Religions for Peace : A Call for Solidarity to the Religions of the World

Rating:
Summary: Cardinal Arinze represents the kind of leadership we need
Review: After finishing this book, I came away happy to have found in Cardinal Arinze an inspiring new leader (new to me, anyway) in today's Church. Religion for Peace is a very good book. Its main point is finding common ground between religions for the cause of peace in the world. The Cardinal stays far away from equating religions or trying to unify them. But he recognizes that there is a common goal of peace in the worlds major religions and that this shared aim must be drawn out for the well-being of the entire world. With intolerance being so common these days, it is heartening to have Cardinal Arinze step forward to direct us toward an alternative.

Rating:
Summary: Cardinal Arinze represents the kind of leadership we need
Review: After finishing this book, I came away happy to have found in Cardinal Arinze an inspiring new leader (new to me, anyway) in today's Church. Religion for Peace is a very good book. Its main point is finding common ground between religions for the cause of peace in the world. The Cardinal stays far away from equating religions or trying to unify them. But he recognizes that there is a common goal of peace in the worlds major religions and that this shared aim must be drawn out for the well-being of the entire world. With intolerance being so common these days, it is heartening to have Cardinal Arinze step forward to direct us toward an alternative.

Rating:
Summary: Compassionate confrontation and lessons in courage.
Review: Cardinal Arinze says "Peace is not an optimal climate for human life and growth --- it is a necessity." If this is true, then of course we are in a lot of trouble. But from the Cardinal's insistence that half-measures are useless measures, he still manages to confront us with the hard truth while remaining consistently compassionate.

While I do not agree with all of Cardinal Arinze's religious views, I am grateful to him for representing the importance of tolerance and understanding within and among all of the world's religions. It is, after all, the narrow view of exclusivity (If I am right, you are by definition wrong), not religious doctrine itself, that contributes to religions being used as excuses and justification for destructive conflict. Cardinal Arinze emphasizes the need for education about other religions and cultures --- as opposed to perpetuating propaganda --- as a part of every faith community's responsibility.

Whether or not you are religious, there is a tremendous amount to think about in this small 143-page book. It has been my experience in working with people as they confront their fears (Embracing Fear, HarperSanFrancisco) that we humans are very inclined to abandon our expressed value systems when we feel deeply threatened. The courageous among us are those who do not let go of what we believe when the rubber meets the road or something hits the fan.

Religions for Peace can help us be those courageous people.

Rating:
Summary: Food for thought
Review: I wouldn't categorize this as an inspirational book--It's really more thoughtful, even manifesto-like at times--but I've nonetheless come away uplifted by what Cardinal Arinze has put forward here. Even though I have long been sympathetic to religions sharing a common vision, in the past I have been uncomfortable with the potential loss of identity for particular faiths (in my case, Christianity). I want to be open all people of good will but I don't want have to adopt a new universalist religion which throws everyone into gooey sameness. This book gives me hope that there can be alliances formed between traditional religions while their individual characters are respected. The author hasn't put forward any radical ideas, but I find it encouraging that someone so high up in the Catholic Church seems to be approaching the multifaceted nature of the world with a sense of reality.

Rating:
Summary: Religions for Peace
Review: In the wake of what our country has just gone through I feel strongly that a message of tolerance and cooperation must be heard above the rhetoric of war. For this reason I have embraced this book with enthusiasm. It is a timely message that we would all do well to consider. Why aren't these ideas being more openly discussed in the media and in our communities? The way to prevent future 9/11s (and its profoundly destructive aftermath) is not to hurl billions of dollars of bombs but to cultivate the seeds of common understanding. I applaud Cardinal Arinze for reminding us of the need to reach out to one another and recognize what we have in common.

Rating:
Summary: Gentle approach to peace
Review: Nigerian Cardinal and Vatican curial official Francis Arinze has written a gentle, brief introduction to some of the basic ideas of peace as espoused by the world's religions. Apart from occasional lapses, Arinze's approach is inclusive and respectful. He is sensitive to the need for interreligious dialog and cooperation in the cause of peace.

Arinze collects short sayings about peace from various religious traditions, faces the charge that religions have contributed to violence, points out the connections between peace and human development, and sees religious freedom as a presupposition for peace.

His chapter "Freedom of Religion Needed for Peace" is probably the strongest in his book. Following the Second Vatican Council, he bases religious liberty on the dignity of the human person. However, he fails to grapple with the problem of dealing with anti-social expressions of religious conviction. For example, it is not at all clear what role he would see for government or other religions when a particular religion claims that something like female genital mutilation is a legitimate expression of its belief. Religious belief has social consequences, and tolerance is not an adequate response to violent faith based activities.

It is interesting that Arinze doesn't even mention the just war theory. He sees war as always a failure and a disaster. In this, as in the rest of the book, he appears to reflect accurately the current Roman Catholic position as articulated by Vatican officials.

Rating:
Summary: Gentle approach to peace
Review: Nigerian Cardinal and Vatican curial official Francis Arinze has written a gentle, brief introduction to some of the basic ideas of peace as espoused by the world's religions. Apart from occasional lapses, Arinze's approach is inclusive and respectful. He is sensitive to the need for interreligious dialog and cooperation in the cause of peace.

Arinze collects short sayings about peace from various religious traditions, faces the charge that religions have contributed to violence, points out the connections between peace and human development, and sees religious freedom as a presupposition for peace.

His chapter "Freedom of Religion Needed for Peace" is probably the strongest in his book. Following the Second Vatican Council, he bases religious liberty on the dignity of the human person. However, he fails to grapple with the problem of dealing with anti-social expressions of religious conviction. For example, it is not at all clear what role he would see for government or other religions when a particular religion claims that something like female genital mutilation is a legitimate expression of its belief. Religious belief has social consequences, and tolerance is not an adequate response to violent faith based activities.

It is interesting that Arinze doesn't even mention the just war theory. He sees war as always a failure and a disaster. In this, as in the rest of the book, he appears to reflect accurately the current Roman Catholic position as articulated by Vatican officials.