One God, Shared Hope: Twenty Threads Shared by Judaism, Christianity, and Islam

by Maggie Oman Shannon

Overview

Writer and spiritual director Maggie Oman Shannon has long believed that we all yearn for a spiritual connection to a higher power. In One God, Shared Hope she presents twenty principles shared by Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and provides passages from each religion's holy scriptures to illustrate their commonalties.

One God, Shared Hope is organized in three sections, Concerning God, Concerning Others, and Concerning Self, within which are chapters on each of the twenty universal principles the three religions ask their adherents to live by. The principles range from "Trust in God" and "Stay Thankful" to "Honor Your Parents" to "Be a Peacemaker." Each chapter begins with a short explanation of the similarities and differences in belief and practice of each religion, followed by excerpts from the scriptures that accentuate universality. The book also includes a list of resources for further study.

Taken all together the principles teach us how to live, how to connect to each other, and how to connect with God. This is a simple and simply profound book.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781590030516
Publisher:	Red Wheel/Weiser
Publication date:	05/15/2003
Pages:	160
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 7.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Maggie Oman Shannon is a spiritual director and writer. She is the author of One God, Shared Hope and The Way We Pray, editor of Prayers for Healing and coauthor of A String and a Prayer. She lives in San Francisco.

Read an Excerpt

one god, shared hope

TWENTY THREADS SHARED BY JUDAISM, CHRISTIANITY, AND ISLAM

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By MAGGIE OMAN SHANNON

Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC

Copyright © 2003 Maggie Oman Shannon
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-59003-051-6

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CHAPTER 1

worship and praise god

It all starts here, with the "In the beginning" of Genesis 1:1 ("In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth") and the first surah of the Koran (1:1–5): "In the name of God, most gracious, most merciful, praise be to God, the cherisher and sustainer of the worlds; most gracious, most merciful master of the day of judgment. You do we worship, and your aid we seek." We, as Jews and Christians and Muslims, are "People of the Book," all descended from Abraham. We worship God, and we love to praise God, for from God originates everything.

Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power, and the glory and the majesty and the splendor; for everything in heaven and earth is yours. —1 Chronicles 29:11

For Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers orrulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. —Colossians 1:16

To Him belong the most beautiful names;whatever is in the heavens and on earth does declare His praises and glory. —Koran 59:24

And worship is something that all of creation participates in, for in God we all "live and move and have our being"(Acts 17:28).

All you have made will praise you, O Lord; your saints will extol you. They will tell of the glory of your kingdom. —Psalms 145:10–11

Worship the Lord in the splendor of His holiness; tremble before Him, all the earth. —Psalms 96:9

Christ is all, and is in all. —Colossians 3:11

See you not that it is God whose praises all beings in the heavens and on earth do celebrate, and the birds of the air with wings outspread? —Koran 24:41

And how is it that we are to worship God? For Jews, it is practicing the Shema; for Muslims, the Shahadah: proclamations that, similar to the Christian's Nicene Creed, are fervent statements of faith. But even before the proclamation of faith comes the movement of the heart.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. —Deuteronomy 6:5

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. —Mark 12:30

O you who believe! Celebrate the praises of God, and do so often; and glorify Him morning and evening. He it is Who sends blessings on you, as do His angels, that He may bring you out from the depths of darkness into light. —Koran 33:42–43

And what exactly is worship of God?

Stop and consider God's wonders. —Job 37:14

Be still, and know that I am God. —Psalms 46:10

Come, let us bow down in worship: let us kneel before the Lord our maker. —Psalms 95:6

I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. —Psalms 34:1

Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. —John 4:23

* * *

Worship can also be done with great joy.

Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet; praise him with the harp and the lyre, praise him with the tambourine and dancing; praise him with the strings and flute, praise him with the clash of cymbals. —Psalms 150:3–5

This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. —Psalms 118:24

* * *

And who is this God that we worship?

