Customer Reviews

The Faith Club: A Muslim, A Christian, A Jew-- Three Women Search for Understanding

5 star:		(67)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

As a wonderful pastor once said from the pulpit, you can't deal with a forty year old's problems with a belief system that you learned when you were twelve. This book is a definite help in growing that faith; but growth is sometimes painful and what you started with may not be what you wind up with.

A first I was a bit skeptical; the book appeared to be a group of wealthy highly educated ivy league women sitting around the table discussing religion, but did I underestimate! This book is truly a profound exposure of the beliefs, prejudices, hopes, fears, and foundations of three major religions without the theologians. These women may live in expensive houses, but faith, lack of faith, or misunderstanding of faith is universal. They say the things that many of us think but are either embarrassed or too confused to express, and they say them to the very people that share a similar confusion but from a different perspective. Through that often painful exposure comes understanding, or the acceptance that some things cannot be understood. Someone in the book makes the statement that the opposite of faith isn't doubt, it is certainty. That makes a ton on sense.

It would be wonderful to follow up the reading of this book with discussions in such a faith club as the book suggests; however, I would warn that such open discussions probably cannot happen randomly or quickly. These three women spent more than a year coming to the stage that they could openly take their ideas outside of their group even to their own families and friends. Understanding your own faith much less someone else's, isn't quick; I greatly admire the perservance it took these women to "walk the walk" and then to have the courage to share it with the world. This book has provided me with enough food for thought to last a long time, not just in regard to my own Christian beliefs, but also in regard to my role as a citizen and how I would hope our nation deals with the rest of the world and with other issues what are affected by religious beliefs. Highly recommended

This book does more than put a band-aid on the uneasy co-existence of the three Abrahamic faiths in America and over the world. The authors here confront stereotypes about their own and each others' faiths, and they don't pull any punches. The Jewish woman, Priscilla, confronts Christian Suzanne, challenging her claim that she'd never heard Jews being blamed for Christ's death. But that's nothing compared to the discussion that emerges when the Israel-Palestine situation comes up.

I strongly recommend this book for Americans who simplistically wonder "Why don't the Arabs just take care of the Palestinian problem?" The Muslim, Ranya, whose parents lost their ancestral home when Israel came into being, offers the little-heard (in this country) story of
Palestinian dispossession. She is quite clear in her condemnation of Muslim extremists, and it is wonderful to read how she has become an important figure in uniting the American Muslim community, which is overwhelmingly moderate, and represents a sort of diaspora from around the world. I learned that most Muslims in the world aren't even Arabs, many do not wear head dress, and that the faith itself is much closer to my personal beliefs (raised Catholic, married to a Jew) than I would have guessed. Ich bin ein Muslim -- who knew?

While, unlike Suzanne, I had a thorough education in the horror Christians have inflicted on Jews, I was taught next to nothing about Muslims -- just the oft-repeated story about the thousand virgins who are the reward for those who self-annhiliate in the name of Allah. Americans need to have this, and the many other negative stereotypes of Arabs and Muslims, corrected.

The authors encourage readers to begin their own faith clubs -- I'd like to see the discussions expanded to include Mormons, Buddhists, Hindus, etc. America ought to be a leader in easing the tensions between the various faiths, as we often have. In Northern Ireland the Catholics and Protestants are still fighting -- that argument and those prejudices sunk here long ago. We need to follow our own example today.

The Faith Club arose out of the rubble of 9-11, as three young mothers living in New York City - a Muslim, a Christian, and a Jew - agreed to meet together to discuss their differing faiths and how they might learn to live together in peace.

They could not have imagined what was in store for them.

At a minimum, it meant hours of gut-wrenching, painful, honest self-disclosure, as they explained to each other, as best they could, what they believed and why, and as they challenged each other with the obvious ambiguities and inconsistencies of their different faith perspectives.

It also meant a lot of personal growth as, through the process of interfaith dialogue - and we're talking about a period of over two years here - the women grappled with what they really believed, as opposed to what they had always been taught - and as they seriously considered the faith and understanding of each other.

