Abrahamic focus a common heritage – The Archbishop Of Armagh
Archbishop Harper gave an address at the recent Abrahamic Religions Dinner hosted by the Northern Ireland Dialogue Society. He said, “Those faith leaders represented here tonight share something else: a common heritage in the patriarchal tradition deriving from Abraham – our pre and proto-historic common story. Story tellers with a common fund of stories tell their stories in distinctive and different ways. Sometimes the denouements of such stories differ in certain particulars; but common roots, especially a common root in the recognition that there is but one God, proffer to us the starting points for creative dialogue.
“In Ireland, with its well publicized history of divisions associated with differing religious traditions, there is a compelling rationale for engaging positively in such dialogue. Division in Ireland finds itself rooted in questions of identity and allegiance beyond the confines of a narrowly defined theology. We have a responsibility to heal such divisions and the Churches represented here have a deep commitment to completing the journey towards healing. Now that citizens and residents of this island find their spiritual identities drawn from many of the major world religions we must jointly demonstrate that peace, which is a concept embedded deep in each of our religions, is a flower that can bloom in a multi-faith as well as a multi denominational context. And there is much to suggest that we have made a good beginning and that momentum is gathering. The key to success lies first and foremost in building trust and respect amongst ordinary folk. This is much harder to achieve if those in positions of leadership do not model and foster the relationships we so much desire – those relationships must begin with and be sustained by us.”
Others speaking at the event were Cardinal Sean Brady; the Revd Dr Donald Kerr, General Secretary of the Methodist Church, and Kerim Balci, Theologian/columnist from the Muslim Community. The theme of the evening was ‘Why dialogue in today’s world?
More at: http://www.ireland.anglican.org/index.php?do=news&newsid=3509