The eCrozier

Stephen Prothero, a religion professor at Boston University, in his new book, God is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World–and Why Their Differences Matter, makes a point that seems obvious, but nevertheless still fails to register with so many people. Prothero argues that the religions of the world are quite different and come at their understanding of the divine and the human condition from dissimilar assumptions. For example, some religions do not hold that there is a God or that this God is actively engaged in human affairs. Some do not see a need for salvation and thus do not view sin as a concept worth considering. To argue then, that all religions are basically the same and seek the same end for human beings is to denigrate the particular religion in question as well as simply to deny reality.

Liberal Christianity in the last generation has jumped on this bandwagon. Karen Armstrong, author of A History of God, and others have played up what religions have in common while playing down the real differences. The Dalai Lama, who many Christians get all doe-eyed over, has claimed that: “all major religious traditions carry basically the same message.” He of all people should know better. Now don’t get me wrong. I have enormous respect for the Dalai Lama’s moral leadership. And Karen Armstrong is a gifted and provocative writer. But by holding to their contentions about religion, they are doing no one any favor and, as Prothero argues, makes understanding the real differences among religions all the more difficult.

For example, Christianity holds that the human problem is one of sin: thoughts and behavior that separate us from God and from God’s intention for creation. The solution we proclaim is salvation from sin accomplished by Jesus, the incarnate God, in his death and resurrection. While Muslims and Jews do speak of sin (but we should know not in the same way as Christians do) neither religion describes salvation from sin as a core message like we do. Likewise, the Nicene Creed is not just a variation of the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism or the Shahadah of Islam.

This has real implications for us as Christian leaders. To practice the Christian faith makes no sense unless we understand the human condition of sin as a reality. The death and resurrection of Jesus is God’s remedy for the reality of human sin. Not everyone, of course, believes that human sin is a problem that needs a solution. We do our people a disservice when we are not clear with them about the uniqueness of the Christian faith and its understanding of both the human predicament and God’s response. Such a proclamation of uniqueness is not a denigration of other religions. We can certainly learn from what they have to offer. But it is to insist that sin being what sin is, only Jesus offers the world salvation from it. The movement toward religious relativism sounds high and noble, but it is wolf in sheep’s clothing.

+Scott