God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." —Exodus 3:14

The eternal God is your refuge. —Deuteronomy 33:27

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. —Revelation 21:6

I am the way and the truth and the life. —John 14:6

He is God, the Creator, the Evolver, the Bestower of Forms or Colors. To him belong the most beautiful names: whatever is in the heavens and on earth declares His praises and glory; and He is the Exalted in might, the Wise. —Koran 59:24

CHAPTER 2

read the scriptures

The importance of reading the sacred scriptures of our faith is stressed in each of our traditions, as the scriptures have been given to us by God for instruction and guidance.

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked ... but his delight is in the law of the Lord: and on his law he meditates day and night. —Psalms 1:1–2

If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. —John 8:31–32

Instruct them in Scripture and wisdom, and sanctify them: for You are the Exalted in might, the Wise. —Koran 2:129

Our approach to the scriptures should be one of reverence; by meditating upon holy passages and loving their laws, we are changed. The scriptures become part of our minds and hearts.

I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart. —Psalms 40:8

Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. —Psalms 119:97

If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. —John 14:23

When the Qur'an is read, listen to it with attention.... Bring your Lord to remembrance in your very soul. —Koran 7:204–5

Yet we are to use what we learn, to put it into practice.

Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. —Matthew 7:24

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. —James 1:22

Those who rehearse the Book of God, establish regular prayer, and spend in charity out of what We have provided for them, secretly and openly, hope for a Commerce that will never fail. —Koran 35:29

If we follow the guidance of our God, we are blessed and protected.

Great peace have they who love Your law, and nothing can make them stumble. —Psalms 119:165

But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that brings freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it— he will be blessed in what he does. —James 1:25

When you read the Qur'an, seek God's protection from Satan the rejected one. No authority has he over those who believe and put their trust in their Lord. —Koran 16:98–99

We see our Scriptures as being the words of God, as being Truth.

The tablets were the work of God; the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets. —Exodus 32:16

I will tell you what is written in the Book of Truth. —Daniel 10:21

No prophecy of scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men of God spoke as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. —2Peter 1:20–21

To you We sent the Scripture in Truth, confirming the scripture that came before it, and guarding it in safety. —Koran 5:48

* * *

Yet we are to be active with our Scriptures; in it are the answers to our deepest questions.

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. —Psalms 119:105

From infancy you have known the holy scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation ... all scripture is God-breathed, and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. —2 Timothy 3:15–16

Those to whom we have sent the Book study it as it should be studied— they are the ones that believe there in; those who reject faith therein—the loss is their own. —Koran 2:115

* * *

Whatever else we might believe about our scriptures, we know that they will be part of our lives always.

The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever. —Isaiah 40:8

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. —Mark 13:31

It is a Book of exalted power. No falsehood can approach it from before or behind it. It is sent down by One full of wisdom, worthy of all praise. —Koran 41:41–42

CHAPTER 3

release other idols (distractions)

By very definition, the three major monotheistic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam follow the injunction found in Exodus 20:3: "You shall have no other gods before me." While our varying conceptions of God impact how we understand this commandment, it is the foundation of our Abrahamic traditions.

For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods. —1 Chronicles 16:25

I am God, and there is no other. —Isaiah 45:22

It is written: "Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him." —Matthew 4:10

Who has made the earth your couch and the heavens your canopy; and sent down rain from the heavens; and brought forth there with fruits for your sustenance; then set not up rivals unto God when you know the truth. —Koran 2:22

At the time in which these scriptures were written, believers were to follow the commandment to release idols literally, to cast away other objects of worship.

They sacrificed to demons, which are not God—gods they had not known. —Deuteronomy 32:17

They became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. —Romans 1:22–23

Muslims take the admonition against idol-worship so seriously that Islamic religious art is not representative; the concern for them is that a visual representation would encourage shirk, the act of deifying something other than God.

For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings. —Hosea 6:6

Man-made gods are no gods at all. —Acts 19:26

Say: "I do no more than invoke My Lord, and I join not with Him any false god." —Koran 72:20

Yet even beyond this, we must choose where to place our attention. Idols can also be found in those things that distract us from God.

