I guess one tribe could potentially be a bad thing if the whole becomes oppressive and coercive to tribes that disagree, and there will always be those that disagree. I am not a fan of using the term tribalism in the way seattlegal is using it, although I am aware of the phrase "to find one's tribe" and so on. It seems more and more people are talking about political tribalism these days with huge segments of the population gridlocked into concrete positions.
Hi... Well I think SG is very smart and might have been working a little wordplay magic there, but I was not sure so I was attempting to engage her a bit to see if that was indeed the case.
Now I'm not sure if this was her point or not, but at the risk of getting slapped or getting a tiger claw mark (old joke from the structured debate thread), I would hazard a guess that she was talking about us all (all traditions) as being one tribe with notable differences. Difference among people who love one another can be a good thing, and even an attractive thing.
I think the consensus on Paul here was that he never left Judaism, he just became a new creature. This could be the same for us. We all have to find a tradition (or non-tradition) which is comfortable for us and then engage others who are different from us from that position. In other words, we find the place that is comfortable and acceptable for us and begin working toward interfaith from there. One tribe in the universal sense is the whole world with all of its differences. The differences are the "tribes" which are still part of the larger whole.
IMO we are not asked to convert or take other religious positions if we don't want to. As our Muslim brothers and sisters would be quick to point out, "There is no compulsion in religion". All that is needed is that we work with what we have and in ways that are comfortable to us. Now, there is room to expand our comfort level, no doubt about that, but one cannot force drastic change upon another, it ruins the whole thing.
I honestly think all that is needed is a loving and open heart, and once that is established, the love will carry you like a leaf on the wind. This is close to the way the Sufis looked at it, I think. Fall in love and see what happens. Lovers love the differences they find in their Beloveds, it makes the love even more ardent. Translate that to the spiritual and you can begin to love the differences you find in other people, without needing or even wanting to change their positions or beliefs. If change is to happen, let it happen naturally and without force, if it doesn't happen it's okay, the person is still loved anyway for their differences (it is still attractive to the Lover).
Stay open, let it flow naturally, don't be afraid of change but don't let others force their will upon you. That's about it for me.
