While in college, I had a friend who liked to irk people by saying “I’m not conceited. Conceited people have faults. I have none.” Of course we all know that this in and of itself is a conceited statement. Thankfully, my friend always said this in jest.
When people such as I and other Christians offer the statement that there is only one way to God, and that is through Jesus Christ, we are often assailed as being arrogant, conceited, uneducated, and possibly dangerous. After all,you might say, the belief in one way and only one way to God often leads to discrimination, violence and war. In another blog I’d like to talk about religion and violence. But for now I’d like to concentrate for a few moments on the concept of there being only one way, one truth.
First, it is important to recognize that there is both truth and beauty to be found in most religions. A random sampling of the Koran, the Vedas of Hinduism, and other holy works and unwritten beliefs show both some truth, and some beauty. The principles espoused by Ghandi, a Hindu follower, influenced Martin Luther King, both a Christian and civil rights leader in his struggle for equality in America. I have found writings from other religions outside my own to be both inspiring and helpful. However, that does not mean that they all religions teach the same thing, or are equally true, or even deserve equal billing.
It is popular today to insist that all religions are the same. Or that there are no absolutes, that whatever one believes is to be accepted whether there is any basis of fact to it or not. We live in a post-modern world where nothing is accepted as THE truth, where it is possible to believe and accept almost any belief. A friend of mine has consistently stated that she needs to find a religious belief that she can accept as “her” truth. She is convinced that the existence of god, God, gods, nature, or “what have you” are up to her to decide for herself. There is no explicit truth, only individual decisions on what to accept as personal truth.
In math (I originally planned to become a mathematician, and teach either high school or college math before studying instead to become a minister) and logic (one of my favorite classes back in the day) teach us that two things that are opposite can not both be true at the same time. For instance as I write this it is dark and rainy here in N. California. It would be ludicrous for me to insist that while dark and rainy it is also sunny and dry here in this time and place. The two cannot be true at one and the same time.
The same holds true in religion. We find statements in all that cannot be reconciled as being equally valid. For instance my Muslim friends (and yes I have Muslim friends) insist that Jesus was NOT the Son of God, but was merely a prophet. He was the 2nd greatest prophet after Mohammad, but a prophet nevertheless. Christians teach that Jesus was/is the son of God. The two statements cannot be reconciled. Muslims teach, as do Jews and Christians, that there is only one God. Hindus teach a multitude of gods and goddesses. Again the two cannot be harmonized. Only one can be “truth.” Several of my students over the years have been Wiccans, believing in the Goddess of the Moon, and celebrating nature. Each of them has assured me that both they and I cannot be correct. And of course both Atheists and those who believe in any form of religious belief cannot be right.
Grantley Morris, a Christian apologist, wrote:
“To overlook obvious differences between religions might seem broad-minded. In reality it is about as proud and narrow as a person could get. To say all religions are basically the same is to claim to be smarter than each of the billions of people who believe the unique aspects of their religion are of supreme importance to God. It is to claim that even though you are not an expert in their religion, you know they are wrong–you know their religion is really no different.”
Note that Morris is not saying this just about Christians, such as he and I, but about ALL religions. All claim some aspect as being true and different at the same time.
Ahh, you say, but isn’t a belief that one religion has the truth, that it is in some way superior to any other intolerant? NO!! Intolerance would be if I and others were to oppose the freedom for you to believe in and practice something different from my own beliefs. Tolerance is promoting your freedom to believe something even though I feel that you are mistaken. A student once told me that Christians are hateful towards Muslims in our town because the town council would not allow them to build a mosque on the property they owned. I had to tell them that we as Christians were had recently had the same problem, and showed him how we had to navigate the political arena. Today, largely thanks to my help, there is a large mosque on that site.
I still disagree with their beliefs. I am convinced that their religion is wrong. However, I agree with their right to believe and practice what they believe to be right. The same goes for those who are Wicca’s, Hindus, Sikhs, Atheists and all others. But I still cling to the realization that every one of our religions have major differences, and therefore not all can be true and right. Until someone can convince me otherwise (and I have allowed numerous friends, family, and acquaintances to try) I shall cling to my Christian ideals. Until next time.
Tracy AtHome Church 