bridge these
two sides. It was the logical thing to do considering there were
integral and honorable things I experienced in both opposing factions.
They were all good people and it was their religious differences that
threatened to get in the way of them seeing this.
INTERLOCUTOR: What conclusions did this lead you to concerning identity?
ARIANNA: I became aware of how identity can create a divisiveness in relationships that
separates us from each other. We all benefit by relationships
in which we learn more about each other, especially when we don't see eye to
eye. It was Gandhi who said, "I have come to the conclusion in my own experience
that those who, no matter what faith they belong, reverently study the teachings
of other faiths, broaden their own instead of narrowing their hearts."
INTERLOCUTOR: In coming from that kind of
conflicting family background what conclusions did you reach about Jesus and
what does his story mean to you?
ARIANNA: I believe Jesus was a threat to the status
quo and the leaders of his day didn't want their power challenged which is why
they ended up killing him. Ultimately Jesus sacrificed himself in the cause
of waking up humanity by helping us see how we must change in order to save
the world. Jesus was a trailblazer in many respects. The message he spoke was
unique for its location and the after effects of his life can still be felt
in institutions and our culture today. He was also someone who spoke for a future
society that transcends and includes all the diverse states of humanity.
INTERLOCUTOR: Do you believe Jesus was raised
from the dead?
ARIANNA: Supposing this
was true, would it change our relationship to what Jesus represents? To
some fundamentalists, Jesus represents wrath and vengeance towards
their enemies and they may use this to cast fear. But
if you believe he symbolizes the greatest peace and compassion humans
can know, then there is nothing to fear in him because perfect love
casts out fear. If the manifestation of this perfect love did return as
a human or anything else, our relationship with it would still be the
same. Perfect love is an unchanging and eternal human archetype. I offer no resistance to the Christian faith that a compassionate Jesus
will return. We could sure use the help of a divine super being to come here and
give humanity a hand in bringing about an enduring world peace. I just think it's a mistake to believe this is our only salvation. We
are part of the problem so we must also be part of the solution.
INTERLOCUTOR: Why do people believe Jesus is coming back to usher all humans past and present
into eternal paradise? Isn't this a bit far fetched?
ARIANNA: This belief is simply conforming to the deepest longings and
hopes of our mythical human nature. Our ancient traditions all describe stories of
seeking immortality from the search for the Holy Grail to the fountain
of youth. I have high hopes for extending and enjoying the most of my
life and even continuing on in some new form after it is finished. How can you not and
stay true to the part of you that always seeks to experience more life
and beauty rather than suffering and nothingness?
INTERLOCUTOR: So, what happens when we die?
ARIANNA: I don't know.
INTERLOCUTOR: The majority in the East believe in reincarnation while the majority in the west believe in resurrection. Who is right? Who is wrong?
ARIANNA: Could it be that both might be right? These two perspectives may be a bit like the views concerning the nature of light. They seem to contradict themselves but as science advanced, it became clear that light could exhibit characteristics of being both a particle and wave. The same can be said about the dual beliefs concerning the afterlife. Resurrection speaks to the perspective that sees the preciousness of our individual lives and how we often want to identify with them or hang on to them for eternity. Reincarnation speaks to the perspective that seeks variety. As humans we like to change our clothes every day so why spend eternity in just one form. We've probably all wondered what it was like to live as our opposite gender, as another race or even species. How boring it would be locked into one form for eternity when you could experience life as a hawk, dragonfly, a dolphin or even a dinosaur. Or think about the countless alien forms that are most likely out there in the universe.
INTERLOCUTOR: But how could resurrection and reincarnation both be right? Surely it must be one or the other.
