Templeton Prize Laureate Seeks Harmony

THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2020 B5

ETHICS & RELIGION TALK Many people of faith practice dietary rules

Traci asks, “Could you discuss any dietary bidden to be consumed: intoxicants, carrion, blood, pork, restrictions your religions may have, includ- animals dedicated to anyone other than God. Prohibited ing alcohol?” methods of slaughtering; an animal whose meat is lawful must be slaughtered applying Islamic methodology by The Rev. Linda Knieriemen, senior pastor at First invoking the name of God.” Presbyterian Church in Holland, responds: “Wine was a staple beverage in the ancient world. Jesus Fred Stella, the pracharak (outreach minister) for consumed wine; in fact, at the wedding of Cana, he turned the West Michigan Hindu Temple, responds: water into wine! If Christians want to live like Jesus, they “There are no absolute hard and fast rules on diet in should enjoy their Cabernets and Chardonnays! But there most of Hinduism. As with many religions, there is a spec- are also warnings about excess consumption of alcoholic trum of observance, and individuals may place them- beverages in the pages of the Bible, so thoughtful consid- selves anywhere within it. The only thing that is pretty eration is prudent and has been plentiful. much universal is refraining from eating beef. I’ve never “In the PC (USA) there are no dietary restrictions, nei- met a practicing Hindu who does. But consumption of ther is alcohol prohibited. My congregation opens its fi sh, fowl, goat and lamb is not unpopular. Vegetarianism doors to 12-step recovery group meetings for the com- is considered the ideal, but many do not meet that high munity, so the life-altering eff ects of alcohol addiction standard. There are some denominations where a plant- are an omnipresent reality. Out of respect for those who based diet is required for membership, but for the most choose to not consume alcohol, we maintain an alco- part, personal choice is honored. hol-free building. Similarly, out of respect for potential “There are also those who follow an Ayurvedic diet, addictiveness, the Presbyterian Church requires that if which encourages the intake of certain foods and avoid- a congregation serves wine for the sacrament of com- ance of others depending on one’s constitution and body munion that we always provide the option of a non-fer- type. Ayurveda is the ancient science of healing within mented grape juice. My congregation has long kept it sim- Hindu Dharma.” ple by only serving Welch’s grape juice. (Welch’s is not Rules concerning the consumption of or abstinence from specifi ed, but it tastes the best of all the options!) The Rev. Kevin Niehoff , O.P., a Dominican priest alcohol are among dietary restrictions followed by some “Dr. Welch, by the way, was a physician, dentist and who serves as adjutant judicial vicar, Diocese of religions. MLive.com fi les Methodist minister in New Jersey. At the time, Method- Grand Rapids, responds: ists were strongly opposed to the consumption of alcohol, “In the Roman Catholic Church, the only dietary which made the use of wine for communion problematic. restriction is abstinence from meat during the liturgical Dr. Welch experimented, and using the then-new tech- season of Lent. The action of not eating meat on Fridays nique of pasteurization succeeded in 1869 to preserve the in Lent is a spiritual discipline. From the U.S. Conference juice of the grape without its fermenting. It wasn’t until of Catholic Bishops, ‘the norms concerning abstinence the rise of the temperance movement more than 20 years from meat are binding upon members of the Latin Catho- later that the beverage took off both for residential and lic Church from age 14 onwards’ (usccb.org).” church use. “I’d summarize our position on alcohol this way: My response: respect abstinence; drink in moderation; provide alter- Judaism is known for its complicated dietary laws natives.” known as kashrut, based on verses from the first five books of the Bible. To be kosher, poultry or meat must Sharif Sahibzada, the director of Islamic Center and be killed by kosher slaughter, severing the carotid artery imam of the Mosque of Grand Rapids, responds: with a slicing motion with a very sharp knife. The meat “God is Creator of all things. Therefore, he also guides must then be soaked and salted to remove the blood. about the discipline of life. Food requirements are also Dairy products and meat products may not be cooked regulated by God Himself in His words. Two terms are or eaten together, or even prepared using the same uten- used in Islam for lawful and unlawful (halal & haram) sils. Products which are neither dairy nor meat are called food. parve, and can be eaten with either dairy or meat. Parve “Muslims will eat only permitted lawful food and will products include fi sh, eggs, fruits, vegetables and grains. not eat or drink anything that is considered unlawful. Many types of processed foods have a symbol on the label Lawful food requires that God’s name is invoked at the indicating that it contains no forbidden ingredients. In time an animal is killed. Lamb, beef, goat and chicken are very traditional communities, open containers of grape Thelawful Grand as long Rapids as they Press are killed - 10/15/2020 by a believer invokingCopy the Reduced juice and to wine 76% products from may original only be totouched fit letter by Jews page and Page : B05 name of God. bread must be prepared by Jews only. There are no other “Following are some items which are unlawful and for- prohibitions on alcohol.

“In many areas of current experience, harmony seems to have lost out to dissonance and polarization.”

