I went to a tiny little church in the North End of Halifax yesterday. There were 17 people there, including the minister. The choir sang a song for us. There were four singers and the pianist sang too. I was a generation younger than the next youngest person in the room. I don’t go to church much anymore. I prefer to attend random churches than to get tangled up in one particular group.
Yesterday was World Communion Sunday. Apparently churches across the world celebrate our unity as Christians on this day. The minister preached an adequate sermon about it, but I’ve already forgotten most of it. It was the average "the church is a family" fare. The idea of World Communion Sunday got me thinking about the degree of unity amongst the churches, even if the sermon didn't. All the world's churches celebrating unity on the same day is a neat idea. I wonder how different it looks in each church of each denominations. I wonder if all denominations participate, or if some don't.
The Jehovah’s Witnesses came to my door the other day. Ignoring the fact that I don’t attend any church regularly, I told them that I have my own faith—that I am Baptist. That didn’t matter to them, apparently. They still continued with their mission to engage me in conversation about God. They asked me a few questions about what I thought, and I felt like they were quizzing me. I was polite to them because I know that they were just doing what they thought God wants, but I resented it. Their continued presence on my doorstep indicated that they had judged my Baptist faith to be insufficient. They still wanted to save me.
The first question the Jehovah’s Witness asked me was, “Do you think we will ever have just one religion?” That seems quite unlikely to me. I told him that if we did, it would have to incorporate all the faiths and religions of the world. I didn’t get into it, but I believe that all world religions contain different versions of the same big truth, and that no one religion, whether Buddhist or Muslim or “Pagan” had the entire truth exactly right. I had the impression that the man thought I got that answer wrong, although he didn’t say so. He just asked me another question. As he was leaving, the man told me that they wanted to have two-way conversation with people of other churches. I don’t believe this is true. A two-way conversation requires giving and taking. He and his partner were on my doorstep because they firmly believe that they have the Truth, and that everyone else is mistaken, even other types of Christians. If they think that they are absolutely right in their beliefs, how can they listen to and consider what I have to say?
I think that it’s important to have convictions and beliefs. I also think that convictions and beliefs can be problematic when we believe that we have everything completely figured out. It’s important to at least consider the possibility of being wrong. This allows one to be more open to the beliefs and ideas of other people, and enables true dialogue.
One of the few things I remember from yesterday’s sermon is that the minister used Paul’s metaphor about each person in the church being like the parts of the body. It occurred to me that it is possible to take that metaphor in another way. Each denomination is like a part of the body. The Pentacostals can be the nose, the Catholics the eyes, the United Church the hands. The nose can’t say to the eyes, I don’t need you, etc, because they are all different and important parts of the body. They each reach people of different mind-sets who relate to various aspects of church. It’s just an idea that crossed my mind. I don’t know how valid it is, but perhaps all denominations and variations of Christianity are valuable. I don’t believe anyone has the right to say they aren’t, no matter how different they are.
I find narrow-mindedness offensive. Perhaps I should learn to be more patient with such people, but I don’t see the benefit of declaring other churches and faiths to be wrong. It only hurts and alienates people. How do Christians expect others to join them in their faith, when they treat each other with contempt and contention?
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