ARIANNA: Maybe it is both. What we do know is after we die, life will go on and trillions upon trillions of new life forms will proceed us. Is it possible we might experience the cosmos again in another form? Belief in reincarnation says yes. We are also told by scientists that the universe had a beginning and thus will most likely have an end. When staring in a movie, actors and actresses sometimes are only given their part of the script. After they shoot their scene, they wait for the movie's premiere. The actors are then able to see the big picture and the part they played throughout the overall story. It may stretch the imagination of skeptics but you can see why some religious people believe we'll all have a curtain call at the end of time. Could it be possible we will once again experience the form we now identify with? Belief in the resurrection says yes.
INTERLOCUTOR: What would you recommend to fundamentalists who may be open to your ideas?
ARIANNA: I would like to show them that like good science, good theology should be as
malleable and capable of revision. If theology or myth no longer resonates with
our intellect and repels our common sense, why shouldn't we be able to revise
it? The spiritual truths are within us and if theologies don't correspond
with them, they need to be changed. Now let's say Jesus literally was born of
a virgin birth, performed miracles, sacrificed himself for us and rose from
the dead so he could return for our salvation. If we ask why this paradigm creates
so much resistance and revulsion it's because of the fascist agenda some fundamentalists
use it for. But if we take away these fascist elements and replace them with
a Jesus of universal appeal, even skeptical scientists and atheists might not
oppose such a benevolent theology. I think Miriam's faith has moved the farthest
in this direction but perhaps she could even go further. Maybe she could incorporate
more creativity in her theology.
INTERLOCUTOR: In what way?
ARIANNA: She might incorporate archetypal components
of stories of our other great myths or super heroes we read about in comic
books and watch at movie theaters. What I'm
trying to suggest is that this paradigm could be revised in such a way so that
the mythology could speak to a person of the 21st century in the same manner
our science fiction does.
INTERLOCUTOR: Why do you think there is a fascist tendency in people to create an evil Jesus?
ARIANNA: It most likely comes out of the primordial nature of our ego. This fascist tendency
has potential to come out of all of us because we all struggle with one. We all came into this world through sexual means that
can be seen as a metaphor for the nature of ego. During intercourse, over 300
million sperm race each other to be the first at penetrating the one and only egg. This mad
rush is for becoming the elite cell to find transformation into a new
being while the millions of others are left behind to die. Every baby who comes
into the world will eventually come up against their ego and its tendency to want to be first in life over all others. Even religion can mirror this
egotistical tendency through fundamentalism. However, the fundamentalist paradigm
isn't a race determined by physical superiority. It's determined by a mental
state of superiority that guarantees victory over the billions of infidels destined
to die. The faithful or select few are the ones who find transformation into
a new being after something like a great cosmic egg appears for them in the
sky as they all go up to meet it. But what we have learned as human beings in
this world, is that cooperation and service brings happiness and transformation
more than following our ego and the suffering it brings us and others.
INTERLOCUTOR: What about referring to Jesus as King of Kings? Why do people do that?
ARIANNA: I believe they are referring to Jesus as someone who is worthy of being the
top king because he wouldn't misuse that kind of power the way most humans have
over the ages. Humans have always hungered for a superior intelligence to guide
their lives. That's why our past is filled with a history of dictators and kings.
The kings of the feudal times would rule the people, bring order to their lives
in exchange for their complete devotion and worship. Hitler played off of this
archetype as furor to the people of Germany. They basically worshipped him as
a God. Our founding fathers where aware of this tendency in human nature and
the dangers it can lead to when you vote a megalomaniac king into power. That's
what the machinery of democracy was built for; to prevent the bad kings from
misusing their power. It's kind of what we have seen over the years with Saddam
Hussein's regime in Iraq.
INTERLOCUTOR: So, you believe it's possible for Christians to adopt a theology void of any
fascism?
ARIANNA: I think Miriam's beliefs have proven this. She has a respectable theology that
sees Christ as one sent to save the whole world and not just a select few. The
same can be said about good Buddhist theology which is very universalist. Like
Christianity it also has a prophecy in which Buddha is destined to return and
serve humanity as Metreya.
INTERLOCUTOR: You speak of Jesus as a prototypical human being. What do you mean by this?
