Bdos: Who are you calling upon?

Representatives of the Christian, Jewish, Baha’i, Buddhist, and Hindu Faiths all joined together at St. Mary’s Church in prayer for love, freedom and understanding among human relationships.

The special joint service was part of a Multi-Faith Observation for Commonwealth Day.

Most noteworthy is that there was no sermon but a "Meditation" by Reverend Dr. Wilfred Wood who was properly disapproving of the U.S. ventures in Iraq and Haiti (though he did not explicitly state that); that wealthy nations [code for the U.S.] were said to be "engaged in the seven deadly sins afflicting advanced societies as described by Mahatma Ghandi"; and that the people and leaders of these rich but sinful nations engaged in

According to Ghandi,... “politics without principle, wealth without worth, commerce without morality, education without commitment, pleasure without conscience, science without humanity and worship sacrifice."

Forget the politics of it. I intend to focus on the "theology" of an inter-faith service.

We live in an age when mealy-mouthed pieties have replaced the dogmatic assertions that are the hallmark of a firm and clear religious faith. In this age, ecumenicism, with its bland, one-size-fits-all god, has replaced the YHWH of the OT [who is the NT God who is masked in the Son] who thunders in Isaiah:

I am YHWH, and there is none else; besides me there is no God.... For thus saith YHWH that created the heavens, the God that formed the earth and made it, that established it and created it not a waste, that formed it to be inhabited: I am YHWH; and there is none else.... Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else. By myself have I sworn, the word is gone forth from my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.... (Is 45:7, 18, 22-23)

And, "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6)

How is this YHWH God — who so clearly asserts His identity, who rejects the notion that He is one of many or the chief amongst many, and who declares that the only way to Him is through His Son — to be understood and reconciled with that creature to whom words are offered up in an inter-faith gathering? What compromises have to be made regarding the identity, nature, and essence of God, for these groups — Christian, Jewish, Baha'i Muslim, Buddhist, and Hindu — to be able to pray together? I contend that such a reconciliation is not possible, and that those who engage in ecumenical services must either lie to themselves concerning what they believe, or they must reject God as he presents Himself in order to worship a god of their own imaginings. Alternatively, one may argue that the individuals from these diverse groups may find common ground and move forward from there. However, upon closer inspection, the common ground is reduced to no more than the idea of a god. For, even Judaism and Christianity, the two closest faiths, differ with regard to their theology and doctrine of the essence of God — Jews are monotheists, and Christians are Trinitarian monotheists. The differences between the others are even wider.

For such diverse groups to pray together, each must convince himself that the theological differences are insignificant. The Christian, for this is this writer's faith and confession, has to wilfully ignore John 14:6, amongst other texts, in order to join in prayer with other religious bodies. One may not ignore or dismiss John 14:6 et al and remain a Christian; for, Christianity is a faith of sharp and clear absolutes, of either-or rather than both-and. Either one believes in Christ or one does not. Either salvation comes through Jesus Christ alone or it does not. Either Jesus is the only way to God or He is not. Such an absolutist faith does not permit the accommodation of ecumenicism. Thus, one may conclude that the mere fact of ecumenicism amounts to a denial of the particularity of Christ and of Christianity itself.

If God is taken as He presents Himself to us in His Word, then ecumenicism amounts to heresy. He is not Buddha or Bahau'la or anybody else. He is YHWH God, and He has named and defined Himself for us; moreover, His reputation and promises are bound to the name by which He has identified Himself to us. He made us; we didn't make Him. Therefore, either we accept His presentation of Himself, or we reject it. If we accept Him as He says He is, then we must reject ecumenicism. For, it is, in essence, a rejection of God's depiction of Himself because it implies that He may be other than and different from who He says He is. Thus, in the ecumenical world view, there is not any truth, either in God Himself or in His presentation of Himself to us. In the absence of a God of truth, each man is free to create his own god based on his idea of what a god ought to be.

Confronted with an absolutist God, Christians can only charitably extend polite tolerance to adherents of belief other systems, unaccompanied by any possibility of joint worship or prayer. In fact, although we may pray for others of different beliefs, we may not pray with them. After all, what has YHWH God to do with Dagon? Nothing. For, Christianity and its scandal of particularity permits no middle course designed to appease the sensibilities of those who believe differently. Say what you want about Him, YHWH God is not politically correct. He stakes out His gound — He is the creator of the heavens and earth — and asserts His absolute supremacy. He is God, and He alone; beside Him there is none other.

So, then, what recourse does an ecumenicist have? He has no choice but to reject God's presentation of Himself and advance his own notions of the Godhead. For, it is his own idea of god which facilitates "prayer" with others of different beliefs. Therefore, even though each might pray to his own god, such prayer makes the Christian God one of many rather than God alone, which is what He says of Himself.

So, while Christians may and do interact with those of different beliefs, prayer and worship is not an acceptable option. For, the question that YHWH God may rightly ask is, who are you calling upon? If what God says of Himself is dismissed, then the only answer is "not You."