Solid lines, broken lines

• First African-American woman to graduate from the Reform Jewish movement's rabbinical seminary (http://www.religionnews.com/index.php?/tenminutes/10_minutes_with_alysa_stanton1)
• A gay Muslim woman struggles for the right to enter the front door of a mosque in West Virginia (http://www.religionnews.com/index.php?/tenminutes/10_minutes_with_asra_nomani1/)
• Science and religion dialogue (http://www.religionnews.com/index.php?/tenminutes/10_minutes_with_the_rev_john_polkinghorne1)
• New religions, like Chrislam (http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/episodes/february-13-2009/chrislam/2236) are springing up in many areas. They are not one or the other, but a blend of the best of both.

Solid lines, which once kept religions and sects separate, are now breaking down. Why? My opinion is that each of the religions once subsisted by rather provincial rules. In order to preserve the integrity and distinctiveness of a religion, a group must necessarily become navel-gazers - focusing on their own principles and rituals which define who they are and what they believe in. The modern era has begun to shift many believers' gaze - some no longer turn their backs to the edge of the solid line that contains them, but rather turn around to look outward beyond the perimeter which holds them and beyond, and to compare and appreciate the similarities of religions rather than the differences. This causes great friction on many levels, but that is the cost of innovation and progress.

And who is to say that this is or is not God's will - that we, as a human species, learn to "blend" rather than separate? We see it happen among races, among cultures, among languages, among ideologies, among academic disciplines; and inventions are often the blend of other inventions. So why not among religions? It is happening, and we should rejoice in it, not condemn it. I see it as the result of loving hearts unafraid to let go, and let God.

We may live in a world of duality (of extremes), but often (not always) the best of anything lies somewhere in the middle.

Need some inspiration? Try A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose by Eckhart Tolle