Dr. Francis Collins

INTERFAITH INSIGHT Templeton Prize laureate seeks harmony

Douglas Kindschi director, Kaufman Interfaith Institute

This year’s Templeton Prize winner is This year’s Templeton Prize winner is itual truths, citing especially the Beatitudes from Jesus’ geneticist, physician and director of the geneticist, physician and director of the Sermon on the Mount. Third, and for Collins most import- National Institutes of Health Dr. Francis National Institutes of Health Dr. Francis ant, is the return “to our calling to love one another.” Collins. He is perhaps best known for his directing the Collins. He acknowledges that these may seem simple and even human genome project that discovered the genetic DNA naive, but for starters, “it would help if we chose leaders code for humans. In religious circles, he is also known for who embodied these principles. Leaders who were healers, his eff orts to relate science and religion. promoters of truth, the rule of law, advocates of spiritual In his book, “The Language of God,” Collins writes, “The anchoring, and proponents of love, respect, justice, and God of the Bible is also the God of the genome. … God’s cre- faith, and realized that in all of his science study he had not compassion. Our democracy means we have the chance ation is majestic, awesome, intricate, and beautiful — and really dealt with the meaning of life or the issue of mortality. to do that.” it cannot be at war with itself. Only we imperfect humans “I realized my atheism was dangerously thin … (and) began But he warns that we can’t just put the burden on the can start such battles. And only we can end them.” He also a journey to try to understand why intellectually sophisti- leaders. “It’s really up to all of us, through our individ- founded the organization BioLogos that seeks to relate our cated people could actually believe in God.” His journey led ual actions, to defi ne what kind of world we want to live scientifi c understanding with religious beliefs, particularly him to belief in God and acceptance of the life and claims of in, and then seek to live that way. That means refusing to a better understanding of the Christian understanding of Jesus. What had been confl ict between science and religion accept polarization — in fact, working actively to reach creation. became for Collins a harmony between two truths. across the gaps.” Last month’s ceremony was held online at the National His discussion of confl ict and the need for harmony con- Collins concluded his speech with a quote from Martin Academy of Science building in Washington, D.C. It featured tinued with the current global pandemic of COVID-19, which Luther King Jr., “Love is the only force capable of trans- tributes from former presidents George W. Bush and Barack he describes as occupying his “every waking hour, seek- forming an enemy into a friend.” Obama, Oxford theologian and biblical scholar N.T. Wright, ing to accelerate the development of better diagnostic tests, It may sound simple and naive, but it behooves us all anthropologist Jane Goodall and BioLogos President Deb- therapeutics that will save the lives of those infected, and to take seriously these warnings from Dr. Collins as well orah Haarsma from Grand Rapids. There was also a perfor- vaccines that will prevent future infections.” Collins had as his recommended commitments. We must all do what- mance from Collins’ friend and opera singer Renee Fleming, hoped that this dangerous enemy would draw us together, ever we can to move away from disastrous polarization who then joined Collins for a duet of the Stephen Foster song “But look at us now,” he laments. “The simple act of putting and seek the harmony toward which he challenges us. “Hard Times Come Again No More,” to close the ceremony. on a cloth mask is suffi cient to inspire harsh disagreements In 1972, the prize was created by Sir John Templeton, who amongst Americans, even though the public health value of [email protected] was a very successful investor and philanthropist. His goal that action to slow the spread of the disease is unquestion- was to recognize new insights and progress about religion, able. … What should have been harmony in the name of sav- especially through science. He set the award to be higher ing lives has become a confl ict.” than the Nobel Prize, to recognize that progress in religion is Collins then addressed what he considers “the greatest just as important for recognition as the other awards given. long-term threat to our planet: climate change.” Here again, Today, the prize is valued at $1.4 million. I have been privi- he deplores the polarization about whether this threat is leged over the years to have met and heard 16 of the previous real and warns, “As time passes with no coordinated plan Templeton laureates, including Collins. I would encourage of action, we grow closer and closer to a potentially devas- you to watch the whole virtual ceremony and learn more at: tating outcome.” bit.ly/Templeton-Collins. He next tackled another serious issue for our country — My favorite part was the talk given by Collins. In less namely, the racial divide — and asserts the “consequences than 30 minutes, he put together his own science and faith of 400 years of slavery and discrimination are still with journey as well as his concerns about the issues facing our us, and demand signifi cant change. But once again, not all country today. He put the issues before us so well that I have agree, and the polarization of Americans is glaringly appar- quoted generously from him here. ent.” Building on his love and experience with music, he spoke For Collins, these polarizing issues “create a vicious circle on the topic “In Praise of Harmony.” He introduced the that infects our politics — polarized views drive politicians www.goodshepherdpres.com theme: “I fi rst learned about that term as it applies to music to adopt polarized positions, and those further polarize the … the profound way in which the combination of musical people. We devolve into tribes. We stop trusting each other. www.whatifgod.com tones chosen by a composer and rendered by a gifted profes- We infer all sorts of bad motivations to those not of our own sional like Renee Fleming can touch your very soul. But har- tribe, even as we forgive our own glaring inconsistencies.” mony applies in other realms as well. It is to be contrasted But Collins’ address did not leave us in despair as he with dissonance. In many areas of current experience, har- off ered three commitments that can help us heal. mony seems to have lost out to dissonance and polariza- First is a “renewed commitment to truth and rea- tion.” son.” He expressed his concern for the growing disre- www.grtumc.org Collins continued by telling his personal story of studying gard for truth in our society, including social media and physical chemistry and quantum mechanics, receiving his unfounded conspiracy theories. Second, he urges us Ph.D., continuing on to complete an M.D., and then doing to “address the growing spiritual void,” as evidenced in

research in genetics and leading the human genome project. growing drug overdose and other acts of despair leading to 9453826-43 While treating one of his patients, he was asked about his death. In response, he calls for renewal of the ancient spir-