the Elephant and blind men
Paper instructions:
The parable of the Elephant and blind men has been widely repeated through various religious traditions in India for centuries and more recently throughout the whole world. Read the version of the story found on this Jainist website:
http://www.jainworld.com/literature/story25.htm
A brief version of the parable is also found in the Hick essay in your text on page 636.
As the website notes “The moral of the story is that there may be some truth to what someone says. Sometimes we can see that truth and sometimes not because they may have different perspective which we may not agree too. So, rather than arguing like the blind men, we should say, “Maybe you have your reasons.” This way we don’t get in arguments. In Jainism, it is explained that truth can be stated in seven different ways. So, you can see how broad our religion is. It teaches us to be tolerant towards others for their viewpoints. This allows us to live in harmony with the people of different thinking” Applied to competing views of God, this perspective says even seemingly contradictory views of God can have truth.
Which approach to religious diversity does this perspective most reflect? Assess the validity of this approach to religious diversity and provide reasons to support your position
Each paper should be between 400-500 words (approximately 1.5 to 2 typed pages double spaced). You do not need to do any research for these papers beyond the assigned class readings, but be sure to properly cite the use of any secondary sources. Papers MUST cite specific passages from the course text according to MLA style or APA Style.
