The oft-quoted phrase, ‘why can’t we just all get along?’ is a cynical reference to seemingly intractable conflicts of all kinds. Implied in the question is the idea that people stake out positions that can never be sufficiently modified to reach the goal of ‘getting along’.
No conflict seems more unlikely to find a basis for peaceful co-existence than Christianity and Islam.
While its true that they share a historical and traditional connection, there are deep theological differences. The two faiths do in fact share a common origin in the Middle East and are considered Abrahamic religions. Muslims project a wide range of negative and hostile views about Christianity, often considering Christians (and Jews) to be People of the Book [the Bible] but mostly they see Christians as heretics.
Christian views on Islam are almost as diverse. They are less hostile and range from considering Islam a related religion worshipping the same God. to an extreme heresy or unrelated cult born from violence.
Christianity and Islam have different scriptures, with Islam using the Quran and Christianity the Bible. Both texts offer an account of the life and works of Jesus. Belief in the Injil (the Islamic account of Jesus) is an important part of Islamic theology, and Muslims view the Christian Gospels as altered and corrupted, while Christians consider the Quran to be Apocryphal uninspired writings of a man.
Historically, Christianity and Islam have both peacefully co-existed and engaged in extended periods of warfare. Western (secular and Christian) and Islamic histories offer differing accounts of both periods of tolerance and violence.
The question that demands an answer... How can humanity determine which of these religions is real, true and of the true God both claim to be aligned with? It is the ultimate quest for what is true and destined to be everlasting, eternal.
The foundations of Christianity argue that all morality must be based on absolute truths. These truths are determined by the fact of our creation by God as beings designed for relationships with God and one another. Furthermore, Christianity has claimed that a reliable, definitive expression of these absolute moral truths is to be found uniquely in God’s inspired revelation to humanity preserved only and exclusively in the Bible.
Absolute truth, the notion of moral absolutes based on absolute truths is, to coin a familiar expression... politically incorrect. It irritates people to think that truth could be unchangeable, immoveable, irrevocable... absolute. Anyone who dares to suggest that there are absolute truths that apply to “all people in all cultures” are usually deemed narrow minded and culturally imperialistic.
For the non-Christian world, the Biblical–Christian world view is offensive. Non-Christians see the belief in Jesus Christ as the only way to God as a cultural mindset that exalts the perspectives and achievements of Europeans and their descendants in North America, as the rejection of other cultures and traditions. As Islam and the Eastern religions have come into greater cultural prominence and acceptance in the West, belief in the absolute truth of the religious and moral teachings of Christianity is now commonly viewed as arrogant, intolerant, and unrealistic in today’s so-called pluralistic society.
How do we respond to this increasingly common sentiment? How can we call on all people to submit to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and to embrace the faith and values of Christianity in a pluralistic society zealous for cultural diversity, flexible truth and secular humanistic ideals?
Enter the concept of Multiculturalism. Multiculturalism can be thought of as a reality or as an ideal. As a reality, multiculturalism is a historical phenomenon that emerged in the last half of the twentieth century. As an ideal, it is a highly controversial view of human society that become a source of contention and conflict in the last decade of the twentieth century and continues. Its ultimate objective is to create an environment where “we can all get along” by harmonizing our differences by discarding our social-cultural-religious ideals that promote division and hostility.
Multiculturalism is today a reality –– enhanced by the increased ethnic and religious diversity of Western society. American and European society has been transformed through the immigration of millions of people from all over the world, especially from the Indian subcontinent and Southeast and East Asia. These people have brought with them their religion, philosophy, music, art, dress, and food. At the same time, the computer and advances in communication forums like Twitter and Facebook have brought us into increasingly close contact with the rest of the world. We can now interact with other peoples and cultures anywhere in the world in moment-to-moment realtime.
In this rapidly changing and shrinking world, the idea that one culture is inherently superior to all others has all but disappeared. Certainly the notion of a monolithic culture in the West based on a single stream of tradition is no longer viable. We live in a multicultural world — one in which peoples of disparate cultural heritages and traditions live and work together. In this sense, multiculturalism is a reality — a present fact of life.
Multiculturalism can also be thought of as an ideal — as a goal toward which we ought to be moving and progressing. This is the controversial meaning which has become a focal point of conflict in our society — the focal point of what has been called the culture wars.
An unrealistic ideal to say the least. The multicultural “ideal” projects that all individuals, families, and institutions may be free to express whatever cultural heritage they choose, or to mix and match different elements of various cultures, but all cultural expression will be seen merely as a matter of taste. We can all get along... becomes the mantra of a world coming together on the basis of humanistic beliefs in the inherent goodness and self-sufficiency of humankind — a not so subtle repudiation of the Christian worldview of humanity as God-created and corrupted by sin. Yet this utopian-like ideal of human goodness cannot completely hide the darker reality of human nature, a reality brought vividly into view on September 11, 2001 when one culture on earth said NO, we will not be part of a multicultural collective of humanity.
Islam has always been intrinsically monoculturalist –– from moderate to radical, Islamic societies tolerate only one religion with one god as defined by their complex belief system and oppressive rules that govern their societies... Sharia Law. The treatment of women in countries ruled by Islamic regimes, particularly in the Middle East, demonstrates this fact in disturbing fashion.
The growth of Islam and its unceasingly militaristic approach to expansion and control, using violence and barbaric acts, makes Islam, not Christianity, the main enemy of global multicultural cooperation and appreciation.
What about Jesus and Multiculturalism? Is the claim that Jesus Christ is the Lord and Savior of the world relevant in a world in which so many cultures coexist in such close proximity, a world weary of conflict between peoples and nations of disparate cultures? Not only should Christians not be embarrassed to make this claim, we should see in this cry for a multicultural ideal, a tremendous opportunity to present the gospel of Jesus, the Christ to all people.
Next time... Who IS Jesus and IS He relevant in a hostile world?