No holds were barred. They talked openly and honestly about everything you can imagine: The Christian understanding of Jesus' crucifixion and whether or not the Jews were to blame; the Jewish claim to a Promised Land and what that meant for Palestinians; the suspicion that all Muslims are terrorists-in-waiting, versus the fact that the majority of Muslims are as peace-loving as everyone else.

Out of their dialogue, the women came to appreciate and accept each other as individuals who share a common humanity and a common quest for peace, albeit from different faith perspectives. More than that, they came to love each other, and that love helped them bridge the gap between their different religious traditions.

What I appreciated most about The Faith Club is its raw, often brutal, honesty. Here are three women who are willing to let you in on their often down and dirty efforts to come to grips with each other.

What I found myself struggling with was the often simplistic way in which the women were able to resolve fundamental differences of religion by stressing such commonalities as their love of God, generally, while, for example, ignoring the critical issues of such Christian beliefs as the Incarnation and the Atonement.

But, to be fair, the authors never claim to be theologians, and that may be the most compelling reason to read the book: It doesn't seek to answer all your questions about Islam, Judaism or Christianity, and it doesn't pretend to offer a panacea about how our differences can be resolved; rather, it offers a first-hand look at how three women from these differing religious perspectives found, through the process of interfaith dialogue, a better understanding of themselves and each other, and how people of differing faiths can live in peace and harmony in love with each other.

I recommend the book highly. Whether, in the end, you agree or disagree with their conclusions, you'll be enriched by their journey of faith.

- Philip W. McLarty, Pastor, First Presbyterian Church, Hope, Arkansas

I think in it's own little way this book does what it can to spread some hope and optimism about Jewish, Christian, and Muslim people living together in harmony.

The three women tackle all the important issues - I think the hardest and most important being the state of Israel. Ranya Idliby is of Palestinian heritage and while she makes it very clear she is not anti-Jewish or a holocaust denier, she also has very strong and equally clear opinions on what's going on in Israel informed by her family's history.

These are all seemingly well off women in New York City area. At first it seemed I could't relate when Ranya talked about going to a wedding for a relative in St. Barts (which she mentions because that's where she finally met the Imam that features in the last part of the book...) I'm like...whoah nice... But the more you look into it her family worked VERY hard to get Ranya an education and to become successful, just like my gradmother's Greek immigrant parents did for her. Suzanne isn't even originally from NYC, and mentions having to work during college where her friends didn't. And Priscilla's family worked hard to get where they got as well. They're all examples of the American dream, and the deeper I looked the more I found to relate to despite the fact I've never lived in NYC or a life remotely like theirs.

But I think right now the most important American dream story of all of them to tell is Ranya's. She loves America and being a free person, was proud when she became an American citizen. Sept. 11 raised some questions in her head though about how other people's perceptions of her would change and it started a struggle, it seems, that wasn't so strong before about how to be an American muslim. This was intensified for her because she was a mother - "what do I tell my children?" So she refused to give up, this book is part of that not giving up, and I would say she is still living the American dream because she has a loving family and friends, is living her life and religion on her terms taking full advantage of the freedoms this country offers and giving something back to it at the end.

Most important they are all moms and loving family members. And became friends and supporters of each other. People don't live in a vacuum and this book showed how people of different relgions can support each other.

I don't know how many minds this will change. I was an international relations major in college with love for different cultures and was searching for something positive when I picked this book up. I don't know how many people who have set in stone views will pick this up or be open to it. But I think Suzanne, Ranya, and Priscilla are all couragous women who maybe can be an example to others to create peace and strengthen the hope and resolve of those of us who do want to affect change. I believe a difficult task starts with the first step, it may seem small but doing SOMETHING is better than doing nothing, and for that I think this book shows what a first step is and that's a good thing.

This is a book that should be read, whatever your religion or your politics, because it is engaging and effective as a place to start understanding others and evaluating ones own beliefs. A Christian, a Jew, and a Muslim each have views that get filled out and better understood over years of discourse. They are not necessarily theologically or politically correct but do represent something close to major streams of opinion in each faith while clarifying the sources and basis for differences.

