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05/06/2002 Entry: ""
My parents will be glad to hear that I went to the Washington Cathedral tonight. There was an interfaith vigil for peace in the Middle East there tonight. I wanted to hear what the religious community's idea of peace was. Longtime readers can get on with your surfing - you know what's coming.....
For an interfaith peace vigil, the readings they chose seemed amazinging inappropriate, even hostile.
The Jewish reading included this selection from Isaiah 35:
Strengthen the weak hands and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are of a fearful heart, "Be Strong, do not fear ! Here is your God. He will come with a vengence, with terribile recompense. He will come and save you."
And for the Qur'an, we heard this gem from chapter 3 of Surah Al Imran
And their Lord responded to them (and He Says): Lo ! I waste not the work of the worker, male or female, as you proceed one from another. So those who fled and were driven forth from their homes and suffereed damage for My cause, and fought and were slain, verily I shall remit their evil deeds from them and verily I shall bring them into Gardens underneath which rivers flow - A reward from Allah. And with Allah is the fairest of rewards.
As for the Christian reading, it wasn't inflamatory, but it was from Revelations, and all that end-of-the-world mumbo-jumbo really isn't very conducive to peace at all - it doesn't matter what you do, sooner or later God's just going to call 'game over dude'.
All the little homilies after the readings were pushing the Alexandria Declaration, which sounds like a step in the right direction.
But the absolute worst part of the service when they brought out the little kids to sing. Their song was extremely depressing, especially coming from the mouths of babes. It presented classic codependent theology: Maybe if I just please Him more, He'll go back to being the loving god I used to know, instead of the vengeful prick He is now:
There's so much confusion in the world today,
That people don't known where to go;
But, we know the answer's just one prayer away -
It's up to us to let them know.
We've got to pray a little harder,
And love a little stronger,
And CRY OUT - a little louder,
Show the people that we care
Let's try and save the world.
Let's try and save the world.
Let's try and save the WORLD.
But the little tyke's hearts were just not into it. The words were being dragged out of them. "Let's trrrrry and saaaave the world", oh but I'm sooo tired, and I'm missing the Simpons right now, and I have a spelling test tomorrow, let me just go hommmmme......
Sigh. I doubt I'll be going to any other prayer vigils anytime soon. I don't know why I bothered this time.
