Pillars: The Religious Common Thread

¶ … Pillars: The Religious Common Thread

1998 documentary on the subject of some of the world's major religions is visionary in its approach, which may have seemed academic at the time of its conception but is today aggressively relevant. At a time when so many religious factions in the world are literally clashing in hold war, a film which offers stark evidence of the common philosophical and ethical threads which are woven through some major ideologies has a deeply constructive potential. In Three Pillars: Confucius, Jesus, and Mohammed, documentarians offer a premise which seems simple enough. Identifying the dominant figures in Confucianism, Christianity and Islam, the film makes the case that all shared experiential, ideological and social characteristics which would become essential to the lives of their followers.

Confucianism is a valuable touchstone for the discussion, preceding as it does such philological approaches to spirituality as Buddhism and Hinduism. As the documentary tells, the evolution which brought the greater landmass of central and south Asia into the modern era is a history rife with transfomative forces both inclined toward forward progress and to the ends of extending influence. The enormous expanse of land, resource and population that is and has been China, to varying size parameters, has by virtue of these outsized characteristics, been site to wild fluctuations in the areas of continuity of control. The onset of a historical trend which would become known as the dynastic cycle would be preceded though by a sustained period of Chinese social stability, distinguished in particular by the influence of Confucius (551-479 BC) and his refined code of ethics. As with such figures as Jesus and Mohammed, whom we will address hereafter, Confucius commanded a personal mythology in his passing which only grew. As the documentary tells, after the passage of full millennium since the death of this great teacher and scholar, the Ch'in Dynasty rose from a crowd of seven divided pre-Chinese kingdoms to bring the Confucian philosophy to central authority.

This would lead to what the film describes as a sustained enlightened period for its institution of a meritocracy, where the magistrates and other government officials were selected for civil service on the basis of their scholarly capabilities. The Civil Service examination, here became an important methodology for the establishment of the greatest interpreters of Confucian philosophy. The greatest development of this time period was the adoption of standards for census taking, equitable tax collection and fund allocation, and socialized working programs. All of these were products of the academic ideology which pervaded government and directed it toward an end of increased employment, more even resource distribution and an ultimate surplus of agricultural commodities and centers of commerce. This was the period which began to see the rise of China's important metropolitan centers, suggesting that the influence of Confucius would be quite concrete, proceeding from an emphasis on rational spirituality.

The association drawn between the leader's teachings and the principled disposition of his followers appeals to a modern Judeo-Christian vantage as well. As the documentary proceeds to its discussion on figures such as Jesus and Mohammed, the constancy of world religion becomes that much clearer. In many ways, Jesus and Muhammed may be perceived as twin pillars on a single continuum. Indeed, "Muhammed regarded himself as the last prophet of the Judaic-Christian tradition. He adopted aspects of these older religion's theologies while introducing new doctrines." (Katz, 1) Thus, it is not surprising that upon its inception into the world at around 570 CE, the Islamic religion produced a legal code which was monotheistic, centered on the prescription of ethical law and applicable in both the theocratic and civil arenas.

This law would likewise predispose the Muslim people to many rituals which echoed those of the Judeo Christian ethic. Like Jesus Christ before him, Muhammed was fundamentally a reformer of theological law, and thus, the first prophet to a new religious entity. As a result, many of the laws contained in the Shariah are more conservative variations on existent Christian and Jewish law, such as with the practice of worship. One of the most well-recognized feature of the Islamic religion to the outsider is this practice.

For all intents and purposes, the documentary is concerned with the work of prophets. The individuals represented, seen by some as divinity incarnate and by others still as spiritually inspired men, reflect a singular tradition that is concerned with providing ethical grounding to the difficult challenges of human existence. Whether concerned with government, family or personal moral hygiene, the purposefulness of a faith is found in the way that those beliefs are applied.