Wow dude; a little tip for ya, man you really have to keep the potato salad refrigerated!

This isn’t to say that there can’t be all kinds of cooperations or learning from how different traditions practice: Aquinas, for example, wrote the Summa in the context of dialoguing with Averroes, a Muslim interpreter of Aristotle. But that’s a different thing than saying saying that it’s a priori bad to learn from a “like-minded” group. Without formation in one direction, there can be no engagement with anyone else, for we lose anything distinctive that we might offer in conversation, and conversation ultimately disintegrates, leaving us not with “celebrated differences”, but a new, a-morphous like-mindedness.

If there is a God but He cannot be known then His existence is irrelevant to mankind. If God has not made Himself known, then He cannot be known. Can an ant know a human by his own devices? Jesus was God revealing Himself in an unmistakeable and extraordinary incarnation.

Unless He was just another religious nutcase. You should ask Him, He will tell all who sincerely seek Him through His written revelation.

I’m not so sure your characterization of Hinduism is exactly correct. Of course, there are myriad strains of the fait, but the Hindus I’ve spoken with and read, particularly Vedananda, speak of the Divine, as the One Ultimate Reality. That’s just what I’ve learned from some conversations with local Hindu monks. So I think we must be careful how we characterize other faiths. For instance, many Muslims would characterize Christianity as tritheistic and we would certainly disagree with that, I think.

True, one God and the same God are completely different ideas. But I also think there are many Gods worshipped in Christianity. The God (my conception of God) I worship differs vastly, I would guess, from the God (my conception of God) worshipped by other Christians.

Of course, Christianity says there is one God, but the power conventional faith ascribes to the satan, in other religions, make this being a “god.”

Ken, thank you for your comment and concern. I doubt we will see eye to eye on this subject, but I appreciate your willingness to share your faith with me. If indeed you are right, I will trust God that the word spoken by you will not return void. Blessings.

“I think that no religion has a complete grasp of all truth, including Christianity.” Your problem is Christianity is not a religion at all; rather, it is a relationship with the only God there is obtained only by God’s grace alone; through faith alone, in Christ alone.

Our Creator, Christ Jesus of Nazareth, is this one God in human flesh and His Spirit wrote the Bible through men like Paul. This means it is God Himself Who informed us through Paul why religious powwows like Selamnovic’s pipe dream are forbidden: “they sacrifice to demons and not to God; and I do not want you to become sharers in demons” (1 Corinthians 10:20).

O please tell me that you guys are not actually this spiritually dense.

I also agree that it’s easy, generally, to say there is one God. Of course, certain religions would see this statement as false, such as Hinduism, but for the sake of argument we can agree that Islam says there is one God, Judaism says there is one God and Christianity says there is one God. The problem arises when we change the wording or the meaning of “one God” to “the same God.”

Also, what part of there being one God over all is contradictory with traditional Christianity? The statement, as it stands, would seem to agree with even exclusivist stances. There is one world. There is one God. The problem comes when we *interpret* what they are saying.

“Faith House will seek to bring progressive Jews, Christians, Muslims, and spiritual seekers of no faith to become an interfaith community for the good of the world. We have one world and one God.”

The problem with this is that last sentence. The God of Christianity is not the same as the god of Islam, Hinduism, or any other religion.

” I assume that God is in “the other” too, not in an exclusive possession of my group.”

No…God is not in the other

“We will not seek to establish one generic religion in the house. Instead, we will seek to establish one humanity that serves one God with many voices.”

Question here is which God will the one humanity serve?

Add to the fact that problem that Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, for example, all claim exclusivity. In their sacred literature, and in their doctrines, each of these religions claim to be the only religion and warn against other beliefs. So, we must either accept one of these as true, or reject them all as untrue. There is no third option.

There is no debating with Mr. Silva. Many have tried and just as many have failed. Look at his website forum if you need evidence of this.

Knowing there is to be no conversation with Mr. Silva, I am left with three options:

1. Ignore him. Why I didn’t do this: lack of self-control. I was seething at his
instant and absolute condemnation of Faith House. I had to say something. It’s a
‘youth’ thing. I hope to be over it in a few years.

2. Swear at him. Why I didn’t do this: utilization of existing self-control.

3. Sarcasm. My personal (albeit flawed) via media.

Maybe one day I will be the kind of person who can offer a blessing to the Mr. Silvas of this world. I’m just not there yet.