Pluralism, Many FAITHS, ONE God?

Do all roads lead to the same end?

Have you ever walked into a room full of people in the middle of an intense discussion and upon your entering the room they all stop, turn, and stare at you with that very unwelcoming, raised eyebrow look, which says, “Who are you, and what do you want?” The message is clear: “you are in the wrong place; you are interrupting us; go away.” We might calmly respond by saying, “Oh, my mistake, sorry for the interruption.” But we feel anything but calm. That, “Uh oh, wrong place, not welcome, I don’t belong, got to get out of here as fast as I can,” feeling. Rejection! Contrast that with a reception of smiling faces and open arms that say, “We’re so glad you’re here, we don’t know what we would have done without you! You belong. You are one of us: all for one and one for all.” Acceptance!

We all need to belong. That’s why in-groups and out-groups are so strongly defended. Every “group” has its unifying factor, that one thing that unites people of variant backgrounds, experiences, and values—bikers over here, hunters over there, writers in that corner, musicians in this, Republicans down here, Democrats there.

It is ironic then that the ONE, Universal Being—namely GOD—is also the source of humanity’s fiercest divisions: Muslims, Jews, and Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, and Atheists (also “faith based” though unadmittedly so), two major types of Muslims, three major categories for Judaism, and umpteen denominations of Christians. No rational, reasonable thinking person can ignore the fact that these FAITHS contradict one another. Logically speaking, it is possible that they are all wrong. But it is NOT logically possible for all FAITHS to be equally TRUE all at once, for they each make mutually exclusive, alienating, and contradictory Universal Truth claims.

A pure Universal Truth is true for all peoples, at all times, in all places. The law of gravity is a Universal Truth in physics—true for all humanity, in all ages, at all times. If you don’t believe this, try defying this truth by jumping off a ten story building, while repeating the words, “I don’t believe in the law of gravity. I will not fall.” As to religious Truth Claims, however, we obviously have divisive beliefs, separate faith systems, and competing definitions for the ONE all-inclusive BEING called GOD—contradictory Universal Truth Claims! We simply cannot accept all FAITHS as equally TRUE.

So, is it possible to assert the tenants of one’s own Faith without insulting, judging, or denigrating the FAITHS of others? To claim that “Jesus is Messiah, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, is the way of salvation for all humanity,” is claiming a Universal Truth, impossible to be true only for some people, in some places, at some times. Logically, if it is not true for all humanity in all places and at all times, it is not true at all. Thus, Christianity is either in error or—because they reject this claim—Islam, Judaism, and other Religions are in error. In short, somebody’s wrong! The Athiest loudly proclaims that ALL FAITHS are wrong; simply begging the question by not admitting that it takes just as much faith to believe in NO God as it does to believe IN God. Serious followers of any FAITH will practice their Faith without apology. Religious Universal Truth claims mean little, if they are not fleshed out—lived, practiced, and incorporated into one’s daily life. Can we respect different FAITHS without undermining, weakening, or even deserting our own Faith?

Yes, if we apply the following principles:

1. The Christian must know in whom he/she believes, not just what he/she believes. That is, he/she believes IN JESUS, not in a church, denomination, a theology, a preacher, an ethic or dogma, but in the Living, Resurrected LORD—the Person. To know Christ means to grasp, understand, and experience Him, not only intellectually but with heart, soul, and spirit; knowing means having a personal, committed, substantive experience in Him.
2. To assert one’s Faith by living it, expressing and sharing it, is not to judge, denigrate, or insult those having no faith, a differing faith, or a countering faith. We do not apologize for faith in Jesus. Insulting one’s own faith by disclaiming Christ—in the face of other FAITHS—has no integrity. But to disagree with people of other FAITHS is neither to judge nor to condemn them; the judgment and/or condemnation of humanity are in God’s hands, certainly not ours.
3. Thus, respecting all FAITHS does not mean accepting all FAITHS as equally valid. So doing is intellectually and spiritually dishonest. In that sense, there are boundaries and limitations to interfaith dialogue, though it’s a very good thing to pursue.
4. No one human can prove the rightness of his/her FAITH. God Himself must demonstrate to humanity who He is, not us. We can only bear witness to the reality of our own committed faith-experience.
5. To have true respect for the FAITH of others is perhaps to assure that we all have religious freedom of conscience, a freedom of choice, and the freedom of FAITH expression, including the freedom to dialogue and to bear witness—with a potential for the conversion of others—respecting appropriate social boundaries.
6. Religious FAITH of any kind must never be forced, controlled or manipulated. In a pluralistic society such as ours, any FAITH tradition, be it Humanistic-Atheism, Muslim, Christian, or otherwise, attempting to domoninate and control all peoples in all areas of their lives, especially with respect to religious conviction and its expression, is suspect and is dangerous to the welfare of a free and democratic society.
7. One might say, all religions agree in the Big things: Love, Truth, Purity, Righteousness, Peace, Justice, and Goodness. Yes, BUT! The devil is in the details; it’s how we particularly apply them that cause the trouble: does justice mean the death penalty, does truth mean science without God, does peace mean pacifism, does love mean accepting gay marriage? Does purity mean covering all women from head to toe? You see the problem.

The Nicene Creed (a 451 AD modification of the Creed of Nicaea of AD 324):

We believe in one God the Father All-sovereign, maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten son of God, Begotten of the Father before all the ages, Light of Light, true God of true God, begotten not made, of one substance with the Father, through whom all things were made; who for us men and for our salvation came down from the heavens, and was made flesh of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became man, and was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered and was buried, and rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures, and ascended into the heavens, and sits on the right hand of the Father, and comes again with glory to judge living and dead, of whose kingdom there shall be no end:

And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and the Life-giver, that proceeds from the Father, who with Father and Son is worshipped together and glorified together, who spoke through the prophets:

In one holy catholic [universal] and apostolic church:

We acknowledge one baptism unto remission of sins. We look for a resurrection of the dead, and the life of the age to come.