News Scrapbook 1985

San o,ego. Cahl. un,on ,c,rc o 217 ,324) ,c,rc. s. 339, 788)

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1985

DEC 7

Interfaith dialogue sees fOmmon faith sc?oiirs of Judaism, Christianity and Islam probe roots of religions By Rita Gillmon, Slaff Writer Religious people, regardless of their faith, sho~ld behave more like chil- dren of Abraham and less like Cain and Abel, said the Rev. Ron Pachence, one of three speakers at an interfaith dialo~ue thi_s -w:e~k. . He spoke on a panel that included Muzam1I H. S1dd1q1, Ph.D., ~1~E:Ctor of the Islamic Society of Orange County, and J<_>el Kr~emer, Ph.D., ~ISltmg pro_fes- sor at SDSU's Lipinsky Institute for Judaic Studies. Pachence 1:l ~n assoc!ate professor at the Universit of San Diego's department of religion and 1s a Roman Catholic pries . . Cain, the first son of Adam and Eve according to Genesis, slew hlS brother

Imperial Beach, CA (San Diego Co.) Imperial Star Beach News (Cir. 2xW. 2,730) (Cir. S. 2,568)

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EC 8 1985

Saturday, December 7, 1985

Jl lleri '• P. C. 8 far. r 888 Coping with Alzheiifit}~ Volunteers are needed to participate in a federally- funded pilot program designed to help caregivers cope with memory and problem-solving deficits in Alzheimer's prtienrs. Volunteers will learn strategies and techniques for stimulating memory and problem-solving skills. They will receive compensation for their time. For information and eligibility requirements, call Dr. Mary Quayhagen at the USO School of Nursing.

Abel over the question of whether animal or vegetable sacrifices were more acceptable to God. "We all have a common faith in an immanent God," said Pachence. "And we also believe in a God that is omnipotent, divine and transcend- ent, beyond our attempts to box God in." Despite a history of discord ex- tending hundreds of years, the speakers for Judaism. Christianity and Islam all expressed optimism for the future. "I am hopeful for the future, but it will not depend on labels, but on our belief and actions," Siddiqi said. The three scholars discussed par- allels and differences between the religions, each of which has its roots in the Hebrew Scriptures. The dialogue, sponsored by the National Conference of Christians and Jews, was an attempt to start conversation among the three faith groups. "It is a natural outgrowth of our work among Christians and Jews," said Dennis Hart, director of the San Diego region for th conference. Kraemer said he views the call for dialogue as a call to experience the other side. "Too often we know our own faith from the inside and view it positively in the light of the best it can be. We criticize the other from the outside," he said. He said the view of the Jewish people as "chosen" does not make them better than others. "Their cho- sen-ness is not unconditional. If they follow their covenant, they are blessed. If not, they are banished," he said. Kraemer said the nations of the world have their own covenant, the Covenant of Noah. It contains the minimal ethical obliga ions for righteousness, such as prohibitions against idolatry, murder, adultery and stealing, and a requirement for courts of law where anyone can go for justice. "The dominant rabbinic view is that the righteous of the nations of the world will attain immortality," Kraemer said, quoting the medieval ;age Maimonides. "The patriarchs did not observe See DIALOGUE on Page B-7

Thr e participants In an interfaith dia- lo u em Intent on their thoughts. From

left, Joel Kraemer, Muzamil H. Siddiqi and the Rev. Ron Pachence.

