The Study
St Francis Place is launching an Inter-Faith Peace Study focusing on the teachings contained in "The Sermon On The Mount", found in Chapters 5,6,and 7 of the Gospel According to Matthew. The study will also make use of the book by Emmet Fox "The Sermon On The Mount: The Key To Success In Life."The study will seek to include people of many different faith traditions, including (but not limited to) Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and Atheists. My goal in the study is not to convert people to any one religious viewpoint, but rather to listen to as many different viewpoints as possible. What will happen in the study is this: once each week I will present the material from my point of view as an Inter-Faith pastor (with a strong Catholic/Disciples of Christ background), then I will ask each participant for their point of view relating the materials back to their own Scriptures and understandings. People need not share if they do not wish, but I hope as many will who feel comfortable doing so. As I see it the basic Spiritual principles covered in the Sermon On The Mount are common to all Spiritual traditions. These basics such as "Love your neighbor as yourself," and "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you." will give plenty of common ground for us to work with so that no one should be excluded in the discussions.
Why The Sermon On The Mount?
I chose the Sermon On The Mount to be the basis of our study partly because I have become very familiar with it. Over the course of the past 4 years I have spent a great deal of time studying the teachings found in the Sermon On The Mount, and believe these teachings hold valuable lessons for all of human-kind. This is a message dating back through the centuries that can be found in all Spiritual traditions which the human race needs today.
The second reason I have chosen the Sermon On The Mount is due to the work of Mahatma Gandhi in his struggle during the early 20th century to build bridges of peace and understanding between the factions of his day; namely the Hindus, Muslims, and Christians. In his efforts Gandhi made use of the Sermon On The Mount relating it back to his own Scripture, the Bhagavad-Gita. My feelings are if it worked for Gandhi in the early 20th century, this approach should also work for us in the early days of the 21st century. Be you Muslim, Hindu, Christian, Jew or other...there is something in the teachings we can all relate too!
I am currently hoping to get the study formerly launched in May 2011. If you are interested in joining the group please let me know via the Email link to the right of this post. There are no materials to buy, unless you so desire. All materials will be made available for free via Internet Links and discussion board posts. I will also periodically supplement the discussions with video content relating to the topic at hand. It is my sincere hope that we can use this weekly study to build bridges of understanding between the various factions of today. And that together we can establish connections that will help to establish peace between common peoples that will spill over into our local, national, and international communities. It all starts with a few brave souls willing to venture out and take some common sense steps and a few personal risks. Are you one of them? If so...let me know!
Peace,
Ralph
St Francis Place
