"Weaving Spiritual Diversity to Enhance Personal and Community Growth."

"Weaving Spiritual Diversity to Enhance Personal and Community Growth."

This paper will endeavour to create a position that illustrates the significance of diversity in communities. It will compare the teachings of a Christian theologian, W. Paul Jones and the teachings of the Islamic scholar and thinker, M. Fethullah Gulen. It will endeavour to reveal the significance of collaboration amongst people of diverse spiritual perspectives. Both Gulen and Jones emphasize the importance of inclusion and tolerance of diverse opinions, while adhering to ones respective faith. The paper will draw upon the teachings of these two scholars to show that diversity amongst people of faith has the similar value to the coat of many colours worn by the Prophet Joseph, i.e. a beautiful coat encompassing many diverse colours. Jones and Gulen bring wonderful conviction and positive energy to the concept of embracing diversity for the sake of learning and development in ones’ personal life. In addition they both encourage dialogue within diverse communities and illustrate how this may be a pathway to healthier and learned communities.

The goal of this presentation is to consider the potential value of embracing diverse spiritual perspectives and how diversity may enhance life, individually and corporately. The two specific spiritualities to be considered are that of the Christian theologian, W. Paul Jones, and the Islamic scholar, M. Fethullah Gulen. Both appear to embrace diversity while representing the uniqueness of their respective faith traditions.

Both the Quran and the Bible refer to the prophet Joseph. The Bible specifically refers to Joseph’s multi-coloured coat, which is an excellent representation for diversity. It is the one coat, the same Joseph in both Sacred Books, yet it is made beautiful because it is multi-coloured. The Quran has two central themes, “compassion and awareness,” and Rumi stresses the importance of the “circle of love.”(Rahman, 2007, p.40). Similarly the Bible teaches to “love with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.” (Matthew 22:37) Both are strong human themes, yet they are found in two different religions. A commercial poster of HSBC Direct found in Pearson Airport, Toronto, reinforces the potential value of embracing diversity and it reads as follows: “If everyone thought the same nothing would ever change.”

Benefits of Diversity

As is mentioned in the poster in Pearson Airport, sameness may inhibit change. If plants, animals and climate never changed there would be no evolution and stagnation would likely be destructive to creation. Yet humanity seems to tire of change and people sometimes long for things to remain the same. This may be attributable to the inability of humans to process the anticipatory grief and experienced grief that is associated with change. In both the Christian and Muslim traditions there cannot be the movement to an after-life, heavenly state, unless there is first the experience of a death. The experience of dying must include leaving something and someone behind, regardless of how well prepared and willing one feels to pass on to death. It is the nature of creation to include birth, life and death, which represents a pathway, a process, an evolution through existence of all living things in the known universe. It seems natural and normal to embrace change regardless of how much humanity resents it. Christianity, Islam, and Judaism have evolved from the same root of the Prophet Abraham, and openness to change has allowed this to happen. Yet these three religions claim a different set of beliefs and values. And could it be that resistance to change might deter the development and growth of these religious traditions? After all the three evolved at different times from the prophet Abraham and were influenced by the previous religions. Regardless of the differences, “all revealed religions are based on peace, security and world harmony.” (Gulen, 2002, p. 40)

Accepting the value of things in common like the foundations of “peace, security and world harmony,” it is important to explore the value of diversity and the meaning and significance of diversity in human affairs.

Jones on Diversity

Jones, the Christian theologian and scholar, defines diversity as meaning, “variety,” (Jones, 2000, p. 232) and he sees diversity in the context of process. He writes the following to explain this: “The spiritual stirrings that we can detect around us are in reality a disclosure of the nature of theology at its heart. These searchings are no more and no less than efforts to birth a soul, but addressing one’s own unsettling stories. Rather than seeing diversity as an anemic reduction of the theological task, it is a rediscovery of how the church once came into being and how its heritage is a continuation. Evangelism can no longer rest simply in defending what appears to be the church’s conclusions, but in identifying the theologizing process—concerned, at least initially, on the “how” rather than the “what.”” He goes on to further conclude, “Life is a pilgrimage. A tremendous aid in that search is the church’s history, like a tapestry of perspectives, held together by the warp of a common origin.” Thus the emphasis on process or the “how,” rather than on the content or the “what.” (Jones, 2000, p. 17-18)

