When I left politics in 2003, I began to read all holy texts, I mean, Avesta, Upanishads, Gita, Old testament, New Testament and finally the Quran, I read some interpretations. Consequently, an important question appeared in my mind. What is the single best verse in all holy books? My question had some dimensions:
First, the proposed verse should define myself.
Second, it should define the relations between me, and the others.
Third, it should define the relation between me and the text.
Fourth, it should define the relation between the God and me.
And finally, it should define the relation between the existence, and me.
Let me short the story, of course trying to find the remarkable verse was an enormous privilege for me. Because I tried to read every text by a sense and belief of the belie of the text. It was a great lesson, the clergyman in our village, thought me fifty years, now! He told me you should read an Old Testament like a Jew, New Testament like a Christian, and he narrated for me a poem by Rumi.
Certainly you remember, so delicate quote by T.S. Eliot, he says: poem is changing the blood into ink!
The main source of this quote is Rumi, let me read it in my language Persian:
“Khoon hami jooshad manash az shear rangi mizanam.
Jameh Khoon aloode giir o kherghe khoon palaye-ey
Gar shaval Mousa biamoozam Yahoodi ra tamam.
Var shavam Eisa, begiram mellat tarsaye-ey.”
Of course the translation is impossible, he says. When my blood is moving into my veins or flourishing from my heart, I paint the blood by poem.
If I were as a Moses, I should be a perfect Jew, and if I were as a Jesus, I will be a perfect Christians. I think it is the essence of a new theology that we are longing for it in this crucial time.
Coming back to the story of finding the best or most suitable verse to be as a basis of a new theology, I found my verse in the New Testament, in Mark, chapter 2 verse, 28: Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees:
“Jesus said to them, the Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.”
I think this glorious word of Jesus Christ has the capability to be a corner stone of a new theology.
I think Pharisees in this text is the icon for all clergymen, Rabbis, Ayatollahs, Sheikhs, Cardinals, Bishops, Monks, Gurus, and etc. The root of this term should be take into consideration, "Pharisee" is derived from ancient Greek Pharisaios (Φαρισαῖος), from Aramaic Pərīšā (פְּרִישָׁא), meaning "set apart, separated".
And Sabbath is the icon for all religions in the history of humankind.
The message is profound and obvious; Clergymen and religions are for the man! Not the other way around!
Let me borrow a thoughtful German term to explain my view about theology.
The word Gestalt in German language is untranslatable, especially when we find it in philosophical texts.
Gestalt is not, shape, is not structure, but it is a shape, structure and deep structure.
Let me give you an example, an Omega watch, has 115 pieces, the watch maker should use all pieces, put every one in its special place, relate every one to the other pieces, the deep structure is a moment that watch begin to tic tack.
Without tic tack, or without working all pieces together, we have the shape of watch, even we have the structure of watch, but we have not watch! We cannot manage our time or in other words our life.
This is the real identity of watch, the sound of its soul ! This is the managing of the seconds, this is the vital watch ology, if you like!
I mean the theology should be on the benefit of the people. Secondly it should be understandable.
In the beginning of the book, “I remember” by Karl Rahner, a caricature is published, a theologian is delivering his speech, among the audience Jesus Christ is sitting and looking to the theologian, and saying: “I don’t understand!”
Why Jesus Christ does not understand? In the history of Islamic Philosophy, Mirdamad, the master and teacher of Sadroddin Shirazi, the great Iranian theologian, philosopher and Mystic, Mirdamad’s texts are so complicated and infinitely far from understanding either.
When he passed away, at the first night, one of them asked Mirdamad, who is your God? He replied:
Ostoghosson fogh al ostoghssat!
Ostoghoss is originally a Greek word Stikion or stikos., it means the identity of every thing in the last station of our knowledge and research. ( στοῖχος )
The angel did not understand the word, so she went to ask Almighty God. But Almighty told her, do not worry, when Mirdamad was alive I did not understand his language at all!
We have a verse in Holly Quran,chapter 54 verse 17, ( Laghad Yassarna al-Quran lzzekr, fhal min moddaker!) This verse repeated four times in chapter 54.
And We have indeed made the Qur'an easy to understand and remember: then is there any that will receive admonition?
It is said that the theology of Karl Rahner, begins where and when the traditional theology ends.
In the new theology, we need to focus on two pillars, first, the center of theology is the benefit of man, and second the theology should be understandable, readable for the people. These two elements shed light on each other, and offer a context of relevance for each other.
I think as Buddha says in the “ book of the twos” we need, liberation of mind and liberation by wisdom. When I say mind, regarding to this subject, it means an old theology, in that theology, based on Martin Buber epoch making book, “ I and Thou” we are talking about the God, our relation with him is the relation between, I and he. So there is a huge gap between us.
When I say liberation by wisdom, I mean a new theology, which defines the relation between me and the God as: I and you.
What is wisdom, to be a road map for this new theology?
I mean the wisdom that Prophet Solomon asked Almighty God, Jehovah:
עַ תָּ ה חָ כְ מָ ה וּמַ דָּ ע תֶּ ן ־ - ל
Grant me knowledge and wisdom. (Chronicle 2, chapter 1, verse 10) Wisdom is knowledge plus light; definitely light is love to the human being.
The value of human being in every scripture or holly text, Jurisprudence, is the criterion for us to know witch theology is important in the interreligious relations.