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Visiting Rabbi tackles problems of extremism

September 13, 2004

slavin franzmann redman.jpg“Nothing builds trust like information,” said Rabbi Dovid Slavin, visiting the University of New England to take part in a lecture series on world religions.
Rabbi Slavin, the Executive Director of the Rabbinical College of Sydney, travelled to Armidale to contribute to the sharing of information he said was of vital importance in today’s world. “Misunderstanding is the lifeline of terrorism,” he explained. “Those who support terrorism lack understanding."

The UNE lecture series aimed at dispelling some commonly believed myths about Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism, and to help people differentiate between “mainstream” and “extremist” beliefs and practices, and work towards harmony through understanding.
The series, presented in three weekly sessions at St Albert’s College, began with an overview by Toni Tidswell from UNE’s School of Classics, History and Religion. During the second session, on the Abrahamic religions, Rabbi Slavin spoke on Judaism, the Rev. Judy Redman (UNE’s Uniting Church Chaplain) on Christianity, and Dr Denis Wright (from the School of Classics, History and Religion) on Islam. The third session, last Tuesday (7 September), included talks on Hinduism by Julie Marsh and on Buddhism by Dr Mun-keat Choong (both from the School of Classics, History and Religion).
The Rev. Judy Redman, who organised the lecture series, said it had received
support from UNE’s Pro Vice-Chancellor (Academic), Professor Randall Albury, the Convener of Studies in Religion at UNE, Professor Majella Franzmann, and
the Master of St Albert’s College, Geoff Johnston. “Those involved in the series (both presenters and audience) thought it was a very worthwhile experience,” she said. “People asked lots of questions, and it was obvious they were interested. The audiences comprised about equal numbers of UNE students, UNE staff, and members of the general public.”
“The lectures were based on the principle of religious tolerance,” Rev. Redman continued, “which extends religious freedom to people of all religions, while not requiring agreement with their beliefs and/or practices. There was no attempt to evaluate any of the religions presented in terms of ‘right’ or ‘wrong’, ‘better’ or ‘worse’, and speakers informed and educated rather than attempting to convert. Some of the speakers practise the religions they spoke about, while others are objective observers.”
She said feedback indicated that further events aimed at developing inter-faith understanding would be welcomed, but there were no definite plans as yet.

Posted by Lydia Roberts at September 13, 2004 02:54 PM