A Baptist Preacher's Buddhist Teacher: How My Interfaith Journey with Daisaku Ikeda Made Me a Better Christian

by Lawrence Edward Carter Sr.

In this inspiring, soul-stirring memoir, Lawrence E. Carter Sr., founding dean of the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel, shares his remarkable quest to experience King's "beloved community" and his surprising discovery in mid-life that King's dream was being realized by the Japanese Buddhist philosopher and tireless peace worker Daisaku Ikeda. Coming of age on the cusp of the American Civil Rights Movement, Carter was personally mentored by Martin Luther King Jr. and followed in his footsteps, first to get an advanced degree in theology at Boston University and then to teach and train a new generation of activists and ministers at King's alma mater, Morehouse College. Over the years, however, Carter was disheartened to watch the radical cosmic vision at the heart of King's message gradually diluted and marginalized. He found himself in near despair—until his remarkable encounter with the lay Buddhist association Soka Gakkai International and a life-changing meeting with Ikeda, its president. Carter knew that King had been inspired by Gandhi, a Hindu, and now Ikeda, a Buddhist, was showing him how King's message of justice, equality, and the fundamental dignity of life could be carried to millions of people around the world. What ensued was not a conversion but a conversation—about the essential role of interfaith dialogue, the primacy of education, and the value of a living faith to create a human revolution and realize at last Martin Luther King's truest dream of a global world house. In these dark and frustrating times, the powerful dialogue between Carter and Ikeda gives hope and guidance to a new generation of reformers, activists, and visionaries.

Genres: Buddhism, Religion

300 pages, Paperback

Published November 1, 2018

About the author

In 1958 Martin Luther King Jr. privately recruited Lawrence Edward Carter as a 10th grader to come to Morehouse College, King’s alma mater in Atlanta, Ga. Twenty-one years later, at Morehouse, Lawrence Carter became the founder and Dean of the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel, the world’s largest religious memorial to the legacy of the great civil rights leader, whose mission is to teach, encourage, and inspire ambassadors of King’s beloved world community.

Carter has spent his career working to realize King’s vision for peace and justice through education and action, including lectures at universities and seminaries around the world. Dedicated to interfaith dialogue, Carter has spoken to Jewish, Islamic, Hindu, and Buddhist communities, as well as to more than eighteen Christian denominations. He is also a tenured professor of religion at Morehouse, a Baptist minister, and author of four books including A Baptist Preacher’s Buddhist Teacher: How My Interfaith Journey With Daisaku Ikeda Made Me a Better Christian and Walking Integrity: Benjamin Elijah Mays as Mentor to Martin Luther King Jr.

Reviews

[Emily Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some very interesting and thought-provoking points on topics of race, war, reconciliation and peace. There were a couple instances where Carter's arguments makes huge jumps without much explanation to how he concludes certain theological conclusions. However, it has caused me to reflect on how white evangelical Christians can very easily push away other world views of Christ, assuming that the inherited white, western view is the whole picture. I am beyond grateful to have been shown this early on in my faith and been able to let go of toxic and stifling understandings of Christianity that stunt the growth of Christians today. I am not sure that I completely agree with all of Carter's arguments, but it has certainly made me aware of greater dialogues that exist about faith outside of what I have been brought up with, and for that, I am very grateful. This book was gifted to me by my Buddhist sister and it may be an interesting start to ongoing dialogue that we can begin to have as a Christian and a Buddhist.

[Jawanza · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I knew more Christians like Lawrence Edward Carter Sr. He is one of the few Christians who is willing to truly engage in interfaith dialogue. He rejects exclusive truth claims. He tries to learn from all faiths and apply those lessons to matters of social justice and achieving global peace. Unlike many Christians, especially evangelicals, he is not preoccupied with or fixated on issues of salvation or life after death, but on what is right in front of us in the here and now. This is a well-written and refreshing memoir that touches on issues of racism, violence, morality and interfaith understanding.

[John Maberry · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing book by Lawrence Edward Carter, Sr., founding dean of the Martin Luther King, Jr. International Chapel. Dr. Carter exerted himself to find inspiration wherever he could to better raise up fellow believers to make the most of their faith. He resisted dogma and doctrinaire approaches to his Baptist creed and listened to others outside it. The inner teachings of Christianity are love for one another and tolerance of difference. Too many leaders of the faith don't live up to it's core principles. Carter is not one of those people. He was not afraid to make a trek along the path of peace well beyond the Baptist faith.

As the subtitle of this book says, "My interfaith journey with Daisaku Ikeda made me a better Christian." Going more deeply into the text, Carter gives a brief recitation of the lineage of leaders and disciples of the international international Buddhist lay organization that follows the teachings of Nichiren Daishonin:

Nichiren had his disciples in his day, and in the twentieth century, Nichiren’s work was taken up by Tsunesaburo Makiguchi. Makiguchi had a disciple to carry on his legacy in Josei Toda. And Toda had Daisaku Ikeda. Now, Ikeda has his disciples, and I consider myself among them. I know that’s quite a leap. Hopefully a quantum leap toward cosmic peace.

Ikeda is a Buddhist and the leader of an international Buddhist organization, and I am a Baptist preacher committed to Jesus and to my ministry of unconditional love and all-conditional responsibility. Ikeda is the founder of many cultural and educational institutions, while what I have founded is at Morehouse College. Ikeda is ninety and I am in my seventies. But I still say: as Gandhi had his King, and King has his Ikeda, Ikeda shall have his Carter.

I do not intend to fill Ikeda’s shoes but rather to follow his example, and within the limits of my ability and the scope of the opportunities I have been given, I hope to do my part to carry on the message of the new superpowers, peace and nonviolence, to share the good word that we are all brothers and sisters sharing one world house, one global village that, working together, we can make beautiful by putting humanity first. My intention is to assist in the construction of the rainbow bridge of interfaith understanding and moral cosmopolitan cooperation. By so doing, God willing, I will help Ikeda in bringing about, at last, global peace on earth, and hopefully one day a world in which the person is valued supremely beyond the boundaries of nation states.

[Krist · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was gifted to me by a friend who practices Buddhism. Definitely insightful in understanding Nicheren Buddhism and also having a first hand encounter with Sir Martin Luther King. I would give it 4 stars because it is a personal story and everyone's story is different, unique and they deserve to be heard.

[Calvin Cheng · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my top 5 favorite books of all time! It's a really insightful perspective on religion in general and very much promotes interfaith. The stories about Martin Luther King Jr.'s approach of nonviolence and the author's willingness to accept the beliefs of other people and view them in perspective of his own faith and God are learning points that I think we can all benefit from adopting.

[Dyose Freire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exatamente necessário.

[Don Hodgson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book and great reading!