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Eileen Flynn: Church rejects interfaith service on its property [LINK-ZUM]

Austin [Texas, USA] Area Interreligious Ministries, the city's largest interfaith organization, announced Thursday that its annual Thanksgiving celebration Sunday had to be moved because Hyde Park Baptist Church objected to non-Christians worshipping on its property. The group learned Wednesday that the rental space at the church-owned Quarries property in North Austin was no longer available because Hyde Park leaders had discovered that non-Christians, Muslims in particular, would be practicing their faith there. The event, now in its 23rd year, invites Jews, Muslims, Christians, Hindus, Bahais and others to worship together. [...]

Several Muslim groups were acting as this year's hosts for the event. Kent Jennings, associate pastor of administration at Hyde Park, released a statement Thursday that said church leaders received a postcard about the service Monday and only then realized that it "was not a Christian oriented event." The postcard also "promised space for Muslim Maghrib prayer and revealed that the event was co-hosted by the Central Texas Muslimaat, the Forum of Muslims for Unity, and the Institute of Interfaith Dialog," according to Hyde Park's statement. "Although individuals from all faiths are welcome to worship with us at Hyde Park Baptist Church, the church cannot provide space for the practice of these non-Christian religions on church property," the statement said. "Hyde Park Baptist Church hopes that the AAIM and the community of faith will understand and be tolerant of our church's beliefs that have resulted in this decision."

[Article continues at link. Hyde Park Baptist Church has a particularly religious application of the concept 'tolerance.' In religion, 'tolerance' means 'do what I say without asking questions.' It does not mean accepting that other viewpoints exist in their own right, that they do not exist merely a criticism of one's own viewpoints. Hyde Park Baptist Church seems to be claiming that other religions are welcome to an interfaith dialog as long as only one faith is allowed a speaking role in the dialog. This use of the concept of tolerance is found predominantly in religious groups. It betrays the Enlightenment and all of Western civilization, which was built on the claim that while one holds fast to what is right, one listens to other viewpoints which may reveal where one is wrong or holds incomplete information. My hope would be that religious groups willing to meet will learn from each other and grow ever more secular, while religious groups unwilling to meet will become more isolated and grow ever more irrelevant. - Trevor Blake]

Labels: christianity, hindu, islam, judaism, religion

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