This coming week I will have the opportunity to visit the campus of Harvard University, where I will be meeting with students and faculty at Harvard Divinity School. The DivEx Program is for students who have a strong desire to pursue further education at Harvard Divinity School. Like the title suggests, there is a strong tie to the recognition of diversity and social justice issues. With other students from around the world, we come and learn together.
I am extremely excited for this, since last weekend was the Interfaith Leadership Institute (ILI), which I was unable to attend. However, I have seen this DivEx program an ILI of sorts. All the students selected embody a commitment to breaking down the single stories of individuals that we may encounter. This will allow us to create lifelong friendships from all different walks of life. This is a skill that I think is imperative that people have, especially with such a religiously diverse - and often times volatile - world that we live in.
I read a recent essay in the Harvard Divinity Bulletin titled, "Choosing Words over Bullets," by R. Gustav Niebuhr. The essay can be found by clicking here. This essay captured the way I want to lead. No one is perfect, not by a long shot; but we can all strive towards a journey. One of my favorite quotes from the article is:
I think it is really easy to come up against diversity, and feel as though our way of life is being challenge through the interaction. However, we must understand that learning about someone (and likewise, someone learning about you) is not about making them belief everything that you do. That is homogenization, not diversity.
Something I have learned over the past couple of years has been some tools from the Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC). For more information, you can click here. We should be able to always bring our full identity to the table. We are all beautifully unique and compromising this beauty is something that we should never do, especially when telling our story to another person. We also can have mutually inspiring relationships with people of different faiths. Martin Luther King Jr. (A Christian) was inspired by Gandhi (a Hindu) who was inspired by Jesus (a Jew). This is a beautiful illustration of how we can all inspire each other, even across religious differences. Lastly, by certainly not least, common action for the common good. We can come together through service and make the world a better place.
These skills are critical for the future. Religion is something that can no longer be avoided in our everyday dialogue with others. We need to acquire the skills that enable us to engage in dialogue that is not divisive, but constructive. Through this, we can use our words to rebuild a world that is continually breaking apart before our eyes. We can abandon our bullets and heal our wounds.
This coming week will help me see how (if I get accepted) Harvard Divinity School would allow me to nurture this skills.
I am extremely excited for this, since last weekend was the Interfaith Leadership Institute (ILI), which I was unable to attend. However, I have seen this DivEx program an ILI of sorts. All the students selected embody a commitment to breaking down the single stories of individuals that we may encounter. This will allow us to create lifelong friendships from all different walks of life. This is a skill that I think is imperative that people have, especially with such a religiously diverse - and often times volatile - world that we live in.
I read a recent essay in the Harvard Divinity Bulletin titled, "Choosing Words over Bullets," by R. Gustav Niebuhr. The essay can be found by clicking here. This essay captured the way I want to lead. No one is perfect, not by a long shot; but we can all strive towards a journey. One of my favorite quotes from the article is:
In the coming years an endless struggle will be waged across five continents, a struggle in which either violence or dialogue will prevail. Granted, the former has nearly a thousand times the chances of the latter. But I have always thought that if the [person] who places hope in the human condition is a fool, then he who gives up hope in the face of circumstances is a coward. Henceforth, the only honor will lie in obstinately holding to a formidable gamble: that words are stronger than bullets.
I think it is really easy to come up against diversity, and feel as though our way of life is being challenge through the interaction. However, we must understand that learning about someone (and likewise, someone learning about you) is not about making them belief everything that you do. That is homogenization, not diversity.
Something I have learned over the past couple of years has been some tools from the Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC). For more information, you can click here. We should be able to always bring our full identity to the table. We are all beautifully unique and compromising this beauty is something that we should never do, especially when telling our story to another person. We also can have mutually inspiring relationships with people of different faiths. Martin Luther King Jr. (A Christian) was inspired by Gandhi (a Hindu) who was inspired by Jesus (a Jew). This is a beautiful illustration of how we can all inspire each other, even across religious differences. Lastly, by certainly not least, common action for the common good. We can come together through service and make the world a better place.
These skills are critical for the future. Religion is something that can no longer be avoided in our everyday dialogue with others. We need to acquire the skills that enable us to engage in dialogue that is not divisive, but constructive. Through this, we can use our words to rebuild a world that is continually breaking apart before our eyes. We can abandon our bullets and heal our wounds.
This coming week will help me see how (if I get accepted) Harvard Divinity School would allow me to nurture this skills.
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