A beautiful and well-known poem of Elizabeth Barrett Browning begins with, “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.”
This could be a good description of the so many varieties of religious experiences, allegiances, and practices that we seem to have now and to have had forever!
For example, we speak of Judaism and Christianity, but each includes many and differing doctrines and practices, both now-a-days and centuries before!
Actually, Christianity itself—in all its varieties—is rooted in Judaism. Although it seems hard to recognize now, early Christianity was a variant among other versions of ancient Judaism. Contemporary Judaism itself still has different varieties, both from centuries long ago and also relatively modern times!
Today we may speak about Orthodox, Liberal, and Reformed Jews (to name a few major varieties) and Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant Christians (to name a few major varieties).
At the time of Jesus, the major varieties of Judaism were Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes (besides, of course, the Messianic Jews who were the followers of Jesus).
Pharisees were the remote ancestors of the Rabbinic Judaism that we know today. The New Testament refers to them often, usually as critics of the teachings of Jesus—although many Pharisees became his followers (e.g., St. Paul the Apostle).
The Pharisees were active from the middle of the second century BC until the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD. They were defenders of the laws and traditions of the Jewish people and had their backing.
On the other hand, the Sadducees, during that same period, were associated more with the maintenance of the Temple, its priesthood, and its rituals. They were an elite group of priests.
We know less about the Essenes than the Pharisees and the Sadducees. In modern times we’ve learned about them through archeological discoveries (e.g., Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls).
The Essenes led a strict, communal life, similar to what we know about early Eastern Christian desert monasticism. Some suggest that John the Baptist may have been an Essene at first or have been influenced by them.
In spite of the so many disagreements about what and how to believe and live that have characterized different religious sects and factions over the centuries, the important thing is to remember that there is only one and the same God.
That means that in spite of internal divisions in and among, for example, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, we are all believers in the one and the same God, although we have deeply rooted practices and beliefs—even rules and regulations—that differ about how best to serve him.
It doesn’t mean that we should pretend that we don’t have differences or try to “homogenize” our customs, rules, regulations, rituals, prayers, and practices—actually we should celebrate them and profit by them as best we can.
The great “No, no!” in all this is the “I’m right, you’re wrong” mentality. There is not a one and only way to live a good and holy life.
When it comes to religion, to knowing, loving, and serving God, we could all profit by remembering and adopting what Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote:
“How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.”
30 July 2023