The following is excerpted from the Archbishop Desmond Tutu's new book, 'God Is Not A Christian: And Other Provocations.'
This talk also comes from a forum in Britain, where Tutu addressed leaders of different faiths during a mission to the city of Birmingham in 1989.
They tell the story of a drunk who crossed the street and accosted a pedestrian, asking him, "I shay, which ish the other shide of the shtreet?" The pedestrian, somewhat nonplussed, replied, "That side, of course!" The drunk said, "Shtrange. When I wash on that shide, they shaid it wash thish shide." Where the other side of the street is depends on where we are. Our perspective differs with our context, the things that have helped to form us; and religion is one of the most potent of these formative influences, helping to determine how and what we apprehend of reality and how we operate in our own specific context.
My first point seems overwhelmingly simple: that the accidents of birth and geography determine to a very large extent to what faith we belong. The chances are very great that if you were born in Pakistan you are a Muslim, or a Hindu if you happened to be born in India, or a Shintoist if it is Japan, and a Christian if you were born in Italy. I don't know what significant fact can be drawn from this -- perhaps that we should not succumb too easily to the temptation to exclusiveness and dogmatic claims to a monopoly of the truth of our particular faith. You could so easily have been an adherent of the faith that you are now denigrating, but for the fact that you were born here rather than there.
My second point is this: not to insult the adherents of other faiths by suggesting, as sometimes has happened, that for instance when you are a Christian the adherents of other faiths are really Christians without knowing it. We must acknowledge them for who they are in all their integrity, with their conscientiously held beliefs; we must welcome them and respect them as who they are and walk reverently on what is their holy ground, taking off our shoes, metaphorically and literally. We must hold to our particular and peculiar beliefs tenaciously, not pretending that all religions are the same, for they are patently not the same. We must be ready to learn from one another, not claiming that we alone possess all truth and that somehow we have a corner on God.
We should in humility and joyfulness acknowledge that the supernatural and divine reality we all worship in some form or other transcends all our particular categories of thought and imagining, and that because the divine -- however named, however apprehended or conceived -- is infinite and we are forever finite, we shall never comprehend the divine completely. So we should seek to share all insights we can and be ready to learn, for instance, from the techniques of the spiritual life that are available in religions other than our own. It is interesting that most religions have a transcendent reference point, a mysterium tremendum, that comes to be known by deigning to reveal itself, himself, herself, to humanity; that the transcendent reality is compassionate and concerned; that human beings are creatures of this supreme, supra mundane reality in some way, with a high destiny that hopes for an everlasting life lived in close association with the divine, either as absorbed without distinction between creature and creator, between the divine and human, or in a wonderful intimacy which still retains the distinctions between these two orders of reality.
When we read the classics of the various religions in matters of prayer, meditation, and mysticism, we find substantial convergence, and that is something to rejoice at. We have enough that conspires to separate us; let us celebrate that which unites us, that which we share in common.
Surely it is good to know that God (in the Christian tradition) created us all (not just Christians) in his image, thus investing us all with infinite worth, and that it was with all humankind that God entered into a covenant relationship, depicted in the covenant with Noah when God promised he would not destroy his creation again with water. Surely we can rejoice that the eternal word, the Logos of God, enlightens everyone -- not just Christians, but everyone who comes into the world; that what we call the Spirit of God is not a Christian preserve, for the Spirit of God existed long before there were Christians, inspiring and nurturing women and men in the ways of holiness, bringing them to fruition, bringing to fruition what was best in all. We do scant justice and honor to our God if we want, for instance, to deny that Mahatma Gandhi was a truly great soul, a holy man who walked closely with God. Our God would be too small if he was not also the God of Gandhi: if God is one, as we believe, then he is the only God of all his people, whether they acknowledge him as such or not. God does not need us to protect him. Many of us perhaps need to have our notion of God deepened and expanded. It is often said, half in jest, that God created man in his own image and man has returned the compliment, saddling God with his own narrow prejudices and exclusivity, foibles and temperamental quirks. God remains God, whether God has worshippers or not.
