The Jewish Festival Of Freedom Is The

In Thinking About Religion And Society In The 21st Century, We Should Broaden The Conversation About Faith From Doctrinal Debates To The Larger Question Of How It Might Inspire Us To Strengthen The Bonds Of Belonging That Redeem Us From Our Solitude, Helping Us To Construct Together A Gracious And Generous Social Order.

Those Who Believe That Liberal Democracy And The Free Market Can Be Defended By The Force Of Law And Regulation Alone, Without An Internalised Sense Of Duty And Morality, Are Tragically Mistaken.

Freedom Is Not Won By Merely Overthrowing A Tyrannical Ruler Or An Oppressive Regime. That Is Usually Only The Prelude To A New Tyranny, A New Oppression.

The Market Economy Is Deeply Congruent With The Values Set Out In The Hebrew Bible. Material Prosperity Is A Divine Blessing. Poverty Crushes The Spirit As Well As The Body, And Its Alleviation Is A Sacred Task. Work Is A Noble Calling.

Sometimes The Sight Of Someone In One Faith Wrestling With That Faith Can Empower You To Wrestle With Another Faith. For Me, It Was Reading About How The Catholic Church Wrestled With Itself In The 1960s. Pope John Xxiii Set Nostra Aetate - The Declaration On The Relation Of The Church With Non-christian Religions - In Motion. It Changed The Relationship Between Jews And Catholics. Today, Jews And Catholics Meet As Friends. If You Can Do That, After The Longest History Of Hatred The World Has Known, That Empowers You As A Jew Or A Muslim To Wrestle With Your Faith.