Christianity in a multi-faith society

Peter Davies examines the texts that underly the main religions to hellp us better understand the authority behind their teachings.

The multiplicity of religions may lead to confusion and even fear for the Christian. However, an examination of the world’s religions can highlight the uniqueness of Christianity.

Christopher Lamb says: ‘No religion can be properly understood without a real knowledge of its scriptures in their original language’.¹

The primary rule of faith and conduct for the church is the Bible (2 Timothy 3.16). As a divinely inspired volume, it is true (John 17.17) and authoritative (Matthew 5.17). It bears witness to Jesus Christ (John 5.39) and is illuminated by the Holy Spirit (John 16.13).

The history of religion is sadly littered with persecution. The right to freedom of religion, however, is enshrined in Article 18 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which stipulates: ‘Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance’.²

God has revealed himself to man in both general and special revelation. Man in turn is the recipient of both common and special grace. ‘God himself has shown us the way to know him.’³ However, man has failed to comprehend God’s glory and has attempted to find him by his own religious efforts (Romans 1.21-23).

Some common ground

The world’s religions generally share some common ground. Occidental (Western) religions may broadly be described as monotheistic and Oriental (Eastern) religions as polytheistic. Christianity holds some themes in common with other religions. However a syncretism (mixture) of religions is extremely unlikely because of their major differences. Serious differences also exist within individual religions themselves.

Regarding people who have not heard the gospel, God overlooks ‘the times of this ignorance’ but now commands repentance everywhere (Acts 17.30). Abraham came from a polytheistic background but believed God’s Word to him (Genesis 15.6). The rays of the Sun of righteousness retrospectively reached him as it prospectively reaches people today (John 3.19-21). In their idolatry, the Israelites and the Gentiles alike ‘sacrificed unto devils’ (Deuteronomy 32.17; cf. 1 Corinthians 10.20). Man is prohibited from finding God by his own attempts through other religions (Exodus 20.3). We need to be careful not to limit God’s omnipotence, however (Matthew 19.26), as the Lord may travel any road to find his elect people.

Cults

Cults or sects amount to being other religions in their own right. Conversely, established religions may be viewed as cults, e.g. the Qur’an is reputedly a faithful reproduction of a tablet which has eternally existed in heaven, whereas the Book of Mormon was reportedly composed from golden plates divinely revealed to Joseph Smith (1805-44) by the angel Moroni. Such extra-biblical texts represent a deviation from orthodox Christianity (Revelation 22.18-9).

Judaism

The origin of Judaism is recorded in the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh). The Tanakh mainly corresponds to the Old Testament and is considered to be of divine origin. The most important part of the Tanakh is the Torah (law) which governs Jewish life. Most Jews believe that in addition to the written Torah, an oral Torah (recorded in the Talmud) was divinely revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai. The Talmud (instruction) written in both Aramaic and Hebrew comprises the Mishnah (collection of Rabbinic legal stipulations compiled about 200) and the Gemara (collection of Rabbinic discussions on the Mishnah compiled about 500). Jesus’s dispute with the Pharisees revolved around his rejection of the divine authority ascribed to this oral Torah, e.g. Matthew 15.1-20.

Islam

The chief religious text in Islam is the Qur’an (the recitation). This book, written in Arabic, is deemed to have been divinely revealed to Muhammad (c. 570-632) by the angel Gabriel in Arabia. The Qur’an comprises 114 chapters with a total of about 6,236 verses. The volume acknowledges the divine origin of the Torah and the gospel.⁴ It also contains several references to biblical figures, including Abraham, Moses and Jesus. Although the crucifixion is denied, yet Jesus is described as the Messiah.⁵ And, although the doctrine of the Trinity is rejected, yet the book often uses the personal pronoun ‘we’ in reference to the deity. Concerning Muhammad’s description of Jesus, it seems that he had been misinformed by unorthodox Christianity. Islam asserts monotheism, angelic belief and a day of resurrection.

Sikhism

The founder of Sikhism was Guru Nanak Dev (1469-1539) from Punjab. The tenth (and last) of the human gurus, Gobind Singh (1666-1708), designated the text of the Guru Granth Sahib, written in Gurmukhi, as his successor, thus ending the line of human gurus. This volume is held to have been divinely revealed to the gurus. It contains 1,430 pages, comprising hymns and teachings of seven of the ten gurus and several mystics. The book espouses monotheism, equality and moral living.

