Christmas proclaims a mystery of the Christian faith: into this finite and corrupt world, the power of divine love is born.
   But have we instead confused affection with consumerism? Do we celebrate the birth of the Prince of Peace by giving children games and toys to practice violent dispositions? Will movies of mayhem be our entertainment today?
   The pause this season brings to our routine can show us what we truly treasure. Will retelling the ancient story call us to compare the values we claim with our actual practice? Will we purify and renew our intentions?
   Because Mary was open to God's work, and because Joseph refused to follow the expectations of society to put her away when he discovered she was pregnant not by him, they and the Child became the Holy Family. Do we accept our own families so completely that the Divine glows within us?
   Have we, like the Magi, sighted a star to guide our own arduous pilgrimage to what is supremely valuable?
   Can we, like the shepherds, in the midst of our work, perceive the glory around us?
   Do we seek salvation in elegance or in the manger?
   Will we find ways, as Jesus taught, to feed, clothe and shelter the poor, to heal the sick, to redeem the oppressed, to forgive one another, and to make the music of the spirit?
   Christianity has its own special story, but all faiths in all seasons proclaim the mystery that the sacred can be revealed in the hearts and by the hands of each one of us.

121. 961216 THE STAR'S HEADLINE
It’s Sacred, but not really accurate
Panati book warning

Religious books seem popular this season, but I'm not happy about some of them. Here's an example:
   I talked last week with Charles Panati, in town to promote his Sacred Origins of Profound Things (Penguin). He was trained as a physicist and readily admitted he feared his book contained errors.
   His book says the important Muslim observance of Ramadan occurs in "roughly February." He did not know that it rotates throughout the year. "I must have copied that from a source for a particular year in which Ramadan occurred in February," he apologized.
   I talked with several Christian theologians who were amazed at his claim that Christians believe in three "Godheads." He explains the Trinity as "Three Gods in One," but the creeds teach three /{persons/} in one God.
   His account of the Buddha's Four Noble Truths is, well, unique. He could not tell me where he got it. His explanation of Hinduism as a form of "pantheism" indicates his knowledge of this faith is slight.
   After we discussed when the Hebrew Scriptures were written (he gives the unlikely dates of 1400-1200 B.C.E. for the first five books), he decided that he should have included the dates the scholars use.
   Panati's bibliography looks good, but has he understood his sources?
   Much of his book is helpful and accurate, but it is a chore separating the errors, misconceptions and disputed issues from the truth. This makes the book unreliable.
   When you buy a book for facts about religions, be sure the writer is an authority or at least footnotes the text carefully.

120. 961211 THE STAR'S HEADLINE
This month marks many observances
Dec Holidays

Many religions besides Christianity have observances that fall this year in December.
   On Dec. 6, the minor Jewish festival of Hanukkah began. Its eight nights of candles recall the miracle 2200 years ago of one day's lamp oil lasting eight, when the Temple in Jerusalem was rededicated after Hellenistic desecration.
   On Dec. 7, Muslims commemorated the ascension of the Prophet Muhammad to heaven following his night journey from Mecca to Jerusalem, where the famous Dome of the Rock, commissioned in 688, marks this event.
   Dec. 15 recalls the martyrdom of the ninth Sikh guru, Tegh Bahadur, who in 1675, in solidarity with Hindus, refused to abandon his faith. His name means "brave sword," but he gave himself the nickname Degh Bahadur, "brave cooking pot," because he wanted to feed the hungry. His spirit shines in his pardon of an earlier assassination attempt: "There is no virtue equal to forgiveness."
   Dec. 20 is Maunijiyaras, a day Jains use to honor holy beings.
   Dec. 21, the solstice, is hallowed by Wiccans. In the Julian calendar, the solstice fell on Dec. 25, and was celebrated as the birth of the sun-god since from this date daylight increases. (The early Christians adapted this festival for the birthday of the Christ.) In Japan, Dec. 22 is a Shinto festival of the sun's growing power, its yang period.   Dec. 26 is the anniversary of the death of the Prophet Zarathustra, founder of the Zoroastrian faith.
   Dec. 31 ends our secular calendar. Dear Readers: Do we all share something deeper than this final date?

119. 961204 THE STAR'S HEADLINE
Unity School co-founder gets her due
M Fillmore/N Vahle

Is Kansas City the home of a great woman religious leader? Would she rank with other American women like the Antinomian Anne Hutchinson (1600-1643), Shaker Ann Lee (1736-1784), Christian Scientist Mary Baker Eddy (1821-1910), and Adventist Ellen White (1827-1915)?
   Historian Neal Vahle answers these questions "Yes," and supplies the name: Myrtle Fillmore (1845-1931), who with her husband Charles founded the Unity School of Christianity, with world headquarters in Lee's Summit.
   Unity School is the largest publisher in the midwest (one magazine, Daily Word, has a circulation of 1.2 million and reaches 153 countries). Unity receives 2 million prayer requests and handles over 34 million of pieces of outgoing mail a year.
   Myrtle started it all when she healed herself of tuberculosis from childhood when she was 42. She spent the next 44 years sharing her discovery.
   Vahle, a Californian, was in town Sunday to conduct a workshop on his new book, Torch-bearer to Light the Way: The Life of Myrtle Fillmore.
   Vahle had been writing a book about Charles Fillmore when he came upon 1,500 letters written by Myrtle in the last four years of her life. "I discovered an important untold story and set the work on Charles aside," he said.
   "The letters speak more clearly and directly than her husband's seven books. She responded with warmth to requests for advice on health, occupation, and marriage.
   "Charles received great recognition, but the letters and Myrtle's life reveal that this midwestern wife and mother was the inspiration for the Unity movement."

118. 961127 THE STAR'S HEADLINE
Theologian predicts end of secularism
Thanks/ H Smith

One week before Thanksgiving, the religious scholar Huston Smith gave a Kansas City audience of over five hundred a glimpse of "light at the end of the tunnel" as he spoke about "the condition of the human spirit."
   Smith's book, The World's Religions, has sold over 1,500,000 copies. A Public Broadcasting System series earlier this year with Bill Moyers featured Smith discussing the wisdom within the world's faiths.
   The "tunnel" is Smith's image for the secularism which narrows our vision. "Ours is the most secular society the world has ever known," he said.
   But he has "never been more hopeful" than he is now because he believes we are about to emerge from this tunnel.
   Many now see that our focus on science has brought us many benefits, but it has not advanced our knowledge of the spiritual realm. We can also see that the world's religions are sometimes defective in perpetuating unjust social patterns and violence
against the environment.
   Nonetheless, Smith claims that the light from all traditions at their best converge to teach the same thing. The basic minimum ethical rules (don't kill, don't steal, don't lie, and don't be sexually abusive) are found in all traditions. The three chief virtues are humility, charity, and veracity. The vision common to all faiths is of a unified Reality, in which we are better than we think, and which grasps us as an awesome mystery.
   Is Smith right to see a light at the end of the tunnel and to characterize it as he does? I don't know, but I am glad to add his proclamation of hope to the list of things for which I am thankful.
   NOT PUB:
The tunnel Smith described has a floor of "scientism." While science is a "nearly perfect way of knowing the material world," it is not very effective in improving our understanding of the spiritual realm.
   One wall is higher education which Smith claims erodes "all beliefs" except in material things. The other wall is the media, worsened by the public's addiction to violence.
   The ceiling is a "legal system" that has removed spiritual values from much of our public life.

117. 961120 THE STAR'S HEADLINE
Intolerance troubles religious leaders
C J M Dialogue

Since 1987 a group of Kansas City Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders have met monthly to learn from each other. Even when the discussion has focused on political problems like Israeli-Palestinian issues, the frank dialogue has always been based on the spiritual traditions the participants bring to the table.
   In addition to religious professionals, a professor, a publisher, a chemist, a lawyer, a computer analyst, and a physician attended a recent meeting. The topic was the now obvious differences of opinion about what it means to be Jewish within Israel and how that affects Jews in the United States.
   A rabbi said that the Jewish tradition was build on tolerance, even of fundamental disagreements. He said that while the majority rules, minority opinions are also affirmed; the Talmud, the compilation of commentary on the law, deliberately includes divergent interpretations.
   But the peace process has now made visible a change from disagreement to attempts to suppress and delegitimize opposition, the rabbi said, painfully demonstrated by the 1995 assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin by a fellow Jew, previously unthinkable.
   Others said that in Israel non-Jews are freer than Jews to practice their faith. Several mentioned that Jews cannot pray as a family at the "Wailing Wall" because the state enforces the view of one group that women must pray separately from men.
   Christians and Muslims noted similar worrisome efforts within their religions to gain governmental support for particular religious views.