This mission in Birmingham to which I have been invited is a Christian celebration, and we will make our claims for Christ as unique and as the Savior of the world, hoping that we will live out our beliefs in such a way that they help to commend our faith effectively. Our conduct far too often contradicts our profession, however. We are supposed to proclaim the God of love, but we have been guilty as Christians of sowing hatred and suspicion; we commend the one whom we call the Prince of Peace, and yet as Christians we have fought more wars than we care to remember. We have claimed to be a fellowship of compassion and caring and sharing, but as Christians we often sanctify sociopolitical systems that belie this, where the rich grow ever richer and the poor grow ever poorer, where we seem to sanctify a furious competitiveness, ruthless as can only be appropriate to the jungle.
Desmond Tutu: All Are God's Children: On Including Gays and Lesbians in the Church and Society
Cameron Sinclair: My Tea With Tutu
Rev. Mpho A. Tutu: Father's Day 2010: Why I Am Proud of My Father
Desmond Tutu: Arizona: The Wrong Answer
God Is Not a Christian: And Other Provocations by Desmond Tutu
"The ultimate statement “I am the only way” or “I am the only God” causes confusion to many. The question arises, for example, if Jesus is considered the only God then how can Buddha also be considered the only God? The answer lies in this analogy: When a river merges into the vast ocean, it loses its identification as a river. Then, the river’s declaration “I am the ocean” becomes true. Similarly, when a prophet merges his sense of individuality with the all-pervasive Consciousness, his declaration “I am the only God” is entirely true. As far as the ultimate realization of every founder of a religion is concerned, it is the attainment of the same Absolute Reality. It is for this reason that the title Christ conveys exactly the same universal consciousness as does the title Buddha." - author Shiv R. Jhawar
Thanks Archbishop Tutu for writing this expansive viewpoint. Its great for Christianity to have an advocate for loving right thinking.
BTW, I felt the same when I was growing up . . . constantly questioning "our faith" when I was a child, to the dismay of all of the unquestioning adults around me. As I grew up, I still felt conflicted.
Excellent paragraph. I shall have to search out the book that you mentioned.
It is often said, half in jest, that God created man in his own image and man has returned the compliment, saddling God with his own narrow prejudices and exclusivity, foibles and temperamental quirks.
Very well said Monseigneur!
very well said, mon amie.
1My Gods ,
2.Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
Is there some mystery to the universe? sure! We have not the answers to the origin of the universe, we have not the answers to a lot of things, but the suggestion of a god-creator was just our childish first attempt.
Just think, just over 150 years ago we didn't have a scientific understanding of the origin of our species now we know where we came from, we know that we are kin to all the other lifeforms on this planet, we know that we share a common ancestor species with the other modern apes. We are a species of ape whose origin lay in Africa. Chr.istians can dismiss the mountains of evidence but it changes nothing, besides why should evidence matter to someone who believes things are not true without evidence? I don't expect that.
Another awesome development is our understanding of our place in the cosmos, just 1000 years ago the majority of people, even the most intelligent people, believed the earth was flat and that the sun "rose" and "set". Now only the most ignorant people believe that.
Chr.istians don't do what they do because they actually "believe" in the nonsense of the "bible" they do what they do out of indoctrinated fear. Fear of being ostracized, hell, lonliness, the "devil".
16% of the world population could be categorized as 'non-religious' (agnostic, atheist, naturalist, non-religious theistic).
That billions of people are somehow experiencing only "fear of being ostracized, fear of hell, fear of loneliness, and fear of the devil" and as a result believe what they believe is a very intellectually dishonest remark.
Really? 99% of those 84% were indoctrinated by their parents!
Really? In America, the top 1% have more wealth than the bottom 50%!
Is it really still so ironic? Your argument is that 84% of the worlds population is split between three major religions that don't agree and that is validation of what the universe is about? Hilarious.
