Several years back, at the church I attended during college, one of their sponsored missionaries asked if he could organize a brief little missions trip. Not a month-long, nor even a week-long, but only for a day: this missionary's mission field was Jackson Heights, Brooklyn, an hour away. He wanted a couple of us to understand the rich multiculturalism of the area. He had the eight of us hand out foreign-language tracts on the subway station. He explained to us some of the difficulty of explaining Christianity to, say, a Muslim mindset. But the highlight of the trip was when he had us visit two temples and a mosque, not as evangelists, but merely as visitors.
We were actually turned away from the first two houses of worship. The mosque was not entertaining visitors at that time, and at the first Hindu temple we visited the gods were "having lunch." By the time we reached the second temple, however, lunch was over, and we were welcomed inside.
I don't know if you've ever been inside a Hindu temple, but this place was beautiful. You came into this big room where large statues stood against the far wall: Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. All along the other walls, and all along these balconies looking down into this room, were statues of other gods (or of avatars of the main three): I recognized Krishna and Ganesh, but many of the others I did not know. In one corner of the gallery there was this sort of phallic rock that you were supposed to pour milk over; in another, this really stunning mural depicting he birth of Krishna.
The priest was very kind; he showed us all around the place, explaining his faith as best he could despite a limited mastery of English. There were times when I had to help him explain, drawing from what I remembered from my Comp Religion class: he was having a hard time articulating that all the Hindu gods are believed to be aspects of the divine force, the Brahman.
After showing us around, he offered us some fruit which the gods had just finished "eating." (Apparently when the gods eat something, they only eat its essence, and when they're done humans can eat what's left. I could feel my fellow Christians sort of freeze in place, the wheels turning. What was that Paul said about food sacrificed to idols? Seeing our hesitation, the priest offered to bless us: still nine Christians hesitated, all but shrinking back. Would that be right? Shouldn't we stay away from having someone pray to other gods for us, as good Christians?
Then Artie Martin, the leader of my church's men's group, stepped up with a big smile. "Sure," he said.
The priest annointed Artie's forehead with some reddish sort of oil and prayed over him in a language I couldn't understand. Artie kept his head bowed respectfully until the priest was done. Then he said, "Thank you so much. And, may I bless you in return?" When the priest assented, Artie laid hands on him and prayed aloud to Jesus, asking that God would watch over the old man's life, that he would come to know how much God loved him. The priest seemed a little quizzical, but thanked Artie for his blessing, and renewed his offer of fruit. Artie cheerfully took a banana.
That always struck me, even years later. When the rest of us cringed back, wondering what was right and what was wrong to do, Artie reacted in love. He accepted the blessing of what is, from Christianity's perspective, a false god--in order to show our God's love in return. Artie demonstrated the Law of Love.
Jesus of Nazareth told the story of a Jewish man beaten by robbers and left for dead on the side of the road. Two of his fellow countrymen passed by: a Jewish priest and a Levite, both religious men, both respected. Both crossed over to the other side of the road. Why did they do this? Recently the members of my Bible study were trying to get into their heads, come up with possible motivations. Perhaps the priest needed to be at a religious gathering. Perhaps they were both afraid that the man was already dead, and that by touching him they would make themselves ritually unclean. From a religious standpoint, there are plenty of justifications for not stopping to help a man on the side of the road. Yet the one who finally stopped to help--a Samaritan, a half-breed, one who followed a faith that was basically a perversion of Judaism--ignored all such justifications and boundaries of ethnicity and religion. The Good Samaritan followed the Law of Love, which always places people first before all else save God--the law which outranks concerns of ritual or cleanliness.
When asked to sum up the Jewish Law--a thousand rules regarding ritual, hygeine, government, and society--Jesus boiled them down to two: love God, love your neighbor. Loving your neighbor will often be inconvenient, costly, and risky. But Jesus put people before his own needs--going without sleep to care for them, going out of his way to help them, and ultimately giving his life to rescue them. If we as Christians claim to be followers of Jesus, we must follow his example of sacrificial loving.
