In light of the escalating violence and turmoil we are hearing almost daily now in the news, I have recently found myself caught up in reading a couple of books by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks. He is a sought after speaker and had served as the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth from 1991 to 2013. After hearing a lecture by him, I purchased two of his more recent books, Not in God’s Name and The Dignity of Difference. Powerful writing, deep analysis, and strong insights.
This is sounding like a book review but yes, I would recommend his work.
A paragraph on the first page caught my attention and challenges me as a minister in the Christian faith to engage others in ever deeper conversations of our response to the causes of the rising violence in our world.
“Too often in the history of religion, people have killed in the name of the God of life, waged war in the name of the God of peace, hated in the name of the God of love and practised cruelty in the name of the God of compassion. When this happens, God speaks, sometimes in a still, small voice almost inaudible beneath the clamour of those claiming to speak on his behalf. What he says at such times is: Not in my name.”
The question we may each ask ourselves is, when do see ourselves doing this? It’s a good first step.
