Monochrome Dialogue

By: American Decency Staff

If artists, wordsmiths, orators, and the population in general were suddenly limited in their use of color, to blue—allowing for different hues of course—what a dull world and limited artistry would be ours.  An artist might feel as though his creativity were being chained to one corner of his pallet, an orator might feel as though his tongue were truly tied, writers would feel as though their pens had run out of ink, and every child above the age of three would throw temper tantrums over someone raiding their crayon box and stifling their creativity.  Regardless of how talented one is, communication through their medium would become difficult at best, often falling into miscommunication at worse.

That is how I feel when I hear people speak of the “Interfaith Dialogues.”  Following after the American traditional “melting pot,” these dialogues desire to remove any of the sharp colors of disagreement, turning a blind eye to the vivid array of exclusivities, allowing people speak only in terms of blue hues.  This is usually less of a dialogue, becoming more of a monologue, doing their best to make everyone feel nice and complementary inside, except for those of us who desire to get along with others, while yet still holding to the bright colors of our religious truth. These “dialogues” strive to remove the uniqueness, the exclusivity of our foundational precepts; yet we must hold fast to them, not from a view of hatred, but rather from love for God, love for our fellow man, and from the necessity of being obedient to the call given by God.

Some say that I make too much of this. To those who are so pacifistic that they’d accept the devil himself in their ranks, let me say, if religion were nothing more than a social club, that would be fine; but, the eternal destiny of one’s soul is at stake. Those who promote the meshing and melding of every religion into one seem to focus on the temporal, the now, without regard or serious thought to eternity, the state of one’s eternal soul, and the God who created each one of us for His glory and His purpose. The focus seems to be getting along with our fellow man rather than getting along with God.

I’m amazed at the number of Christians who are willing to give up the vibrant colors of exclusivity, trading them in for the dull, albeit abundant, hues of blue. 

Speaking for the Christian…

Regardless of the “Interfaith Dialoguers” stated good intentions, how can I allow others to take the bright red of the blood of Jesus off my pallet, leaving His propitiation for our sin as some lifeless, light blue hue that fades into the background of all other religions?  It’s also a removal of the black of sin which put our Lord on the cross and is in stark contrast to the white of His purity and holiness.

It’s doing away with the colors of the rainbow as God claims to be the only One, True, Holy God against whom all sin flies; that was the reason HE destroyed the world, promising never to do so again with water…although a burning fire is somewhere on the horizon. No matter how one paints the oranges, yellows, and reds of that flame into hues of blues, it will still burn and destroy, for He alone is God and will dole out judgment as He has promised.

Some will say that I’m overstating the case or that it simply isn’t the case at all.  To those who would be so naïve, let me share with you a quote from this year’s winner of the Templeton Prize for Progress in Spiritual Understanding, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks.  “We need to work as hard as we can to enhance mutual respect and friendship between faiths.  There is no one formula as to how to do this … The message of monotheism is not ‘one God, one truth, one way; but rather the miracle that unity in heaven creates diversity on earth.” (emphasis mine) 

What????  This isn’t interfaith dialog; this is a direct attack on the Christian faith,  It’s diametrically opposed to Jesus’ words that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and that no one comes to the Father (One God) except through Him (Jesus—God’s only begotten Son).  And in Acts 4:12 we read, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (ESV) The rabbi’s statement is a direct assault on the exclusivity and work of Jesus Christ.

As I read interfaith articles, listen to interfaith speeches, and hear appeals of brotherhood and service reaching across the boundaries of religion, there is one thing in common; the exclusivity of Jesus is ignored or done away with.  Whether it comes from the pen of one who holds to the Christian faith, it comes from the mouth of a Muslim, or is delivered by a Jew, the Divinity and work of Jesus is compromised, denied, or ignored. We must take great care!

Make no mistake; our love and compassion for others must reach beyond those who share our religious beliefs, but not at the expense of Jesus.  Even as Jesus was full of grace and truth, so also, we should be ambassadors of that same grace and truth.  As God has shed His grace freely—abroad in our hearts—so should we pass this same grace on to others.  But…grace and truth are a package deal; they should never be separated.

We are called to guard the precious, colorful, treasure of the Gospel, of Truth, of Jesus—Messiah and Savior. Stand firm on the Word of God; don’t allow anyone to undermine it, deny its authority, or devalue the work of Christ.  Be bold with the truth; of course that means you must be in the Word to know the truth.  We mustn’t answer with our own feelings; we are told to “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.” (II Timothy 4:2) It’s imperative to know the word of God so that we know the doctrine of God; these are our weapons and our wisdom. 

Are we ready?  Have we been feeding on the word?  Is our devotional life a refreshing spring from which we drink so that we may be energized for the spiritual battle at hand?  Our devotional life in the Word will give us sustenance as meat does the body and prayer gives us breath as oxygen fills our lungs.  As we feed and breathe Jesus, we will win – for in Christ alone will we find our victory.

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