Conventional wisdom says that the world’s religions differ on the details but are fundamentally the same. They put their followers in touch with the divine and teach variations of the golden rule: Do unto others as you want them to do unto you. So rather than fight over our differences, religious people should recognize that our shared moral ideals mean that we really believe the same thing.
The actor Will Smith conveyed this popular sentiment when he said, “My grandmother raised me to be a do-gooder in the church, that it was about doing what you can to help your community. So whatever religion does that . . . it’s cool because the end result is the same.”
As attractive as this view seems, it misunderstands the essence of the Christian faith. Christianity does include rational and moral principles—the book of Proverbs is full of them—but they’re not what our faith is primarily about. Christianity is a historical faith, which means that it is about what has actually happened in time and space. God didn’t need to create the world. He chose to. After we rebelled, God didn’t have to save the world. He chose to. Because creation and redemption are acts of God’s will, we can’t reason their way to them.
The Christian faith isn’t a set of timeless, rational, moral principles that a person could figure out if she were smart and had enough time. It’s what God has done in time and space. It’s Jesus, the Word made flesh (John 1:14) who “died for our sins . . . was buried [and] was raised from the dead” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).
Thank God for the moral principles found in other religions, but never forget that the fundamental difference is Jesus.
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Psalm 51:1-19
More:
Read 1 Chronicles 16:7-26 to see how David used God’s actions in history to distinguish the true God from the false gods of other religions.
Next:
How might we appreciate the good in other religions without compromising on the unchangeable and all-important difference between them? In what other ways is Christianity unique?
winn collier on May 15, 2011 at 10:09 am
It strikes me that saying all religions are entirely the same is actually (perhaps unintentionally) a way of minimizing all. I think it is actually dishonoring to another religion to try to convince their followers that they are saying the exact same thing I am. I think there is ground many religions share (and I’m thankful for that), but respectful dialogue toward truth happens best when devout believers bring their full convictions to the table and then hear one another.
You’ve said it exactly right, Mike. Christianity is not fundamentally about ideals or abstract moral truths but about the breaking in of God, in Jesus Christ. Thanks.
mike wittmer on May 15, 2011 at 2:15 pm
Winn:
Though he doesn’t claim to be a Christian, Steven Prothero makes the same argument in his best selling book, “God is not one.” He claims it is disrespectful to each religion to pretend that it is merely saying the same thing as all the others. At least the religions don’t claim to be doing this.
conmeo on May 15, 2011 at 9:06 pm
Amen and amen brothers and sisters in Christ. Thanks be to God for all of you.