Know Your Neighbour Before You Love Them

Mission in A Pluralist Society

Australia is increasingly identifying itself officially as a pluralist and multicultural society.  To be “multicultural” is to recognise our ever-changing population and the diversity of cultures represented by those who call Australia home.  To be “pluralist” is to also tolerate the diversity of ideas and worldviews represented by those cultures, and even, some would argue, to accept and incorporate those worldviews into Australian society as a whole.  An example of this would be the variety of options to the challenging question: Should Australia ban the wearing of the burqa (face veil) by Muslim women in certain situations?

For pluralism to work, as a social policy, tolerance in its true sense is required, at the very least.  Unfortunately, tolerance becomes distorted into acceptance, expressed in such beliefs as: All religions are equally valid.

Contrary to this distortion, the fact is that most of the world’s religions hold some level of belief in the supremacy of their own beliefs, values and rules for behaviour —their worldview.  The founder of Christianity, for instance, stated that, “No one can come to the Father but by me” (Jn 14:6).  This statement does not allow a lot of room for difference of opinion.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics, in its collection of census data, recognises the cultural and religious diversity of Australia:

*I am having trouble uploading the images and tables; will do so ASAP!

This is just some of the data that highlights the increasing diversity in Australia.  This diversity continues to expand and alter as new immigrant populations join our society, particularly from non-Western/non-English-speaking countries.¹

*I am having trouble uploading the images and tables; will do so ASAP!

Since this reality of multiculturalism is generally tolerated and officially accepted in our society we, as Christians, are then presented with a significant challenge to our mission and ministry: How can we reach out with the Gospel of Jesus the Christ to other-churched people groups?

Categories of God-Concepts

There are three key questions that each of us must answer for ourselves, so that we can maintain some level of consistency between our beliefs, values and behaviours —in other words, our integrity and worldview.  The answers to these questions are meant to be provided by our religion of choice, even if not understood completely or accepted wholeheartedly.  The questions are:

1. What is the nature of the world?
2. What can I know about the world?
3. How do I conduct myself in the world?

The first question relates to our concept of God, as well as to the origin of the universe and of life itself.  This first question represents our beliefs about the world we live in, our metaphysics.  The second continues by establishing our values, our sense of what is important to know, our epistemology.  The third question completes this triad by establishing how we will conduct ourselves based on our beliefs and our values, our ethics.

Whether we realise it or not, whether it is coherent or consistent or not, we all have a worldview comprised of answers to these questions, which directly influence and enable our interaction with the world around us.  Without a worldview, we could not possibly make sense of the world, as we would not know the rules.  Even if our worldview does not make sense —and, without reflection, too often it does not seem to— without it, we would be lost.

Let us take a few moments to consider various answers to the first question —What is the nature of the world?— as they relate to the variety of God-concepts represented by the world’s religions.  In so doing, we may better understand the foundation of their particular worldview, thereby understanding the belief and value systems that our neighbours live by and operate within.

God-concepts chart

The two main categories of religious belief begin with either: 1) belief in a personal God; or, 2) belief in an impersonal divinity.  There are two other approaches to this metaphysical question, namely that of atheism (the belief that no god, in any form, exists) and of agnosticism (the belief that, even if a god did exist, he/she/it would be unknowable).  Despite arguments to the contrary, these beliefs are religious in nature because they are beliefs regarding the existence of a divinity and are treated with care and devotion appropriate to worship, although not promoting an official religious tradition specifically.²  For example, atheists at a convention in Melbourne in 2010 used a hairdryer labeled “Reason” to perform a “de-baptism” ceremony followed by a “de-sacrament” of crackers with peanut butter.  Why perform a ceremony at all if symbolic rituals have no spiritual power?