Even if that means eating an idol-sacrificed banana or two.
True 
Comments (21)
Excellent post! Flexibility will keep you from breaking a leg metaphorically speaking.
When I left christianity. I learned how to meditate, best thing I ever found. I joined a group by our local college but they happened to be Buddhists. I didn't care at the time I was just there for the meditation. The owners of the house were an old Buddhist couple who had a temperance and calm demeanor about them that was shocking.
One day we had a meditation session and after I left on my way home I stopped at the shopping market to buy a couple things and hit on some girls. Strange thing was I felt like I had just gotten back from a vacation from a tropical island for a month. The peace and calmness I was experiencing was absolutely phenomenal.
Problem was a couple of weeks later the college religious instructor was there and he was just as dogmatic and self righteous as any christian ever was, no difference. He was teaching out of some Buddhist bullshit scriptures and he stood up and said "Buddha showed us the way"!
That was it for me I left and never went back. I wasn't about to leave one bullshit religion and trade it in for another. Anyhow, good post, way to be flexible!
This post exemplify's a living condition... The those around you.. The best policy to live by: Yet, rarely practiced by any.. I think that all relgions teaches everyone to do good, but somewhere along the lines, people begin interpret things diffeerently and misleading their followers... In the end though, it's simply to be mindful towards others as how you would want others to be mindful towards you...
I don't know the essence of these religions, but I'm a Buddhist. The essence of the Buddhist religion/faith, is to simply generate generosity, love and kindness...
This post is lovely. It's always nice when we can learn and respect each others' faiths or lack of faith. :)
Let's not forget that exercising common courtesy is the most frequently occurring opportunity to love thy neighbor.
If Christians deign to venture into "foreign" territory they must remember that turning up their high brow noses at gifts offered is a sin of rudeness rendered.
@fallingraindrop@xanga - "Let's not forget that exercising common courtesy is the most frequently occurring opportunity to love thy neighbor."
Yes. Yes. Yes!
I can see the headline now, "Irate Christians draw the line over pagan banana!"
This webblog is not very Christian. If your a Christian your not going to walk into a buddhist temple and see their "false gods plastered in gold" Jesus was against that kind of thing. God detests idols. Jesus is King of Kings Lord of Lords and God of Gods.. there is no other God and no other Way but through Jesus Christ and anyone who enters in throughs ome other way is considered as a thief or a robber in God's eyes.. if u dont accept Jesus testimony u dont accept hte Son and u dont have the Father or eternal life dwelling in u
Meditation is not some sort of "calming thing" people need the peace of Christ in their hearts not some devil prayers to idols
U gotta pray to Jesus Christ thats meditation and ur prayers get answered Jesus said Ask and ull receive seek andull find and knock and teh door shall be opened unto u
This is a sad CHristian blog community cause its mixed in with heresy
Love thy Neighbor does not mean accept false religions... u got it all wrong and ur spreading LIES Christianity is standing out and being seperated.. from idols... look at what this verse says here ur site is a disgrace to Christians
5But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.
6Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.
7Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.
8Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand.
9Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents.
10Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.
11Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
12Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
13There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
14Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.
from 1 Corinthians chapter 10
sorry to say it tho but ur spreading lies and heresies
Leviticus 26:1
Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the LORD your God.
Deuteronomy 4:16
Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female,
The only blessings that come down is from Jesus Christ, please, your a heretic stop posting these lies
Please, do not be deceived by this man or woman's find sounding words or what they are trying to teach. They really don't care for any of us, they are a hireling. They don't care for the sheep of Jesus Christ, they are spreading heresy.. They have no truth within themselves like Jesus does. We have to keep our eyes in the bottle and our eyes towards Jesus. Including me.. You guys dont believe this.. Jesus never said "respect other religions" Jesus told us clearly He was the ONLY Way into Heaven and if people can't accept that they will die go to Hell and be stuck in their sin because they reject the CHrist who came and died for them the SOn of God who is both God and Lord and Savior...