116. 961113 THE STAR'S HEADLINE
‘Interfaith’ relations increasing
Interfaith in KC

The phrase "interfaith" used to refer to relations among Baptists, Presbyterians, Roman Catholics and maybe Jews. Now in Kansas City, "interfaith" means much more.
   In 1985 representatives of different faiths met to share a Thanksgiving Sunday ritual meal, a tradition that continues this year Nov. 24 at Temple B'nai Jehudah. From friendships thus made, the Kansas City Interfaith Council was organized in 1989 with American Indian, Baha'i, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, Sufi, Unitarian Universalist, Wiccan and Zoroastrian participation.
   The National Conference of Christians and Jews, now called The National Conference, has added Muslim representation to its regional board.
   Churches increasingly offer programs with guests from various faiths.
   And an interfaith musical event, now in its seventh year, displays Kansas City's diversity:
   Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Restoration, and African American choirs join in the Harmony Choral Celebration this Sunday at 3 pm, at Trinity United Methodist Church, 5010 Parallel. The choirs demonstrate music from their own traditions, and then mass together to sing each other's music.
   In addition, Hindu, Cherokee and Eckankar sounds will be heard. "Hindu music is not choral, so our choir doing it is a first," according to Ellen Miles, chairperson of the event.
   "The music uplifts regardless of your background. It is a spiritual experience," she said.
   Such interfaith experiences reveal to us that we are all kin.

115. 961106 THE STAR'S HEADLINE
Gathering encourages Muslim participation in American culture
Crescent Peace Soc

Saturday night 200 area Muslims and friends attended a forum on "American Traditions of Religious Freedom" at a local hotel.
   Muslims in Kansas City come from many backgrounds, including both black and white American converts, and American citizens born in India, Pakistan, Egypt, Iran, Turkey, Lebanon, Ethiopia and many other countries.
   The new Crescent Peace Society organized the event to encourage Muslims to participate fully in the mosaic of American culture.
   A Christian leader, Carol L. Anway spoke about her struggle to reconcile with her daughter's choice to convert to Islam, described in her book, Daughters of Another Path.
   I talked about the West's unacknowledged indebtedness to Islam, and about the contributions Islam has made and can make to interfaith understanding in Kansas City.
   Jeffrey Lang, professor of Mathematics at the University of Kansas, and the only Muslim on the panel, used his experiences in Saudi Arabia and the United States to speak about the tension between "liberal" and "conservative" Muslims and encouraged wider dialogue among Muslims as well as non-Muslims.
   Kansas House Rep. David Adkins of Leawood noted that some studies indicate that there are more Muslims in America than Presbyterians. A questioner said that Jack Kemp, the Republican Vice-presidential nominee, characterized America's faith as "Judeo-Christian." Adkins responded that the American tradition embraces all faiths, and that all citizens should exercise their rights to their places at the table of democracy.

114. 961030 THE STAR'S HEADLINE
Practice of mantra stresses daily happiness
Soka Gakkai

Soka Gakkai began in Japan in 1937 and was incorporated in 1952. One of many forms of Buddhism now in Kansas City,  it came here in the 1960s.
   Its history reaches back to the great Buddhist reformer, Nichiren, in 13th Century Japan.
   "Soka Gakkai" means "Value-Creation Society." According to Royceann Mather, a member of the local group, this name "indicates the limitless potential to enhance one's own existence and to contribute to the well-being of others, under any circumstance."
   Many Buddhist schools seek to reduce suffering. Soka Gakkai expresses this intent positively, by putting attention not so much on alleviating pain as on achieving happiness.
   The chief practice in this form of Buddhism is the daily recitation of the mantra (sacred saying), /{Nam myo-ho-renge-kyo,/} which expresses the ultimate truth found the Lotus Sutra. As interpreted by Soka Gakkai, this scripture promises that "Any person can achieve happiness now."
   The mantra is chanted "not on a mountain top but rather in the midst of our everyday lives. Through reciting this mantra, we can fuse our lives with the vast universal law of life and thus activate joy, wisdom and compassion from within," Mather explained.
   "Individuals practice to achieve benefit to meet their particular needs, whether it be to overcome health or relationship problems. Tapping into a higher life condition, we are better able to achieve goals while at the same time help others, and to achieve peace in ourselves, in our families, our communities, our nation and our world." she said.

113. 961023 THE STAR'S HEADLINE
Come out of the shadows and contemplate the light
Invisible College

Imagine prisoners chained in a cave with fire at their backs looking at their own shadows projected on the wall in front of them. They have been in the cave so long that they think the shadows are real.
   One of the prisoners frees himself and gropes to the mouth of the cave. There he sees a world bathed in sunlight. He understands that the shadows are only the dimmest of realities, but when he returns to his companions, they are hard to convince. In fact, he is so dazed he cannot discern the shadows as well as before, and his companions think he is stupid.
   This famous story of "Plato's cave" suggests that there are realities we cannot apprehend from within the cave of our limited experience.
  How can we free ourselves from the shadows and contemplate the Truth?
   The contemplative tradition says that what is most precious is hidden within that which is most obvious, according to Bruce Nelson, a member of the faculty of the Invisible College."
   This group of six teachers in the Kansas City area are learned in the spiritual teachings of classical Greece and Rome, India and Tibet, Sufism, Hermeticism, and comparative studies. They offer customized individual and small group explorations of the world of sunlight.
   The traditions they have specialized in cultivate and focus our ability to see beyond the shadows, to discern the ultimate patterns without the distortions of consuming emotions.
   Rather than a set of doctrines, "contemplative spirituality is a way of perceiving the world moment to moment," the school's catalog states.
   For a copy of the catalog, call Ed Matheny, 454-0209.

112.  961016 THE STAR'S HEADLINE
Ballet explores darkness, redemption
"Arena" Ballet

Experiences of the holy may be the focus of faith, but much of the vast panorama in which we move is hidden in darkness. Hinduism calls this darkness illusion, Buddhism understands it as ignorance, primal traditions think of it as disease, and Christianity names it sin.
   How can we recognize the darkness and move into the light?
   In Kansas City this question was investigated eloquently but non-verbally last week in Todd Bolender's new ballet, "Arena."
   James Mobberley, who composed the music, says that the ballet is "dark," but that redemption, also suggested in the work, is meaningless without recognizing the darkness.
   The darkness is personal and social.
   "Arena," like history, may provide hope for only episodic redemption. Some may wish for a final and cosmic affirmation which the ballet does not proclaim. Instead of a single script for a final triumph of light, "Arena" implies an ancient Greek theme of cycle and repetition. The work also draws upon what medieval Christian theologian Nicholas of Cusa called the "union of opposites." The ballet is rich enough to support an interpretation even with an Asian vision of reincarnation.
  Despite these ambiguities, few would disagree with the central place the ballet gives to recognizing the darkness within and about, to exploration, and to the manifestation of love.
  We expect our religious institutions to inspire and guide us to move from darkness to light. But who can refuse to applaud when the secular artists of the State Ballet of Missouri so powerfully search the arena of the spirit?

111. 961009 THE STAR'S HEADLINE
Monuments remind and refresh

Washington, DC

WASHINGTON -- It is now fashionable to speak of this city with scorn, as a place of waste and corruption. Yet to me, some of the holiest places on earth are here.
   For example, in my lifetime the Lincoln Monument has seen Marian Anderson's concert transcending prejudice, and Martin Luther King Jr sharing his dream for America. These events were pivots in our nation's movement toward fulfilling the sacred promise of liberty for all of us.
   An inscription above the statue of Lincoln calls the building "this temple," recognizing that this is not a secular site. Lincoln words, "with malice toward none, with charity toward all," enshrined on the walls, purified and sanctified our nation's most bitter quarrel with itself. Lincoln spoke within a 3000-year tradition of understanding history as the realm in which God reveals himself.
   The Jefferson Memorial declares that our freedoms are not granted by the government but by the very order of nature, by God. Religion is so important government must not interfere with its free exercise nor may the state compel or support religious opinions.
   The Vietnam Memorial evokes the tragedies of the war, and the Holocaust Museum warns how even a free society can permit the most horrible evils once it denies rights to some of its citizens. The Nazis demonized Jews, gypsies, homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses and political dissidents.
   The memorials warn and inspire. They can refresh the citizen with the spiritual ideals which have guided us as a people. When act upon these ideals, we fulfill the promise of our nation's founders, who pledged their "sacred honor."

110. 961002 THE STAR'S HEADLINE
Buddhism in many shapes and sizes

More readers ask me for information about Buddhism than any other religion.
   The first point I try to make is that there is a greater variety within Buddhism than within Christianity, which itself ranges from the high liturgy of the Orthodox Church to the simplicity of Quakerism.
   One may be attracted to one branch of Buddhism and find another of little interest. Some forms of Buddhism are largely Americanized, while others use the organizational structure, language, and methods developed in the countries from which they are imported.
   Ten years ago, for a church here, I convened representatives of Sokka Gakkai, Korean Zen, and Tibetan traditions. The representatives not only had never met before, they did not even know the other Buddhist groups existed in the Kansas City area.
   Since then new groups have formed, and most of the Buddhist groups here are now regularly cooperating with each other.
   The American Buddhist Center at Unity Temple on the Plaza is working with the Shambhala Center, the Kansas Zen Center, the Mid-America Dharma Group, the Mindfulness Meditation Foundation, and a Vietnamese Buddhist group to provide mutual support and joint programs, according to Ben Worth, the director of the American Buddhist Center. Worth also hopes to promote greater understanding between Christians and Buddhists.
   Inaugurating a series of guest speakers, Shechen Rabam Rinpoche, a Tibetan teacher, spoke through an interpreter to an appreciative crowd of 400 people at Unity Temple last week.
   A schedule of fall events is available by calling 561-4466, ext. 143.

