What is the proper Christian approach to other religions and
the people who follow them? There are traditionally
two basic answers which are given to this question.
Evangelicals say: fight them!
We have the truth;
they only have lies. We worship God; they worship
demons. Our ways are good; their ways are
evil.
Liberals say: learn from them!
We are all
seekers after truth; we all desire to know God; we all fight
for good against our common enemies, such as hatred, greed and
injustice; we all (well, most of us!) fight against atheism and materialism.
A Lightning Tour
The majority of religions can be divided fairly neatly into the
following four categories:
Traditional
Philosophical
Syncretistic
Historical
Are these the only two possibilities? Do we have to
choose between agreeing with each other and fighting each
other? Before we look at the alternatives, let us
look briefly at the different religions which are on offer.
Traditional
Animism.
Pantheism.
Philosophical
The East.
Syncretistic
Historical
People of the Book
What is their destiny?
Can a Buddhist be saved?
Can a Moslim be saved?
What about 'responding to the light they have been given'?
What about 'no man comes to the Father but by Me'?
Friends or Foes?
We share a great deal
We disagree on vital issues - the nature of God, the path to salvation, the problem we need saving from, etc.
Know your enemy - it's never the person.
We are called to be a witness to Christ, not to fight people
who believe other things.