My Remarks for the 4th Annual Interfaith Day of Prayer and Reflection
May 3, 2007
MARK Y. A. DAVIES, Ph. D.
Many Religions, One Planet
In 1967, Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote the following words, "We have inherited a large house, a great 'world house' in which we have to live together-black and white, Easterner and Westerner, Gentile and Jew, Catholic and Protestant, Moslem and Hindu-a family unduly separated in ideas, culture and interest, who, because we can never again live apart, must learn somehow to live with each other in peace." - (Martin Luther King, Jr., from his "World House" essay, 1967.)
These words, like so many of King's words, are as relevant today as when King first wrote them. Although we may be from many different religions and cultural backgrounds, we share this one planet, this one world house, of which we are all a part. And, unlike other kinds of houses, if we destroy our world house, we cannot simply move to another house or build a new one. This one world house is the only one we have. There are no mulligans when it comes to caring for the household of our planet - there are no "do overs" - we have to get it right the first time because it is the only time we have. We share the awesome responsibility of making sure the world house we have inherited will be enjoyed by generations of life to come, humans and nonhumans alike, and persons from all faiths and no faith. If we do not accept this responsibility, our children and their children might look back on our generation and ask the questions, "What were you thinking? Did you not care enough about us to give us a house that is filled with peace and with justice and with abundance of life? Were you so caught up in yourselves and your consumption that you failed to see what you were doing to our home? Were you so short-sited and self-absorbed to think that whatever enjoyment you experienced from the excesses of your lifestyles warranted the devastation of our planet?" I hope and pray that our children will not have to ask these questions, but this will only happen if our hopes and our prayers are expressed in actions that move us in new directions, actions that take care of this one planet that is our only home.
As I thought about this day of interfaith prayer and reflection, I could not help but think about our brothers and sisters who are praying inside the state capitol today. I am aware of much of the controversy that this National Day of Prayer generates: the issues of the relationship between church and state, the wide variety of perspectives concerning prayer in particular and religion in general. I am aware that we do not all get along when it comes to our views of faith and the role it plays in our society. I know that my views differ greatly with the views of my brothers and sisters praying inside the capitol today. But like it or not, we are all part of the same house, and it is not just the house of our state, it is not just the house of our nation, it is the house of our planet. We all have inherited it together, and we must somehow learn to live with each other in peace with justice. Despite all of our disagreements, I hope and pray that we might at least be able to see the reality that unless we begin to work together to care for our house, it may not be the home for future generations in the way that it has been home for us.
It is mindboggling how much damage we have already done to our planet in such a short period of time. On a planet that has existed for 4.7 billion years or so, we have only existed as a species for a couple of hundred thousand years or so. For most of that time we had very little impact on the global environment, but recently that has all changed. In less than a blip of geologic time, so minute as to be almost no time at all, we have contributed to a mass extinction of species and we are changing the very climate of the earth itself. Conservative estimates are that the extinction rate caused by humans is over 1000 times the normal background extinction rate. We have been around such a short time, but we have not been very well-behaved members of the household. If the non-human members of our household had a vote on whether we should stay or leave - let's just say that is good for us that they don't have the vote on that one.
I pray that our legacy will not be the sixth great extinction on our planet and the only one brought about by the activities of a single species. I pray that we might be able to repent from our ways of living that bring more death to the world than life. I pray that we would be able to think thousands and millions of years into the future and to think about all species of life rather than just thinking about our own generation of human persons. I pray that persons from all religions and all cultures might be able to work together for the renewal of our planet. I pray that we will be able to see that we must somehow learn to live with each other in peace. I pray that we might be able to see that although we may be from many religions or even from no religion, we are members of one planet. Let us love it and love each other, let us work for justice for all of its inhabitants, and let us live in ways that allow all life to flourish in this beautiful creation. Peace be with you.
Mark Y. A. Davies, Ph.D.
Dean, Wimberly School of Religion and Graduate Theological Center
Founding Director, Vivian Wimberly Center for Ethics and Servant Leadership
Director, Owen Wimberly Center for Continuing Education
Oklahoma City University
2501 N. Blackwelder
Oklahoma City, OK 73106
Office Phone: (405) 208-5281
Fax: (405) 208-6046
Email: mdavies@okcu.edu
