Religious Pluralism from a Christian Worldview

This semester I am taking a class in West Semitic Inscriptions. It is an interesting class in that I am learning how Hebrew grammar developed into the form that is found in the Hebrew Bible. Originally, the Hebrew text did not have any vowels. Some vowels were indicated by certain consonantal letters [or "mater" letters], but these were most always at the end. Then, later on, they were inserted into the middle of words. Hence, the Hebrew Bible that we have today is the result of some editing that has been done to make it easier to read as the language developed. Of course, the insertion of mater letters into the middle of the text does not in any way change the meaning of the text. However, if we are going to understand the Hebrew Bible, we must be able to understand how the Hebrew language developed over time.

It is also interesting to see that the ancient Jews, while they certainly experienced some of the greatest of God's mighty deeds, were people just like us. For instance, one inscription that I read was from a pre-exilic tomb:

bhzw @sk hp !ya tybh l[ rXa why trbq taz
rXa ~dah rwra hta htma tmc[w wtmc[ ~a yk
taz ta xtpy

"This is the Tomb of [...]yahu who was over the house. There is no silver or gold here. However, his bones [are here], and the bones of his handmaid with him. Cursed is the man who opens this [tomb]!"

Seems like a very simple inscription that we might want written over our graves to prevent grave robbers from desecrating our tomb. The first few inscriptions were like this.

However, this next one absolutely shocked me. Here is a picture of it. It was found at Khirbet El Qom, which is 14 Kilometers West of Hebron. My professor believes it to be the ancient site of Makkedah mentioned in Joshua 10. There are many theories to why the hand is there in the center. However, it is the meaning of the text that shocked me:

hbtk rX[h whyra
hwhyl whyra $rb
hl [Xwh htrXal whyrcmw
whynal
htrXal
h[…]r

Uriah the rich cut it. Uriah was blessed by the Lord, and he [the Lord] delivered him from his enemies by his Asherah...by Aniah...by his Asherah...

Now, let us think about this as Christians. We know that around a hundred years after this inscription [which was written around 701 B.C.], Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians [586-587 B.C.]. In Jeremiah, and the other prophets, it specifically mentions warnings against Jerusalem if they do not repent of their idolatry. One of these warnings is the destruction of Jerusalem. This was a sobering reminder to me that God will punish our idolatry. Worshipping the same God along side of the one true God will not help either, as God has said that we should have no other gods in his presence [Exodus 20:3]. God takes his worship very seriously, and if he is blasphemed by our sinful worship, he is not afraid to even have people killed. You might say, "This is just an Old Testament thing, right?" No, I am afraid it is not. Look at Acts 5:1-10. We must be careful how we worship. As I said, God takes his worship very seriously.

Ann Coulter Speaks the Truth...And Offends

While I do not agree with everything Ann Coulter has to say, she has apparently gotten herself into a whole lot of hot water by saying that she wishes that all Jews would convert to Christianity. Of course, the host, Donny Deutsch, said that he was "offended" by her comments, and likened her to the head of Iran who wants to wipe Israel off the map.

Now, let us deal with Mr. Deutsch's objections. First of all, the idea that saying that we wish that all Jews are Christians is akin to the military force of Iran to wipe Israel off the map is utter nonsense. The only sword that the Chruch bears is the sword of the spirit, and we trust in the Holy Spirit of God to convert the Jewish people. We do not bear the sword of nuclear weapons, bombs, and guns. It is not even a true conversion if someone only says something because they are looking down the barrel of a gun. It is only a true conversion if the heart is changed. However, that is exactly what we trust in the spirit of God to do to the Jewish people.

Now, what about Mr. Deutsch being "offended" at such a comment? Well, either he is in sin and rebellion against God or he is not. There is no middle ground. I have talked with Jews who say the exact same thing about me. This is an issue of factual truth and falsity. Is Christianity true, or is Judaism true? Whichever side is wrong is engaging in an horrendus sin against God, the Jews for allegedly rejecting the Messiah, and the Christians for allegedly believing in a false God, and trusting in a false sacrifice. Thus, because of the self-contradictory nature of the truth claims of each religion, both cannot be right. I would liken Mr. Deutsch's statement to a person who gets offended when they are told that their belief that 2+2=5 is false. The *scholarly* way to defend such a position is to demonstrate that the Jewish faith is true, and the Christian faith is false. However, there is no defense of the Jewish position offered in that interview; just statements about how "offended" the host is. Ann Coulter tried to engage him in the topic, but he just simply would not do it.

What this tells us is that this secularist, like so many others who support religious pluralism, does not realize that religion is founded upon an entire world and life view. If we have a society of religious pluralism, it will lead to utter chaos, simply because the ultimate authority for every person will be different. As Greg Bahnsen once said:

If the authority for those principles derives from nothing more than individual human choice and contract, their authority likewise ends whenever individuals choose -- and leaves unexplained the (apparently involuntary) moral duty to keep one's contracts. Many "creators" is the formula for social anarchy, not freedom.

If we are going to deal with the problems that arise because of different worldviews, we have to get down and deal with the tough philosophical questions of which worldview is true. I believe, as Greg Bahnsen did, that the Christian worldview will turn out to be the only defensible worldview.