Prayers for Peace​—Who Listens to Them?

WHAT was an American Indian, in fully feathered headdress, doing on the same platform as a Greek Orthodox priest? Why was the Buddhist Dalai Lama seated along with the Archbishop of Canterbury? What could a Jewish rabbi have in common with a metropolitan of the Russian Orthodox Church? And why would Pope John Paul II of the Catholic Church be presiding at such a gathering?

Not long ago it would have been unthinkable for the pope to share a prayer platform with leaders of the other major religions. Yet, in late 1986, in the Italian city of Assisi, he joined with all these other religions in celebrating the “World Day of Prayer for Peace.” The gathering was promoted by the pope in harmony with the United Nations’ designation of 1986 as the International Year of Peace.

At Assisi, there were varied prayers for peace. But who listened to them? The Trinitarian God of Christendom? Or the God of the Jews? Allah of the Muslims? The Great Thumb and Roaring Thunder of the animists? Did any of these gods listen to these prayers? Now that some time has passed since Assisi, the answers are evident.

What Took Place

The prayers of those religious leaders were the culmination of the international day of prayer held at Assisi in central Italy on October 27. A large platform had been erected, with the word “PEACE” in 14 languages on the backdrop. Arranged in a wide semicircle, with the pope at the center, more than 60 leaders of the major religions took turns praying from a rostrum. Television cameras covered the ceremony that is said to have been watched by 500 million people throughout the world.

The first ones to pray were the Buddhists, who asked for “an ocean of happiness and joy.” Then the Hindus invoked “peace unto all beings.” The Muslims prayed: “Praise be to God, Lord of the Universe.”

“Grant us peace,” was the supplication of the African animists as they invoked their divinities. “We offer the Pipe to the Great Spirit, to Mother Earth,” said the American Indians as they smoked the peace pipe. “Give peace to the earth,” asked the Jews.

“In peace and unity let us beseech our Lord God,” was the prayer of the Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, and Greek Orthodox representatives. The Sikhs, Zoroastrians, Shintoists, and Jains also prayed for universal peace.

Occasion Given Prominence

It was the first time, the press commented, that such high-ranking clergy of the world’s religions had assembled in the same place to pray. For this reason the meeting has been termed a “historic occasion.”

Some believed that Bible prophecy was fulfilled there. Since Assisi is situated on a hill, they considered it the symbolic mount of Micah chapter 4, verse 2. A report said that the Assisi gathering was “a meeting that the prophet Micah had predicted 2,700 years ago: ‘In the [time of the] end the mount where the temple of the Lord stands will be the highest one . . . All peoples will gather at its foot and will say: Let us go up to the mountain of the Lord. He will teach us what we must do.’”​—Voce delle Contrade.

The journal Il Sabato enthusiastically said: “It is the first time anything of its kind has occurred since the Tower of Babel. Then, because of their desire to reach the heavens, men were divided. Today, in the name of religious sentiments that open them up to the gift of God, peace, men are united.”

Serious Questions Raised

The event was no doubt spectacular. However, it raised legitimate questions. The daily La Nazione asked: “Did that message serve its purpose? Will it have reached the hearts of the half a billion viewers? Will it have made a breach in the rocky positions of those who, directly or indirectly, determine and direct the events and the destiny of the world?”

Thinking people ask other penetrating questions: Does God accept all prayers regardless of the type of worship practiced? Is it enough to pray for something without making sure of God’s view on the matter? Have people been induced by this meeting to work for peace? What does the past teach us? And above all, what do the Scriptures say about how world peace will be achieved?

We must also ask: Was the gathering of this world’s religions at Assisi in reality a modern-day Tower of Babel?