Di ogue: Scholars say Judaism, '1hristianity, Islam share tradition f ti from the other religions, but their Conll~ued from B-6 I ~~his tells us this great teacher me~ni~g is bein~ re-examined by th Torah It I faith that 1s n eded. d to a gn a Messianic role Chrisllan theologians today. not fa ting and ritual ," Ma1monid ~a :it~ YJesus and Mohammed," "Dialogue will not blend dif~er- aid K mer said ences into a consensus, but can brmg Kraem r aid th Talmud, a com- r;:chence ~Id that as a Christian understanding," he said. . pend1um of commen~ary on Jew1Sh he looks back on a rocky past of Siddiqi said in Islam God ~s law, do not contam much about crusades agains~ Islam and persecu- viewed as the creator of all humam- Chr1sttan or Moslem because 1t r of the Jews. ty and all are one. wa in the process of bemg compiled 1 ~~ur speaking here may be noth- He said Christians and Jews are during t growth of Chnstiamty, . ore than an attempt to heal called "People of the Book" by and I lam began in the 8th century, :Ounds of the past," he said. Moslems, and that Islam reco~nizes veral hundred years after the Ta!- He said a useful image for the ctia- t~e. Tora~ _and Gospel as havmg a mud w completed. . logue among t three great faiths dmne ongm. . "In the Middle Ages, the sages did is that of a journey. Siddiqi said that from the Islamic ddr s the problems. At th_at time, "Abraham went to a n land not point of view, Jesus came to call r trtchon agam t a ·soc1atmg with knowing what is down the road. Jews back to the covenant and to non-Jew were dropped m regard to Mohammed I t his tribe and nation teach a message of grace and love. Christian· and Moslems,'' Kraemer to spread G s word and Jesus "_T~en the Chri~tians tu~~d the re- sa1d. . . . . called disciple$ to follow him and lig1on of Jes1:15 mto a religion about A soc1at1on was forbidden in then go out to spread God's word," Jesus," he said. pagan hm · he aid, becau of th e Pachence said. He said Mohammed was the loo mor~ls of the pagans from th He said ea faith believe. that prophet to confirm all that was good Jewish pomt of view. the wo d of God came to humanity in the teaching of Moses and Jesus. "M 1momdes an~ 0th er ~ages re• because of God's desire to be erci- He said the Koran places Chris- quir d Jews to v1s1t the sick, bury ful. tians and Jews closer to Moslems the dead and care for the poor To Chrisham Jesus is the word of than any other religion. among Chris~_ian and Moslems as God as a hum~n bemg; for Moslems, well as Jews, he said . . the Koran is the word of God in a "Moslems can eat with them and He aid Judaism does not env1s1on human lang ge; and for Jews, may intermarry," he said. the conversion of all pe_ople to Juda- God's word forms a people of cove- He said Islam is closer to Judaism m, but a _future period of peace nant and an eternal law, ~achence in the matter of law ar,d closer to and tranqu11ily among Jews and d Christianity in universal ethics and people of the nations. sa~~ said the divinity and Messia- the teaching of the brotherhood of "Wh)'. hould other· co_nvert to Ju- ship of Jesus taught in Christianity ~ ~ ~-kind.__ da1 m if_they can attam Parad1 e are a major cause of its division

without 1t, or I could say without bearing that cross," Kraemer said. He said 1t is the view of Maimon- ides that Jesus and Mohammed bring the message of God to the gen-

San Diego , Calif. Union (Circ. D 217 ,32~ (Cir<;. s. 339, 78 )

1985

DEC9

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SD's Stewart staves off Patridge rally -~ By Linda Pentz

Special lo The Union .,21/:3.5' David Stewart and Scott Patridge may be the best of friends, but on the tennis court, it's all business. Patridge found himself trailing Stewart 6-4, 5-1 in the final of the San Diego All-College tournament at the University of San Diego yesterday, but Patridge never considered let- ting his buddy walk off with the match. Instead, he forced a tiebreaker be- fore Stewart, seeded fourth and a freshman at USO, turned back the ninth-seeded Patridge, a USD sopho- more. The final was 6-4, 7-6. "I knew Scott wasn't going to quit," said Stewart, who became the first freshman to win the title in the tournament's eight-year history. "I'd seen him come back in the quarterfi- nals from 5-2 and match point down against Russell Myers. He just never folds it up." Patridge was amused at his own comeback. "It was serious out there, but in- side we were both laughing," he said. "We knew David should have won the match 6-1 in the second."

Patridge plays what could be de- scribed as precipice tennis. He slides over the edge, hanging on by his fingernails, and just when it appears he will drop, he finds a way to pull himself back. Yesterday, Patridge was hampered by a pulled pectoral mus- cle on his racket side, and spent the second set serving at half pace. Even so, he fought back from two breaks down and saved three match points in the ninth, I0th and 11th games. All came on sudden-death 3-all points, played under the no-ad collegiate system. With Patridge leading 6-5, Stewart held serve to move into the tiebreak- er, which he won 7-1. Stewart had played steady, solid tennis throughout the match, at one point winning seven straight games to reach 4-0 in the second set, a pat- tern similar to his previous day's semifinal match against Chris Smith. But as the second set score began to creep back in Patridge's favor, Stewart became anxious and began to miss his first serve. "When I dropped serve at 5-4, I started to get worried," said Stewart.

"I started to think about that game, even though in the back of my mind I knew I would win the match." The problems went away in the tiebreaker. "My mind sudddenly cleared," said Stewart, who broke Patridge three times to win the tiebreaker. Said Patridge: "I was thinking about my shoulder and how it was affecting my serve, and I started to

miss my forehand. That made me mad. There was no excuse for it, as there's nothing wrong with my groundstrokes." Patridge was redshirted last year after breaking an ankle while skiing over Christmas vacation. "I wasn't sure if I could ever get back to the level I was at before the injury, but I was certainly going to try," he said.

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