Religious groups promoting belief in an impersonal force (i.e. “Deism”) are:

1. Monism (e.g. Buddhism³)
1. assumes that all of reality is a singular substance (i.e. “all is God”)
2. anything that purports to be independent, such as our personal identity, is illusion
3. there is no divinity per se
2. Pantheism (e.g. Hinduism;⁴ Sufism, an Islamic sect; New Age Movement)
1. assumes that the divine is everything in the cosmos and that everything is divine (i.e. “God is all”)
2. distinguishable from Monism in that it is beginning to posit divinity
3. most Hollywood movies dealing with spirituality tend to propose this sort of worldview (e.g. the Star Wars movies, Avatar, etc)[5."Confronted with a cancer or a slum the Pantheist can say, 'If you could only see it from the divine point of view, you would realize that this also is God.'  The Christian replies, 'Don’t talk damned nonsense.'”. (C. S. Lewis, The Case for Christianity, 1943)]
3. Panentheism (e.g. Scientology; Sri Chinmoy)
• a derivative of Pantheism allowing for a distinction between the divine reality and the created cosmos
4. Dualism (e.g. Wicca; European Gnosticism)
• revolves around cosmogonic myths describing two gods or two principles in conflict
• Zoroastrianism is arguably dualistic, more so than Christianity

Strands of belief in a personal divinity (i.e. “Deism”) are:

1. Polytheism (e.g. Animism; Hinduism; Greco-Roman Paganism)
• worships many gods (e.g. 330 million in Hinduism)
2. Henotheism (e.g. Classical Greco-Roman paganism; ISKCON, followers known as the Hare Krishnas; Sikhism; Early Judaism)
• identifies a supreme God among gods
• “monotheism in principle and polytheism in fact” (Max Müller)
3. Monotheism (e.g. Judaism; Christianity; Islam; Baha’i, arguably a sect of Islam; Zoroastrianism)
• assumes that a singular god exists
4. Explicit Monotheism identifies this supreme God with an individual (e.g. ancient Egyptian religion)

This model is not meant to represent an evolution to religious belief, as some would argue.

The Relationship Between Culture and Religion

As Australia is being increasingly recognised officially as a multicultural and pluralistic society, it is more than likely that many of our neighbours come from countries and religious backgrounds where religion and culture are so intertwined that to change religious convictions is to give up one’s family and support network (e.g. Judaism, Islam, Jehovah’s Witnesses, etc).  As Christians wanting to follow the Great Commission to “go into all the world” (Matt. 28:19-20), we would do well to take notice that the “world” is now ‘down the street’, so to speak!

The three foundational questions discussed earlier reveal how one’s beliefs about the universe influence our values in this world and dictate our behaviour each and every day.  Knowing something of another person’s religious background, and perhaps something of how much this corresponds to their personally “owned” beliefs, will give us a glimpse into how they understand and operate in the world around them, as well as a starting-point for engaging them in spiritual discussion and sharing with them the gospel of Jesus the Christ.

God works in mysterious ways; His Spirit moves in the world despite the Church.  We should not be surprised to find that many of our neighbours ‘know’ God within the context of their religious upbringing —for example, Jesus’ statement, “I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold” (Jn 10:11-18) and “Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice” (Jn 18:37-38a).  We need to appreciate the ‘seeds’ that have been sown by the Spirit and seek to participate in reaping the spiritual harvest.

Mission in A Pluralist Society

Mission in a pluralist society, our neighbourhood, will look something like this:

1. Build authentic relationships with your neighbours;
   (It’s ok to spend time with your neighbours and even to celebrate with them)
2. Appreciate their religious and cultural background, rather than simply tolerate or, worse, accept it;
3. Understand the perspective provided by their religious beliefs;
   (e.g. What do you believe about God?  How much do you believe that ?)
4. Be prepared “to make your defence … for the hope that is in you” (1 Pet 3:15); and,
5. Pray for the softening of hearts and the breaking down of barriers.

In the past, we have approached evangelism from a pedagogical perspective (i.e. the superior teacher instructing the inferior student).  Instead, we need to find points of mutuality (i.e. of common experiences) and journey together in discovering our need to submit to God, seeking His revelation of Himself.