Alphabet Religious Soup - part 4

If we survey the modern - or more accurately postmodern - religious landscape we find a unique phenomena occurring. Religions which used to be opposed to one another are coming together. Just last week I saw a sign for an interfaith service at a local church. What lies behind this movement towards interfaith dialogue and unity? Is it simply - as we've just commemorated Veteran's Day in America - that everyone has decided religion isn't important enough to get into a war about? Or is the movement evidence of another war? If you've read the posts in this series up until now I've been using two metaphors to discuss the history of world religions. We've been thinking about this history as a spiritual war between God and Satan fought between the followers of each. In addition, we been looking at the religions as though they were pasta letters floating in alphabet soup. If we merge these two metaphors the current battle in the war is evidenced by a developing ring of F's in the bowl of soup.

Prior to 1850 it would have been inconceivable that a Jew, a Christian, a Muslim, and a Buddhist could argue for interfaith dialogue to find common ground between them. But the philosophical and religious landscape has changed dramatically since then. Several significant scholars have written on this upheaval and some time soon I'll survey them for you. At this point I don't want to give details but instead want to simply observe the movement and indicate why Christians should be especially vigilant during this battle in the war. While lacking physical aggression as a tactit, the current movement to unify religions is dangerous and should be expected by Biblically informed Christians.

If you've pondered some of what I've written in the previous 3 posts, the current scene in America and in the West in general should be expected. If - as I've been arguing - all religions which don't acknowledge Yahweh and worship Him alone are essentially unified, this unity you would expect would come forward at some point. And indeed it has and is. When anyone refuses Yahweh (as happens even in Liberal Judaism and Liberal Christianity especially through the embrace of evolution as an explanation of origins) as Creator, the ground has been laid to join hands with any other worshipper. This is because what unifies religious adherents (i.e. the suppression of the truth, the refusal to worship Yahweh) is greater than the superficial details that might separate them. What was present in Athens in Acts 17 is what is present today. Lots of people worshipping lots of different gods in different ways but without rancor. Rancor only exists where an absolute claim exists to which people must adhere or face consequences. Yahweh makes this claim and thus this is why in our modern context any religion is fine but Christianity. The real enemy in our postmodern context is someone who believes they have the truth and lives like it seeking others to believe it. Interestingly we wouldn't be upset by someone who claimed to have the truth about how to prevent people from getting the bird flu. This is because this kind of truth doesn't make any claims upon me, it only benefits me. What offends people about Yahweh as Creator is that He demands - and rightly so - absolute allegiance and repentance from worship of myself or any other idol.

So as we look at the soup and we see a ring of F's beginning to form should we be concerned? ABSOLUTELY! We should see behind it something more than simply everyone wanting to get along. If you recall where we began way back in Genesis there is a war going on. Satan is rather interested in getting his forces unified against God. The beginning of a ring of F's in the bowl of soup should be recognized for what it is, the marshalling of one army we might call neo-paganism. I don't use the word "army" lightly. There is a militaincy in the unified forces of neo-paganism. All you have to do is look to the jailing of Christian teachers in Australia and Scandinavia who taught an antithesis between Christianity and other religions (Islam in Australia, paganism revealed in radical suport of homosexuality in Scandinavia).

Our concern should manifest itself in different ways. First, Christians should get better informed about the army which is coming together. An excellent source for this is the work of Dr. Peter Jones. Second, we should move forward with the gospel in confidence. As of the writing of this post I'm preaching through Mark's gospel. What you see in the early ministry of Jesus is that Satan and his minions are not equals with Jesus. Instead, they fall in battle before Him. Satan knows he is a vanquished enemy and is now conducting a guerilla war. The end of the war is known to us (Rev. 20:9, 10) and Satan won't win. But how will those blinded by Satan (2 Cor. 4:4) be set free to true liberty in worship of the One who made them? It is only through the preaching of the gospel, the power of God for salvation (Rom. 1:16). What Paul did in Athens we must do in our time, call people to repentance to turn back to the One who made them and sent His Son for them. In preaching the gospel we proclaim our unity with all people in that we are all sinners but also proclaim that true unity between people must be based upon a shared belief in Christ (Eph. 2:11ff) not on a shared rejection of the Creator. This is God's call to us in these neo-pagan times.