109. 960925 THE STAR'S HEADLINE
The suffering of others can heal us

Wrapped in Jewish and Mormon material with the religious intensity of the ancient Greek plays of Aeschylus, Tony Kushner's "Angels in America" asks a universal question: What is the meaning of our suffering?
   One of several answers suggested in "Perestroika," the second half of Kushner's two-play set, is a theme found in many faiths: we ourselves can be healed by those afflicted with undeserved suffering. In fact, we may not even know how weakened our souls are until we discover how we respond to those in agony.
   Vimalakirti, the hero of an eponymous Buddhist sutra, falls sick. This shocks the entire community. But as others explore the nature of his disease and how it has purified his spirit, they are healed from an ignorance of which they were unaware.
   In scripture claimed by Jews, Christians and Muslims, a servant "is despised and rejected." We think him "smitten" by God. Yet "with his stripes we are healed" (Isaiah 53:3-5)
.  For many Jews the suffering servant is a people whose example in adversity brings the world to justice.
   Many Christians believe the passage foretells the work of Jesus, whose unjust death brings redemption to humankind.
   How can vicarious suffering bring healing? Kushner's play presents several maladies, including AIDS. The virus brings condemnation or compassion. When we choose the later, our prejudice and the body politic may be healed as if by angels.

108. 960918 THE STAR'S HEADLINE
A prayer for broken vows with God

Sunday at sundown Jews in Kansas City and throughout the world will observe the holiest day of the year, Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.  The ancient prayer opening the service is a somber and beautiful chant called "Kol Nidre."
   The prayer asks for forgiveness for vows not kept, according to Cantor Earl G. Berris of Kehilath Israel Synagogue in Overland Park. "If we make a vow to God we are unable to keep, we settle this with God, and this is what the 'Kol Nidre' deals with. But if we cannot keep vows made with our fellows, we must make arrangements with them; God cannot release us from those obligations."
   This is an important distinction because in the Middle Ages Christians, distorting the intent of the prayer, used the "Kol Nidre" to accuse Jews of duplicity in human agreements even though Jewish law strictly limits the prayer to vows made to God, and can never be used to escape obligations with others.
   The "Kol Nidre" is also associated with the persecution of Jews during the Spanish inquisition and became a way of affirming one's Jewish identity with other Jews at Yom Kippur, if necessary, in secret.
   The exact history of the prayer is obscure. Berris says the text derives from the Talmud, completed before the 6th Century C.E., and the tune is at least 500 years old, perhaps much older.
   Berris, now in his 20th year as a cantor, or worship leader, says "As I grow older and understand human frailties better and learn how easily people can make mistakes, I increasingly see the significance of this opportunity for honest and sincere atonement."

107. 960911 THE STAR'S HEADLINE
Values should include global family

EL ARISH, Egypt -- Jesus said, "If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple." (Luke 14:26.)
   Other Biblical passages command us to honor our parents and love our neighbor, but in isolation the verse quoted above may not at first seem to support "family values," a phrase heard often this political season in America.
   Perhaps the phrase has become urgent because so many families in America are torn, and different age groups often pursue separate activities.
   Here on the shore of the Mediterranean, I am a guest and speak briefly at an extraordinary family reunion, gathered from many nations. I observe not only the respect children offer their parents and other adults, but the pleasure those of all ages take in visiting and playing together, including teen-agers.
   One evening, after prayer in the mosque, several hundred members of this family gather to hear prominent religious, business, governmental and academic leaders address the family's 1400-year heritage.
   The speakers do not brag. Instead they speak of the responsibility each person has, not just to other members of the family, but to enlarge peace and justice throughout the world.
   This family reunion transcends mere sentiment and good times. It becomes a rededication to the paths leading us to see that all of us on this planet are kin.
   Somehow seeing "family values" in a foreign land illumines the inner meaning of the difficult words of Jesus.

106. 960904 THE STAR'S HEADLINE
Pyramids’ lure reaches across ages

CAIRO, Egypt -- Gazing at the Pyramids just outside of town is like looking at the beginning of civilization 5000 years ago. These Stone Age monuments still cause even the most modern observer to gasp.
   It is not just their antiquity, size, simplicity, stability, perfection or intimation of immutability that stirs the soul. It is a resonance we feel across time with a strange and puzzling people and their joyous absorption within universal patterns.
   Although local forms of religion were respected, a royal cult also developed in the Pyramid Age, after Upper and Lower Egypt were united.
   Perhaps the earliest object of official devotion was an erect stone signifying human and cosmic vitality. The stone was later understood as the primordial mound, the earth rising from the waters at the creation of the universe, with the sun revealed at the top.
   The Pyramids are human celebrations of this creation, and their sides suggest the rays of the sun pouring life into a culture united with nature.
   From the daily death and resurrection of the sun, from the yearly inundation of the Nile causing new life to grow from its fertile waters, developed stories of a divine father whose son's struggle with evil modeled redemption.
   From such stories, Egyptians came to believe in life after death. Eventually these stories were reshaped into Christian ideas and images. Isis holding her son Horus on her lap, for example, later became the Madonna and Child.
   From the technology of the Pyramids -- and the spirituality -- our world emerged.

105. 960828 THE STAR'S HEADLINE
Mosques, sacred places call us to awe

AMMAN, Jordan -- The King Abdullah Mosque here is glorious without being opulent, clean of line without being severe. Built under the administration of an official whose nephew, now an American, lives in the Kansas City area, the mosque is named for the first king of Jordan.
   Though drawn to the huge dome and the twin minarets, my interest is not primarily historical or architectural. My focus is instead religious because as I arrive, the muezzin is calling the faithful to salat, prayer. It is noon, so this is the second of the five daily periods of prayer.
   I remove my shoes and peer into the mosque. Here is a place which declares the unity of God and the kinship of all peoples. While one can pray anywhere, the mosque perfects the Muslim ideals of cleanliness, community and freedom from distraction.
   The spheric roof symbolizes the believer's submission to the will of God in all aspects of life, personal and communal.
   Later I am shown other facilities in the building which also declare kinship. One large conference chamber is equipped with microphones and headsets at every seat so those of different tongues can speak and hear translations of the proceedings.
   I think of churches, synagogues, temples, gurdwaras, meeting houses, groves, shrines and other sacred places. All of them, through their particular forms and histories, call us to awe, to gratitude, to service, to centeredness in what is most important in our lives.
   I feel right at home.

104. 960821 THE STAR'S HEADLINE
Religions Superior, Same

I'd guess about ten per cent of those who respond to this column believe that I am doing the devil's work. I lead readers astray when I "fail to teach the one true religion," namely theirs. Another ten per cent want me just to show how all religions are basically the same.
   Both groups of readers may be unhappy today.
   In our fast-paced lives, we are subject to what some theologians have called the "pizza effect" -- defining an entire culture on the basis of one taste. Ironically, it may be easier to find pizza here than in Italy, and Italians can live happily without eating pizza.
   With superficial distinctions, we sometimes summarize and judge another faith without understanding it from inside.
   The "Hilton effect" is the opposite problem -- assuming basic identity from incidental similarities. Just because you find a Hilton Hotel both in New York and in New Delhi does not mean the US and India are alike.
   Extracting the "Golden Rule" from several religions, which many readers find in The People's Almanac, does not prove all religions are the same. One cannot understand the heart of India by remaining in the hotel, or the essence of Hinduism by taking a scripture out of its context.
   An apple and pork chops and a bagel are all food, but I am not concerned with how they are alike when I bite into an apple. I cannot really savor the apple if my focus is on what all food has in common.
   This column is neither one style of cooking nor does it blend everything together into pabulum. It is a grocery with every kind of food. It is your job, dear reader, to determine your own spiritual diet.

