Why Do Protestants Have Issues With Interfaith?

[123]

I brought home a bulletin from mass and inside was a interfaith invitation from Temple Shalom' and the Muslim mosk, which regretably I forget the name of . We were invited to fellowship and gather to give thanks to God.

However, my father would like to hit the ceiling when he noticed it in my bulletin. He seemed upset and acted as if we were mixing religions heretically. Needless to say, many like him came out severly against this, along with him.

What seems to be protestants problem with this?

Edited November 20, 2006 by GloriaIesusChristi

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[quote name='GloriaIesusChristi' post='1123858' date='Nov 19 2006, 07:33 PM']
He seemed upset and acted as if we were mixing religions heretically.


What seems to be protestants problem with this?
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1.) Dont generalize. Protestants hate that. It demotes your question to a form of racism.

2.) You hit the nail on the head with the quoted statement. Most outsiders would view interfaith as a false ecumenism, as a denial of truth and a submission to earthly authority, not convictions from the Spirit. (*ironically also the same beef they have with catholicism)

what you need to do is show your dad that interfaith has nothing to do with changing the dogmas and christian belief we hold to.

[123]

I tried...

[Church Punk]

Show them the actions of Pope John Paul II, visiting Jerusalem and praying at the wall. How about when he prayed with muslims? The pope was not heretically mixing our religion with theres. He was showing us that interfaith diologue is a nessesary.

There is no us VS them. it is just us because we are all humans. Some have different teachings in their religious systems. But we respect the roots of each of these (you mentioned) as all having faith in the God of Abraham.

Why should we hold something against Jews, when Christ was Jewish? Christianity is the fulfillment of Judaism. The devine promise was made to those people.

[jswranch]

It is ultimately God who judges the hearts of men, not us. We are to spread his love and leave the condemnation to him.

[White Knight]

[quote name='GloriaIesusChristi' post='1123858' date='Nov 19 2006, 07:33 PM']
I brought home a bulletin from mass and inside was a interfaith invitation from Temple Shalom' and the Muslim mosk, which regretably I forget the name of . We were invited to fellowship and gather to give thanks to God.

However, my father would like to hit the ceiling when he noticed it in my bulletin. He seemed upset and acted as if we were mixing religions heretically. Needless to say, many like him came out severly against this, along with him.

What seems to be protestants problem with this?
[/quote]


Its because there limiting themselves to only a peice of God's revealed Word to world, and they aren't looking at the entire prespective of things. They aint looking at the whole overall big picture, even though they say they are.

They use the Bible, and only the Bible. thats not a bad thing, the Bible is the Word of God, its Sacred Scripture. but when you limit God thats when it becomes a problem.

[Resurrexi]

Wow... Protestants actually get something right...

[jswranch]

Two quotes from Pius IX:

[quote]We must hold as of the faith, that out of the Apostolic Roman Church there is no salvation; that she is the only ark of safety, and whosoever is not in her perishes in the deluge; we must also, on the other hand, recognize with certainty that those who are invincible in ignorance of the true religion are not guilty for this in the eyes of the Lord. And who would presume to mark out the limits of this ignorance according to the character and diversity of peoples, countries, minds and the rest?


It is known to us and to you that those who are in invincible ignorance of our most holy religion, but who observe carefully the natural law, and the precepts graven by God upon the hearts of all men, and who being disposed to obey God lead an honest and upright life, may, aided by the light of divine grace, attain to eternal life; for God who sees clearly, searches and knows the heart, the disposition, the thoughts and intentions of each, in His supreme mercy and goodness by no means permits that anyone suffer eternal punishment, who has not of his own free will fallen into sin.[/quote]


Some Protestants share his views on the issues of natural law and invincible ignorance. Other do not. The descenters I have met hold man can do nothing pleasing to God other than entering into a covenant with him. As we understand, a non-Christian cannot do works that justify, however following their God-given conscience they are in some ways pleasing God and preparing their hearts for receiving Christ, especially if they are invicibly ignorant.


To paraphrase Peter Kreeft, some Muslims make better Christians than most Christians and some Jews make better Catholics than most Catholics (in the USA).

[LouisvilleFan]

[quote name='GloriaIesusChristi' post='1123858' date='Nov 19 2006, 08:33 PM']
I brought home a bulletin from mass and inside was a interfaith invitation from Temple Shalom' and the Muslim mosk, which regretably I forget the name of . We were invited to fellowship and gather to give thanks to God.

However, my father would like to hit the ceiling when he noticed it in my bulletin. He seemed upset and acted as if we were mixing religions heretically. Needless to say, many like him came out severly against this, along with him.

What seems to be protestants problem with this?
[/quote]

These kinds of things still make me a little nervous too. The Archdiocese of Louisville hosts this "Festival of Faiths" every year where a bunch of local congregations of nearly every religion gather for prayer and talks (including liberal Protestants, but I haven't noticed many Evangelical groups). I've never been sure how I felt about it because it seems as though the implication is all religions are equal before God and it doesn't matter which one you choose as long as your belief is sincere. That's basically the post-modernist attitude our society's been living in since the 60s.

Obviously post-modernism isn't compatible with the Gospel (neither are Judaism or Islam at their core) and that's why Evangelicals tend to steer clear of these kinds of things. I do agree that it's good to meet together to promote peace and understanding and learn from our different perspectives, as long as we aren't sacrificing the basic Truths we believe for the sake of avoiding offense.