Twenty-first
century America is more pluralistic and religiously diverse than any previous time.
Although some studies indicate that religiosity in the U.S. has greatly
declined, our awareness of the existence of different religions has grown and
our personal interactions with folks from other faiths have increased. We, more
than any other generation of Americans, are conscious of other religions, though
some religious groups are more knowledgeable of other religious groups, and we
are often misinformed about other religions. Such misinformation contributes to
our seeing them as either a threat to our way of life or as a misguided people
in need of salvation.
To be sure, not
all religions are the same. There are significant differences about how we
understand God, how we understand humanity, and how humans respond to God. These
differences do not need to be pushed aside; indeed they should be embraced. Despite
these differences, however, at the heart of the major world religions is a
yearning to relate to something beyond the material world, beyond our human
existence. The human desire to know and experience God, or an Ultimate Reality,
is also a desire to know ourselves and to know how we are to live as humans are
intended.
Likewise, at
the heart of these religions is the desire to create a more compassionate and
just world that battles against the powers of evil and oppression. Certainly all
religions have adherents who have used their religion as a pretext for carrying
out evil, but as we cannot prove that one religion is more evil than the
others, so we cannot prove that one religion is morally superior or truer than
the others.
In applying
this idea to our Christian faith, we must recognize that to be a follower of
Jesus is not a position of certitude from which we claim to have the eternal
truth. Rather, it is a position of humility and a life of discipleship through
which we live out the eternal quest of seeking the truth. Being Christian is
not about forcing others to view Jesus as the only way to experience God. Being
Christian is about being in a relationship with God and living as a person of
love, goodness, and justice; virtues which other religions also seek.
Indeed, we can
be faithful to our Christian faith, along with its traditions, and not only
coexist with people from other faiths, but more importantly, work hand in hand
with all people who seek for the common good of all humanity, even though we
may disagree on what that common good is. Doing so seems to me to be the more
authentic way of being a follower of Jesus as we seek to emulate his humanity.
If the above is
true, then why am I a Christian? I can only answer from my perspective, but
perhaps some of you will share these ideas with me.
First, I am a
Christian because for me Jesus presents an authentic way of being human. The
Gospels present Jesus as the Son of Man, the Human One, the one who models for
us the way of God. His life was devoted to liberating those who were oppressed,
to challenging the political and religious powers that oppressed people, and to
seeking God through the practice of the spiritual disciplines of worship,
prayer, and reflection.
For me, Jesus’
teachings resonate with my mind and spirit as that which is true, without my
feeling the need to argue that another person’s experience and understanding of
God and religious truth is false.
Second, I am Christian because it offers to me a
community of faith in which I find meaning and direction. Humans are social
beings who seek community, and those who search for meaning in God are also
seeking meaning in human relationships. Indeed, while we can experience God as
individuals, we more truly find God in the relationships we build with other
human beings, perhaps even with those who experience God quite differently from
the way we experience God.
Whether I decide to be Catholic, Baptist, Presbyterian,
or any other brand of Christian, I am making a choice to be a member of a
community where my faith can be nurtured in loving relationships that challenge
me to live out my faith. This is not to say that the choice of a faith
community is made haphazardly, as if I am at the local fast food joint choosing
which value meal I want.
No, choosing a faith community is like finding a spouse
with whom you connect on various levels, some not even measurable. It is a
sense of intuitive peace that you feel when you know you want to commit the
rest of your life to this person.
Could I find these things in other religions? I am sure
that I would, particularly if I had been born and raised in a different
religious tradition. But instead of shopping around for another way to know
God, I prefer to explore more deeply how I can know God through my own practice
of following Jesus, even if I horribly fall short.
What then is
the purpose of evangelism? Christianity has always sought new believers,
following the missionary character of Israel’s God and the commands of Jesus. My
view of Christianity’s relationship to other religions is not necessarily
mutually exclusive to a belief in the missionary purposes of the church, as
long as we have a proper understanding of evangelism.
Simply put,
Christians are not called to covert people to their particular religion. Rather,
Christians are called to bear witness to the love and character of God in the
world that we find definitively expressed in the life, death, and resurrection
of Jesus, and we are called to invite others to follow him. But, in order to be
honest and genuine with those we encounter from other religions, we must also witness
the love and character of God in people of other faiths.
No comments:
Post a Comment