Religious Journey

Our religious journeys are scary and inspiring, exciting and nerve racking.
For me, over half a century in the ministry has been all that and more.
The pages on this site grew out of my journey.
I hope they will be meaningful to you.
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The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn
that grows brighter and brighter until full day.
(Proverbs 4:18 ESV)



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Introductory Overview of

Interfaith Meditations

by

Edwin Ray Frazier


Interfaith Meditations is about praying for peace and working for peace.


Peace and good will stand out in all the world's major sacred scriptures. Around the globe, all who pray for and work for good will find that these scriptures are common ground to build on. The 100 meditations are designed to encourage those good will prayers and that peace vision.




 

This is a Preview of the Book Entitled

 

Interfaith Meditations

 

By Ray Frazier






 

Dedication

To those who yesterday
envisioned humanity's achievements today,
and
to those who today
envision tomorrow's achievements
in peace



Preface



These meditations began with a conviction and a suspicion.


Decades ago I arrived at the conviction that good religion is that religion which promotes peace and good will, and the suspicion that whatever promotes unpeace and ill will is, at best, a perversion of religion.


Puzzled by the historical reality of violence and war in the name of religion, I purchased the sacred texts of several major world religions, wanting to discover who was actually promoting ill will for religious reasons. I learned that the weight of sacred scriptures the world over teaches good religion. No major world religion promotes ill will, except in proof texts isolated from their larger contexts.


Further, I was surprised and embarrassed to have to admit that professing Christians have generated as much hatred and bloodshed as have other religions. Both they and we have groups motivated by hatred, who misuse and abuse scripture to support their ungodly ill will. Childish quarrels in my own religious denomination have caused distress to many of us as we observed arrogant, unreligious behavior being treated as right and good.


I became fascinated with the idea of gathering sacred texts from several major world religions, to demonstrate their incredibly large amount of common ground. That demonstration is our goal in this work. They are Bahai, Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Sikhism, and Taoism (known also as Daoism). May God bless us with peace and good will.



Abbreviated Contents


The 100 meditations are divided into nine sections:

I  The Good Will DOS System

II.  Love: Seeking the Best

IV.  The Witness Mentality

V.  Justice, Compassion, Poverty

VI.  Good Religion/Bad Religion

VII.  Summary Statements of Religion

VIII.  The Superior Man

IX.  Believing the Vision



Excerpts and Comments from the Introduction



I envision a day when godly people will read meditational books that draw from the sacred texts of many major world religions.


These sacred texts have huge continents of common ground. We should build on that, not only accepting people of other religions, but striving to grow in our ability to appreciate them.


We cannot say with integrity that all sacred texts of all major religions teach peace and good will. What we can say with integrity, and demonstrate, is that sacred texts of the world's major faiths have an abundance of passages that teach good will. Further, the sheer volume of other subjects about which they have virtually the same teachings provides deep, broad, and strong foundations for peaceful interactions, first between the religions, and then between the nations. (See Appendix B: Divisive Elements and Tangential Groups, p. 237; and Appendix C: Religious Terms and Expert Interpretations, p. 238.)


One purpose of this work is to encourage people of all faiths to acknowledge and embrace our vast scriptural commonalities.


There is no intent herein to suggest a merger of religions, the establishment of a new religion, or to rank world religions by any measure. Neither is it our purpose to glorify an academically objective evaluation of religion in general or of any religion in particular. Here we do not summarize, abbreviate, or evaluate any religion. The purpose before us now is to point those who adhere to any particular religion, to the fact that their own sacred texts call all of us to peace and good will toward people of other faiths. These meditations are offered in the spirit of mutual appreciation for all religions of peace and good will.


These meditations are intended for thought, reflection, prayer, and discussion of fundamental religious principles that have come down to us essentially unchanged across centuries, continents, and cultures. Some ways to use this book are: individual or group meditation, speaker's resource material, visionting, authentic religious focus, and spiritual renewal.


May the God of the sacred scriptures bless the reading of these passages.





Meditation Number 30

Stand Out Firmly for Justice

Justice


O ye who believe! stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to God, even as against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, and whether it be against rich or poor: for God can best protect both. Verily God is well-acquainted with all that ye do.


