Gary Mason's Three Reasons For Religious Conflicts
In the late 1900s in Northern Ireland conflict was brewing. Tensions were rising between the Catholic and Protestant populations. Sitting on the border between these two sides was a small church headed by Dr. Reverend Gary Mason. Seeing the violence around him, Mason decided to use his influence as a church leader to bring peace to his home. Today, years later, Northern Ireland is still working towards peace and Mason is credited with much of the progress made so far. He visited Hamline not too long ago to talk about how and why these conflicts happen, and how we can help resolve them. He began by explaining three reasons why religious conflict happens. The belief that there is one true church above others, the belief that errors and
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It both warms and burns us, but we will continue to play with it simply because we are human. Religion warms our souls and gives people a sense of purpose in the world. But, if people don’t accept the way others believe it’s used justification for burning the other religion to the ground.
Humans have done horrible things in the name of religion, and the memories of those actions still haunt the world. Mason says memories can be buried, but some need to be dealt with. He warned, “what doesn’t get talked about gets acted about.” To prove his point, he referenced America’s history of slavery and growing tensions in America today. It seems that to call someone free and truly treat them as free are two completely different things.
Through his talk, Mason did explain his ideas for bringing peace to warring religions. He said churches need to “spill into the community” more. He meant that churches needed to stop spreading stories of prejudice to younger generations. When those stories are passed down, children grow up believing them, and it is harder to convince them otherwise as adults. Mason said, “It was words, not machines that created Auschwitz.” Meaning, that although it is words that have pulled people apart, it will be words that bring people back
It both warms and burns us, but we will continue to play with it simply because we are human. Religion warms our souls and gives people a sense of purpose in the world. But, if people don’t accept the way others believe it’s used justification for burning the other religion to the ground.
Humans have done horrible things in the name of religion, and the memories of those actions still haunt the world. Mason says memories can be buried, but some need to be dealt with. He warned, “what doesn’t get talked about gets acted about.” To prove his point, he referenced America’s history of slavery and growing tensions in America today. It seems that to call someone free and truly treat them as free are two completely different things.
Through his talk, Mason did explain his ideas for bringing peace to warring religions. He said churches need to “spill into the community” more. He meant that churches needed to stop spreading stories of prejudice to younger generations. When those stories are passed down, children grow up believing them, and it is harder to convince them otherwise as adults. Mason said, “It was words, not machines that created Auschwitz.” Meaning, that although it is words that have pulled people apart, it will be words that bring people back