Paradoxes torment the ruthlessly logical. But they lie at
the heart of religious faith, indeed perhaps of any insight. They appear to be
absurd, yet they point to a truth that cannot be expressed straightforwardly.
The scriptures of both Islam and Christianity are full of
paradoxes. Some readers of paradoxes simply emphasise only one part of the
paradox and neglect the other. Or they smooth over the contradiction. But the
best way to interpret paradoxes is to allow both sides to fascinate and
challenge us. Then they can lead us to new ways of thinking and feeling and to
a new appreciation of the greatness and the mystery of God.
I would like to point to five paradoxes that are shared by
Christian and Muslim scripture.
Paradox 1: Christians and Muslims regard themselves as both the servants and the
friends of God.
Christ came
to serve and not to be served, and he asked his disciples to consider
themselves merely as servants and to be servants of one another. But he also
had a very loving and intimate relationship with God, whom he addressed as ‘Abba
(Father)!' By telling them that they were no longer his servants but his
friends, Christ wanted his disciples to share in this loving relationship with
God.
In a
similar way, the Qur'an calls believers the servants of God who surrender their
whole lives to God in obedient submission since God is Almighty and has full
knowledge of the secrets of the heart.
But the
Qur'an also says that God relates with people in a compassionate way: ‘God is
most compassionate and most merciful towards people'. The believing servant is
invited to enter into a relationship with God through which the Almighty is
closer to them than their jugular vein.
Paradox 2: Christians and Muslims regard their own faith
as the true way yet also affirm the truth of other paths.
It is clear
that, for Christians, Christ is the Way to God. Yet Jesus is also presented as
saying, ‘many will come from the east and the west to take their places with
Abraham'. The Catholic Church also acknowledges that those outside the
community of the Church can attain salvation, thereby recognizing the value of
other paths to God.
Similarly,
the Qur'an says that God has chosen islam as the true religion: ‘Today I
have perfected your religion for you, completed My blessing upon you, and
chosen as your religion islam'.
But the
Qur'an also acknowledges the faith of those outside the community of Muslims: ‘The
(Muslim) believers, the Jews, the Christians, and the Sabians - all those who
believe in God and the Last Day and do good - will have their rewards with the
Lord'.
Paradox 3: Christians and Muslims must announce the truth of their own faith but
are also committed to dialogue.
The New Testament presents Christ as sending his disciples
out to teach and to baptize in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy
Spirit. But at the birth of Christ, the angels made a universal announcement of
‘peace to men who enjoy God's favor'. The Second Vatican Council, too, has
encouraged Christians to live together peacefully with Muslims. Other documents
support dialogue between faiths.
Similarly,
the religious tradition based on the Qur'an and the Sunna of the Prophet
Muhammad encourages Muslims to invite people to embrace Islam (da'wa).
But the Qu'ran also states, ‘There is no compulsion in religion'. The Qur'an
tells Muslims to find a common word between them and other believers, and
states: ‘Our God and your God are one and the same'.
Paradox 4:
Christians and Muslims
acknowledge two ways of being a believer: an ordinary way and a more perfect
way.
Christ did
not come to abolish the law or the prophets but instructs everyone seeking
fulfilment to follow the way commonly recognized as obedience to the law. But
he also makes it clear that ‘it is a narrow gate and a hard road that leads to
life'. He told a questioner: ‘If you wish to be perfect, go and sell what you
own and give the money to the poor.'
The message
of the Qur'an is also addressed to ‘all mankind' and provides the same basic
teaching of religion that has been taught by all the Prophets since Abraham:
‘Say, "My Lord has guided me to a straight path, an upright religion, the faith
of Abraham, a man of pure faith. He was not a polytheist"'. But the Qur'an also
recognizes different degrees of closeness to Allah and speaks of ‘a steep path'
which makes more than ordinary demands on a believer. Sufism, too, which stems
from the earliest period of Islam has developed a variety of ‘paths' and
‘stations' along which a believer may make progress in virtue.
Paradox 5: Christians and Muslims strive against evil but also encourage
forgiveness and reconciliation.
Christ came
not to bring peace but a sword, publicly criticized the leaders of religion for
their hypocrisy, and drove sellers out of the temple in a forceful way. But
Christ also taught his disciples to forgive their enemies, and he himself
forgave those who were crucifying him.
The Qur'an
too allows believers to ‘fight in the way of God' but forbids aggression:
‘Fight in God's cause against those who fight you, but do not overstep the
limits'. But it suggests pardon and forgiveness as the preferred option: ‘In
the Torah we prescribed for them a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a nose
for a nose, an ear for an ear, a tooth for a tooth, an equal wound for a wound:
if anyone forgoes this out of charity, it will serve as atonement for his bad
deeds'. Fighting must be balanced with pardon.
Conclusion
Both
Christians and Muslims have encountered the presence of paradox in the history
of their religious traditions. There is nothing to be gained from denying or
avoiding the reality of paradox. On the contrary, paradoxes can be integrated
into a believer's life by letting them speak to us of the mystery of God's
greatness.
If we learn
to be receptive to the presence of paradox in our own faith tradition we may be
more understanding of the way paradox appears in the faith tradition of others.
We shall avoid focusing on texts from other religious traditions that state
only one side of the paradox. Ultimately, too, sustained reflection on the
paradoxes to be found within each of our faith traditions may open us to a more
profound awareness of the mystery of God.
By Fr
Herman Roborgh SJ
This is an edited version of a
longer piece published in the journal Dialogue
Australasia. The full version, with
references from the Bible and the Koran, can be found there.