Can Christians, Muslims, and Jews Get Along? Yes!

Yes. Christians, Muslims, and Jews can get along with one another--despite what some media sources desire us to believe.

Two Meetings
Followers of the three faiths demonstrated this in two meetings last week in Lexington, Kentucky.

On Sunday, March 26, 2017, a group of persons met at a Jewish synagogue for a "Trialogue of Faith." Three religious leaders shared about their faith:

• Lexington's Episcopal Diocese bishop,
• a Muslim professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Kentucky,
• and a Lexington Jewish rabbi.

Then, these speakers responded to questions and comments from the audience.

On Monday, March 27, 2017, a group of persons met at a Catholic church. There, three different religious leaders spoke:

• Lexington's Catholic bishop,
• a Muslim leader,
• and another Lexington Jewish rabbi.

These three shared their views about dealing with a refugee crisis, answering questions from a moderator. Then, the trio of religious leaders answered questions from a group of students.

Do the Christians, Muslims, Jews, and others who came together at those two meetings typify the majority of the followers of the three major monotheistic faiths? Maybe not. But, I am confident that they practice those three monotheistic faiths better than the radicals that seem to me to make more headlines in the news.

Were any major problems solved? No, probably not. But the dialogues demonstrate progress in the right direction. As we learn from one another, and seek to work together to help one another and others, we progress toward making ourselves and our world better.

The first of those two meetings was a regular meeting of an organized group. For several years a group of persons known as the Christian Muslim Dialogue of Lexington, KY have assembled regularly here in Lexington, Kentucky to discuss issues. For years the group met at a Presbyterian Church. Then, they began rotating their meetings between that church and a mosque. The March 26th meeting at a synagogue mentioned above was this group's first meeting in a synagogue. However, the group hosted another "trialogue" for the three faiths some time ago in the Presbyterian church.

Though I've attended a few of the group's meetings over the years, I am just an occasional attendee, not an active leader in the group. I enjoy the discussions though. This group meets once a month almost every month, except for during the summer. Christian-Muslim Dialogue meetings are free and open to the public. The organization's website is linked to in the previous paragraph.

I feel blessed to live in a city where Christians, Muslims, Jews, and followers of other faiths or of no faith can all practice their religion. Maybe that will be true everywhere someday.  

A Vision for the Future
Maybe someday followers of various religions will unite to help achieve a just and lasting world peace. Then bells worldwide might toll to celebrate attaining this peace, including the huge 66,000 pound World Peace Bell in Newport, Kentucky, pictured below. Maybe someday followers of various faiths can work together to solve various humanitarian crises, including the ongoing refugee crisis in parts of the world. 

World Peace Bell in Newport, Kentucky, photo taken November 2016 by James E. Gibson

  

Let's seek to listen with open minds and seek to learn from those who come from different backgrounds. And, maybe someday we can attain unity about what it truly means to obey the highest righteous authority, God. Perhaps, then, we will live happier, healthier, longer, more fruitful lives. And, we can leave a better world for future generations than the one we inherited from our ancestors.

NOTE: This piece was last revised on April 5, 2017.