O you who believe! Stand out firmly for Allah and be just witnesses and let not the enmity and hatred of others make you avoid justice. Be just: that is nearer to piety, and fear Allah. Verily, Allah is Well Acquainted with what you do. Islam

Justice for the Oppressed, Orphans, Widows


Evil people don't understand justice, but those who seek Adonai understand everything. The righteous understands the cause of the poor, but the wicked is unconcerned.


Yet Adonai is just waiting to show you favor, He will have pity on you from on high; for Adonai is a God of justice; happy are all who wait for Him. Learn to do good! Seek justice, relieve the oppressed, defend orphans, plead for the widow.


Justice, only justice, you must pursue; so that you will live and inherit the land Adonai your God is giving you. Give justice to the weak and fatherless! Uphold the rights of the wretched and poor! Judaism

He is Called Just


A man is not just if he carries a matter by violence; no, he who distinguishes both right and wrong, who is learned and guides other, not by violence, but by the same law, being a guardian of the law and intelligent, he is called just. Buddhism

Like God: Just


Even as God is pronounced to be just, man must likewise be just. Baha'i

Just Men are Good Workers


There is no case where a man loves Justice and is not thorough in his work. Confucianism

Prayer


True is the justice of the True Lord. Your place is forever True, O God. True is Your Creative Power, and True is the Word of Your Bani. True is the peace which You give, O my Lord and Master. You alone are the greatest king. You are the Dispenser of Justice, powerful and merciful. Sikhism


Meditation Number 96

The Same Fundamentals

Virtue


The divine purpose is that men should live in unity, concord and agreement and should love one another. Consider the virtues of the human world and realize that the oneness of humanity is the primary foundation of them all. Read the gospel and the other holy books. You will find their fundamentals are one and the same. Bahai

Concealed, Illustrious Virtue


Just so, it is the way of the superior man to prefer the concealment of his virtue, while it daily becomes more illustrious, and it is the way of the mean man to seek notoriety, while he daily goes more and more to ruin. Confucianism

Virtue Needs Not to Argue


The truth is not always beautiful, nor beautiful words the truth. Those who have virtue, have no need of argument for its own sake, for they know that argument is of no avail.


Nature's way is to say but little; high winds are made still with the turn of the tide, and rarely last all morning, nor heavy rain, all day. Therefore, when talking, remember also to be silent and still. Taoism

The Lord's Endless Virtues


Your Glorious Virtues are endless, O my Lord and Master; no one knows them all. Seeing and hearing of Your wondrous plays, O Merciful Lord, Your devotees narrate them. All beings and creatures meditate on You, O Primal Transcendent Lord, Master of men. Sikhism

Add Virtue to Faith


According as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue: whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. and beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. Christianity

Prayer


God is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The Parable of His Light is as if there were a Niche and within it a Lamp: the Lamp enclosed in Glass: the glass as it were a brilliant star: Lit from a blessed Tree, an Olive, neither of the east nor of the west, whose oil is well-nigh luminous, though fire scarce touched it: Light upon Light! Islam




Appendix A, "A Parable About Religion" is a fictitious analysis of two people of different religions. One practices a locally unpopular religion and is kind, gracious, and godly. The other practices a locally popular religion and is arrogant, rude, and presumptuous. It's this second individual, of the popular religion, who seems to think that it's the first one who needs to convert.


The Index of Subjects has well over 1,000 references to nearly 200 subjects such as Angels, Compassion, Ecology, Conversation, Creator, Family, Forgiveness, Bad Religion, God's Names, Hatred, Humility, Hypocrisy, Kindness, Modesty, Peacemaker, Restraint, Salvation, Selfishness, Spirituality, Suffering, Unity, War, and Worship.


696 Endnotes are included in the book, but are not included in this preview.



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Interfaith Meditations

Paperback   303 pages   19.00
Several books previewed on this website are available on line;
Or you may send the purchase price plus $4.00 shipping and handling to:
Edwin Ray Frazier, 4202 Appleton Way, Wilmington, NC 28412
Questions? email: edrafr9@gmail.com phone: 910-232-1258
Thank you.