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Sarah Masters reviews the documentary

Three Faiths, One God

Three Faiths, One God: Judaism, Christianity, Islam captures a fascinating interreligious dialogue on film. This documentary explores the similarities between scriptural texts and religious practices as well as the historical conflicts and differences between the three faiths, and the crisis of the fundamentalist approach to religious pluralism. The bottom line: Individuals of the Abrahamic faiths share basic human values.

As Karen Armstrong, author of The History of God, states at the opening of the film: “Jews, Christians, and Muslims have developed markedly similar notions of the divine though often working in isolation and hostility with one another.” The filmmakers highlight the many different ways that the Islamic way of life parallels the Jewish way of life, the fact that all three religions worship a compassionate deity and that all adhere to the Ten Commandments.

The lively dialogue also focuses on common misperceptions amongst practitioners of these religions. A major stumbling block for Muslims, for example, is the Christian belief in the Trinity. To many Muslims, this connotes a Christian belief in three Gods.

There are many illuminating references to history. The Golden Age of Spain under Muslim rule involved true collaboration between Christians, Jews, and Muslims in commerce, art, and academia. Maimonides philosophized in both Arabic and Hebrew and, when the Jews were exiled from Spain, many sought to dwell in lands ruled by Muslims.

Judea Pearl, father of Danny Pearl, the Wall Street Journal investigative report who was murdered in Pakistan by Muslim extremists, calls for interfaith efforts to reach the Muslim teachers who train students in the teachings of the Koran. He notes that interfaith dialogue with fundamentalists needs to be based on Islam. Karen Armstrong adds: “If we wish to neutralize the fundamentalists of any religion, we need to guarantee them a place under the sun.”

A partial list of the distinguished participants in this dialogue include: Bishop John Chane, National Cathedral, Diocese of Washington, DC; Dr. Krister Stendahl, Professor Emeritus, Harvard Divinity School; Dr. Marc Gopin, Director, Center for World Religions, Diplomacy, and Conflict Resolution; Akbar Ahmen, Chair of Islamic Studies, American University; Dr. Diana Eck, Professor of Comparative Religion, Harvard Divinity School; Rabbi Irving Greenburg, Former Chairman, U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council; Dr. Maria Menocal, Professor of Medieval Studies, Yale University; Eboo Patel, Executive Director, Interfaith Youth Core, Chicago, IL; Dr. Jane Smith, Hartford Seminary; Dr. Reuven Firestone, Author of Children of Abraham: Introduction of Judaism for Muslims; Bishop Kenneth Cragg, Church of England; Alma Abdul Hadi Jadallah, Institute for Conflict Analysis, Washington, DC; Rev. John Mack, United Congregational Church of Christ, Washington, DC; and Imam Feisal Rauf, Author of What’s Right with Islam.

Reuven Firestone, Professor of Medieval Judaism and Islam at Hebrew Union College notes that, “The film does not shy away from discussing the tensions between our competing religious systems. It does not try to paper over real differences. But it treats these in a non-polemical way that encourages real consideration of how the great monotheistic religions have interrelated with one another over centuries and millennia.” As Chaplains who minister to these three faiths, you will be drawn in.

Completed: 2005
Directors: Gerald Krell and Meyer Odze

If you are interested in purchasing this DVD, you can do so at www.hartleyfoundation.org. Just click on “Masterworks” on the homepage for more information. The cost is $ 29.95.

Sarah Masters is the Managing Director of the Hartley Film Foundation, a non-profit foundation dedicated to cultivation, support, production and distribution of the best documentaries and audio meditations on world religions, spirituality, ethics and well-being.

Book Review

Rev. Charles J. Lopez, Jr., reviews

Guided by the Spirit: A Jesuit Perspective On Spiritual Direction

Frank Houdek has several working assumptions about God and the person seeking spiritual direction: God exists; God exercises a caring concern for the human family; there is a personal God; God is knowable; and God invites us into a relationship with God and with one another. The person seeking spiritual direction needs to have: the capacity for self-reflection; verbal skills; and a sense of the mystery in his/her life (i.e. experience, reflection, articulation).

Houdek writes that spiritual direction is an art involving conversation and dialogue; it is the work of the Spirit of God; it expresses faith and mystery with an emphasis on prayer and spiritual discernment. Furthermore, spiritual direction is neither psychological counseling nor is it psychotherapy; nor is it simply solving problems or making decisions; nor is it time for friends to get together for a chat. Spiritual direction is Spirit driven.

I enjoyed the story of George Bernard Shaw’s play St. Joan (Joan of Arc) when the presiding judge asks, “Do you mean to tell us that you hear voices?” Joan pauses and replies, “Doesn’t everyone?” (4) In spiritual direction we, too, hear voices…the voice of the Spirit working in our hearts and in our minds.

There are four useful chapters discussing the directee and the process of spiritual growth; particular types of directees and their needs; prayer and spiritual discernment; and the director and the process of direction. Houdek underscores the notion that God is the initiator in the process of spiritual direction. The role of the spiritual director is “not getting in the way of God’s action.” This thought needs to be uppermost in what we do as spiritual directors. This process is not about us…it is about following God’s lead. It is God’s Spirit that actually directs the person and each person is unique before the living God.

As a spiritual director I need to come to an awareness that one cannot live without God. Prayer is not just a part of life, it is all of life. Also, I appreciated the signs of a “good-spirited” directee (119 ff), for example: a good-spirited directee is one who is growing in personal responsibility, freedom, and maturity, as well as one who is developing Christian virtue, particularly the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity.

St. Irenaeus once wrote, “…that the glory of God is the human person fully alive…” In chapter 4, both director and directee need to be aware of transference (directed at the spiritual director) and countertransference (directed at the directee) issues. When these transference/countertransference issues occur in the spiritual direction session, it becomes necessary to terminate the spiritual direction sessions and make a referral to a counselor or psychotherapist. Supervision is essential for anyone practicing spiritual direction. I heard again that the role of the spiritual director is not to get in the way of God’s action. In addition, I found the emphasis on hospitality to be appropriate in setting the tone and welcoming the directee. The spiritual director needs to create a sense of ease, a safe haven, and a place of comfort in order for the directee to relax and share their stories thereby allowing the Spirit to do the work.

Houdek, Frank J., SJ. Guided by the Spirit: A Jesuit Perspective on Spiritual Direction (Chicago: Loyola Press, 1996) pp 181.

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