AU Wackerlin Center for Faith and Action

Monthly Musings

May 2006

It’s hard to tell the truth in interfaith dialogue. Opponents of dialogue seem so committed to the conviction that truth is their exclusive possession that it doesn’t incline the rest of us to want to open this Pandora’s Box. Indeed, even when interfaith exponents describe the truth of their religion and faith, it often divides rather than unites. So it’s tempting to avoid questions of truth for ethical or other apparently less controversial topics: like the ‘dialogue of life’ which, by encouraging us to get alongside people of other faiths in daily life situations, seems to me to elaborate the admirably obvious, but not anything more interesting than that.

When the issue of truth has been raised by advocates of dialogue, it doesn’t seem to be an authentic voice of the world’s religions. Especially, the inclusive/exclusive/ plural debate championed by John Hick, which resolves the issue by an ideological interpretation of religious pluralism as a(n almost) unqualified good thing, looks more like an eccentric form of western philosophical idealism than a distinctive characteristic of the world’s religious traditions.

I reckon we should recognize and interpret truth as a quest and not a series of unchangeable propositional statements about ultimate reality. Intriguingly, John 3.21 has Jesus talk of doing the truth. This should help us acknowledge that our understanding of truth is provisional: we know enough to get by, and grow into a deeper understanding of truth as we live (or ‘do’) a life of faith and hope and love.

We shall only see the truth face to face in another world, so here and now we need to be able to disagree courteously and in ways that help us learn from one another’s differences about ultimate reality. Nevertheless, we can come to some partial understandings about truth, which may overturn some of our common assumptions. For example, are religions ultimately important, as so many people assume? If they aren’t, but rather are fingers pointing to the moon: then what is ultimately important? If it’s an abiding relationship with God, which I would argue and hope for, then how do we know that this is so? The mystical traditions of the world’s religions can help us answer this question. So can the prophets of old.

— Martin Forward