Another Response: A Christian Hindu or Muslim?

Dear Parish Faithful,

Another fine response concerning the religious syncretism we have been informed of lately with "Christian" priests "converting" to Hinduism and Islam, but yet remaining "Christians!" This one is from Terry Morgan.

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Father,

The only thing even somewhat remarkable about the Christian/Hindu “priest” is that it is a Christian who wants to add on Hinduism. If it were the other way around, it would be perfectly natural. (Not right or true, but natural.) Most of the world’s religions are syncretistic, and are always happy to add another god. I wouldn’t be surprised that some wealthy Athenians offered Paul to build a shrine for Jesus on one of the hills right along side Athena and Apollo. For most religions it’s no big deal to add another deity. Hinduism has hundreds. But Christians have always claimed that there is only one God. And, it is not that our God is somehow better than the others, but that there simply aren’t any others at all.

Now when someone claims to be a Christian, and wants to add on Hinduism, we ought to be very suspicious of whether he (or she) was a Christian in the first place. Making this distinction falls, I believe, under the injunction to “test the spirits” rather than “judge not, lest you be judged.” If someone chooses to effectively deny one of the foundations of the faith – in effect from Mt. Sinai, no less – then we should reasonably conclude that the person wasn’t a Christian in the first place, but was making a false claim to that title. As the old song goes, “Everyone talkin’ ‘bout Heaven ain’t a-goin there.” And as the Calormenes found out in Narnia when they tried to merge Aslan and Tash, it is most unwise to call on gods in whom you don’t really believe!

In the case of the Christian/ Muslim we face a different kind of issue, one of internal consistency, as Marty accurately points out. Just because both Christianity and Islam are monotheistic religions it does not follow that they worship the same God. There are serious points on which they differ, and the theologians of both have always acknowledged this. Thus any attempt to merge the two is doomed to failure.

Of course, we ought to question the common sense of anyone who thinks he can joint two mutually exclusive theologies. And one who maintains that the two are the same is at risk in this life from a good many radical Muslims, and in the next life from Him who says “I am the Truth.”

Terry