A Common Word - The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre

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A Common Word There is a foundation for the idea of the ‘universal neighbour’ in the conviction, held within all three Abrahamic religions, that the creation of humankind by God points to the relation of all human beings with the Creator, and to their responsibility and accountability to God for their stewardship in the world. This can also be expressed in the idea of the creation of all humanity in the image of God. As you observe in a footnote, Christianity and Islam have comparable conceptions of human beings being created in the best stature (Al-Tin 95:1–8) and from God’s own breath (Sad 38:72). After quoting from Gen. 1:27 and Gen. 2:7, you recall the words of the Prophet Muhammad which occur many times in the Hadith: Verily God created Adam in His own image 7 . The consequent responsibility of human beings is portrayed in a passage from the Qur’an (Al-Baqarah 2:30–35) where God announces to the angels that He intends to place Adam as a ‘viceroy’ in the earth, a scene akin to Psalm 8 (and quoted in Heb. 2:7–8): You have made [human beings] only a little lower than the angels, and crowned them with glory and honour. You have given them dominion over the works of your hand; you have put all things under their feet …. O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth! In Gen. 2:19–20 Adam names the animals, while in the Qur’an (Al- Baqarah 2:30–35) he is given special knowledge of their names by God. Both texts understand the naming, or knowledge of the names, of the animals as a symbol of the responsibility given to Adam. We are all too aware how this God-given stewardship (‘dominion’) has become a domination and exploitation of the animals and the whole natural world, but human beings retain their dignity and value in God’s eyes regardless of their failure. Should we not then regard creation by God and accountability to God as part of our ‘common ground’? All human beings are to be held as of equal worth because of the equal responsibility and privilege given to all by the Creator God. Love for neighbour is thus rooted both in God’s love for us and God’s purpose in creation. We see here a common commitment to respect all fellow human beings, in face of their diversities of 226
Selected Christian Responses race, culture and religion. In this shared vision we have a common project to work out our responsibility for the world before God in promoting the common good of society, the development of human life and care for the whole creation. It is when we work on such projects together that we feel the sense of being part of one human community, and are able to explore the spiritual concerns that have motivated us and the truths that have inspired us. In our very practice we find our feet on the common ground beneath us. The Costliness of Love for Neighbour In the section of your letter on love of neighbour, you affirm that sympathy must be accompanied by something more – by ‘selfsacrifice’ and by ‘giving to the neighbour what we ourselves love’. These words seem to us to penetrate deeply into the meaning of neighbour-love, and we would like to set alongside them some words of Jesus in the Gospels which we think express these qualities. At their best, Christians have followed Jesus in commending a love which is vulnerable, which does not expect a return from the person loved, which persists even in the face of rejection of our love, and which is therefore love of enemies as well as those who do good to us. You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy”. But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even tax-collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? ..... Be perfect therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matt. 5:43–48) In a passage just before the one above, Jesus speaks some very 227
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A COMMON WORD BETWEEN US AND YOU 5-
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CHAPTER 1 ABOUT ‘A COMMON WORD’
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CHAPTER 2 FIFTH ANNIVERSARY EDITION
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CHAPTER 3 THE UNCOMMONALITY OF ‘A
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The Uncommonality of ‘A Common Wo
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A Common Word 10. H.E. Amb. Prof. D
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CHAPTER 6 LIST OF RESPONSES TO ‘A
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Responses and Professor of Patristi
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Responses 42. Daniel Madigan SJ, th
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CHAPTER 7 MAJOR ‘A COMMON WORD’
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Events 2011 Seminar Seminar II was
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Events 4. The 2009 Rudolph C. Barne
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Events 6. Evangelical Theological S
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Events mon Ground), Henry Izumizaki
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CHAPTER 8 PUBLICATIONS AND COURSES
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Publications & Courses 8. Zwartz, B
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Publications & Courses tice of inte
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CHAPTER 10: THE GENESIS OF ‘A COM
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APPENDIX I: SELECTED CHRISTIAN RESP
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A Common Word Jordan. Our delegatio
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