16614: Wolf: re Lourdes family troubles (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: casey wolf <talkhaiti@yahoo.ca>

i've been thinking about your email since reading it,
at which time i was completely flummoxed.  it occurs
to me that religion, like any human institution, can
be misused and become divisive, but it's intent is to
heal and improve relationships and can be used to
build bridges between very different world views.  it
is very rare that one side of a division could not
benefit as much as the other by soul-searching for
ways that it can bend and offer peace and meet the
other.  i am a great believer in ecumenicism.  i do
not think what we need is to leave our religions and
take on others, but to become truly enlightened within
our own religion, find the best in it, in us, and in
the others which surround us.  god will sort the
details out, not us.  vying for dominance of worldview
(eg believing we are the ones who know the right way
and insisting that the other adhere to or at least be
respectful toward ours in a way we are not required to
toward theirs) is very destructive.  rather than
trying to win the argument or have one side back off,
even though they may well be right off the wall in
something they are doing, it is more useful and
peace-making in the long run if we can take a good
deep breath and find a way to bridge between the two
sides.  i would suggest that you have two brilliant
vehicles for doing that at your disposal right
now--vodou and christianity.  why not use them in the
way they are meant to be used, to heal relationships
and build bridges?  you'd obviously have to be very
creative.  various possibilities come to my mind, but
an important element is to acknowledge the heartfelt
belief of the other side and their importance to you
as family and individuals, and your own desire to draw
close and work together to make peace.  this may mean
one group has a prayer meeting and the other a service
for the lwas, it may mean making offerings of some
sort to counter a perceived intention to harm, it may
mean simply acknowledging in words, or there may be a
way to unite both groups in a single ecumenical
ceremony--it is up to the creativity of the
individuals involved.  but the goal would be to find
spiritual paths to acceptance and healing.  maybe not
all key people could be involved, but the tolerance
and love put out would get through on some level,
anyway, if only to god and the spirits.  i think it is
a very good move for people to make that initial
offering regardless of whether they consider
themselves the victims, or powerless to change
anything.  it is our belief in the ability to change
circumstances that makes the difference when it could
go either way.

hope this makes sense.

cheers,
casey

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