The Five Pillars…For Us

One of the interesting things about the study of the world’s religions is that such study often invites one to look closely at one’s own religion, to critique it and, just as often, to appreciate it even more fully. Islam, for example, is often described by referring to its “five pillars.” A brief look at them with reference to their counterparts in Christianity can be instructive.

The first pillar is the Islamic Confession of Faith, “I witness that there is no deity except God and Mohammed is God’s messenger.” This can remind Christians of two things: (1) the fact that we too are monotheistic and that the doctrine of the Trinity in no way implies a multiplicity of gods or that God, like “all Gaul,” is divided into three parts; and (2) the importance of our daily recitation of the Creed (usually the Apostles’ Creed, our baptismal symbol) to internalize the essentials and the very ground of our faith.

The second pillar is prayer. Muslims pray five times each day – at dawn, at noon, in the mid afternoon, at sunset, and in the night. This kind of “sanctification of time” is familiar to Episcopalians who recite the Daily Office, but how many of us (except monastics) strive to follow the Prayer Book pattern of four Offices a day? Morning Prayer, the Noonday Office, Evening Prayer, and Compline set out for us a similar patter as our Muslim sisters and brothers. A further observation here: in watching Muslims assume the various physical postures as they pray (facing the Qiblah in Mecca, raising both hands to the ears, making a profound bow or Ruku, prostrating oneself in Sajda), I sometimes wonder if we have gone too far in simplifying our ceremonial.

As Anglicans, we believe in using all our senses and our bodies in prayer and many of can remember when virtually all our churches were built so that the people could face eastward toward Jerusalem when praying or reciting the Creeds. Making the sign of the cross is probably more common in Episcopal churches today than ever before, but bowing before the Cross and during the recitation of “Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit…” has practically disappeared. As for kneeling, surely it is appropriate to stand for the Eucharistic prayer during the Easter season as in accord with ancient tradition, but why not choose the option of kneeling for the rest of the year? And, is it ever really appropriate to stand for the Confession of Sin? Prostration may be “over the top” for most of us, but there is something to be said – at least once in your life, or periodically in the privacy of your prayer closet – for pressing your forehead to earth and remembering where your body came from and where it is going to end up!

Contributions to Charity are important for both Muslims and Christians and while we are challenged to give a tithe (or ten percent), the Muslim zakat is more like two and one half per cent. The impressive thing to me, however, is that this contribution is not to be given to an institution like a mosque or Islamic organization, but to the genuinely poor and needy. Direct aid, if you will. Perhaps that is a reminder that at least some of our tithe should be directed to meet human need and not only to support our local parish.

Fasting during the Month of Ramadan is most like our season of Lent, I suppose. However, refraining from eating or drinking during the daylight hours for a solid month makes our giving up of chocolate (or even alcohol!) for forty days seem pretty tame indeed. In a health and fitness conscious age and in a day when “spirituality” has become all the rage, it seems a bit strange that the ancient Judeo-Christian discipline of fasting is observed most often in the breach. Anyone want to join me in fasting until sunset during the forty days of Lent next year?

Finally, for Muslims, there is the pilgrimage to Mecca or the Hajj. Like many clergy and lay people, the visit I made to the Middle East during my sabbatical was a life changing experience. I had never even particularly wanted to go to the Holy Land, feeling always that I could experience the presence of Christ anywhere in this world. Why would I need to go there? Well, of course, you do not “need” to. Nonetheless, being in that timeless land and walking, if not in the footsteps of Jesus, at least in the vicinity, was more powerful than I could have imagined. And certainly the three holiest “spaces” in which I have ever prayed would be the Western Wall, The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Of course, pilgrimage, for the Christian, need not be limited to Jerusalem and the Holy Land. There are many “holy lands” for us. T.S. Elliot’s definition of places where “prayer has been valid” could include Rome, Canterbury, the National or a diocesan Cathedral, retreat centers, outdoor sites of natural beauty and many, many more. The “act” of pilgrimage is at least as important as the destination.

So, as the Muslim population grows around us and around the world, perhaps it would not be a bad thing to think about “the five pillars”…for us!

C. Christopher Epting, Bishop

My daughters converted to the Orthodox church over a year ago, and this is the second Lent I've gone through with them. I am impressed by the rigor of the Orthodox fast and would love to see the Episcopal Church encourage its members to engage in some serious, disciplined fasting during Lent. I agree that acts of "deprivation" like giving up chocolate for Lent are kind of a joke. After 50 days of going without meat, dairy, olive oil and wine, the Orthodox have earned their feast at 1 a.m on the morning of the resurrection!