Comments on: Parliament of the World’s Religions

By: Peter Rice

Peter Rice — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 05:13:49 +0000

As a Christion in Australia I am content and secure in my faith and I pray for people who have no religion so they may eventually find contentment in Christ. But our prayers should go out to the Christians living in other countries where they are persecuted for their faith. Some of those attending the “Parliament” represent those countries. I see no need to Justify our faith by taking part in that gathering.
Peter Rice

By: Bill Muehlenberg

Bill Muehlenberg — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 01:18:41 +0000

Thanks Pam

You raise some very important points here and ask some vital questions. The speakers’ list indeed features quite a bizarre collection. In a future article I will look more closely at both the speakers and the subjects being discussed. It looks like a hothouse of humanistic, trendy, lefty feminist politics and ideology.

Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch

By: Pam

Pam — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 23:57:35 +0000

Bill,
What worries me is that in the list of major speakers, at least a quarter seem to be Muslim, which is bizzare considering that Muslims make up only about 2% of Australia.

See http://www.parliamentofreligions.org/index.cfm?n=7&sn=41

Of the Islamic speakers, 2 are of great concern:
1. Tariq Ramadam, notorious Islamist.
2. Dalia Mogahed, Obama’s advisor on Islam, who wants more sharia.

Also I notice Hon Michael Kirby is speaking?
Pray tell me, what religion does he represent?

Pam Renton

By: Michael Hutton

Michael Hutton — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 05:21:34 +0000

Politicians have a parliament, and so do owls, now we have to add fools to the list.

Not that I’m necessarily speaking of the representatives from other religions, though no doubt at least some of them fit the description. My guess is that most of them are being fairly consistent. Mainly, I reserve my scorn for those who have devalued, dismembered and dishonoured their Christian faith.

Pigs with pearls, dogs going back to their vomit, wolves, hypocrites.

A whole parliament of them.

Michael Hutton, Ariah Park

By: dallas clarnette

dallas clarnette — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 23:47:25 +0000

Very good article, with some fresh info on the origins. What should also be noted is the contribution to the emerging inter-faith world view of British military officer, Sir Francis Younghusband (d. 1942) an explorer, campaigner whose career in India introduced him to eastern religion. His biographer, French, describes him as an evangelical Christian, but documents his downward trend towards non-Christian religion and the acceptance of “free love” and fornication. He created the Congress of World Faiths, which is annually celebrated in England and at which certain bishops have made nonsensical remarks showing they have turned against the apostolic Gospel.
Dallas Clarnette

By: Jon Newton

Jon Newton — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 22:05:22 +0000

That was a very thoughtful and considered article, Bill. Some Christians will feel called to be there as a witness (and rightly so) but the dangers are real: just the existence of such an event is a statement of relativism and pluralism. But it also calls us to be clear about what we stand for as Christians; and contrary to John S’s comments it is not the cultural heritage (wonderful as that is) because that is only the human response, but the true uniqueness of Jesus, the only one who said he would die for the world’s salvation and who rose again on the third day.
Jon Newton

By: john mathai

john mathai — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 18:34:44 +0000

Hi Bill,
Thanks for your piece on the context of this parliament. I am planning to attend on the weekend. I think we live in a different world now and need to entertain those who are seeking for the truth. This is better then the atheists who are completely blind to the spiritual dimension. We need to be there and represent Christ and some may find their way to the Truth. Christians must engage in the market place otherwise we too will become relics of the past! We may all have been created in the image of God but there is only one way to the Father. Keep flying His banner bro.

John Mathai

By: John Snowden

John Snowden — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:22:23 +0000

The conference sounds like a smarmy, feel-good exercise that pivots on playing down very serious differences in competing truth-claims. Consider the difference between a sincere Christian praying to his Saviour and some Hindu adoring Kali in her skirt of human skulls. Or consider devout Roman Catholics in some village procession of the Holy Virgin versus Indians milling around that implausible blue Jumbo. Or consider the great religious music of Bach versus noisy Asian dissonances no more inspiring than a herd of cow bells. And look at the Christ of the Andes versus those overweight reclining Buddhas smiling as if they are on another planet.
John Snowden

By: John Angelico

John Angelico — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 11:18:02 +0000

Bill, I had to laugh out loud at the comments of the 1893 Swami!

And then looking at the 1993 remarks of the Dalai Lama (he’s such a nice man, isn’t he?):

“All religions make the betterment of humanity their primary concern.”

I could only think of an old Andrae Crouch cassette tape where Andrae explains to the crowd of enthusiastic young ‘Jesus people’ (paraphrasing from memory):

“Religion is man’s search for God, but Christianity is God’s search for man – lost in his sin!”

All of the Dalai Lama’s comments were works, works, works – man striving to become God.

I wonder if we should pray for its failure or its ineffectiveness, along the lines of the imprecatory psalms?

John Angelico