Interfaith Happiness

Interfaith Happiness

I began writing a series called Festivals of the world in 1993 – first it was in my newspaper in Dallas, then it was broadcasted on my weekly radio show from 1996-2001, and has continued on social media, blogs and facebook.

This morning Google notified an entry with my name, and I clicked it, there it was an image of Hanukkah Menorah with the title of my theme.  Hanukkah is not today, but someone had posted my work at: http://digitalmindsoft.org/hanukkah-2015.html and is the link to that piece in Huffington post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/festivals-of-the-world-es_b_4349512.html

Deva Ramsaroop had once called me a Honorary Hindu or some such thing  people also thought I was a Christian, Baha’i, Buddhist and even Jewish, while I was a humanist at that time.  It’s genuine interfaith happiness to me.

Being a pluralist does not mean you follow a mixture of religions, being pluralist simply means you expand your wings to accommodate everyone in your fold, you become a part of the whole and yet remain who you are and I am a Muslim and a pluralist.  You have to feel secure enough to tell that all religions are beautiful, by acknowledging the goodness in other faiths; your faith does not depreciate even by an ounce.  I respect every religion as much as I respect my own, no religion is anything less or more than mine, all are beautiful paths to its followers.


“Festivals of the World” is an educational series by Mike Ghouse developed in 1993. When we live as neighbors and in the same communities, we might as well learn about each other. The best way to build cohesive societies is for members to participate in festivities as well as commemorations of each other, or at least understand each other’s joys and sorrows. Please note, the simplicity in writing is designed for people of other faiths to learn and to know, so we can function cohesively.

Mike Ghouse
www.interfaithspeaker.com

Church of Scientology and Pluralism

Church and Pluralism | www.InterfaithSpeaker.com 

My message: You are wrong and not your religion.

April 21, 2016, Washington, DC -- Today, I am pleased to have learned a bit about the Church of Scientology. Way back in 1979, I visited their office in Los Angeles and was impressed by their work, and had read the fascinating book “Dianetics” by L. Ron Hubbard.  More about the church at http://www.scientology.org/

Rev. Susan Taylor of Church of Scientology explained everything an individual needs to know about her church and have brought a lot of material to read.  We discussed various things today and it was good to hear firsthand about the Church of Scientology.  As we walked around the building, what I saw on the walls was fascinating reading. It is amazing how much there is to learn, here are ‘some’ of the pearls of wisdom in no particular order that I felt connected with.

The creed of the Church of the Scientology

·         That all men of whatever race, color or creed were created with equal rights  

·         That all men have inalienable rights to their own religious practices

·         That all men have inalienable rights to their sanity

·         That all men have inalienable right to think freely, talk freely….

·         And that no agency less than God have the power to suspend or set aside these rights, overtly or covertly.

·         That man is basically good.

·         Never regret yesterday. Life is in you today and you make your tomorrow.

·         Be true to your own goals

Susan and I talked about what we can do to mitigate the conflicts we all have with each other and nurture good will.  I am considering a monthly workshop series on wisdom of religion, all the beautiful religions that that I had organized in Dallas. Would you be interested in it, if we broadcast it?

By the way, the courts have cleared some of the false allegations against the Church of Scientology.  I am familiar with the insecure men with established churches (nay, not the churches, but the individual men who run it) have always made a point to denigrate the new comer. They are afraid of losing their customers and the donations that go with them.  They have ganged up against all new groups including Mormon, Reformed Church, and Unificationist Church etc.

I have been associated with Rev. Moon’s Unificationist Church as well. I have seen the ministers make fun of it, and he was accused of so many false things. There was a time people of other faiths denigrated his ministry… I found it to be otherwise. Rev. Moon has a great message to humanity about being one with God (he calls is God’s lineage).

Individuals err, not religions. However, if we are sincere about seeking the truth, we need to study a faith that is maligned. Finding the truth is our own responsibility, even if the clergy or scholar of the faith tells you what his or her faith is; don’t believe until you read it yourselves.  Keep studying until your bias is gone, if it does not, then you did not get the message.

As a pluralist, meaning, an individual who embraces humanity with no prejudice, and finds himself in the same tent as all others, I am blessed to have relationships with everyone I could possibly know from Atheists to Zoroastrians and every one in between.  I will continue to be a part of the 7.2 billion people on this planet.  Jesus is one of my mentors and following him means to be like him – a pluralist.

When I visit or hear sermons from different faiths*, what I hear is not the literal words, but their essence.  How following their ideas-sans-rituals will contribute towards creating a cohesive society and my interest is in the bottom line of all religions – and i.e., do they bring comfort, comport and balance to an individual and with what surrounds him.  Indeed, all religions do that with a few exceptions.

When you hear an ugly sermon in a Church, Synagogue, Mosque, Temple or any place of worship, it is not God’s words they are speaking, but their understanding of those words. God is not a bloody villain of his own creation, God loves us all, but a few men from the pulpit spew their hatred and ill-will towards others in the name of God, what a shame!

