By Nick Reiher

A group of our ELCA churches recently completed a four-part series on “Honoring Our Neighbor’s Faith,” hosted by St. John’s Lutheran, aka, “St. John’s by the Mall.

The first part dealt with the history and beliefs of the Lutheran Church, mostly the ELCA, the most inclusive of the Lutheran denominations.

I was Catholic when I met and married Tammy, a Lutheran, from southern Minnesota. Even though I hadn’t been to church in ages, I wanted to hang on to my faith. So, we arranged for a wedding sanctioned by the Lutheran and Catholic churches. Innovative for the late ‘80s.

For a few years, I “kept kosher,” making my Easter duty so I could continue to take Communion in the Catholic Church, even though we attended a local Lutheran church. I still go meatless on Fridays during Lent.

As I got teased by my brothers-in-law for being a “minnow eater,” I would fire back, mostly in jest, that our church was founded by God; not a troublemaker.

But even before our recent faith program, I learned that Martin Luther wasn’t the only one unhappy with the Catholic Church, especially the popes, who were definitely not clad in The Shoes of the Fisherman.

What he did, needed to be done. It’s too bad his works couldn’t have resulted in a better Catholic Church at that point, but …

The second session was on the Catholic Church. Even though it has been some 50 years since I sweated through Confirmation memorization, I still was pretty familiar with the practices.

I stuck with many of the beliefs for years. And I also saw that other religions, even some ELCA pastors, held the Catholic Church in disdain. There are many ELCAers who, for whatever reason, still harbor hard feelings, whether it be based on historical or personal issues.

I have some serious questions about the Catholic Church, too, but not enough to change religions, or denigrate them. And I still hang on strongly to many of the beliefs and devotions.

The next session was on the history of the Hebrews. I joked that I had seen the movie every Easter season. But more seriously, we have a family friend whom I have known for almost 60 years who is Jewish. He and his parents didn’t tell us; they showed us how they practiced and how it differed from our faith. They were welcoming and lovely. (He can use some prayers, by the way).

I was fortunate enough to continue my unofficial education with the legendary Rabbi Morris Hershman, who would eloquently explain the intricacies of his faith. He was an amazing person.

In the session, we learned of their practices … and the hate many, including Martin Luther, had – or have – for them. I am amazed how that hate manifested itself throughout the centuries. I am amazed it still is there, even before Israeli attacks on Gaza became intertwined with the religion.

Speaking of which, the final session – led by Pastor Jana Howson of Faith Lutheran Church, our church – focused on Islam.

One question she had was, when did we first hear of the Islamic faith? I said when Mohammed Ali refused to be drafted because Islam literally has its roots in “peace.”

(By the by, for those who still label Ali as a draft dodger, here’s a couple things: Before converting to Islam, he had registered for the draft on his 18^th birthday. He was ultimately classified 1-Y, service only in a national emergency, because of his dyslexia. By the time the government lowered the standards for 1-Y, he had converted to Islam, a faith he practiced devoutly until his death).

For those who practice, it is a beautiful, PEACE-LOVING faith. But extremists fouled the water on Sept. 11, 2001. Since then, it has been difficult for many to separate the religion from the extremes. Because, as we know, the extremists shout louder.

Although each religion we learned about believes in only one God, there, obviously, are major differences. And while Islam does not allow for the Crucifixion or Resurrection, Jesus appears more often than any other prophet in the Koran, the Islamic bible.

Another thing we learned about the Koran – those who practice Islam believe it cannot be transcribed from Arabic. If it is, it is no longer the Koran.

That got a few of us wondering how translations from Hebrew affected our knowledge of the Old Testament. Same with translations from Greek to the New Testament.

Things can get lost – or mistranslated – over the centuries.

So …

While Tammy and I were having dinner with the priest, a childhood friend, who co-officiated our wedding, he said at one point, “You’re either Catholic, or you’re not.”

No picking and choosing. Yes or no.

It took a while to sink in, as I saw the Catholic Church relegating homosexuality to sin, and abortion, well, there’s too many “ifs” there to allow me to decide for others.

I still have a very strong tie to the Catholic Church; something that even the inclusive ELCA church doesn’t quite do.

It struck me that it was once again time to go back to The Source. Like Martin Luther did. And we had the answer years ago, when you could find the saying, or its abbreviation, on many items, from gold chains to bumper stickers:

“What would Jesus do?”

Nick Reiher is editor of Farmers Weekly Review.