Baha’i

The Baha’i religion was founded by Siyyid ‘Al’ Muhammad Sh’r‡z’ (1819-50) or the Bab and his successor M’rza Husayn-’Al’ Nuri (1817-92) or Baha’u’llah, both from Persia. Baha’i texts are considered to have been divinely revealed to both men. The Bab is credited with the Persian Bayan, which is a collection of religious ideas and law written in Persian about 1847, and the Arabic Bayan, which was written in Arabic about 1848. The main texts attributed to Baha’u’llah are Kitab-i-Iqan (book of certitude), which is a theological treatise written in both Arabic and Persian in 1861 and Kitab-i-Aqdas (book of laws), which is a collection of religious teachings and various laws completed in Arabic about 1873. The Baha’i faith proclaims the unity of God, religion and humankind. Jesus Christ is deemed to be one of a series of divine messengers.

Hinduism

Hinduism is a panoply of religion which possesses an abundance of religious texts written mostly in Sanskrit. They are classified as either Sruti (hearing), written roughly between 1700-600 BC, or Smriti (remembered) written about 500 BC. Sruti literature is deemed to have been divinely revealed to ancient Rishis (seers) through transcendental meditation. The material comprises the four Vedas, which contain liturgical books, and their commentaries, which contain ritual directions and a philosophical treatise. Smriti literature is deemed secondary in authority to Sruti. It contains the Mahabharata (incorporating the Bhagavadgita) and the Ramayana. Hinduism attempts to follow an ethical way of living to achieve liberation from suffering.

Buddhism

Siddhartha Gautama (c. 563-483 BC) or the Buddha from Nepal is deified by some Buddhists. The main religious text in Buddhism is the Tripitaka (three baskets), which is also known as the Pali Canon and written in Pali. The Tripitaka can be divided into three sections, which contain books on monastic rules and philosophical meditations. Most of the text is attributed to the Buddha. Disagreement exists, however, around the Mahayana Sutras, which comprise philosophical teachings and stories. Mahayana Buddhists assign these texts to the Buddha, but this view isn’t shared by Theravada Buddhists. Buddhism seeks liberation from suffering by meditation.

Shinto

Shinto emerged as a religion in Japan during the sixth century BC. The Kojiki (record of ancient matters), written in both Chinese and Japanese, is divided into three parts. It’s a collection of mythological poems about the origin and history of Japan, completed in 712. The Nihon Shoki (chronicles of Japan), written in Chinese, contains 30 chapters on Japanese history, completed in 720. Shinto is characterised by ancestor worship, animism (belief that souls exist in natural objects) and rituals.

Taoism

Lao Tzu (604-531 BC) from China is venerated as a god by some Taoists. The chief text of Taoism is the Tao Te Ching (classic of way and virtue), written in Chinese and traditionally attributed to Lao Tzu. It contains 81 chapters of philosophical aphorisms. Its main themes revolve around the outworking of the Tao (way) by effortless action in areas ranging from personal life to political governance.

Confucianism

Confucianism derived from the teaching of the Chinese philosopher, Kong Fuzi or Confucius (551-479 BC). His followers assembled his teaching in a volume entitled Lun Yu or Analects (Excerpts or Conversations), written in Chinese. This volume comprises 20 chapters of the words and actions of Confucius and his followers. A key theme in Confucianism is propriety. Confucius pronounces the Golden Rule in a negative form: ‘What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others’.⁶

In this article, I’ve attempted to briefly consider Christianity in a multi-religious society with a particular view to the religious texts underlying the main religions. We need to both uphold the exclusiveness of Christianity’s claim (John 14.6) and the inclusiveness of its call (Matthew 11.28). In the face of a multitude of religions, the advice of Norman Anderson is: ‘It is to Jesus himself that the Christian will continually return’.⁷

Footnotes

1 Lamb, C. (1991), ‘The Claim to be Unique’ in Beaver, R.P., Bergman, J., Langley, M.S., Metz, W., Romarheim, A., Walls, A., Withycombe, R. & Wootton, R.W.F. (eds.) (1991), The World’s Religions, Lion Publishing, p.360 [pp.357-363]
2 http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr
3 Christian Publishing and Outreach (n.d.), Do all roads lead to God?
4 http://etext.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/HolKora.html, chapter 3, verse 3
5 Ibid, chapter 3, verse 45
6 http://www.sacred-texts.com/cfu/conf1.htm, chapter 15, verse 24
7 Anderson, N. (ed.) (1985), The World’s Religions, Inter-Varsity Press, p.229