Spokane's Get Lit Festival

Every year Spokane hosts a festival of various literature events for a week.  I was very impressed by how many really cool authors and fun sounding workshops they have this year. (Oh no, my nerd is showing).  Tonight I went to see the author Reza Aslan speak.  He has written a couple of books, the latest is called How to win a cosmic war: God, globalization and the end of the war on terror.  He was a GREAT speaker!  It was really interesting.  He was born in Iran, then grew up in the U.S. and has a degree in comparative religion.  He talked about the role of religion in our current political discussions and how there is a huge overlap which causes problems.  For example, we look at the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a 'cosmic war'- we have a very apocalyptic view rather than looking at it as two groups of people that need to find a way to share one piece of land.  Thinking of it in this way causes problems because it leads us to not seek solutions, thinking it's part of God's plan and that we have no control. 

He also talked about the Iraq War and how it was explicitly talked about as "good vs. evil" early on.  He says this is a very bad way to discuss political events because you cannot win a cosmic war, you also cannot compromise because you only see things as good and evil and us vs. them.  There is no solution if each side sees the conflict as a religious endeavor.   

At the end someone asked him a question about how he got involved in religion and what led him to write this book.  I thought he had an interesting take on religion.  He said that religion is a sign post of faith, it is a path.  The vast majority of people have confused the path with the destination, for example the Bible is a tool to help us have faith in God, not an end in itself.  Then he went on to talk about how there is one answer to religious violence and that is religious peace.  And there is one answer to religious bigotry and that is religious plurality.

Anyway, I thought it was so interesting to hear him talk.  He seems very smart and I always enjoy hearing intelligent people talk about their religious views and how they got to where they are.  You probably had to be there to be as excited as I am about it, but just trust me, it was good.