Yeshua Explored

17th October 2022

Multiculturalism

What about other religions?

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Nowadays Christians live alongside followers of other gods and no gods. Some of us will fall by the wayside, as did a good proportion of those ancient Jews. But for the rest, there is a purpose. It is called the Great Commission.

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20)

We must consider the possibility (or probability) that fulfilling this purpose does not necessarily entail travel to far-flung corners of the World to ‘evangelise the heathens’, as it was in earlier centuries. The mission field is now on our doorstep, often literally. Those who follow other faiths are not our enemies, the nations are now among us. We are called to make disciples of them, show them the truth of the Gospel. And unlike those ancient Jews, we not only have the incentive to do this but God has equipped us with His Word and His Spirit to help us in this life-transforming task. There seems to be a major contrast between now and then; the danger with the ancient Israelites was the seductive appeal of the ‘gods of other nations’, but perhaps this appeal is not so strong these days. Rather than fearing losing folk to other religions we should, instead, get our act together and concentrate on making disciples of the nations among us.

Wrenching people away from ‘other gods’ is not an easy task though, and it is certainly not the ‘politically correct’ thing to do in our multicultural society, where we are called to respect and tolerate other faiths and let others live in peace. The Kingdom of the World says STOP but the Kingdom of God says GO … and make disciples. It’s what God has put us on Earth for.

We must never forget that ‘the gods of other nations’ are still rivals to the One True God and man certainly can’t serve two masters, whether it is the Allah of the Muslims or the millions of Hindu varieties. We remind ourselves:

“You shall have no other gods before me.” (Exodus 20:3)

Multiculturalism gives each equal billing, it accepts no place of favour for the Christian God, despite the fact that Britain has been a Christian nation (of sorts) since Roman times. Each religion is deemed free to exist within its own bubble, with its own set of truths and woe betide anyone who attempts to disrupt this artificial sinister construct. In reality, Christianity is deemed least among equals, thanks to the machinations of cultural Marxism (explained thoroughly in my book, Into the Lion’s Den), condemned by the misguided actions of some in the past who used a Christian smokescreen to mask actions that were no way condoned by the Bible, such as slavery, persecution and misogyny. Religious “freedom” comes as part of the package, as long as it is not the Christian religion being defended. For instance, Islamophobia is a word bandied about a lot, particularly when there is a fear of reprisals after the latest terrorist outrage by Islamists. Yet the word implies an irrational fear, that’s how a phobia is defined, and there is nothing irrational about the negative emotions stoked up by actions inspired by the writings of Islam. Yet there is no such thing as Christophobia. Isn’t that curious? Of course this is not to condemn Muslims any more than to condemn the vast majority of Christians in history who had absolutely nothing to do with the hateful things done ‘in the name of Christ’, such as the Inquisition, anti-Semitism and the Crusades.

Our culture now feels uncomfortable with the name “Christmas”, renaming seasonal events in order not to give offense to followers of other faiths, despite the fact that, mostly, Muslims and Hindus are unconcerned and frankly puzzled why this should be happening. Perhaps it’s the jarring reference to Christ in the name, which perhaps explains why Easter is not targeted, as it has been redefined as a season of bunny rabbits and chocolate eggs and therefore satisfactorily neutralized!

In October 2013 there was a motion in Parliament to end swearing on the Bible when giving oaths in court, I swear by Almighty God to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth. Instead witnesses would be just asked to sincerely promise to tell the truth. Of course, many who take a Biblical oath are no longer motivated by a fear of Divine retribution if caught lying, yet there is power in the symbolism and a significant shift in power if the symbol is removed. Unsurprisingly multiculturalism has allowed the Qu’ran and other holy books to be used for followers of other religions. Atheists just need a sincere affirmation. The motion was defeated, though it didn’t stop the Boy Scouts and Girl Guides from moving God out of their oaths.

Christianity has a distinctive from all other religions. It is by its core nature evangelistic. It is a grafted-in faith, not an inherited one. You are not born a Christian, it is a personal decision made in collaboration with the Holy Spirit and a direct result of the Great Commission. You are brought into the Family of God through the actions of the Holy Spirit and as a result of the words, deeds and prayers of others, except in cases where God acts sovereignly, as is His prerogative.

Although Islam does have evangelistic elements, judging by the increasing number of converts, promoting the faith is not considered one of its five pillars, these being faith, prayer, charity, fasting and pilgrimage. Converting to Islam is mostly due to the shortcomings of the alternatives, whether the liberalism, perceived prejudice or lack of direction in the Church or the moral corruption of our secular society. Those who convert to Buddhism tend to be those on personal spiritual journeys, something encouraged by Buddhist teachings and, again, tends to be a reaction to the materialism, control and pointlessness of our capitalist society. It’s a similar situation with Hinduism, a desire for eastern mysticism over western materialism, something of great interest to those wealthy western materialistic pop stars, such as The Beatles, who dabbled with Hinduism in the 1960s but ultimately mostly felt drawn back to the material comforts of Rolls Royces, mansions and sumptuous living.

So multiculturalism presents us with a menu of “gods” and I haven’t even got started on Sikhism, Taoism, the Bahais, as well as the endless varieties of “Christian” cults, such as Mormonism and the Jehovah Witnesses. Rather than acknowledging the reality of the One True God (with the disclaimer that … and of course there are other “gods” you may want to consider …), it relegates Our Father in Heaven, the Creator of the Earth and the Heavens to an equal standing with the Great One-eyed Tothz the magnificent. We remind ourselves:

“You shall have no other gods before me.” (Exodus 20:3)

This is not a suggestion, it’s a warning. And where warnings are unheeded, there are always consequences. Consequences for the ancient Israelites were exile, exclusion even death. Consequences today are, perhaps, even more troubling, the danger to one’s own eternal soul. Evangelism has never been more challenging … or important.

In the Sinner’s Charter, our modern day ‘version’ of the Ten Commandments, the first commandment has been redefined and incorporates an overt rejection of the One True God, or at the very least offers Him as an alternative to all the other “goods” (“gods”?) on display. Here is a suggestion:

You can have any gods you like, as long as you don’t encourage others to believe as you do.

This is an extract from the book, Sinner’s Charter: Are the ten commandments for today?, available for £10 at https://www.sppublishing.com/the-sinners-charter-260-p.asp