This perspective of diversity represents the beauty of a movement forward, an evolutionary process, rising from an ever changing landscape. But given that change is inevitable as defined in an evolutionary process, then what might constitute the richness of diversity? Jones recognizes the pain of change as he writes about the conflict between liberals and conservatives within the Christian Church: “It may better be understood as the birth pangs for a new and authentic spiritual diversity.” (Jones, 2002, p. 43) Again he places the emphasis on the process, i.e. the process of birthing, which can be very painful, but in the end is one of life’s most meaningful and sacred experiences. Jones advocates the blending or weaving together of the valuable conservative characteristic of “strong personal commitment,” and the valuable liberal characteristic of “awareness that there is more than one way of being faithful.” Jones advocates that these two characteristics may be brought together into spiritual direction: “it (spiritual direction) entails intersecting the growing need for disciplined spiritual growth with the availability of the rich spiritual options woven into the church’s robe of many colours.” (Jones, 2002, p. 44)

Gulen on Diversity

It’s interesting that even though Gulen doesn’t seem to refer specifically to diversity, reference is made to his appreciation for variety: “He (Gulen) believes in a constant change in human beings and that variety is a propulsive engine in life.” (Sevindi, 2008, p.94) The strong adjective, “propulsive,” speaks loudly and clearly of his appreciation for engaging variety as a strength in human, and specifically spiritual growth. Sevindi also stresses Gulen’s desire for Islam in the contemporary world, to create bridges between the Muslim world and the West, which also acknowledges his openness to engaging differences. Sevindi goes on to write the following about Gulen, “He believes that since Turkey played an important religious and cultural role under the Ottomans for centuries, it is now well equipped to present Islam’s authentic face to the world with an emphasis on tolerance, dialogue, and respect.” (p.vii) This reference to tolerance and dialogue is further evidence of Gulen’s openness to embracing diversity.

It seems that a connection may be made between Gulen’s desire to utilize variety as the “propulsive engine in life,” and the restoration of the soul of this society. (p.5) Surely, his interest in faith and knowledge is a reflection to his commitment to enriching life in society through the dialogue of different faiths and different cultures. Sevindi points out that Gulen says it is the intellect that makes mankind human, and that after intellect he places freedom. It’s interesting how Sevindi explains this: “Therefore, rather than looking at freedom as a ready-to-wear suit, we should regard freedom as cloth ready for tailoring, cloth that every nation will cut according to its own nature and will fit to its own body.” (p.6) This too seems to refer to process and action, the process and action of building a nation or a society from the diverse elements, factions, faiths or cultures, an evolutionary process. It’s interesting to note that the Ottoman Empire, unlike other empires of the middle ages, encouraged nations to keep their own language and traditions, rather than assimilating the cultures. Gulen’s personal roots in the Ottoman Empire seem to be consistent with his personal appreciation for the concepts of variety and diversity.

One of Sevindi’s questions to Gulen made reference to the fact that people don’t like differences and variety. Gulen agreed that this was the case and commented as follows: “You are completely right. That is perhaps what we are trying to overcome with our spirit of tolerance. This means accepting very different positions and conceptions. Once you accept this idea, you will have the opportunity to benefit from many people’s thoughts and ideas. He went on to elaborate: “Tolerance means you are open to everyone, every idea. If gulfs are produced, that means you are deprived of the advantages of integration.” (p.47-48) Here, Gulen is referring to the integration of Turkey with the European Union, but the meaning might be expanded to include the importance of tolerance as a process towards integration or connection of diverse cultures or faiths, the potential for unity or cooperation within diversity.

