Faith In Justice meeting

Posted by: audreymiller on: February 13, 2012

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This view of our recent event from our Hereford supporter Merrny Hellier.
Faith In Justice.
Coming from a Christian background I found the JDC Faith in Justice Conference on Debt and the Dharmic Faiths particularly interesting. I had a wide knowledge of the three Abrahamic Faiths – Judaism, Islam and Christianity – but only a fairly superficial contact with any Dharmic Faith.

We listened to representatives from the Sikh, Hindu, Buddhist, Jain and Zoroastrian faiths, and my immediate impression was of surprise and interest that their teachings mostly revolved around becoming kinder, more loving and forgiving people as they deepened their spiritual awareness through gratitude to “God”. It was centred on teaching right behaviour rather than right beliefs.

I discovered that the Dharmic faiths have wonderful teachings to enable personal ‘goodness’, compassion and spirituality, but they don’t often venture into politics and global action. Alongside this, Christianity traveled a path that has now led to political action, inspired by the way Jesus lived amongst the poor to offer support and dignity and hope.

Speakers on the final panel session of the conference were challenged to name one action they would take as a result of the day’s discussions, and they all agreed to encourage some sort of action on debt at their meeting places when they got back home. Perhaps the Christians among us could agree to encourage their churches to ease back on right beliefs and become passionate to let the wonderful teachings of Jesus about right living become the very centre of their lives.

Well done to the conference organizers who had the foresight to bring us together. May our togetherness and the sharing of our own religious insights inspire us with confidence to play our part in the wider healing of the world.

Merryn Hellier