In my tradition Islam, there is a greater emphasis placed on service to mankind. Indeed, Prophet Muhammad goes on to say that if a person is having a full meal while his neighbor is hungry, he is not following his religion. There are innumerable stories where a sinner woman saves a thirsty cat with water, another one feeds a hungry dog and the prophet said that both of them will earn God’s grace. Mike Ghouse

TEXAS FAITH: Pope Francis criticizes narrow focus on abortion, gay rights and conception

By Bill McKenzie / Editorial Columnist
wmckenzie@dallasnews.com
5:21 pm on September 24, 2013 | Permalink

Pope Francis offered some provocative thoughts last week. Speaking about the hot-button issues of abortion, gay rights and conception, he told a Jesuit interviewer: “It is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time.”

He went on in the interview to say that hischurch had grown obsessed with those topics.

I have to admit, the church universal seems way too caught up in debates over abortion, gay marriage and conception. So, I happen to agree with his view.

But what do you think? Are people of faith becoming too occupied with gay rights, abortion and conception?

And what do you make of this statement that also came from the Pope:

“The dogmatic and moral teachings of the church are not all equivalent.”

Applying that line to your own religious tradition, how are believers supposed to know which teachings are more important than others?

In my tradition, the Presbyterian Church USA, we have creeds, but we don’t necessarily have a Presbyterian’s guide to the top 10 beliefs, or some such list of priorities.

This could get arbitrary, couldn’t it?

MIKE GHOUSE, President, Foundation for Pluralism and speaker on interfaith matters

There are two sides to hot-button issues like abortion, gay rights and conception.

On the one hand, the Pope and the conservative guardians of religion may be satisfied that they have softened their approach towards the issues. Probably they are asking what else you want. As if they have done a favor in removing the shackles which they placed on people originally.

On the other hand, the relentless discussion on the topic stems from the fact that the letting up of restrictions has not translated into acceptance. Until it becomes a norm it will continue to remain caught up in the debates.

The closure to the transaction will happen if the church writes down the revision in its policy manual. If not, the Pope needs to accept the legitimacy of the occupation with the topic.

I do agree with the Pope that the dogmatic and moral teachings of the church are not all equivalent.

In my tradition Islam, there is a greater emphasis placed on service to mankind. Indeed, Prophet Muhammad goes on to say that if a person is having a full meal while his neighbor is hungry, he is not following his religion. There are innumerable stories where a sinner woman saves a thirsty cat with water, another one feeds a hungry dog and the prophet said that both of them will earn God’s grace.

Then there is a story of a man who prays day and night, but the prophet advises him that caring for his wife is as important as prayers and that he should cut down on his prayers. But, unfortunately, greater emphasis is placed on visible aspects of the religion like prayers, one’s beard, etc than on the aspect that builds cohesive societies.

Indeed, every religion is about justice and at the end of the day or end of the world, there is hope that justice will prevail; violators will pay for their wrong doing, and do-gooders will receive salvation, nirvana, Mukti, Nijaat or freedom from the birth cycles.

Even though justice seems to be cruel at times, that is the bottom line of the religion or a society. However, the prime value of religion is Mercy. Thanks to Pope France for re-emphasizing on the mercy aspect of religion.

To read all the contributors, please go to Dallas Morning News at:  http://dallasmorningviewsblog.dallasnews.com/2013/09/texas-faith-pope-francis-criticizes-narrow-focus-on-abortion-gay-rights-and-conception.html/

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Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel, India, interfaith, and cohesion at work place. He is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. He believes in Standing up for others and has done that throughout his life as an activist. Mike has a presence on national and local TV, Radio and Print Media. He is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News; fortnightly at Huffington post; and several other periodicals across the world. His personal site www.MikeGhouse.net indexes all his work through many links.