It is not strictly a work about comparative religion analyzing, for example, Christian Grace and Redemption versus no original sin and works for Muslims. Nor is it a history showing the development - often misdirection - of each faith over time for many followers. It is highly personal, hence engaging.

There is more about Muslim and Jewish "Fundamentalism" than Christian (the origin of the word) because the Christian grew up as Catholic and later became Episcopalian. Politics has its place as the Palestine/Israeli question is addressed. Here too, many will not agree. Maybe THAT actually makes the book more valuable.

A quotation from the Jewish "Gates of Repentance" shows all faiths are far from living up to their own standards,

"When will redemption come?
When we master the violence that fills our world.
When we look upon others as we would have them look upon us.
When we grant to every person the rights we would claim for ourselves."

A recent BBC poll listing Israel, Iran, The USA, and North Korea as the most hated and feared countries is some measure of how each has failed badly -- and why this book is worth reading.

Socrates, who famously said, "Know thyself!" would have been humbled by the depth, passion, and penetrating insights of the spiritual journey of these three remarkable women. They emerge as passionate and deeply committed to the role of religion in public and private life - an irony some critics seem unable to appreciate. In stark contrast to the cold, atheistic world of Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris and Daniel Dennett, these women understand that religion is not going to disappear any time soon, and that if enough moderate voices would join together (in faith clubs and other activities) the world would be a much better place.

As Jonathan Sacks, a leading Rabbi in England, writes, "The greatest single antidote to violence is conversation, speaking our fears, listening to the fears of others, and in that sharing of vulnerabilities sharing a genesis of hope." In the Faith Club, we see such a conversation, and the genesis of hope.

Ruth Rimm, Creator, Lost Spiritual World series

The Faith Club is a true message of peace. Three women from different faith backgrounds came together in the wake of 9/11 to what was first thought to be a benign project writing a children's book. What emerged was a long, oftentimes tough journey exploring their own faiths and those of their fellow authors. Touching, sometimes painful, occasionally amusing and finally inspirational, The Faith Club intellengently explores the common ground all people of faith share. These three authors took their work seriously, seeking out spiritual directors to guide them and answer there questons. I learned a great deal about Islam and Judaism, as well as my own religion, Christianity. This is a very readable and informative book--a must read for those of us seeking peace in this very disparate world.

As an "apikorsim" (secular) Jew who is spiritual but not religious, I was at first afraid to read this book. I am very glad I did. It addressed my conflicts on the questions of Israel and Zionism (and assured me that the conflicts are very real and understandable), showed me a form of Christianity that I worried was no longer en vogue, and re-affirmed my faith that Islam is, in fact, a religion of peace. In a world where extremists and evangelists rule the media, it is refreshing to hear honest dialouge and a willingness to bridge the chasms of misunderstanding. As to the question of whether or not these women are of "strong" faith: they have exposed their souls to the reading world in a way that few of us would dare to do. In my opinion, strength is not ritual, nor is it blind affirmation; it is, rather, the ability to walk the difficult thin line hovering over doubt daily, the ability to say with humility, "I may not be able to explain everything, but I know that somewhere, there is an explanation." This speaks to me more deeply than the hubristic conviction that one religion knows it better than any other. I salute these women and this book, and I truly hope to be able to add such a gift of peace, goodwill, and faith to the world if I can. Thank you, ladies. May your road continue to inspire, and may I one day be able to give to you as you have given to me.

Three real women met for four years to explore, learn, and hash out their religious beliefs in a story that twists and turns through an array of emotions and painful growth. This book that will show you that you don't know what you think you know about these three mainstream religions. Stereotypes, fundamentalism, and modern adaptation are all examined. As the women work together - often with unhappy or upsetting results - they grow and change. An excellent book that is instructive but nonetheless a page-turner.

This is an excellent book, full of painfully honest sharing of fears and misunderstandings from women of three different faith traditions. As each woman tries to educate the others regarding her own tradition, she comes to further clarity as well as to question what she truly believes. By the end of the book, spanning a two to three year time period, each woman comes to appreciate and respect the other two faith traditions while continuing to embrace her own as "right" for her. This book should stimulate great discussion!