103. 960814 THE STAR'S HEADLINE
Discovery on Mars is a challenge

The recently discovered evidence that life may have existed on Mars raises questions for Buddhists, Christians and others.
   A Buddhist tradition says each Buddha's domain consists of a trillion solar systems, but there are universes in which Buddhas do not appear, and some worlds in which many Buddhas appear. Each universe depends upon the collective virtue of its inhabitants. The Buddha is revealed to human beings in a variety of ways, appropriate to the individual's ability to understand.
   Christians may wonder what the Bible's lack of mention of other worlds means. The Rev. Adam Hamilton, senior pastor of the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, says, "The Bible is not a textbook for the study of the cosmos.
   "If there is intelligent life on other planets (a quantum leap from the chemical traces of organic compounds found in the meteorite from Mars), it would be consistent with the Bible that God would wish to be known by, and in relationship with, these beings. They, too, would be his children.
   "God's methods of revealing himself to us and God's work in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, however, seems to be specific to the nature, context and history of humanity. We can hope that extra-terrestrial beings could have avoided the brokenness we see in humanity. If so, they may have by-passed the need for God's redemptive work here through Jesus' death for the sin of the world."
   Whatever our faith, or none, such questions may suggest how little we are in the unimaginably vast reaches of the spirit.

102. 960807 THE STAR'S HEADLINE
Man’s power over the land is just an illusion

An extraordinarily popular but apocryphal letter is attributed to Chief Seattle. Sometimes given the date 1852, it seems to respond to a presidential offer to buy his tribe's land.
   Even teachers like Joseph Campbell have wrongly assumed the letter was authentic because it so poignantly and characteristically displays the reverence American Indians have for land, not as properties to be deeded and possessed, but as habitations of spiritual beings like eagles, streams and trees.
   The letter warns that our pollution of land, wind, water and relationships may end with our own destruction. Humans cannot ultimately claim control over the earth because we are dependent on it.
   Less sentimental, the Lewis deSoto installation "Tahquitz," now at the Nelson Gallery, presents a similar warning. The room is spooky. Ice blocks melt. The water drips into huge vessels. On either side are video images of a landscape in which we are participants, willingly or not.
   Contrast "Tahquitz" with the exuberance and confidence of Nichols Memorial Fountain (near the Country Club Plaza) whose adult figures embody a spirituality of human domination over nature. Which is more genuine, more redemptive, the simple drip or the contrived spray? Or can we learn from both?
   The single process of nature is both wondrous and defective. The beautiful sunset skies and the raging tornado are from the same atmospheric engine.
   It is fashionable now to romanticize the American Indian view of nature. DeSoto invites us to a deeper understanding of his tradition, of the earth and of ourselves.

101. 960731 THE STAR'S HEADLINE
Meditation can increase awareness

"Meditation is not an exotic discipline to remove life's troubles," says Buddhist author and teacher Joseph Goldstein. "Rather it is a way to become more aware, more peaceful, more open and more compassionate all the time."
   Goldstein, in Kansas City recently to lecture and lead a 10-day retreat, teaches "insight meditation," which consists in observing one's thoughts without judgment as they arise.
   Learning to attend to our thoughts can help us identify the "mental movies" we produce, and thus avoid being so absorbed in them we mistake them for reality. When we are caught up in a greed or fear movie, we create suffering, from showing disrespect to the horrors of Bosnia.
   "Meditation is not about not thinking, but rather being aware of thinking," he said. Though practice we can discover what thoughts and emotions are most useful.
   One thought we often cling to is the idea of the self.
   Goldstein compared the self to the Big Dipper, a name we give to a constellation of stars unrelated astronomically except as they appear to us. It is useful to name the pattern, but if we become attached to the pattern which separates one group of stars from the others, we forget the unity of the whole sky. The self is a concept, a pattern, but not ultimately distinct from the rest of the world.
   He said that Buddhists teach that there is "no abiding being. A seed is not carried into the tree it becomes; there is no core entity that persists." Instead the pattern shifts in a continuous process.
   Observing the flow of thoughts can smooth our own continuing transformation.

100. 960724 THE STAR'S HEADLINE
Baptist women visit Hindu Temple

What happened when a women's group from the Second (Southern) Baptist Church of Liberty recently visited the Hindu Temple in Shawnee?
  They were graciously greeted by Anand Bhattacharyya, formerly president of the Temple, and by the priest, Mayuram M. C. Bhattar, and his children. The women removed their shoes, learned about the Hindu scriptures, and considered the different yogas, or paths to God.
  They also studied the statues of various deities colorfully and joyfully dressed in the front of the temple. "God is formless," Bhattacharyya said, "but the human mind sometimes needs images to direct us to God. The women remarked how refreshing it was so see images of happy gods.
   Despite the apparent differences with her own faith, Jean Hedges found important "similarities between Hinduism and Christianity."
   The trip increased June Martin's appetite to understand "the inner core" of different faiths. Leta Cummins believes it is important to "build bridges" among the religions. Dorothy Jackson said she had known little about Hinduism, but this trip gave her an appreciation for the faith.
   The expectations of the visit were clear. The Baptists did not want to convert the Hindus, and the Hindus did not want to convert the Baptists. "God loves all people. Surely he understands those of different faiths," one of the women said.
   "I was awed," said another. "The Hindu Temple is a sacred place."
   Bhattacharyya and Bhattar were delighted with their guests. Citing an Upanishad, Bhattacharyya said that all rivers, despite their different origins, lead to the ocean. "And our different faiths all lead to God."
   When was the last time you, dear reader, visited another faith's place of worship?

99. 960717 THE STAR'S HEADLINE
Olympics revive emphasis on honor

All things we care about are religious in origin. How we relate to one another, hunting or growing food, astronomy, mathematics, art, music, dance, poetry, right livelihood, politics -- and sports. Our secular society has forgotten its roots. Yet occasions arise when the religious fervor of antiquity reappears today.
   Take the Olympics, developed in honor of the gods who dwelt on Mt. Olympus. Just as many of us will set aside our ordinary concerns to view athletic excellence in Atlanta, "the ancient Greeks considered sport more important than everyday life," says Rockhurst College professor and author Curtis Hancock.
   Our word "athlete" derives from athlon which meant "prize." Although Athenian champions were given free meals the rest of their lives, the real prize was honor.
   To honor his dead friend Patroclus, Achilles organized an athletic contest at his funeral, said Hancock, citing Homer's Iliad
   Play was more important than work. Leisure and contemplation, which made possible the development of one's capacities, was also the arena from which politics arose.
   Play was more important than war. During the Olympic games, hostilities between city-states ceased and the athletes were protected.
   St. Thomas Aquinas said that emphasizing a narrow corner of the world in one's work obstructs one's ability to get close to God, an opinion common in the ancient and medieval worlds. Work was not made sacramental until the Reformation, Hancock said.
   The Olympic thrill, enduring though the ages, springs from our spiritual natures.

98. 960710 THE STAR'S HEADLINE
Spiritual warriors: Martial artists

Asian martial arts have become popular in the past few decades. "The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers" derives from the now-classic TV series "Kung Fu." Today Kansas City has many martial arts schools, from aikido to larate, from judo to jujitsu.
   Chris Kurth's interest in Buddhism grew out of his martial arts training here. Now, as leader of a private dojo in Colorado, he seeks to place the warrior in a spiritual context.
   During a visit here last week, I asked him about the spiritual dimension of martial arts.
   "Slamming people to the ground or knocking them out is not spiritual," he said. He laments acquiring skill without developing character and judgment to use the skill wisely. The martial arts should be used to "decrease violence in the world," not to threaten or abuse others, he said.
   Being able to defend oneself reduces "fixation on fear and phobias. One can handle pain and disappointment in life without feeling victimized," he said. This freedom from fear makes it more possible to give attention to spirituality.
   The camaraderie and teamwork in the training, the development of a healthy, vital body, the discipline of the mind, and the ethical basis for action are spiritual components not only in martial arts but many other practices, he said.
   In addition, the high level of coordination and fitness sometimes achieved makes possible a "beautiful mode of expression," often described as "going with the flow," a Taoist and Buddhist way of describing our oneness with all others and the unfolding process of life.

97. 960703 THE STAR'S HEADLINE
Americans cherish religious freedom

As we approach Independence Day, many of us recall the protections from government that make us a free people. Religious liberty is one of our most cherished American freedoms.
   While the American Civil Liberties Union is sometimes portrayed as a liberal organization, Dick Kurtenbach, Executive Director of the ACLU affiliate here, calls its work "conservative" because it seeks to protect citizens against government control of our lives.
   First Amendment liberties, including freedom of religion, are primary concerns of the ACLU.
   Kurtenbach cited a case when he directed the Nebraska affiliate before coming to Kansas City. A Pentecostal woman interpreted the Bible's second commandment against graven images literally. She felt it was wrong for her to participate in any procedure which would reproduce an image that God had created.
   The State of Nebraska required a photo of her as part of her driver's license. She was willing to substitute a written description of her appearance. Nebraska would not accommodate her conscience, so the ACLU sued on her behalf and won in the District Court. The state still would not respect her faith and appealed. Finally the Supreme Court ruled that her sincerely held religious beliefs were protected by the Constitution, and ordered the state to issue her a license without a photo, substituting a written description to replace the picture.
   Perhaps the highest duty we have is to act according to our conscience. If the government can restrict the religious liberty of any of us, it endangers that freedom for all of us.

