Are all religions the same?
While I was in Singapore, I visited a mosque. It was beautiful. And, inside, taking advantage of the hordes of tourists that traveled through their doors, there was a series of placards describing some of the beliefs of Islam.
Some of these placards felt oddly familiar.
They showed the same kind of logic that I write here on this blog, describing a system of beliefs, modernizing it, even, for the modern outsider, peppered throughout with verses from the Quran.
I also visited several temples in Thailand and Singapore, but I didn't get the same feeling there. Maybe it was because the Buddhist temples didn't have the user-friendly placards for the outsider, but I don't think so. It all felt very foreign, taking your shoes off, bowing in front of a golden statue, chanting, dropping coins one by one in a row of bowls. The temples were all ringed with statues of Buddha. Dozens and dozens of identical or nearly-identical statues lined the outer walls of the temple. Many old Catholic cathedrals, of course, are covered all over the inside with paintings of Jesus and His disciples. But this was so different, the endless repetition.
Of course, Islam is closer to Christianity than Buddhism. We share the same Abrahamic basis, together with Judaism, which is probably why it felt more familiar.
The placards in the mosque really had one goal. To show that Muslims weren't backward or oppressive, to show that they were logical. They met their goal, I think. I am fairly convinced that those who wrote the placards, at least, are neither oppressive nor illogical.
My sister and I spoke with one of our tour guides in Thailand about religion. She said that people have asked her, how could a Buddhist country do the things that Myanmar has done to the Rohingya Muslims? Her answer was that it was not about religion. Every religion has people who do terrible things in the name of the religion. I think I agree. Christians have the crusades, the residential schools; Muslims have the jihads; atheists have North Korea. Religion is just an excuse.
So then, why did I choose Christianity? I mean, I obviously think I'm right. I've staked a lot on it. But I don't think I'm more logical or kind or educated than the best Muslim or Buddhist or Hindu or Jew. Isn't it all just chance that I was born into a Christian family and not some other?
It's a completely logical question, but to be honest, my faith isn't shaken. So now I'm wondering why.
I could write about all the ways that Christianity is claimed to be unique among the world's religions. Chief among them is the idea that only Christianity doesn't require you to better yourself to approach God (but that God approaches you in order to make you better).
But right now, to me, that seems like more religious propaganda. Instead, I will read 1 Corinthians 1 and 2, and reflect on how God's mystery is at odds with the wisdom of this world.
Some of these placards felt oddly familiar.
They showed the same kind of logic that I write here on this blog, describing a system of beliefs, modernizing it, even, for the modern outsider, peppered throughout with verses from the Quran.
I also visited several temples in Thailand and Singapore, but I didn't get the same feeling there. Maybe it was because the Buddhist temples didn't have the user-friendly placards for the outsider, but I don't think so. It all felt very foreign, taking your shoes off, bowing in front of a golden statue, chanting, dropping coins one by one in a row of bowls. The temples were all ringed with statues of Buddha. Dozens and dozens of identical or nearly-identical statues lined the outer walls of the temple. Many old Catholic cathedrals, of course, are covered all over the inside with paintings of Jesus and His disciples. But this was so different, the endless repetition.
Of course, Islam is closer to Christianity than Buddhism. We share the same Abrahamic basis, together with Judaism, which is probably why it felt more familiar.
The placards in the mosque really had one goal. To show that Muslims weren't backward or oppressive, to show that they were logical. They met their goal, I think. I am fairly convinced that those who wrote the placards, at least, are neither oppressive nor illogical.
My sister and I spoke with one of our tour guides in Thailand about religion. She said that people have asked her, how could a Buddhist country do the things that Myanmar has done to the Rohingya Muslims? Her answer was that it was not about religion. Every religion has people who do terrible things in the name of the religion. I think I agree. Christians have the crusades, the residential schools; Muslims have the jihads; atheists have North Korea. Religion is just an excuse.
So then, why did I choose Christianity? I mean, I obviously think I'm right. I've staked a lot on it. But I don't think I'm more logical or kind or educated than the best Muslim or Buddhist or Hindu or Jew. Isn't it all just chance that I was born into a Christian family and not some other?
It's a completely logical question, but to be honest, my faith isn't shaken. So now I'm wondering why.
I could write about all the ways that Christianity is claimed to be unique among the world's religions. Chief among them is the idea that only Christianity doesn't require you to better yourself to approach God (but that God approaches you in order to make you better).
But right now, to me, that seems like more religious propaganda. Instead, I will read 1 Corinthians 1 and 2, and reflect on how God's mystery is at odds with the wisdom of this world.
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