The theme of tolerance is developed further in Gulen’s advocacy for interfaith dialogue. In this regard he writes: “Religion reconciles opposites: religion-science, this world-the next world, Nature-Divine Books, material-spiritual, and spirit body…Interfaith dialogue seeks to realize religion’s basic oneness and unity, and the universality of belief. Religion embraces all beliefs and races in brotherhood, and exalts love, respect, tolerance, forgiveness, mercy, human rights, peace, brotherhood, and freedom via the Prophets.” (Gulen, 2002, p.32-33) Gulen proceeds to point out that “At the very outset, the Quran calls people to accept the former Prophets and their Books. Having such a condition at the very beginning seems very important to me, especially in the matter of interfaith dialogue.” (p.40) Lastly, Gulen reiterates the significance of tolerance in this quote, “Tolerance is the most essential element of moral systems, and a very important source of spiritual discipline and virtue.” (p.43) This reiterates Gulen’s high regard for the theme of diversity within the openness to dialogue, tolerance for one another’s opinions, beliefs, and concerns.

Jones and Gulen Similarities

Previously, reference is made to Jones’ understanding of the weaving together of conservative characteristic of commitment and the liberal characteristic of awareness that there is more than one way to be faithful. It’s interesting to note Gulen’s answer to Sevindi’s question, “Is Islam right or left?” “Islam can seem attractive to both rightist politicians for its conservative ideas and to leftist politicians with its ideas of sharing.” Here Gulen too is weaving together the varieties within Islam just as Jones weaves together the varieties within Christianity, espousing some of the same ideas or characteristics, but with different emphasis and a different context. In addition Gulen further emphasizes the potential for diversity within Islam when he says: “That means there is one book and one Prophet, but various conceptions of Islam. Because cultures are the determinants of the practices of Islam (or of any religion), it will manifest differently; it is not uncommon to see totally opposite practices in some places.” (p.64) Both Jones and Gulen are proponents of healthy dialogue and the embracing of diversity or variety, appreciating the perspectives of others while remaining firm in their respective religious and philosophical beliefs.

At the core of Jones and Gulen’s teachings seem to be the significance of debate and dialogue. Gulen says regarding debate, “Debate should enable the truth to come out.” (Gulen, 2002, p.40) But to build upon this teaching I will define dialogue as enhancing debate, as open communication and distinct from discussion or debate. I concur with Yankelovich who explains dialogue as follows: “Webster defines the purpose of dialogue as “seeking mutual understanding and harmony…In dialogue, we penetrate behind the polite superficialities and defenses in which we habitually armor ourselves. We listen and respond to one another with an authenticity that forges a bond between us.” (Yankelovich, 2001, p.14-15) The practice of dialogue fosters listening and the deepening of understanding and knowledge, whereas discussion is more adversarial and the striving to win the other to my opinion. Dialogue fosters a win and win position or outcome, whereas discussion or debate fosters a win or lose and a more competitive or even combative perspective.

Conclusion

This paper has endeavoured to create a beautiful tapestry while acknowledging the harshness of human reality and suffering. Reference has been made to various cloths and the significance of the unique threads, the texture of the cloth, and the potential for colour. We know there seems to be a cost to creating various tapestries and to world development. It may be compared to a dance in which we seem to be always stepping on one another’s toes. It hurts when our toes are stepped on when we are trying to have a good time, but it’s important to keep dancing, striving to enjoy the moment and the movements, the beauty and the unique creative expression. As the world gets smaller so the dance floor gets smaller and there seems like there is more stepping on one another’s toes. However, we all know that with lots of practice we can become good dancers and there can be many different and unique dances going on at the same time, including waltzes, polkas, and square dances. People dance alone, as individuals, creative in their expression, and people dance in community, collaborating and cooperating, to make the flow of the common dance and to foster a harmony and togetherness. Both expressions are dances and both are necessary to create the energy and the beauty of dancing.

The benefit of the tapestry or the dance, the dialogue, the diversity, the variety, is applicable to both the individual and the community. As Gulen says, “Those who want to reform the world must first reform themselves; purify their inner worlds of hatred, rancor, and jealousy; and adorn their outer world with virtue.” (Gulen, 2002, p. 43) The reformation of individuals by fostering tolerance and encouraging the practice of dialogue has the potential to reform communities and the whole world community into an environment of appreciation and acceptance, peace that passes all understanding. Another pathway to this according to Gulen is the following: “We should ignore others’ faults, respect different ideas, and forgive what is forgivable. We should do this to touch hearts and benefit from contradictory ideas that force us to keep our heart, spirit, and consciences in good shape.” (p.43). Surely, this will encourage a hopeful attitude that can undoubtedly enhance humanity and life on this planet.