96. 960626 THE STAR'S HEADLINE
World Faiths Center provides inter-religious learning network

Readers' questions range from "Should I tithe on my Social Security check?" to "Why do religions so often lead to violence?" If I can understand the phone number or address readers leave with their messages, I do my best to respond to each question.
   By far the most frequent query is "What is the World Faiths Center for Religious Experience and Study?"
   "CRES," founded in 1982, is an inter-religious network of people who want to learn about each other's faiths. In 1989 CRES organized and now continues to host the Kansas City Interfaith Council, and coordinated the Christian Jewish Muslim Dialogue Group in its first few years.
   CRES provides speakers and consultation for religious groups and educational institutions. It offers services (such as weddings) with an interfaith perspective to individuals, couples and families.
   CRES does not compete with other religious organizations; its work is to support them. But occasionally distinctive discussion groups, retreats, and other programs are arranged. An interfaith matins is held most Mondays, and each year on the Sunday
before Thanksgiving CRES brings representatives of different faiths together for a shared Thanksgiving ritual meal.
   A monthly newsletter announces activities around town of interfaith interest.
   CRES is completely independent. It receives no funding from, and has no ties with, any particular faith.
   For more information, send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to CRES, Box 4165, Overland Park, KS 66204.

95. 960619 THE STAR'S HEADLINE
Diverse religions oppose gambling

Gambling is now promoted commercially and by governments and even some charities. But why have many faiths historically opposed gambling?
   "Gambling is a menace to society, deadly to the best interests of moral, social, economic and spiritual life, and destructive of good government," says the United Methodist Church in a 1992 statement.
   Keith Berry, Missouri West Conference Council Director, adds that "Gambling is an irresponsible way of raising money because it takes money from people vulnerable to gaming emotions."
   Adnan Bayazid, imam in the Kansas City Islamic Center, says that "Islam is practical religion. Allah, the Almighty God, wants people to gain their sustenance in productive ways. While inheritance and gifts further love and compassion among people, gambling only encourages fantasies of wealth with no effort. Dreams of a jackpot lead to addiction, and the gambler will lose what he has, destroying himself and others."
   The Qur'an calls gambling an abomination (Sura 5:90). Instead of seeking illicit means to enlarge our wealth, we should give what we can spare to the unfortunate (Sura 2:219).
   Dr. Daryoush Jahanian, leader of the Kansas City Zoroastrian community, says that his faith prohibits gambling. "Our earnings should come through hard work."
   He explains that the Persian word for gambler means "gamble-loser" because one who wins wants to gamble again and will lose his winnings, and one who loses will lose again trying to win. Gambling can ruin families and lead to tragedy when gamblers steal to pay their debts, he says.
   Are these traditional moral concerns valid today?

94. 960612 THE STAR'S HEADLINE
This house of prayer is truly ‘for all’
Glide in SF

SAN FRANCISCO -- In 1930 "Lizzie" Glide endowed Glide Memorial United Methodist Church here in her husband's memory. It was to be "a house of prayer for all people."
   As I look around Sunday morning, it seems just that: Asians, Hispanics, Blacks, Whites and others gather to worship together.
   Before I entered, I walked past a line of homeless people here in the worst part of the city. With a tiny kitchen, this church serves over a million meals to them each year.
   Cecil Williams, the church's "minister of liberation," came here 32 years ago from Kansas City's St James United Methodist, now St James Paseo United Methodist.
   Then Glide had 332 members. Today membership tops 5000. The church's programs range from substance abuse recovery work to creative arts.
   The 1500 seats were filled well before this early service began. It begins with clapping and singing, then everyone joining hands.
   Williams speaks. "You may be holding hands with a homeless person, or a homosexual, or a young person, or a PhD, or a Muslim." He lists other human conditions.
   Now he says, "We are here to accept each other." The power of this simple message further energies the congregation. While many churches still struggle with diversity, this church demonstrates it. Instead of excluding or condemning, Williams quotes Thomas Moore: "Self-rejection is the greatest enemy of spirituality."
   For this openness, Glide has been accused of having no theology. "If Jesus is here, you don't need theology," Williams responds.

93. 960605 THE STAR'S HEADLINE
A pilgrimage is more than a vacation

SAN FRANCISCO -- As a "flower child" nearly three decades ago, I came here making the "summer of love" pilgrimage.
   Now I bring my son here to celebrate his 16th birthday.
   Religions have developed the practice of pilgrimage to re-awaken, deepen and confirm the central insights of faith, as a way of discovering who one really is. Ordinary travel has a business or social purpose or is an escape. A pilgrimage is different.
   If they are able, Muslims once in a lifetime visit Mecca. Chaucer's Canterbury Tales is perhaps the best-known English story of Christian pilgrimage. I've gone to Canterbury myself, and Rome, and Guadalupe.
   I've also gone to Benares, the Hindu holy city, and to Sarnath, where the Buddha first preached.
   But I learned most about how intense a pilgrimage can be at Mt Hiei, near Kyoto. There monks spend seven years walking up and down the mountain, including nine consecutive days without food, water or sleep, a dangerous discipline that empties them of ego.
   Now at Grace Cathedral here, my son has completed walking through the labyrinth copied from Chartres.
   You can get lost in a maze, but a labyrinth has only one way in and out, a path with unexpected turns but no tricks. One arrives where one started, somehow changed. Although there is a center, there is no destination, making it clear that what counts is the process.
   My son refuses to let me photograph him here. "It wouldn't be right." Perhaps he sees that the holiness of his pilgrimage through the labyrinth cannot be reduced to a vacation picture.

92. 960529 THE STAR'S HEADLINE
Rumi: Poet, mystic, dervish

"Who was Rumi?" a reader asks.
   Although Jalal al-Din Rumi lived in 13th Century Anatolia, now Turkey, he has become one of the most popular poets in America today, largely through translations by Robert Bly and Coleman Barks.
   But Rumi's influence is primarily spiritual.
   Rumi had been a highly regarded Muslim professor, but when he met the wandering mystic Shams al-Din Tabrizi, his focus turned from scholarship to love.
   His students, jealous of the time their master was spending with Shams, forced Shams departure. Rumi's loss became a metaphor for our yearning for God and God's yearning for us. Rumi sang of his longing while spinning around to music and founded the order of mystics called "Whirling Dervishes."
   He was loved by Christians, Jews and Muslims in his city, and by the authorities as well as common folk.
   Allaudin Ottinger is a Kansas City musician who often leads Sufi dancing. He calls Rumi "one of those rare human beings who totally change the way people experience the world around them. His poetry echoes the depth of his intense love for creation, the love that turns grass green, puts the fresh look in babies' faces, and makes the sun come up.
   "Over 700 years after his death, Rumi continues to inspire souls, awaken hearts, and shatter our concepts of who we think we are," Ottinger said.
   "Rumi" is the name of a new massive but graceful sculpture by Mark di Suvero in the East Garden at the Nelson Gallery. To curator Deborah Emont Scott, "the twisting shapes" of the orange interlocking diagonal steel beams suggest the "ritualized dance movements" of the dervishes.

91. 960522 THE STAR'S HEADLINE
It’s OK to disagree on religion

"Our country needs to respect religious dissent," was the message of author Paul Kurtz, in town Sunday to dedicate the new Center for Inquiry - Midwest. He wants it known that "Americans can be moral and virtuous without believing in God or the Bible."
   In fact, sometimes some forms of religion are harmful, he said, citing a new study that shows that the most violent places in the nation are also where "authoritarian and dogmatic" religious beliefs are the strongest.
   Kurtz, a professor at the State University of New York - Buffalo, criticized the media for "squeezing out dissenting religious views. 'Free Thought' flourished between 1880 and 1920, with people like Mark Twain, Clarence Darrow and Sinclair Lewis," he said.
   But today the media discount or ignore skeptics of traditional religious claims and favor entertainment over inquiry "in popular presentations of alien abductions, the paranormal, and faith healings," he said.
   Kurtz is also chair of the Council for Secular Humanism. "Humanism is a set of values" he believes can serve as well as, or better than, those of organized religion.
   The Center for Inquiry - Midwest is located with the Kansas City Eupraxophy Center, 6301 Rockhill Road, Suite 412. "Eupraxophy" derives from Greek terms for "good," "conduct" and "wisdom," and has been defined as "a commitment to the good life, a cosmic perspective for humans guided by reason, nurtured by the arts and friendship."
   Kurtz has helped form groups like this throughout the country. About 2000 people in this area subscribe to Kurtz's publications. Eupraxophy activities here include Sunday mornings with guest speakers.

