‘I am convinced that humanity must learn to strive to hold to good relationships with all people, and to learn respect and empathy for those with whom we disagree. This little volume is dedicated to building such relationships, based on a shared appreciation of the Psalms of David’ MJK
In this book I reflect on the Holy Psalms of David numbers one to seventy five.
I am well aware of the different understandings of a single Holy text that exist within a single religion (in my case Christianity) let alone the different understandings of Scripture that exist between people of different religions. However, I am convinced that humanity must learn to strive to hold to good relationships with all people, and to learn respect and empathy for those with whom we disagree.
This little volume is dedicated to building such relationships and I ask my readers to look beyond any dissatisfaction they may have with any of my comments herein, and to use the text to further your understanding and empathy with all those with whom you may disagree. Many of the Holy Psalms (Zabur in Arabic) were written as songs by the Hebrew King David (Muslim prophet Davud) who lived about 1000 BCE; some were written in times of stress others in times of personal reflection in his gratitude to God for saving him in times of trouble. Other psalms were written by devout Jews after David’s reign (possible as late as 500 BCE) and added to the Psalms of David.
As life progresses I increasingly notice that one of the most basic distinctions between people in this world is not the distinction of whether or not they profess a particular religious faith (e.g. Christianity, Islam, Judaism, etc.), or between those who embrace a faith and those who don’t (Agnostics, Atheists, etc.). Nor do I see this basic distinction as between male and female, or between adult and child, or those blessed with intelligence and those not so blessed. The distinction I notice is between those who see the world and their beliefs as ‘cut and dried’ and those who see themselves and the world they live in as an adventure, open to change and development. I offer these reflections from my personal faith in David’s God to the adventurous reader.
