Embracing Diversity: The Challenge of the 21st Century

By Rev. Barry King, B.Sc(Hon.),O.M., PhD(TC.)

Over the last year, we have seen the impact of intolerance and fear of things that are different. We have seen the twin towers fall and renewed fighting in the Middle East. We have seen loving people, held hostage by fear, respond through intolerance and prejudice. The responses can be extreme as exhibited by terrorists or more subtle such as when we quietly resist positive change or refuse to acknowledge the rights of others to be different. It seems to me that one of the greatest challenges we of the 21st Century must face is embracing without fear the diversity which surrounds us.

A hundred years ago, each of us probably would have lived in a small geographical area for most of our lives. We would have had very little exposure to other cultures, other peoples or other ways. In fact, we would have probably been afraid of things that we did not understand or that were new and alien to us. Like many people of the time, we may have retreated to that which was familiar for safety and security. Over thousands of years, it has been human nature to reject that which we did not understand. 

We lived in a small world. We rejected change and retreated to what we knew. We can no longer live in the security of a small world. The world has changed. We are the children of a new world and to live in it we must embrace new ways. I think we live in wondrous times. Unlike a hundred years ago, today we are connected to a global community - we are connected to the world. Unlike any other time in human history, we are blessed with the opportunity to experience the landscape, the cultures and the peoples of the world in ways that have never been possible before. We have gone beyond the limitations of mother earth and have seen the birth of stars and walked on other celestial bodies. 

Yet we live in fear because we cannot let go of our small world ways. We do not understand that even though the world is filled with many cultures and many ways, we are one people. We still retreat from that which is different and fear that which we do not understand. Even though the world has changed, and we see its myriad of forms and peoples, we have been afraid to embrace our new heritage - to free ourselves with a clearer view of the truth.

In a complex world, accepting diversity allows us to experience a richer and more beautiful world. When we look at the beautiful, diverse world that God has created for us to live in, it is clear to us that God is a God of diversity. There is not just one type of tree, or one type of bird, or one type of flower, or one type of person. The world is populated with a multitude of forms which are trees, and birds, and flowers, and people in all shapes, sizes and colour. This diversity makes the world more beautiful.

If we believe that God is infinite and incomprehensible, then one place to begin to understand God is to embrace the knowledge that in this diverse and beautiful world created by God, it is only natural that God should manifest the message of unconditional love in many ways to many peoples. God is a God of many faces. We in the interfaith ministry celebrate these many faces of God represented by different religious traditions and rejoice that we have been given such a beautiful and diverse world. We express this truth with the phrase, "The paths are many, the truth is one. Love thy neighbour." 

Today there are many types of Spiritual Healers. Some call what they do therapeutic touch, some call it laying -on-of- hands, some are Reiki Healers, or do Touch for Life, some are energy workers, or channel the healing energy of angels. All are working with the same energy - attuning to the same vibrations. Some new names arise from a person's discovery of something that was unknown to them and therefore they do not know that it is also known by another name. Some new names come from the perceived need to make a thing more acceptable or understood. Some new names are an attempt to own it or control it or to make it their own. Even though they are utilizing fundamentally the same energy, there is the potential for each type of practitioner to see themselves as better than the others, as separate and distinct, possessing an exclusive truth and not part of a greater community - the community of people who work with healing energies. I am not picking on the energy healers for most of them do not see their gift as separate from the rest but it is important to see how this lack of information and understanding can manifest itself and separate people.

There are those who want to own God and to control how we understand God. The Interfaith Ministry believes that we cannot own God because God is infinite and incomprehensible. An infinite God cannot be encapsulated within a restrictive doctrine. Spiritual healing is spiritual healing no matter what you call it. Love is love no matter what type of box you put it in. Good people are good people no matter how they choose to worship God. Good and loving people will stand together in the heaven world no matter what tradition they embraced. We in the Interfaith Ministry are committed to helping people develop their awareness of other people and of other ways. We reject the notion that there is only one right way.

The other day, I was talking to someone when it became apparent to me that we were both saying the same thing even though we did not know it. We were using the words that we had learned within our understanding to say basically the same thing even though we felt we were in conflict. Sometimes language can be a terrible barrier and can separate us.

In the Bible, Genesis 11, Chapters 1-9 we read about the tower of Babel

Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. As men moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there. They said to each other, "Come, let's make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth." 

But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building. The LORD said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other."

So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel - because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth. 
There are many kinds of language and many ways that we understand it. There are spoken languages but within them there are other forms of language which are not so apparent. This hidden or perceptual languages can join or separate us. We can speak through fear or love. We can speak through joy or despair. We can celebrate each other's successes or choose not to. Sometimes it is not the words that people hear but the emotions or the misconceptions. If I say the words Priest, Rabbi, Monk, Holy Man, Witch Doctor, Priestess, High Priest, Minister, Yogi or Shaman to you, what perception or emotion or feeling is connected to each of these words? All servants of God, ministering to their people and should all be seen or understood in the same light. We should have a positive feeling for all of them. Do they or does the language of misconception, or prejudice or ignorance get in the way? 

We can connect emotions and feelings to words and may even speak the words with emotions which are perceived by the listener. This can change the meaning of the word. To embrace diversity, as the children of the New World we must reject our limitations of language and learn to speak one language. The language of love and compassion. The language that is of Spirit and not grounded in negativity and fear. A language of truth. 

Within diversity, we are often saying the same thing but are separated by the fact that we are using different language and do not choose to understand each other. As one people embracing diverse perspectives of God and God's love we can change the world. We believe that the world we live in is a reflection of our thoughts. Language plays an important role in our thoughts. We can embrace diversity and learn to speak one language. As in the story of Babel, we need to be as one people. If we can overcome the restrictions of language and embrace a greater truth we will be able to do anything. We will be able to change the world from a small dark place of fear and intolerance into a place where an infinite God can manifest through each of us a message of love and light. 

The God, I know and understand, is a God of unconditional love. God does not persecute those of the light who shine blue or green instead of white. We are all aspects of the one light and truth. Loving people, whatever their faith, will stand together in the world of Spirit. There, as here, they will have reason to celebrate. We have been given a beautiful, wondrous and diverse world. We have been given the opportunity to exercise our free-will to learn and grow. We have been given the opportunity to love. We have been given a beautiful and diverse world to live in. Celebrate it with each breath.

In closing, I say to you, support those servants of the Light who walk along a different path. Support those who have a different path but serve the God of their understanding and bring love and joy into the world. How will you recognize them? They will know that they are not perfect and that they are not in possession of an exclusive truth. They will work through love and not fear or hate. They will seek and not reject truths which force them to re-examine their understanding of the world. Truth seekers from all faiths, who reject fear, are your brothers and sisters. They rejoice in the knowledge that others have found God's Light through another path. Diversity makes us richer and our understanding more complete.

From this day on try to look at the world with eyes of wonder and celebrate the diversity in your life. Make a commitment to peace. We must do more than be tolerant to different ways, we must celebrate the opportunities it provides for us to grow and to experience a richer and more beautiful world. Rejoice in the knowledge that the joy and love in your heart is of the Light and that you one day will stand with your brothers and sisters from all faiths together in the world of Spirit.

God Bless You 
 
Rev. Barry King, OM, PhD(TC) is an interfaith minister and spiritual medium offering counselling and spiritual services in Charlottetown, PEI.  He can be contacted at 902-629-1385, www.interfaithministry.com