Is there a minister out there, who has the confidence, faith, and is secure to say that other faiths’ are equally good? And never in their language would they express that theirs is superior.  If you know someone, please let me know, we need people like that.  They are the true religious people and want to give them the megaphone.

Religion is about living in peace within and with others. If you are not at peace and malignant towards others, they you did not get your religion right.  You are wrong and not your religion.Dr. Mike Ghouse is a community consultant, social scientist, thinker, writer, news maker, Interfaith Wedding officiant, and a speaker on Pluralism, Interfaith, Islam, politics, terrorism, human rights, India, Israel-Palestine, motivation, and foreign policy. He is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. Visit him (63 links) at www.MikeGhouse.net and www.TheGhousediary.com for his exclusive writings.

God fearing or God Caring

The phrase God-fearing has come to mean fearing God. Why do you want to be afraid of God, he is not a devil, criminal or a villain who is hell bent on punishing us at the drop of the hat.  What it really means is – fearing our own weaknesses, fearing doing things that will hurt others and harm others, and in-turn saps our positive energy with guilt, conscious or subconscious.

God loves us all without conditions; after all, we are his creation, or a product of his system. However the idea of rewards, grace and punishment is human and is necessary to build cohesive society and faithfully guard the safety of every fellow human.  All of us want a fair, just and a caring society.    

God Caring may be a better phrase.

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This was in response to my friend Mary Ann Thompson’s note:

“I get tired of people saying so and so is a ‘God-Fearing’ person, like that’s a good thing. Personally, I don’t fear God. Nor do I want to.  I’m in love with God.”

So no, I am not a ‘God-Fearing’ person. I am a ‘God-Loving’ person, and I respect Creator with a heart that is sublimely in Love, not one out of forced respect based on fear.  We often talk about Creator as father, as mother, but Creator is also our first and final Love.

Embrace Creator, however you define Spirit, and your heart will feel the deepest joy in the communion.” 

Mike Ghouse 
www.InterfaithSpeaker.com  

Religious freedom wins in Malaysia – Islam and Christianity win

World Muslim Congress
Contact:  Mike Ghouse (214) 325-1916
www.WorldMuslimCongress.com
MikeGhouse@aol.com

Religious freedom wins in Malaysia, re-conversion to Christianity is a landmark ruling.

Washington, D.C., April 6, 2016 —  The World Muslim Congress welcomes the landmark ruling by a High Court in Malaysia that recognized the  freedom of religion is a fundamental human right.

The right to follow one’s conscience is the God given right of every human.  When Adam was given the choice to eat or not eat the forbidden fruit with the given set of consequences, Adam ‘chose’ to eat the fruit. God could have stopped him, but God wanted to set an example of living up his own word and what freedom should mean until the human race lives on.

The court struck down a decades-long government policy that had made it tough for Christian converts to renounce their former Islamic faith without the consent of an Islamic court. The had another great judgment in the case of Lina Joy.

The Association of Churches in Sarawak praised the decision “as a ratification of the fundamental right to freedom of religion in Malaysia,” Herald Malaysia andChristian Today reported.

“This judgment reaffirms the supremacy of the Federal Constitution, which under Article 11 defends every Malaysian citizen’s right to freedom of religion,” the group said.

High Court judge Yew Jen Kie of the Kuching High Court, Sarawak state granted the petition of Rooney Rebit asking judicial authorities to declare that his belief in Jesus Christ was a fundamental human right.

Rebit, 41, from a village in Sarawak, was born a Christian but was converted to Islam by his parents when he was about 10 years old and renamed Azmi Mohamad Azam.

Judge Yew ruled that Rebit is “free to exercise his right to freedom of religion and he chose Christianity.”

Indeed, Mr. Rebit is free to exercise his right to freedom; the Quran says 2:256, “… Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from Error …” This is Islam’s unambiguous affirmation of freedom of faith, which also applies to changing of faith. The Qur’an illuminates before the humanity the two highways [90:10], one of which leads to salvation. Islam is an invitation to the highway toward salvation, but it is based on FREEDOM OF CHOICE (http://apostasyandislam.blogspot.com/).”

We applaud the ruling as it clarifies the propaganda that Muslims compel others to stay in their fold through coercion and compulsion, which was never true or Islamic, even though it was practiced by a few Muslims.

We appreciate the efforts of the Government of Malaysia to uphold the inalienable rights of her citizens, which are God given and inherently Islamic.  We seek God’s guidance in helping us restore the pristine Islam of freedom, justice and mercy to mankind. Amen!

Dr.  Mike Ghouse is a fellow at World Muslim Congress, a think tank committed to removing the dust Islamic practices has gathered over a period of time.  To be a Muslim is to be a peace maker, who seeks to mitigate conflicts and nurtures goodwill for peaceful existence of humanity.

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