Also... The Bible told us that there would be diff. JEsus and JEsus told us to WATCH OUT for these false shepherds!!!
2 Corinthians 11:4
For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.
^ Paul is scolding htem for this
2 Timothy 4:3-4
3For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
4And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
John 14:6 (King James Version)
6Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Acts 4:12
Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
1Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.
2But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
3To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.
4And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
5And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.
6This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them.
7Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.
8All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.
9I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
10The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
11I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
DO NOT BE DECEIVED THIS GUY IS A WOLF IN SHEEPS CLOTHING DONT BELIEVE HIS LIES
@Ashley H. - Was Jesus anonymous?
*ahem*
I hope you know that the priest considered your God to be the same as Bhraman.
Well, more to everyone else commenting...
>_>
Also, some of you are commenting without truly understanding what Hunduism truly is. I don't care if the Bible says not to worship idols; we're not worshiping the idols in the first place...
I hope your leader took you to 74th street to have something to eat in one of the many Indian restaurants there. Delicious food and inexpensive.
Most of the comments I see here are very heartening whilst a couple demonstrate an ignorance about other religions and probably a fear. In the Buddhism I practice there are no statues of the Buddha but something comes to mind none the less. Putting aside that the historical Buddha, Shakyamuni was quite lean physically and the smiling chubby little Buddha statues displayed in some forms of Buddhism are merely symbolic of happiness, we might consider that someone who enters a Christian church and sees images of Christ on the cross and sometimes the Virgin Mary on the walls might easily think that Christians worship idols. Having the presence of mind to put the shoe on the other foot can be enlightening. If you live in New York City you'll hear the frequent claim, "New York is the greatest city in the world" but if you live in another city that sounds like an ignorant insult to every other city in the world. Why do people have to despise other religions as inferior to their own? Usually it comes out of fear and doubt about their own religious beliefs or at the very least it comes from listening to the leaders of their religion who have those very fears and doubts.
There's a story about Shakyamuni who lived about 3,000 years ago. A group of priests, angered because their followers were leaving in numbers to listen to the compelling words of Shakyamuni, hired an assassin to kill him, telling the assassin that Shakyamuni was an evil man. They told the assassin to find him when he was alone in meditation so that nobody could trace the murder back to them. The assassin found him easily and waited until Shakyamuni was alone meditating in a forest. Taking out his knife the assassin quietly approached him but something began to happen. As he got near he experienced a deep feeling of peace he had never experienced before in his life. The nearer he got to Shakyamuni the more powerful this feeling became. By the time he reached Shakyamuni the assassin fell at his feet and begged Shakyamuni to accept him as a disciple. Shakyamuni, opened his eyes and spoke to the assassin, "Discard the knife you have used to kill people throughout your life and instead use the sword of the Noble Path to cut the roots of delusion that cause you to suffer."
Why this story? It demonstrates the fear and jealousy of priests who saw their power slipping away and were thus willing to resort to lies and even murder to protect their grip over others. I'm also guessing that because I'm telling Buddhist telling a story about a great teacher who lived 3,000 years ago that some might assume that worshiping him is central to the Buddhism I practice. It's not.
@Faerie_In_Combat_Boots@xanga - Just want to say, having been deeply involved in the classical music of Northern India I have developed very close relations with both Hindus and Muslims. None of them showed anything but respect for me even though I was raised a Christian and later became a Buddhist and I have had nothing but respect for them. We've shared jokes and laughed together, eaten at the same table, even slept almost shoulder to shoulder on occasion. True friendship is the most important thing. The purpose of every religion is to lead us out of ignorance so that we can embrace each other and live truly purposeful lives.
We can learn many good things from other religions. Remember, our Creator God created those people, their ideals, and their religions too. We Christians do the best we can to interpret God's word and interaction with mankind via the Bible, and study it diligently. Others study Hinduism, Buddhism, etc. Even Islam tells us to love one another, acknowledges Jesus as God's creation. Yes, there are passages that fanatics have twisted into justifying jiihad against others, but that was not the way they were intended.