ARIANNA: The prototype I speak of is at
the psychological level. In relation to physical form, the prototypical human
is often thought of as a manifestation of external beauty. Super models in our
society are seen by many to embody this archetype so this isn't what I'm talking
about when I speak of Jesus. What I'm talking about is the prototypical human
being as it relates to our internal states of perfection like peacefulness and
integrity. The teachings of Jesus emphasized compassion, love for enemies, concern
for the well being of our neighbors and one's self. And if we are to become
more whole, we must embody his integral message.
INTERLOCUTOR: But many believe the embodiment
of these teachings are primitive and unrealistic in today's world. We wouldn't
get very far in the war against terror if we chose to love our enemies.
ARIANNA: It's more than just the act of
loving one's enemies. It's avoiding the unjust actions that creates them in
the first place. But as things stand now, America has created a lot of enemies
which is why we may be headed for an even larger and bloodier war in the Middle
East. When force begets force and violence begets violence, you often end up
with a descending spiral of destruction and mayhem that leaves us all suffering.
If we want to avoid the unthinkable devastation of World War III, turning enemies
into our friends becomes the highest priority.
INTERLOCUTOR: Maybe in a perfect utopia
this is possible but our world is filled with millions of human beings at very
low levels of consciousness. Violence is the only thing they understand. If
you were a passenger on the American Airlines flight about to be hijacked into
one of the World Trade Towers, wouldn't you rather have someone like Arnold Schwarzenegger
on board than like Gandhi or Jesus Christ?
ARIANNA: I see your point. There are times
where one would want the prototypical form of physical excellence more than
the spiritual. But thinking in terms of the bigger picture and the unjust political
policies that often incite wars and terrorism, we wouldn't find ourselves in
these predicaments if we evolved to the same spiritual level of a Jesus or Buddha.
INTERLOCUTOR: But people don't want to evolve
and why should they? Especially in a world where acquiring nuclear weapons is
the only means of gaining a superpower's respect.
ARIANNA: Can't
you see that it is a necessity we evolve and nuclear war is precisely the reason
why. If we want an enduring peace we have to learn how to live with each other
in a respectable and integral manner. We do this by understanding and exemplifying
what Jesus and Buddha represent.
INTERLOCUTOR: What do they
represent to you?
ARIANNA: They represent the potential salvation
for humanity and our Earth. If America and Russia had decided to launch nuclear
strikes on each other during the Cold War, we wouldn't be here today and the
rest of humanity might now be waging World War IV with sticks and stones just
like Einstein predicted. We are finally beginning to understand the logic behind
what Jesus and Buddha taught us thousands of years ago. That is, we can only
find salvation as a race if we choose to love one another and not destroy our
enemies. The good still within them and ourselves cancels out the evil we focus
on and avoids the evil we perpetuate by trying to destroy them.
INTERLOCUTOR: So you're saying that because
of nuclear weapons, destroying our enemies would also mean the destruction of
us.
ARIANNA: Yes that's exactly it. The Bible
can be seen as a symbol that conveys the same message. A diverse cross section of humanity wrote the book and in turn,
expressed therein all the greatest truths about the human condition. Much of
it is a flawed and primitive text written from a barbaric perspective, just
as much about us is flawed because of ignorance and the barbaric side of our
human nature. There is also a great deal of good in the Bible with the wisdom
and great stories it tells just as there is a lot of good in the positive side
of human nature. Jesus is the highest evolved aspect of the Bible in that he
symbolizes a transcendent quality within that sought to save the human race
for their potential for good rather than condemn them for their past evil. Humans have this same
transcendent quality which is capable of transforming the garbage of our lives
into something worth saving. This is the metaphorical microcosm universal within
us and even outside as aggregates of us that form institutions. It also explains
humanity as a whole. There is something transcendent within our race that makes
us and our world worthy of saving. That is why we can no longer destroy our
enemies because ultimately it would mean destruction for us all.
