Thursday, December 26, 2019

Coexist - What is Multi-Denominational Anyway?



The New Hope Church is 
Multi-Denominational.

What does this mean?

It means we believe that God - by whatever name you choose to call this unknowable and infinite presence in our lives, that God exists in perfect form in every culture, every faith, every belief system that upholds and uplifts the human path toward knowledge, peace and understanding.

We are Pantheistic.

Pantheistic means we believe that God is infinite - and thus by definition everything and everyone, all of creation, is part of and wholly made of that same infinite fabric.  All of creation is sacred, all of life is miraculous, and every person should be treated with reverence, justice, mercy and respect.

Let us take this perspective one step further.  Let us talk about how we behave toward one another.

In every faith - Christian and Muslim, Buddhist and Native/Aboriginal, one of the mandates that God offers to mankind is the instruction to "Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother."

Think about it.  When a person of one faith points at people of other faiths and claims they are damned for eternity unless they convert, they are committing a horrendous and obvious violation of this simple rule.

By seeking to convert and force conformity to their faith, the vast majority of traditional "religions" are deliberately seducing and coercing people to abandon their own sacred heritage.  In doing so, we justify treating people who won't convert as though they are somehow incorrect, and thus perhaps less worthy, less human.

This prejudice informs and invades their lives,  and we thus encourage the stranger, the needy, the poor or the illiterate to become motivated for the wrong reasons to follow and claim our beliefs.  This is a terrible violation of the fourth Christian commandment.

For shame.


I've spent a lifetime studying, appreciating, experiencing and observing as many religions and faith constructs as I've been able to witness.  I can tell you with absolute surety that the core values, the core beliefs and most importantly, the core moral constructs of all significant and serious faiths are so similar as to be nearly identical.


Ask yourself this:  Is the God you understand so selfish, so weak and so cruel as to manifest Himself in one culture or one corner of the earth while ignoring everyone else?


Hear me now - I have Jewish, Hindu, Muslim and Buddhist friends, and I can assure you they are all wonderful people of faith, spirit and hope.  



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