A rabbi, a priest, and a Buddhist monk walked into the coffeehouse and discussed free will. No, it’s not a setup for a bad joke. It was something that frequently happened at the Rienzi Coffeehouse in Greenwich Village. It was the informal get-together of three friends, and not something unusual in a place like New York. Sometimes, it seemed as though the plain diversity of the place was part of the glue that held it all together.
As a maintenance supervisor in the Bronx, Manhattan, and other boroughs of the city, my father, Nick Carreras, was at some pains with his children to make them understand that in our city, you were not obligated to love everyone, just treat them with dignity and respect. And in his job, he had workers from many races, ethnicities, and nationalities. Those workers, in turn, performed services for residents and business owners of widely diverse origins, opinions, and beliefs
Some people had different views on subjects that could be termed fundamental, like free will. Some people believe in it, and some think it’s all predetermined. But it’s not just one flavor vanilla. There are those believing in a plan that God has for them, those who believe the plan unrolls without them in mind, those who beleive its up to you to determine your route through causality, and it goes on.
Historically, religion has been a massive flashpoint. One reason it’s not explosive in places like New York is that the local city government is savvy enough to stay out of the nitty gritty of religious doctrine, its truth, or its philosophical underpinnings. Want to get down and dirty on your faiths ideas on free will? have a friendly discussion at the coffeehouse.
Keep religion and politics separate.
Discover more from Louis N. Carreras, Woodcarver
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Two favourite coffeehouses in Portland: BiPartisan Cafe, and Rimsky Korsacoffee. I don’t recall people of different minds sharing ideas at coffee houses, but I do remember a weekly gathering of Rabbi, Imam, and Priest at my alma matter, Brandeis University. I am an atheist, but I attended these student gatherings because I thought it was a good idea.
Brandeis is a great school. The husband of an advisor, Bob Hunt, was on faculty in anthropology, and I almost went there for grad school ( wish I had!).
I, too, think it is a great school. Nice and small, but with an outsized impact. The focus was on quality, integrity, purpose. We were never allowed to forget how important education is, or the value of a higher calling, whatever that role may be.
Regrettably where I went the prim concern was status and privilege. An IVY of course.
Disappointing. But still, you remained true to your own compass.
Yep.
Nice one
All I can say is amen to keeping religion and politics separate. Too many states in this country are attempting to blur the lines, if not eliminate the lines, between the two. And that is bad news for everyone. At least in my humble opinion.
I agree. sooner or later it leads to favoritism, and that leads to prejudice and on to violence.
You left me with a lot to think about.
your writing always sparks reflection
In some places it isn’t so odd to have a rabbi, priest and monk hang out together. A lot of people of good faith like to discuss philosophy and working together to make the world a better place. (Probably an equal number of clergy are banging the drums to annihilate everyone else. People.)
One of the thing I keep hearing from my not-American friends is how frustrated *they* are that we are so intent upon “messing up” (more colorful phrases are used) the very things that the USA got so right. One of those things named is always the separation of church and state. If you look at the history of Europe (and every where else) you can see why folks over there appreciate that we set it up as separate.
And yet we are moving closer and closer to a theocracy. Certainly not one of MY religious beliefs, either! As a result, I’m pretty sure we have a new energy source that is yet untapped, and that is harnessing all the energy created by the Founding Fathers spinning in their graves.
The interesting things about the rants about this being a “Christian Nation” is that the framers deliberately codified the separation because of the “established” religions in England and parts of Europe. Also many of the founders and framers were deists, not traditional members of established mainline churches – they were also Free Masons- who are not liked by the bible pounders. You can’t have you cake and eat it too!
Can we get an “Amen!”? 🙂
I do like this. story. Thanks so much for sharing it.