INTERLOCUTOR: But in the war with terror,
I think it is conceivable the United States could use nuclear weapons especially
in preemptive or retaliatory measures against terrorists who might use them
against us. Although such actions could kill millions, it wouldn't necessarily
destroy us and the world.
ARIANNA: But wouldn't this push us closer
to a larger War that might? Many talk about a potential clash of civilizations
between the West and Islamic states. Such a war could spiral out of control
and ultimately bring a clash between East and West.
GREG: You mean with China?
ARIANNA: China is already becoming a huge
power and they will most likely be even stronger in the near future.
GARY: Excuse me! The United States is the
greatest power in the world. If we needed to we could wipe China off the face
of the Earth in less than ten minutes.
GREG: Not without a retaliatory strike. Although China doesn't have the power of the west's arsenal, they could inflict great damage.
ARIANNA: The West may have a bit of an edge
now militarily but that will most likely change if the Arab World takes us on.
Islam and Christianity at different periods in the past have been shadow sides of each other. In the Dark
Ages, Europeans would launch crusades into the Middle East and Muslims were
often targets along with the Jews. A lot of bitterness between our cultures
had its beginnings there. Today we have two religions that both revere the Old
Testament but because they went in different directions, the fundamentalists
on each side see the others as evil. It is this duality that's playing itself
out now in the war on terror. China is not being sapped by such a war and it
looks unlikely that they would go to war with India. But in a raging battle
against the Arab world, it may lead the West into an escalating confrontation
with the East in which case both these world powers would be in danger of destroying
each other. The only salvation in such a scenario is for both sides to reconcile
their symbols for the prototypical human being that has, to an extent, guided
their cultures. Coincidentally, the core teachings of both Jesus and Buddha
is compassion and love for enemies. If this message is taken seriously by both
sides it could potentially lead to East and West uniting rather than self-destructing.
INTERLOCUTOR: So, you don't believe Jesus
is coming back to save the world?
ARIANNA: Don't you see that he must come
back if the world is to be saved? Christ and Buddha's spirit of love and peace
must come back in the hearts of you, me and everyone else if we are to keep
all the armies of the world from waging a final battle in which all life could
perish.
INTERLOCUTOR: But how can this change of
heart come?
ARIANNA: By spreading this message and seeing
that love is ultimately more desirable than hate. If we say no to war on the
individual level, we are saying no to World War III. Every war contributes to
the next in some degree. World War I created the conditions that lead to World
War II. World War II turned into the Cold War and has created all the weapons
needed to wage World War III. The Korean war helped contribute to the horrible
imbalance that threatens the peace in Asia today and the Iraq Invasion is inciting
the Arab world to wage a Jihad against the West. Like Jesus and Buddha taught,
we must say no to war once and for all and take the redemptive actions that
bring us enduring world peace.
INTERLOCUTOR: But how can an Israeli family
who has just lost a child or loved one to a Palestinian suicide bomber, say
no to war and yes to peace? Will a Palestinian family who just had an Israeli
tank bulldoze their house and one of their family members with it, say no to
war? How can there be peace without justice and justice without war?
ARIANNA: The way of peace is not an easy
one. You may become just as disillusioned working for peace as you will fighting
war. Ultimately though, it becomes worth it in the end. Every chain of hate
that you break with love, weakens the hold of that intricate web of war wrapping
humanity in the future cocoon of a mutually assured destruction.
INTERLOCUTOR: Isn't there any instance where
you would favor retaliation or war? What about the case with Nazi Germany?
ARIANNA: War is sometimes a necessary evil
but it always comes with a terrible price. A sustainable human future with enduring
peace can't be won through the kind of war humanity is preparing to wage next.
As Martin Luther King Jr. pointed out, "the choice now is either nonviolence
or nonexistence."
INTERLOCUTOR: It's been interesting talking to you all and thanks
for answering my questions. |
