One religion

Wednesday, 09 November 2011 10:57am

I was having a conversation with an evangelical Christian last week when I mentioned that I was studying Taoism, and how I found numerous similarities between the teachings of Tao and Christianity. I was admonished in mid-sentence with the declaration that Christians should not be reading or learning about other religions. He supported his conclusion by explaining that god instructed us to have no other gods before Him (the true god) as stated in the Ten Commandments. He had previously informed me that I was not really a Christian, as he and I did not agree on many aspects of Christian doctrine.
 
A couple of thoughts came immediately to mind. First, it must be difficult to be so insecure in your faith, that the act of studying or reading about other religions immediately places the god of the “other” faith in front of the god you worship. On the contrary, I find studying Confucianism helps me to understand my role in society as a businessman. Taoism instructs each person to strive to be in harmony with the highest ideals of humanity. Buddhism teaches us to be in harmony with nature and be conscious of everything we do and think. These teachings are not inconsistent with Christianity and often reinforce the message attributed to Jesus.  
 
Secondly, I was reminded that God instructed the Israelites to have no “other” gods before him. This reminded me that there are actually several references to “other” gods written in the Torah. Many Jewish scholars acknowledge that when these books were written, it was commonly believed that the Israelites were polytheists. They believed that other gods existed, however, their god was the supreme god. The most obvious examples of the acceptance of polytheism are found in the story of the Exodus. Pharaoh’s gods were able to duplicate the miracles performed by Moses, except that the miracle performed by Moses was one step superior than those performed Pharaoh’s gods.    
 
I don’t happen to believe in polytheism, but simply because I don’t believe in multiple gods does not make it true. I do know that I am unwilling to allow others to define the word “Christian.” I know what Christianity means in my life and that I do not have the authority to restrict your use of the term simply because we disagree.
 
I encourage you to study other religions. A strong and well-reasoned faith would easily withstand the challenge.
 
Love, Vern    

By: Vern Jones, CEO/Publisher and author of The Non-Religious Christian - Finding Faith Outside the Church

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