I respect other people and the paths they choose to walk. I like to have dialogues about our religious values and activties, and rather than focus on the divisiness, the exclusivenss of Christianity or any other religion, I like to see what we have in common that can be used to strengthen each other in our walks. They may walk a different path, but there are many parallel paths.
In Jesus' time, there were dozens of religions, houses of worship, idols, activities, etc. Jesus' activities and small following was up against a lot of competition. That was the basis for Him explaining that following Him was exclusive of others. When you focus on one thing and get serious , get dedicated about it, then by nature you must exclude attention and effort to other religions, lest you become lukewarm in all of them. Are there other pathways into Heaven? Perhaps. Jesus told us that he "had other sheep of which you know not". That tiny little passage opens the door for the possibility that God, in His infinite wisdom, may have created paths for all his creation to reunite with Him in everlasting paradise. Who are we to think our interpretation of the Bible encompasses all of God's thoughts and actions? Remember Jesus picking and eating grains on the Sabbath, and getting challenged by the Pharisees about breaking that commandment? He retorted that the Sabbath was made for man, not the other way around. Which of them, if on the Sabbath, a lamb fell into a well or crevice, would not rescue it?
The stories of the Bible are but a scene in the play. Our time upon the stage is very short, the character is left for us to choose. A villain, if we will, or a person of high resolve, reaching out to God in whatever way we can. God judges the heart, the sincerity, the intent of us to follow what we understand of Him, the loyalty and devotion to Him. He taught us love, and the two greatest commandments were to love others as yourself, and love God with all your heart, mind, and soul.
@TheSutraDude@xanga - I agree wholeheartedly! As much as my best friend tries to convert me, without her, I'd be nothing. But I do wish religion wasn't so corrupted by man sometimes, or that religion didn't exist...I think if we were following our own, inane humanity, we'd be...maybe...better off.
@Ork58@xanga - Beautiful words.
@Faerie_In_Combat_Boots@xanga - I do believe religion can have a positive purpose. Things go wrong when a Great Teacher points upwards and says there is the sky. Another Great Teacher points up and says there is the sky. Another and another and another all do the same. Years after their gone people start arguing that only their teacher pointed to the sky and knows what the sky is and the whole meaning gets lost. In English we call it the sky. In German they call it Der Himmel. It's still the same blue thing with white things in it that at times turn gray and rain on us. Reminds me of a cute little thing I overheard. It was raining and two guys stopped at a fruit stand that also sold umbrellas. One of the guys took one out of the plastic bin and the guy behind the counter said "6 dollars please." The guy turned to his friend and said "I could've sworn they were 5 dollars yesterday". His friend answered "It wasn't raining yesterday."
@fallingraindrop@xanga - YES! AGREED. i mean i went to japan, and i went into several buddhist temples and shinto shrines to see what they were like, and i took pictures. i did not feel like i was sinning. i was learning about another culture and their religions.
@Ashley H. - I'd say that the pertinent Scripture references would be the following:
First, the Apostolic Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15) in which the Church in council studies the issue of food sacrificed to idols and discerns the following canon:
For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary thing: that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well.
And St. Paul's first apostolic letter to the Church at Corinth, where he addresses the same issue and gives his disciples the following obedience (chapter 8):
If anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol's temple, will not the conscience of him who is weak be emboldened to eat those things offered to idols? And because of your knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died? But when you thus sin against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never again eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.
Be assured that Chris is not the dangerous fanatic you consider him to be; nevertheless, I would be interested to hear a response to the above passages. Has the apostolic canon of the Jerusalem Council been superseded, or is it not universally applicable? Are St. Paul's instructions to the Church of Corinth applicable only to Corinth and not to Christians elsewhere? Or have they also been superseded? Or...?
I'm probably too superstitious to eat a food item that was blessed by other that a Christian or Jewish person, but I would eat at someone's home who was of a different religion so I pretty much agree with the Law of Love covering all that.