April 26, 2026

Last Sunday afternoon, Saint George hosted the Southwest Interfaith Team (SWIFT) forum. We had three representatives from the Jewish, Christian and Muslim faiths. Their theme is, “One God, Three Faiths.” The session was very well-attended with people from a variety of places of worship in our community. I must admit, I felt a certain pride in our Christian representative who happened to be Catholic. She spoke about interfaith dialogue very well, leaning into the documents of Vatican II which call for all people to respect each other’s approach to God, even, and perhaps especially, when it doesn’t coincide with our own. The Muslim representative was very engaging and informative. He is a far cry from the religious fanatics we see paraded on the news. The Jewish representative was the only Jew attending, and I think she may have felt a bit intimidated facing our crowd.

It is most important to understand that, regardless of what name is used, (i.e., God, Yahweh, or Allah) they all refer to the same God we call Our Father. All three of these faiths find their roots in Abraham and see themselves as sons and daughters of him. So our roots are inextricably entwined.

For several decades, Christians were viewed as a sort of sect within Judaism. With the destruction of the Temple of Solomon by the Romans in 70 AD, the split occurred. As is human nature, people blamed each other for this catastrophe. The Jews blamed the Christians as unfaithful, and the Christians blamed the Jews for rejecting the Messiah. 

Muslims see Mohammad as the final prophet of Allah (God). He had visions of the angel Gabriel in 610 and began preaching in 613. Like Jews and Christians, Mohammad preached one God. The pillars of the Muslim life are: Testimony (living the words of Allah), Prayer, Fasting, Almsgiving and Pilgrimage. These are not far from Catholicism, are they? The one who believes in Allah and the hereafter, and does good deeds has nothing to fear (meaning no fears of hell).

The bitter truth is that none of our religions practice our faith as completely as we should. The Crusades were a terrible effort that started with at least some virtue but soon degenerated into pillage and robbery and violence. We see today’s violence of Islamic terrorists. The horror of Nazism and the Holocaust are evils perpetrated against religions that stain all the children of Abraham.

We have much to learn. Last Sunday was a good conversation. It may not seem like much but if we are not willing to learn about each other, we lose the ability to find common ground. And that’s where God lives.