If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored: if you remove wickedness far from your tent and assign your nuggets to the dust, your gold of Ophir to the rocks in the ravines; then the Almighty will be your gold, the choicest silver for you. Surely then you will find delight in the Almighty and will lift up your face to God. —Job 22:23–26

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. —Matthew 6:19–21

The material things which ye are given are but the conveniences of this life and the glitter thereof; but that which is with God is better and more enduring: Will ye not then be wise? —Koran 28:60

The reasons for being conscious of where we direct our attention are made clear to us:

When you cry out for help, let your collection of idols save you! The wind will carry all of them off, a mere breath will blow them away. But the man who makes me his refuge will inherit the land and possess my holy mountain. —Isaiah 57:13

No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one, and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. —Matthew 6:24

God will not forgive that partners should be set up with Him; but He forgives anything else, to whom He pleases; to set up partners with God is to devise a sin most heinous indeed. —Koran 4:48

And lest we think that money, and the pursuit of it, is the only thing that is considered an obstacle in the path to God, we are given more possibilities to consider; our attitudes and our interests are also to be examined.

This is what the Lord says: Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, for I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice, and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight. —Jeremiah 9:22–24

For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. —1 Samuel 15:23

Whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which isidolatry. —Colossians 3:5

O you who believe! Intoxicants and gambling, dedication of stones, and divination by arrows, an abomination. —Koran 5:92

O you who believe! What is the matter with you, that, when you are asked to go forth in the cause of God, cling heavily to the earth? Do you prefer the life of this world to the Hereafter? But little is the comfort of this life, as compared to the Hereafter. —Koran 9:38

This admonition to avoid distractions relates as well to what our relationships are to be with the people in our world who hold power.

Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. —Psalms 46:10

Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's. —Matthew 22:21

God has said: Take not for worship two gods: for He is just one God. —Koran 16:51

Though we must "Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve" (Joshua 24:15), there are rewards for choosing God.

Blessed are those whose strength is in you. —Psalms 84:5

If you are returning to the Lord with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods ... and commit yourselves to the Lord and serve him only, and he will deliver you. —1 Samuel 7:3

But seek first [God's] kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. —Matthew 6:33

Remain in me, and I in you. —John 15:4

"There is no god but You: Glory to You: I was indeed wrong." So We listened to him: and delivered him from distress: and thus do We deliver those who have faith. —Koran 21:88–89

Whosoever believes in God has grasped the most trustworthy handhold, that never breaks. And God hears and knows all things. —Koran 2:256

CHAPTER 4

be faithful and obedient

Given that our faith traditions each recognize us as descendants of Abraham, our paths begin here. Faithfulness and obedience are closely aligned; to have faith in God means that we are called to be obedient to God.

The Lord appeared to [Abraham], and said, "I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless." —Genesis 17:1

Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. —Ecclesiastes 12:13

If you love me, you will obey what I command. —John 14:15

But follow that which comes to you by inspiration from your Lord: for God is well acquainted with all that you do. And put your trust in God. —Koran 33:2–3

By obeying God, we are able to demonstrate our faithfulness and devotion.

To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. —1 Samuel 15:22

Praise the Lord. Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in his commands. —Psalms 112:1

The righteous will live by faith. —Romans 1:17

Who can be better in religion than one who submits his whole self to God, does good—and follows the way of Abraham the true in faith? —Koran 4:125

Yet faith itself usually comes before obedience, as 2 Corinthians 5:7 reminds us, "We live by faith, not by sight."

Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior. —Psalms 25:5

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists, and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. —Hebrews 11:6
(Continues...)

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Excerpted from one god, shared hope by MAGGIE OMAN SHANNON. Copyright © 2003 Maggie Oman Shannon. Excerpted by permission of Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

Contents

acknowledgments          

introduction          

part one: the principles concerning god          

1. worship and praise god          

2. read the scriptures          

3. release other idols (distractions)          

4. be faithful and obedient          

5. pray          

6. trust in god          

7. stay thankful          

part two: the principles concerning others          

8. honor your parents          

9. tell the truth          

10. treat others as yourself          

11. serve and give to others          

12. don't study the faults of others          

13. forgive          

14. be kind to all creatures          

part three: the principles concerning self          

15. cultivate wisdom          

16. practice self-control          

17. develop your character          

18. remain humble          

19. admit your mistakes          

20. be a peacemaker          

resources for further study