"We should celebrate all things spiritual! Afterall, all religions basically teach the same thing: respect and love for one's neighbor and doing good to human kind."
This isn't just a "man on the street" belief. Lawyers, doctors, and scientists hold to this as well. It is murmured in quaint coffee shops around the world and shouted from the couch of your favorite talk show. Oprah has made a career on this brand of pluralism.
Before we tip our hat to such a notion, though, we should evaluate it. Is it really true?
If you actually study the main tenets of the world's major faiths, you'll find out that they are quite different.
Christians believe Jesus was crucified on a cross. There is no Christianity without that belief! Muslims, however, reject that; what's more, to Muslims, holding to the crucifixion of Jesus is no small thing--it's a big no-no! Jehovah's Witnesses believe Jesus was the archangel Michael, and Christians reject such a thing. God is a personal creator who is separate from His creation in Christianity, whereas all is one in Hinduism. All these beliefs are main pillars of each faith. Even each faith's beliefs in the afterlife are worlds apart--heaven, reincarnation, nothing, etc.
If you reflect further, you'll see that these can't all be true! God is either personal or impersonal. He either exists or He doesn't. In no case can God be both personal and impersonal, real and fake. Jesus either is the Messiah or He is not. In no case can He be both the Messiah and not the Messiah. When you die, you either are reincarnated, go to heaven, rot in the ground, or hitch a ride on a comet...but you can't do it all!
I've heard an objection that when it comes to religion, "what's true for you might not be true for me." Is this a good way of thinking? It is not like we are talking about food tastes, which are subjective. No, these are all claims about what really happens after you die. They apply to reality. That doesn't mean they are false; it just means that they can't all be true.
Another objection is that all this reflects a western way of thinking. In the west, so the argument goes, it is either this OR that, but in the east, many people are comfortable embracing contradiction. A more common way to think in the east when it comes to contradicting beliefs is "both/and."
Is this correct? No. It might seem on the surface that the "both/and" reigns supreme in the east when it comes to contradictory beliefs, but nothing could be further from the truth. Notice that you can run, but you can't hide from the either/or: the easterners who tout the "both/and" logic choose that way of thinking *over and against* the so-called western view. The either/or pops up in pesky ways, doesn't it?
Be skeptical of the grand claims of pluralism. Sure, Gatorade and anti-freeze might both be green liquids, but it's the differences that matter when choosing which to drink!
This isn't just a "man on the street" belief. Lawyers, doctors, and scientists hold to this as well. It is murmured in quaint coffee shops around the world and shouted from the couch of your favorite talk show. Oprah has made a career on this brand of pluralism.
Before we tip our hat to such a notion, though, we should evaluate it. Is it really true?
If you actually study the main tenets of the world's major faiths, you'll find out that they are quite different.
Christians believe Jesus was crucified on a cross. There is no Christianity without that belief! Muslims, however, reject that; what's more, to Muslims, holding to the crucifixion of Jesus is no small thing--it's a big no-no! Jehovah's Witnesses believe Jesus was the archangel Michael, and Christians reject such a thing. God is a personal creator who is separate from His creation in Christianity, whereas all is one in Hinduism. All these beliefs are main pillars of each faith. Even each faith's beliefs in the afterlife are worlds apart--heaven, reincarnation, nothing, etc.
If you reflect further, you'll see that these can't all be true! God is either personal or impersonal. He either exists or He doesn't. In no case can God be both personal and impersonal, real and fake. Jesus either is the Messiah or He is not. In no case can He be both the Messiah and not the Messiah. When you die, you either are reincarnated, go to heaven, rot in the ground, or hitch a ride on a comet...but you can't do it all!
I've heard an objection that when it comes to religion, "what's true for you might not be true for me." Is this a good way of thinking? It is not like we are talking about food tastes, which are subjective. No, these are all claims about what really happens after you die. They apply to reality. That doesn't mean they are false; it just means that they can't all be true.
Another objection is that all this reflects a western way of thinking. In the west, so the argument goes, it is either this OR that, but in the east, many people are comfortable embracing contradiction. A more common way to think in the east when it comes to contradicting beliefs is "both/and."
Is this correct? No. It might seem on the surface that the "both/and" reigns supreme in the east when it comes to contradictory beliefs, but nothing could be further from the truth. Notice that you can run, but you can't hide from the either/or: the easterners who tout the "both/and" logic choose that way of thinking *over and against* the so-called western view. The either/or pops up in pesky ways, doesn't it?
Be skeptical of the grand claims of pluralism. Sure, Gatorade and anti-freeze might both be green liquids, but it's the differences that matter when choosing which to drink!
About the Author:
Rich Bordner has been writing on Christianity, apologetics, and philosophy for over eight years. He has degrees in both English and Philosophy, is currently working on an Master's degree in Philosophy, and is also a high school teacher. If you have questions about Christianity, apologetics, and spirituality, or just want to participate in spirited debate on those and other topics, visit his website.