I don't think you know what the word "Ironic" means, it doesn't mean what you think it means.
However, I completely agree with your conclusion with some clarification.
Catholics who now call themselves christians (and I can hear some already protesting) were indoctrinated into their faith through fear promoted by pillaging, murder, rape, torture and deprivation sanctioned by the catholic church in their bid for world domination and power.
They then used the threat of hellfire and brimstone and the so-called devil embodied by the gargoyles still present on churches to this day, to cow the illiterate and gullible masses.
It worked! Christians now firmly believe the bill of goods they were sold.
I have to point out though that muslims became what they are today by exactly the same means. The only difference is that their indoctrination as tiny tots expressly forbids them from changing their religion and the interpretation of the archaic rules they follow is the whip that rules them.
Orthodox jews are just as blinkered except I have not seen historical data of any atrocities they perpetrated to force others to join their religion.
For the avowed christians reading this, I would like to point out that everyone except muslims is a christian. I believe the man named Jesus Christ in your bible "christened" us all as such with the exhortation to love your brother man.
Cheers
Perhaps you missed Desmod Tutus's second point? Your assertion that "everyone except muslims is a christian" may be firmly rooted in your imagination, but it is not reality. The Gospel is that Christ died for our sins, then rose from the dead, just as the prophets said. One who believes that and acknowledges Jesus as Lord is a Christian; one who says in his heart, "not my will be done, but Thy will be done." And what is His will? When asked what was the greatest commandment, Jesus replied "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and a second is like it: thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Upon these two depend all the law . .. "
For instance, if you love the one true God, Creator of the universe, you won't worship an idol, and you won't abuse His Name. If you love your neighbor, you won't steal from him or murder him or testify falsely against him in court. Rather than looking our for "Number One", you will look out for your neighbor. A great American tradition is based on that concept - our greeting. "How are you?", "How ya doin'", "Howdy do!", "Howdy"
Before Paul, Christianity was the religion 'of' Jesus (God), in other words, it consisted of His (God's) teachings, and those were considered to be sacred to His followers.
After Paul, Christianity became a religion 'about' Jesus. Paul's followers love, love, love the fact that Jesus (God) died, because they think that means they are going to heaven, regardless of how they treat others. They don't focus on Jesus' teachings very much, because for Paul, the important thing was not what Jesus (God) taught: the important thing was that He (God) died.
Those same Christians ignore Jesus' teachings, and yet claim to believe He is God. How can you truly believe that Jesus is God, and then ignore His teachings? Remember, if Jesus = God, then it was God Himself who said that the greatest commandment is to "Love God, and Love Your Neighbor" ... and it was God Himself who said "Judge not, lest you be judged".
Jesus (God) had a special name for Christians who ignore His teachings: He called them Goats (Matthew 25:31-46).
I think what some are pointing out is, much of the article misses (or is opposed to) the explicit teaching of the Bible. The teaching/assertion that God is the *true* God (relationship wise) of someone who rejects His Son is, in The Apostle Paul's words, "a different Gospel," and not the Gospel of Scripture or Jesus Christ (Galatians 1:6-10).
Of course, pluralistic and politically correct society, and nominal christianity, all want to embrace the notion that all faiths lead to God when the Bible explicitly and unambiguously denys that in numerous places (and it has been pointed out numerous times, even Christ Himself denied that).
Simply because God created all of Mankind, does not mean He is the Spiritual Father of us all (no more than the mere biological descendents of Abraham were considered the *true* Israel - nor were they [biological Israel] counted as God's children - Romans 9:6-8).
It is not that the point was missed, but that the point was not Biblical.
God is a MANmade invention by MEN. Its purpose is to either subdue or exploit humanity's psycho- and sociopathic tendencies.
Tutu is a great guy, though.
John 8:58 "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM."
John 10:30
John 8:58
Jesus said to them, %u201CMost assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.%u201D