Jewish-Christian Unity: Rabbi Tells Interfaith Dinner to “Focus on Shared Values” May 8, 2007

From the Canadian Jewish News:

A retired U.S. Navy chaplain says his experience as a rabbi in the armed forces taught him that focusing on common social issues is the best way to improve relations between Christians and Jews.“The secret of the chaplain corps was not talking about theology first…Instead, we rolled up our sleeves and talked about shared concerns [first] – [soldiers] in pain, those in fear, those suffering from doubt or loneliness,” Rabbi Arnold Resnicoff told the the 21st annual Neighbourhood Interfaith Dinner…

Rabbi Resnicoff said it’s possible to be moved by the faith and teachings of others, noting that he was inspired to become a rabbi by a Christian chaplain who served with him in the Vietnam War…He said Jews and Christians have “conflicting visions of the end of days,” and so he stressed the importance of working together on issues in the here and now, such as poverty and homelessness.

“The more we focus on getting through today – making this a better day – the more we can agree. Therefore, focus on poverty, crime, injustice and discrimination. Work on projects like Habitat for Humanity, which help the homeless.”

Rabbi Resnicoff outlined three pitfalls to avoid in interfaith dialogue, which he calls the “rules of engagement.” Firstly, he said comparisons between religious groups can’t be a comparison between “our best and their worst.” Secondly, one can never compare “our teachings to their actions.” Thirdly, in a comparison of teachings, don’t compare “our beliefs to their words” because beliefs are learned in context while words can be taken out of context from others’ holy books.

By the way when Resnicoff mentioned shared values, note that he left things like the typical “hot-button” topics for religious citizens conspicuously absent.What did he call for religious citizens to form a united front to combat?

Poverty, crime, injustice and discrimination.

Four things which no religion advocates, yet four things which are often caused by disunity. Actions and gestures of interfaith unity deserve the utmost of respect.