Many people today make the mistake of
either not understanding the distinctions between various mystical traditions
and so they think they’re all kind of the same. Or they make the mistake of
mixing and matching beliefs or aspect of religious systems and mystical
traditions that they like while rejecting the parts they don’t. I call this
“Smorgasbord Spirituality”. A take what you want and leave what you don’t like
on the table approach. The reason why mixing and matching concepts among world religions and mystical traditions is a violation and not something to be encouraged, is that each world religion self-contained system of beliefs. To rip one idea out of context is deflate it of meaning. For the spiritual seeker they may not see how this is a problem. Yet, if they were to dig a little deeper they would begin to see how mixing and matching doesn’t work at all. There are three tests for truth that can aid in the task of understanding a religious in a deeper way, and help to understand why mixing and matching is so problematic. The three tests are: Coherence, Consistency, and Correspondence to reality.
The Three C’s
First, the test of Coherence looks for how beliefs, truth
claims and philosophical and theological propositions match up with each
other. For example, a bicycle has two
tires, a chain wheel, a chain and a pedal. (There of course are other parts,
but these specific parts are necessary for the bike to move). A bicycle works
or can move because the parts cohere with each other. The rider pushes the
pedal, which rotates the chain wheel, causing the chain to rotate, which causes
the tire to rotate and thus you go forward. Worldviews, philosophical views,
and religions strive for the same thing. You cannot rip the Christian doctrine
of Mercy and Grace out of its theological context. The grace God gives to the
sinner is meaningful because of the presence of other theological concepts such
as sin, God’s attribute of Holiness, and substitutionary atonement through
Christ. They all cohere in that man is sinful, God is holy, the only holy
response to sin is wrath, God instead of pouring out His wrath on humanity sent
His Son Jesus to die on the Cross and complete the work of substitutionary
atonement. Meaning, the God redirected His wrath that was intended for us onto
His Son. Thereby, not punishing us as we deserve (mercy), but instead giving us
salvation through faith in Christ (grace). To rip Grace out of its theological
context is to negate the very power of the concept.
Second, the test for
mystical traditions, worldviews, and religious systems is Consistency. No one every likes an inconsistent person. As
self-evident as this statement is some of you may need convincing especially in
how this relates to religion and mysticism. Take for example the 2008
presidential campaign between John Kerry and George W. Bush. Whenever I watched
the news I couldn’t tell you how many times I heard the phrase “Flip-Flopper”
in reference to Kerry. It seemed for most of the race the momentum was on
Kerry’s side, yet he kept swapping back and forth on major issues. As the race
was drawing to a close the one factor, among others, that set the balances in
Bush’ favor was the fact that Kerry was inconsistent. If there is any
indication of people’s distaste for inconsistency its politics. I do find it
curious how we vilify the “Flip-Flopper” when it comes to politics, but in the
religious or spiritual arena we tolerate if not applaud it. Yet, in regards to
eternal destiny, how much more important is our religious and spiritual beliefs
than our political ones? The Bible is a collection of 66 books, written by 40
different authors, over a time period of 1400 years, in three different
languages Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek, and on 3 continents. Yet, despite all
these the factors that would normally create a mangled mess; the Bible
communicates a one clear message that God is our Creator, but man has fallen
from fellowship with Him. Thankfully God has set out on a rescue plan to redeem
sinful humanity. So that, one day faith will no longer be needed for the whole
story will be consummated, evil will be defeated, and believers will have
eternal intimate fellowship with the Trinity. In each piece of the story and as
a whole, the themes of Creation, Fall, Redemption and Consummation
can be seen.
Third, the test
of Correspondence begins by asking
the question, is there a clear connection between the truth claims of a
religion and what we can observe in reality? For example, Hinduism claims that
the universe is eternal. Christianity claims that the universe came into
existence when God created it. Edwin Hubble, an astronomer in the 20th
century, in 1929 discovered that space is expanding and that there are star
systems beyond the Milky Way (he was not the first one to conceive of an
expanding universe, but his research and findings confirmed its validity). He
surmised from that observation, that if you rewind the tape of cosmic history,
everything— space, time, matter, antimatter, energy, dark energy— would have
all coalesced into one point, the singularity. Cosmic history started with
nothing, then the singularity burst forth with all matter, time and energy
rapidly expanded. Planets, solar systems, galaxies and black holes began to
form, yet the expansion from the Big Bang carries on. Big Bang cosmology gave
credence to the Christian truth claim that the universe had a beginning. And
so, there is a correspondence between the religious claim and what we observe
in reality.
However,
correspondence is not limited to issues of science; take for example the
Christian idea of Humanity depravity and the Hindu idea of inner divinity.
Humanity is a culpable source for great evil. This awareness of imperfection
exists within each one of us even those we hold in high regard as being
altruistic and self-sacrificing, for example Mohandas K. Gandhi. He was called
Mahatma meaning “great soul” and Bapu meaning “father” because he stood up for
the rights of underprivileged and needy. He was known for being a strong
proponent of the Hindu worldview, self-divinity and universalistic thought. But
even he felt the pain and frustration of his own imperfections. “For it is an
unbroken torture to me that I am still so far from Him, who, as I fully know,
governs every breath of my life, and whose offspring I am” (So What’s the Difference? p. 95). Another
brilliant mind expressed his thoughts on the issue of depravity, G. K.
Chesterton, a well known thinker in the early 1900’s, was once asked by a
newspaper in England sampling some of the foremost thinkers of their time,
“What is wrong with the world?” To which he promptly responded by saying, “Well
you see my dear sirs, I am”. This thought-provoking answer speaks volumes of
the realization Chesterton had, he recognized that the causal root of man’s
problems was not because of enemy nations, extremism, intolerance and so on, or
some factor outside of human nature breaking in and infecting the evil few. For
Chesterton it was the sin nature within every human heart that was the cause
for widespread evil.
How
does, for example, Hinduism or Buddhism explain human depravity? Buddhism offers no
explanation, its only suggestion is to accept suffering as a brute fact and
through one’s own efforts seek liberation. But if it our nature that is the
problem, how then can we also be the answer? Hinduism proposes that each person
possesses divinity. The whole of human
history is marked by subjugation of weaker people groups by dominant cultures,
systematic conquering of foreign nations for the purpose of world domination
(the Aztecs, the Mayans, the Egyptians, the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the
Persians, the unified Grecian cities under Athens, the Romans, the Carthagians,
the Nazis, the Red army, and so on), slavery, ethnic cleansing, genocide,
political deception, the war machine churning out profit for select
instigators, racial intolerance, infanticide, murder, rape, lying, cheating,
inconsideration, and all the way down the line to simple human selfishness. In
light of all these atrocities, what does that say about divinity? Islam does
explain human as fallen and sinful. The reason for all our problems is a
rebellion of what is right, rejection of the laws of God. Islam correctly
identifies the problem, yet the solution is through moral perfection. At the
end of one’s life, one’s good deeds are weighed against one’s sinful deeds. Whichever
scale is heavier determines your eternal destiny, paradise or Hades. I again
ask the question, if it is our nature that is the problem, how then can we be
the answer, vis-à-vis through living a morally perfect life?
