Everyone grew silent as holy scriptures were read from the Bible, the Qur’an and the Torah at the Kailash Mital Theatre Jan. 12.
It wasn’t for a religious gathering, but for the annual world religions conference, “The Philosophy of Religion.” The conference focuses on Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism and Islam but brings together students and scholars from all faiths to discuss religion in today’s world.
A Catholic priest, a rabbi, a Hindu yoga practitioner and a leader in the Muslim community guided a discussion about religion.
One of the main points was the importance of doing good deeds.
For Islam, “the religion of compassion,” it’s important to do good because one day God will come to judge everyone, said Mubarak Nazir, who was the founding principal of a Muslim missionary training college in Toronto.
People are better with God than without God, said Reuven Bulka, a rabbi.
“It is better to give charity because we have to, not because we want to,” he said.
Terry Donahue spoke on Christianity and Raj Rao spoke about Bhakti Yoga.
The evening concluded with a question and answer period that touched on the search for God, monotheistic religions versus polytheistic religions, characteristics of love in Islamic faith and religious intolerance. Hearing the panel’s answers helped some students get back in touch with their own faith.
“It made me feel really connected with faith,” said first-year humanities student Sarah Cook. “I want to go back to church. I am very touched by what [Donahue] said.”
For first-year humanities student Erin Benincasa, who is Jewish, it opened her up to views from other religions.
“I felt I was left to want to learn more about the Islam faith.”
