One of the unique characteristics of the three great religious traditions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam is the broadly held belief that each offer the singular path to spiritual truth. Even in the name ascribed to the Creator: Adonai, God (Father, Son – Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit), or Allah, is indigenous to a particular religious faith. Yet concurrent with the notion of one specific path to spiritual truth, the faithful subscribe to the foundational belief of a universal, all powerful, all knowing Creator. As a man raised in the Christian faith, and a deep reader of the Scripture, I have become acutely aware of how religious practice sometimes differ with Scriptural guidance.
One of the most important examples is the interpretation of Jesus Christ as the “narrow gate”. At the heart of the Christian faith is the belief that Jesus died so all of our sins would be forgiven, and He rose from the dead to demonstrate our salvation. The significance of the universal forgiveness of sins was to allow all people to worship God (The Creator) directly. Therefore, Jesus was the “narrow gate” to our reconciliation with the Creator. As a result, the narrow gate has become the basis of Christian exclusivity for spiritual truth.
In Judaism, the tradition of the Chosen people includes the opportunity to sense Adonai’s closeness, hear the truth, and share the truth with the world. Jewish salvation emphasizes correct conduct as revealed by the Mosaic covenant and recorded in the Torah and Talmud.
I have never had the pleasure of reading the Quran, so I can not cite the basis for Islamic exclusivity for spiritual truth. Nonetheless, each of these great religious traditions have expressed their exclusive claim for spiritual truth through political & legal force, and even violent conflict.
As a Christian, I look to the Scriptural guidance regarding “speaking in tongues” to counter the tradition of Christian exclusivity of spiritual truth. The Scripture introduced the practice of speaking in tongues to describe how through the power of God, the Holy Spirit, we each hear the voice of God in our native tongue. To me, these verses of Scripture epitomize the universality of an all-powerful Creator…one voice, vividly understood by all because the words are heard in the native tongue of the listener. This in my view is how a Universal Creator would speak so all creation would understand. I further interpret the native tongue as a metaphor for how each of us discover our spiritual truth.
Assuming for a moment the presence of a Universal Creator, would our relationship be constrained by the randomness of birth?
I was born in the Bronx, New York. Would I have been raised in the Christian faith had I been born in Tehran? Or as a member of the Australia Aboriginal communities?
Doubtful.
Even as a practical matter, spiritual exclusivity feels more like ego than truth.
Why would I think that my narrow path to truth defines anyone else’s path to truth? The full richness of our human experience teaches us of the boundless diversity of tangible, emotional, and spiritual reality.
Yet at our core, who amongst us doesn’t seek truth, confirmed by experience, which leads to a deeper purpose for living?
One reply on “Our spiritual isolation is another myth…”
well said. amen. ‘a mountain consists of Many paths for climbing but only One summit.’ 😉