90. 960515 THE STAR'S HEADLINE
Questions about God, sons of God

When Jesus is called the "Lamb of God," we do not picture him with four feet. Even those who read the Bible literally understand this is poetic.
   But when Genesis 6:2 refers to the "sons of God," is this literal or metaphorical? When John 1:12 says that we may become "sons of God" not born of the flesh, what does this mean?
   When John 3:16 discloses that Jesus is God's "only begotten son," how should we understand this phrase?
   Judaism and Islam classically affirm that no person is God. On the other hand, Hinduism reports many "avatars" or incarnations of God, some female. In between these two views, most Christians say that one person, Jesus, is God.
   Can the Infinite become finite? Can the Eternal enter history? Can the Whole be recognized in a part of a pattern? Language sometimes seems to fail when we pursue such difficult questions.
   The Rev. Thomas F. Thorpe of the Association of Unity Churches quotes a paradox written by medieval German mystic Meister Eckhart: "God never begot but one Son, but the Eternal is forever begetting the only begotten."
   Thorpe says this means that the Christ, the "image-likeness of God," is forever becoming possible in every human being (Genesis 1:26). For the Christian, Jesus is the Wayshower. "His life and work offers the clearest, most complete expression the world has yet seen of the image-likeness of God," but every person has this potential.
   Whatever terms, images or stories we use to point to that which is beyond thought, all religions place the individual in a larger pattern.

89. 960508 THE STAR'S HEADLINE
Consider art, religion with equal care

First impressions are sometimes misleading. Hinduism calls the world maya, illusion, and some Westerners at first thought this was negative and life-denying.
   A hundred years later, we know that such a view is as incomplete as calling Christian life other-worldly because of talk about heaven.
   Included in the current "Made in America" exhibit at the Nelson Gallery is a plate (c. 1950) by Maria Martinez. The plate draws on ancient American Indian forms and techniques, but at first seems more sophisticated, almost machine-like, compared with
the two much older bowls in the same display case. I asked curator Margaret Conrads for her opinion.
   We both marveled at the 40 black-on-black identically-styled feathers arranged like a pinwheel around a center which must represent the sun in such a way as to evoke a spirituality of movement. But Conrads insisted that the Anasazi (c. 1400-1625) and Mimbres (c. 1000-1200) bowls were also quite sophisticated.
   I've returned to the exhibit several times and perhaps see some of what she means. These older bowls also use animal forms to convey power, awe and reverence.
   Just as discounting medieval or modern art because "things don't really look that way" is to miss the point, so judging other religions by what first strikes us may not only be unfair, but may also deprive us of profound comparisons which can enrich our own faiths.
   Still, Martinez found ways to be true to her tradition while delivering that ancient spirituality in a compelling way to our own age.
   All of us face a similar task.

88. 960501 THE STAR'S HEADLINE
It’s all in how you look at it
 (Responses to Apr 10)

Several weeks ago I outlined how understandings of marriage and same-sex unions have changed through history. Responses, about equally divided, ranged from congratulations to disapproval, a few with abusive, unprintable remarks framed with Biblical citations.
   Some thought the column was well-researched, accurate and fair. Some requested a reading list.
   Others said my history must be wrong. The church could never have blessed same-sex unions because the Bible prohibits it, they believe.
   History and the fact that Christendom has split into many denominations show that the Bible has been variously interpreted.
   Some have believed the Bible prohibits interest on loans (Ex. 22:25) and requires wages to be paid daily (Deut. 24:15). Few now keep women silent in church (I Cor. 14:34), and we no longer require fathers to stone their stubborn sons to death (Deut. 21:18-21).
   Many sincere and loving readers find it hard to believe that other sincere and loving readers use and interpret the Bible in ways different from them.
   I also heard from same-sex couples, at least one of whom had been together over thirty years. I heard their anguish at how others have treated them.
   Regardless of the viewpoint, I appreciate your calls and letters.
   One man left a message: "Your column is disgusting." But when I returned his call the next day, he told me that he had prayed about the matter. He was now not so ready to condemn. "After all, I am an alcoholic. Who am I to judge others? That is for God to do."

87. 960424 THE STAR'S HEADLINE
In search of the Buddhist Nirvana

Perhaps no term in Buddhism has varied in meaning more than nirvana.
   According to Stanley Lombardo, guiding teacher of the Kansas Zen Center in Lawrence, nirvana is commonly understood as "a kind of ultimate peace and quiet.
   "The word means 'extinction,' as in the extinguishing of a fire. This metaphor is used to point toward the extinction of suffering and the extinction of the idea of a self.
   "And it suggests an escape, an escape from all the cares of the world and from the cycle of life and death.
   "It's actually a pretty chilly notion, and it's hard to reconcile this idea of nirvana with the central Buddhist virtues of wisdom and compassion."
   But as Buddhism evolved, schools like Zen appeared which practiced living fully now, whatever the circumstances. Sayings like "The Buddha does not dwell in nirvana" appeared to emphasize that a Buddha does not evade the mess of the world.
   "A fully realized and perfectly aware being continues to exercise compassion by living completely in the world of suffering and change, and guiding others to understand one's true nature and one's identity with all beings," Lombardo said.
   "A Buddha does not 'merge with the Absolute' or anything like that.
   "If you want to find the dwelling place of all Buddhas, take a walk through the suburbs and the slums of any big city. That's where they tend to congregate these days."

86. 960417 THE STAR'S HEADLINE
God, the mathematician

Is God a number?
   Philosopher Bertrand Russell claimed that "theology (is derived) from mathematics." Scientist Sir James Jeans said that God is "addicted to arithmetic." These Twentieth Century thinkers continue a long tradition of relating math and religion.
   The Pythagorians of ancient Greece practiced a spirituality rooted in the belief that the universe can be explained with whole numbers or their ratios. Their faith was shaken by the discovery that the side and the diagonal of a square have no common measure.
   Buddhists sometimes speak of Ultimate Reality as "not-two."
   The Christian theologian Augustine developed a practice of finding sacred meanings in the numbers in scripture.
   In Jewish and Islamic mysticism, letters of the alphabet were exchanged for numbers to interpret the deep meaning of a text. A Muslim tradition that "God is an odd number" shows up in Shakespeare who wrote that "there is divinity in odd numbers."
   Now math-professor-turned-minister Sarah Voss has written What Number is God? She'll be in town, at the Plaza Barnes and Noble, Saturday 5-6, to autograph her book and answer questions.
   She says that God is like the "definite integral of calculus." She hopes that using rational metaphors instead of emotional language will help people think more clearly about their faith. She also believes that new branches of mathematics, like chaos theory, can help us understand how God works.

85. 960410 THE STAR'S HEADLINE
Heterosexism clouds cultural memories

Same-sex unions have been honored in many cultures. But what about the Christian tradition?
   The meaning of marriage has continued to evolve since the Western Church declared marriage a sacrament in 1215.
   Unions between men and women had been a civil matter, concerned primarily with property, and were held out-of-doors. A feudal lord might have selected the partners and exercised his right to deflower the bride.
   But inside the church, unions of men in love were sanctified. The couples pledged fidelity for life, joined right hands before the altar, shared a cup of wine, heard biblical passages (such as Psalm 133), and received the priest's blessing.
   Marriage did not originate in love between partners but as a compact between families or groups. What did marriage mean to Solomon, with 700 wives and 300 concubines? Are we talking political alliances, property rights, honored servants or sexual opportunities?
   When romantic love came to the West, partners began to cho
ose each other, as the same-sex pairs blessed by the church had done. Many ministers in Kansas City are now renewing the earlier church practice.
   Our cultural memories have been washed away by a century of heterosexism.
   Has the Kansas legislature's ban last week on same-sex marriages helped to promote genuine love? Is the legislature, like society, preoccupied instead with sex? Should the divine gift of love should be honored wherever it manifests?

84 960403 THE STAR'S HEADLINE
How do non-Christians view Jesus?

For Christians Jesus is the son of God. How do those of other faiths regard Jesus?
   Answers vary. While Rabbi Danny Horwitz of Congregation Ohev Sholom says there is "no special place for Jesus" in his Jewish tradition, Ahmed El-Sherif says that Muslims regard Jesus as one of the five mightiest prophets, along with Adam, Abraham, Moses, and Muhammad.
   "Jesus has left a great mark on the world," El-Sherif says, and notes that the Qur'an calls Jesus a "prophet of mercy." El-Sherif, president of the Kansas City chapter of the American Muslim Council, also believes in the miraculous birth of Jesus.
   Bambi Shen has a background in Confucian and Taoist thought. Many Asians find the account of "salvation through Christ's bloody sacrifice" to be "incomprehensible," she said. "Orientals take responsibility for our actions. If we do something wrong, it is we ourselves who must pay the consequences."
   However, she regards Jesus as a great teacher, like Confucius. "More important than his death are the teachings of Jesus through his words and his actions." she said.
   Mangesh Gaitonde, MD, says many of his fellow Hindus hold Jesus, Mary, and other Christian figures in great esteem, and some regard Jesus as an incarnation of the god Vishnu. He explains the friendliness of Hindus to other religions this way: "The whole world is one family and we must conduct ourselves accordingly."
   Many non-Christians have thought deeply about Jesus. How deeply have Christians thought about Lao-Tzu, the Buddha and Zoroaster?

83. 960327 THE STAR'S HEADLINE
Is a patriot’s tea service holy?

