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Interreligious Seminar in Taiwan on Orthodoxy and Heresy
Written by Mr. Mai-Hsien Chai, Secretary General, UPF-Taiwan
Friday, October 24, 2014
Taipei, Taiwan - UPF-Taiwan organized a seminar on Oct. 24, 2014 at Taiwan National Chengchi University with the theme “Orthodoxy and Heresy from the Perspectives of Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Unificationism.” This seminar was cosponsored with the Graduate Institutes of Religious Studies at National Chengchi University and the Family Federation for World Peace-Taiwan.
The small auditorium with 65 seats was filled to overflowing with 80 participants, including Ambassadors for Peace, students, professors and religious representatives. About a dozen monks and nuns who were studying at Dharma Drum Buddhist College came with their professors to learn more about the historical background of monotheistic traditions.
It was a good choice to work with the religious institutes of the university, since this provided a good setting for inviting students and faculty members at other religious institutions.
The historical background of monotheistic trends from heresy to legitimacy was explained by Professor Dr. Yen-Zen Tsai, who gave Jewish and Christian perspectives, followed by Professor Dr. Yuan-Lin Tsai, who introduced an Islamic perspective. The participants from oriental religious backgrounds could come to understand the reason behind the suffering and hardship when a new religion emerges in history.
The third speaker, Dr. Hui-cheng Hsu, who represent Unificationism, explained the core teaching of the Bible about “love” and made use of Emanuel Swedenborg’s viewpoints about life in the spirit world. He explained, based on the Bible, that only God can judge what is right and wrong based on love. In contrast, human perspectives can lead to misunderstanding, prejudice and tragedy. Dr. Hsu then introduced the perspective of UPF Founder Rev. Sun Myung Moon using his poem “Crown of Glory” and concluded with an account of his life course.
Such a three-hour seminar connecting Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Unificationism helped the participants understand the historical foundations and the progress of monotheistic religions. The interfaith seminar brought together people of different faiths to help them understand one another and ultimately come to respect one another.
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