Gulen and Jones are both scholars and teachers, desiring to impart knowledge, and to facilitate learning and human development. It makes perfect sense to carry the ideas of this paper further to encourage opportunities for interfaith, intercultural, and interprofessional education. If knowledge is a key to the development of humanity and of this world, then it only stands to reason that we need to encourage more opportunities for collaboration amongst faiths, cultures and professions. This is necessary not merely because it is polite or in keeping with our principles of cooperation, but also because it seems to deepen one’s individual and corporate learning. The potential is for Christians to become more devote and committed in their practice of Christianity and for Muslims to become more devote and committed in their practice of Islam because of the practice of dialogue, tolerance and embracing diversity together. The goal is not to become the same, but to come to appreciate each other’s uniqueness which hopefully enhances our appreciation for each other and each other’s beliefs and practices.

In the face of the apparent drastic changes in weather patterns and the potential for destruction because of advanced warfare technology, we must consider alternatives and collaboration with an attitude of respect. How can the world be sustained with such disparity of access to resources when there is the potential for such destruction because of natural and human inflicted disaster? Jones and Gulen espouse the attitude of love and sharing while embracing tolerance and diversity. These two scholars stand as examples for the world to move forward with a spirit of love and acceptance, appreciation for one another’s uniqueness and respect for each other’s talents and knowledge; to move forward with a spirit of unity or cooperation within diversity.

It’s as if the potential that lies at the heart of diversity is collaboration. Just as the organs of the body each have a different function and purpose so too unless they function collaboratively for the greater good of the body, then the body will suffer. The same may be applied to the value of cultural diversity and the possibility for enhancing societies with the practice of intercultural dialogue. Similarly there is the case for diverse faiths collaborating in order to improve communities through the practice of interfaith dialogue.

The health sciences have begun to identify the need for the collaboration of the respective professions. For instance the provision of effective palliative and end-of-life care requires collaboration and teamwork both in hospital and community settings as patients progress through the illness trajectory (Romanow, 2002). The Romanow Report has stressed the importance of a more collaborative and teamwork approach to health care. This patient-centred emphasis in health care has created a new growing edge that has been fostering greater cooperation amongst the health care professions, of which Spiritual Care is one. As a result health care across Canada has begun to encourage interprofessional learning opportunities in order to break down the silos created by the emphasis on professions servicing patients. Therefore the health science professions must do more than co-exist in order to optimize the delivery of health care.

The potential for collaboration within the diverse theologies, the diverse human sciences, and diverse health sciences speaks for itself. Keeping in the spirit of Jones and Gulen it is possible to dream of the collaboration of the diverse theologies, with the diverse human sciences, and with the diverse health sciences. The experience and the learning that is being fostered by Jones and Gulen in their respective initiatives surely has the potential to impact the potential for experience and learning in other spheres including theologies, human sciences, and health sciences. These scholars are stepping out from their respective faith positions and inviting us into creative thinking that hopefully will transform structures and enhance the human experience of rich diversity in a multitude of contexts.

Gulen, M. Fethullah. (2002). M. F. Gulen: Essays, Perspectives, Opinions, Rutherford, NJ: The Light Inc.

Jones, W. Paul. (2000). Worlds Within A Congregation: Dealing With Theological Diversity, Nashville: Abingdon Press.

Jones, W. Paul. (2002). The Art of Spiritual Direction: Giving and Receiving Spiritual Guidance, Nashville: Upper Room Press.

Rahman, Jamal. (2007). What to Expect in Islamic Spiritual Direction, Presence: An International Journal of Spiritual Direction, 13 (2), 35-41.

Romanow, R.J. (2002). Building on values: the future Health care in Canada—Final Report. Ottawa: Government of Canada, Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada.

Sevindi, Nevval. (2008). Contemporary Islamic Conversations: M. Fethullah Gulen on Turkey, Islam, and the West, Albany: State University of New York Press.

Yankelovich, D. (2001). The Magic of Dialogue: Transforming Conflict into Cooperation, New York: Touchstone.