How can our pluralistic culture better develop and express a sense of the sacred?
   I put this question to Martin E. Marty, senior editor of Christian Century.  Time has called him "the most influential interpreter of religion in the U.S."
   Marty, aslo a professor at the University of Chicago, was in town last week to address its alumni association.
   While here, Marty also visited the Nelson Gallery's exhibition, "Made in America." He saw surprise and delight on children's faces as they learned that the beauty of a silver tea service had been created by Paul Revere, whose name until then had meant only Revolutionary patriotism.
   To overcome today's cynicism, the imagination must be awakened, Marty said, as the docents did for the children. Awe and wonder cannot be confined to the sanctuary. "If you look for the sacred only there, you will not find it anywhere."
   Moses found holy ground unexpectedly in the wild, Marty said. The environment won't be saved by mere technology, he said, but by a recovery of the sense of the sacred.
   And by telling stories we can teach the sacredness of human life. "The Bible is not a book of philosophy; it is a book of stories." Each group--Irish, Jews, blacks, gays--has its stories, often about suffering. But do we tell the stories to exclude and dominate, or to enrich each other's understanding of the sacred?
   The individuality of each person and the specific character of each group can lead us to the sacred which intersects everywhere and binds us within the blessing of pluralism.

82. 960320 THE STAR'S HEADLINE
Part of faith is simply paying attention

A Zen master was once asked to summarize his faith. "Attention!" he responded.
   In the Roman Catholic tradition, sacraments are reminders to pay attention to God's grace, according to the Rev. Michael Himes, a Jesuit guest at Rockhurst College last week.
   Himes spoke not just about the seven sacraments designated by the Church, but about ordinary sacraments like home, friendship and the self.
   We say God is omnipresent, but too often we ignore him acting in and supporting our daily lives. We put God in churches and forget he is in our cars, offices and gyms as well.
   And if God is everywhere, God is also in hell. What is God doing in hell? Citing Thomas Aquinas, Himes answered that God is there loving those who refuse to love him. They are in "hell" not because God hates them, but because they will not accept God's love for them. God loves Mary and Satan equally--but Mary is thrilled while Satan is annoyed.
   Forgetting to notice how God's love extends everywhere is our problem, Himes said. A function of liturgy is to train us, to awaken us, to see that just as Christ is present in the Eucharist, so God is present in every crumb of bread.
   Meditating on the Christian Eucharist, the Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh wrote that the sacramental formula of the bread and wine, "This is my flesh, my blood: eat it, drink it, take it," is a drastic way of drawing our attention to a reality we often forget. That reality is that every morsel and every drop is graced.
   When we are paying attention, we can taste it.

81. 960313 THE STAR'S HEADLINE
No argument for Jewish-Muslim strife

Some readers insist, as one caller, citing the Bible, put it, that "Jews and Muslims have been at war for thousands of years, and there will never be peace."
   This hopeless view is questionable history. For example, Muslims, Jews and Christians flourished in Moorish Spain for considerable periods. Until this century, Jews and Muslims often lived together peacefully in the Middle East.
   Some are also hopeless about Christianity. But with exceptions like Northern Ireland, Bosnia and Pat Buchanan, Christianity has turned away from a belligerent past. The atrocities of the Crusades, the horrors of the Inquisition, Luther's hatred of Jews, Calvin's use of the stake, the genocide of Native Americans, the religious conformity required by some of the American colonies, and Christianity's failure in Nazi Germany have taught us lessons.
   Thus last week Christians joined with Jewish and Muslim friends on the board of the National Conference, Greater Kansas City Region, to urge the Kansas House of Representatives to end the sectarian prayers of its chaplain, as the Kansas City Interfaith Council had urged last month.
   Thus the terrors in Israel from those who wish to destroy a chance for peace have been condemned there and in Kansas City by Muslim leaders, just as Jewish leaders condemned the Jewish assassin of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin last year.
   "Blessed are the peacemakers," said Jesus. Should we heed these words or give in to the terrorists? Is there any workable alternative to hope?

80. 960306 THE STAR'S HEADLINE
A healing could occur…
KC IFC on KS Chaplain

The respect leaders of various religious traditions in the Kansas City area show to one another is inspiring. They affirm a kinship deeper than particular languages, symbols or customs.
   Sometimes they have lovingly reproved me when I have spoken from ignorance or in ways that perpetuate a bias I did not see. I am grateful for such opportunities to learn.
   Last month the Kansas City Interfaith Council, with Baha'i, Buddhist, Catholic, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, Protestant, Sikh, Sufi, Unitarian Universalist, Wiccan, and Zoroastrian representation, reproved the chaplain of the Kansas House of Representatives.
   He prays in ways that deliberately exclude those of faiths other than his own. Many of his own faith are embarrassed by his violating the conscience of others.
   As it is, Kansas taxpayers are supporting the unrelenting promotion of a single faith over all others. The Kansas Constitution prohibits State preference for any sectarian "mode of worship."
   The Council asked "those in authority to prayerfully consider the American spirit of religious liberty and respect for individual conscience."
   Noting that "political intolerance and suppression sometimes begin with religious prescription and persecution," the Council cited a famous letter George Washington wrote in 1790 on visiting a synagogue in which the father of our country restated the principle of mutual regard for citizens of differing faiths.
   A great healing could occur if the chaplain discovers the faith and joy of American kinship and inclusiveness.

79. 960228 THE STAR'S HEADLINE
Story of sacrifice elicits replies
READER RESPONSES TO DAVID NELSON'S STORIES

Dozens of thoughtful readers have responded to David Nelson's stories in this space January 31 about a father and son in a crowd into which a terrorist throws a grenade.
   The comparison of the father pushing the son onto the grenade to save the crowd challenged a literal interpretation of God's sacrificing his son to save the world in Biblical passages like John 3:16 and in the teachings of theologians like John Calvin.
   Some applauded the stories as a way of encouraging us to develop more mature metaphors for God's love and justice. Other callers focused on the trinity or rearranged elements in the story.
   Several said that the three persons of the trinity met in council. The Father explained that he would be angry at the sins of the world he was about to create. For humankind to be saved, someone divine would have to die to satisfy justice.
   The Son responded, in effect, "I'll take care of the grenade if you'll take care of the crowd." Thus the Father did not force the Son to sacrifice his life, unlike the father in Nelson's story, because Jesus volunteered.
   Others addressed the problem by saying that the Father and the Son are one. No distinction can be made between the one demanding that somebody be punished and the one taking the punishment.
   Some readers changed parts of the story. One caller said that we are not innocent bystanders in the crowd; we are all terrorists.
   The varied views of those called and wrote suggest no completely satisfactory language for a mystery as profound as atonement.

78. 960221 THE STAR'S HEADLINE
Racism and prejudice diminish religions, too

Examples of prejudice are plentiful. Racism in business, law enforcement, and housing continues. But could there be racism in our worship?
   Some groups, like Baha'is and Muslims, are deliberately multi-racial in their embrace. On the other hand, in the last century Baptist, Presbyterian and Methodist denominations split over racial issues, as now some groups divide over questions about women and gays. Healing is incomplete.
   The absence of Hispanics and Asians in a white church, or American Indians in a black church, does not necessarily mean racism. Some faiths primarily serve ethnic groups; the Hindu Temple welcomes anyone, but most members or their parents have come from India. Because Jews have not encouraged conversion, few Jews here are black.
   Nonetheless, the question remains why those of faith have failed to uplift a vision strong enough to end racism here.
   Do we recognize the diversity of creation in our prayers? Is anyone who wishes welcome to join us? Does our congregation's community service include those not like us? Do we know about, and put into practice, our faith's teachings about racism?
   Whatever our faith, or none, let us free our children's world from ignorance, exploitation and prejudice.
   Would you help Mayor Cleaver's Task Force on Race Relations religion/spirituality committee? Call StarTouch 889-7827 and enter 5006 to respond to a survey about your experience and thoughts.
   Kansas City is the only city to have such a task force. We need it. We are racially divided by Troost and many other ways. Are we also spiritually divided--or just asleep?

77. 960214 THE STAR'S HEADLINE
Unconditional love knows no bounds

Whether love is the greatest power in the world is still debated. We exchange Valentines, but many people want to carry concealed weapons. We have no love to spare on criminals; and talk about an economy based on love nowadays sounds preposterous.
   Yet spiritual teachers have proclaimed love supreme, even saying God is love (I John 4:16).
   Too often we mistake love for a feeling. Aquinas considered love an act of will. Feelings come and go, but an intimate relationship cannot be sustained on mere thrills; love is a decision beyond desire.
   We are so confused by the incentive system that even God appears like an employer or taskmaster, rather than a lover: do right and you'll be rewarded.
   The Eighth Century Sufi mystic Rabiah prayed beyond rewards and punishments: "O God, if I love you because I fear hell, then cast me forever into the fires of damnation. Or if I love you because I desire the bliss of paradise, then forever shut the door of heaven against me. But if I love you for your own sake, then let me ever gaze upon your eternal beauty."
  When our souls are bent by fear or desire, we cannot behold beauty; our vision of God, of friends, of mates, and even of ourselves is clouded by intent.
   But unconditional love has no agenda; it seeks no advantage or preference; it beholds and flows, regardless of race, gender, age, social status, or comeliness.
   Can hatred, death -- or even justice -- overwhelm such love?

76. 960207 THE STAR'S HEADLINE
God reaches beyond Christianity to people of other faiths

StarTouch callers often ask questions like, "How can a Christian understand God working in persons of other faiths?" Professor Al Truesdale at the Nazarene Theological Seminary here, offers this guidance:
   "The Wesleyan tradition, Methodism, was one of several to emerge from the Protestant Reformation. Its name comes from Charles and John Wesley, 18th Century Anglican priests.
   "Though not unique, a distinguishing feature of Wesleyan theology is its doctrine of prevenient grace, the grace of God that precedes and prepares the way for the proclamation of the Gospel of Christ.
   "Central to the Wesleyan understanding of God is God's graciousness. God is Holy Love. We believe God to be primarily persuasive rather than coercive in relating to the world. God wins through Holy Love and will not violate the integrity of the object of love.
   "In Christ God has provided salvation for all. This gracious God reaches out to all persons everywhere to redeem and reconcile them. Long before persons become conscious of it, God's stream of grace includes them.
   "The aim of grace is bring persons to God as revealed in Christ. But for Wesleyans, prevenient grace can be recognized in persons and religions that are not Christian. This does not mean that Wesleyans embrace all religions as equal. But because of  prevenient Grace, the Wesleyan tradition positively assesses the signature of grace in all religions.
   "When meeting persons of other world religions, Wesleyans will show an awareness that the grace of God is already fruitfully active in those persons and religions."

75. 960131 THE STAR'S HEADLINE
Another view of a life sacrificed

The Rev. David E. Nelson of Gladstone, president of The Human Agenda, writes:
   Your column about seeing one's own religion as others see it reminds me of a conversation with my bright nephew last summer.
   As he had worked through the confirmation process of his church, he struggled with some of the doctrines of the Christian faith.
   He told a story. A father and son were in a crowd and a terrorist threw a grenade into their midst. The father, abandoning fear, disregarding his own life, threw himself on the grenade, taking its full explosive force. He died, of course, but the crowd and the son were saved.
   "What would you think of the father?" my nephew asked. I replied that he was a hero.
   My nephew told the story again, but this time the father threw his son onto the grenade, saving the crowd by sacrificing his son.
   "What would you think of the father now?" my clever nephew asked.
   I swallowed hard, knowing where the question was leading. "I am not so attracted to the father now. He seems cruel and not very loving."
   "But isn't that what the Christian story tells us--that the father sacrifices his only son so that others might be saved?"
   Some Christian stories are troubling if taken literally. The doctrine of atonement is important to Christianity, but the metaphor of primitive justice, of a father sacrificing his innocent son, does not suit a more mature understanding of either love or justice.
   Seeing our faith as others see it can lead us to develop more adequate metaphors for the mysteries of our faith.

74. 960124 THE STAR'S HEADLINE
Pagans recognize sacredness in links between all living things

Are pagans spiritual?
   While "pagan" is often used derisively, the origin of the term reveals an earth-centered spirituality, according to Rhiannon Bennett, a Kansas City pagan leader.
   Christianity developed first in the cities, and those who lived in rural areas and followed the old folk ways were "pagans," from the Latin paganus, country dweller. Our language parallels this usage: we get "heathen" from the Old English term for those dwelling on the "heath."
   "In primal cultures, people were keenly aware of eating, procreation and protection. A deep respect developed for the sacrifice of plants and animals for food, for the sanctity of family, and for honorable ways of relating to all people," Bennett says.
   To this day pagans have continued to place priority on the earth and the cycles of nature. "The newer religions, like Christianity, are sometimes expressed in complicated ecclesiastical structures and theologies. We prefer the simplicity of recognizing the sacred in all things. Humans are not special, but merely a part of a divine whole.
   "For most of us, spirituality lies in celebrating the interconnectedness and sacredness of all life. Attuning to nature is thus both a privilege and a duty.
   "By honoring the very basic elements of existence, our spirituality is expressed not only in specific rituals to mark sacred days, but is an integral part of every day life," she says.
   Those interested can write Rhiannon, the Heartland Spiritual Alliance, P.O. Box 3407, Kansas City, KS 66103.

73. 960117 THE STAR'S HEADLINE
Christian symbol interests Buddhist
A BUDDHIST AND THE CROSS

What Christian symbol fascinates a Tibetan Buddhist monk?
   For the Venerable Champa Lhunpo, visiting friends in Kansas City this week, it is the cross which represents the story of Jesus who did not want others to suffer, and so he took upon himself the sins of the world.
   “Buddhism is different," Lhunpo said, "because the Buddha cannot take away your suffering. He only shows you the way you must take to free yourself of suffering." The Buddha's compassion cannot do your work for you.
   Thousands of Kansas Citians met Lhunpo last April when he, with fellow monk Tenzin Choeden, constructed a sand mandala at the Nelson Gallery. He teaches Buddhist practice, sacred art and the Tibetan language at the Namgyal Monastery in Ithaca, NY, the North American seat of the personal monastery of the Dalai Lama.
   I asked him why the Dalai Lama is so widely respected. "Because he lives a simple life and practices non-violence." It is easy, he said, for political and religious leaders to develop egos. "People are constantly telling them how wonderful they are.
The Dalai Lama describes himself as 'a simple Buddhist monk,' and he lives that way.
   "He does not teach a complicated doctrine. He says all we need is kindness, compassion."
   How would Christians in our complicated society explain to Lhunpo what the simple image of Christ on the cross means for them? Does our culture of individual incentives perpetuate the illusion of separate existence and foster selfishness? Does our economic system suggest we desire power, pleasure, and possessions more than enlightenment or saving others?

72. 960110 THE STAR'S HEADLINE
Many religions seen in King’s example
MARTIN LUTHER KING JR

As the black preacher Martin Luther King, Jr, inspired all races us with a dream of justice, so his spirituality moved beyond his own group to model a world-wide tradition.
   King's ideas about non-violent civil disobedience derived in part from the Hindu Mohandas K. Gandhi, whose "satyagraha," "truth-force" became both a spiritual and political energy to liberate India from the British raj. King first studied Gandhi in divinity school. Later King went to India and talked with Gandhi's followers "not as a tourist, but as a pilgrim."
   In tracing this history, we discover the irony that Gandhi claimed his Hinduism only after being stirred by the writings of a Christian, Leo Tolstoy. As Wilfred Cantwell Smith has shown, Tolstoy himself was converted to non-violence and social service by the Christian story of Barlaam and Josaphat, a retelling of an earlier story from a Muslim source, which in turn received it from the Manichees, who had recast the story of the Buddha, successively called Bodisaf, Yudasaf, and Josaphat. And earlier versions suggest Jain or other beginnings.
   Thus our celebration of King's wisdom has ancient and universal origins.
   Just as Gandhi matured in his Hinduism by discovering Christianity, King was strengthened in Christian love by respectful study of the Hindu.
   King remained a Christian. Gandhi remained a Hindu. Conversion was unnecessary because they stretched and enlarged their own faiths.
   Now in Kansas City, the encounters we ordinary people have with those of other religions may lead us to the deeper powers of our own heritage, just as King's example shows us.

71. 960103 THE STAR'S HEADLINE
Spiritual issues made ’95 special
YEAR-END REVIEW

No event gave me more pleasure to write about last year than the month-long construction and dismantling of the "Wheel of Compassion" sand mandala at the Nelson Gallery in April. Three thousand people joined the Tibetan monks in the concluding ceremony.
   We hunger for such community-wide rituals that unite us beyond sectarian boundaries.
   While some who reply to this column insist that only their beliefs assure spiritual life, most who call me seem to imitate the monks, whose paths lead into the heart of everyone.
   You have told me you enjoy learning about the variety of faiths in the Kansas City area. And no column received more response than the one inviting readers to "See your faith as others see it."
   Two columns were especially troublesome, both of them about church-state issues. I wrote that a proposed Constitutional amendment, by its language forbidding the "physical desecration" of the US flag, would make an idol of a piece of cloth, and violate the Second Commandment.
   The other column asked why the Kansas House chaplain needed to offend religious minorities by ending his prayers "in Jesus' name," a formula even Jesus did not teach.
   I am proud to write each Wednesday for this paper because it recognizes the diversity of its readers, with Saturday's religion focus, and throughout the week. Star projects "Divided We Sprawl" and "Raising Kansas City: Values and the Next Generation" (the "Mortal Kombat" segments astonished me) serve the community in a spiritually responsible way.
   For 1996, dear reader, please continue to inform and shape this column with your comments.