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| Raphael, Paul in Athens, 1515 |
The Golden Rule
and Common Ground
In discussing the Christian response to homosexuality,
these articles have mostly been apologetic in nature. That is, I have been
defending the biblical position against the position of liberal and revisionist
theologians. I haven’t really talked much about what a Christian’s attitude
should be when discussing the issue of homosexuality. I have mentioned the
Golden Rule and the Greatest Commandment and I will reiterate those in this
article. In the next few articles, I’m going to dig deeper into the ideas contained
in the Golden Rule and the Greatest Commandment in light of what our attitudes
should be when dealing with homosexuals.
As you will see, these ideas should be applied in our
interactions with everyone. I’m not perfect. I get a little sarcastic and I get
frustrated and I get angry. But our goal should be to apply the teachings of
Christ to every area of our life.
Therefore all things whatsoever ye
would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and
the prophets.
– Matthew 7:12
The Golden Rule is memorized by church kids in Sunday
school, it is taught by our parents. In fact, the Golden Rule appears in some
form in pretty much every religion in the world.
Buddhism
Hurt not others in ways that you
yourself would find hurtful.
– Udana-Varga 5,1
Islam
… and let them pardon and overlook.
Would you not like that Allah should forgive you? And Allah is Forgiving and
Merciful.
– Qur’an – Surah 24:22
Judaism
… thou shalt love thy neighbour as
thyself…
– Leviticus 19:18
Wicca
An it harm none, do what ye will.
– Wiccan Rede
It has been paraphrased: “Treat people the way you want
to be treated.” Our parents taught us that to make friends, “You catch more
flies with honey than you do with vinegar.” A modern word is empathy. To the wise of all nations and
religions, being nice to people just makes sense.
I’m not an ecumenical. Not by a long shot. I do not
believe that all religions are essentially the same, I don’t believe that we
are all going to the same place, nor do I believe that if you are sincere in
your faith, everything will turn out alright in the end.
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| Areopagus (Mars Hill) viewed from the Acropolis in Athens, Greece |
I believe in the exclusivity of Christ and Christianity.
That doesn’t mean that I can’t recognize similarities in various religious
teachings and scriptures. Recognizing the similarities helps me to find common
ground with people of other religions and that helps open the door to
evangelism.
The apostle Paul did the very same thing when he
preached. In Acts 17, we read of Paul witnessing to Greeks in Athens at a
temple on Ares’ Rock (Greek Areopagus),
more commonly known by the Roman title, Mars Hill which is just northwest of the Acropolis in Athens, Greece.
22 So Paul, standing in
the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way
you are very religious. 23 For as I passed along and observed the
objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, ‘To the
unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. 24
The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and
earth, does not live in temples made by man, 25 nor is he served by
human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all
mankind life and breath and everything. 26 And he made from one man
every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined
allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 that
they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet
he is actually not far from each one of us, 28 for
“‘In
him we live and move and have our being’;
as even some of your own poets have
said,
“‘For
we are indeed his offspring.’
29 Being then God's
offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver
or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. 30 The
times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to
repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the
world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given
assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”
– Acts 17:22-31 (ESV)
Paul, rather than completely avoiding or shunning people
of other religions, walked right into their midst. Rather than insulting them,
he actually finds common ground with them by quoting their own philosophers and
poets.
The men Paul was speaking to were probably Epicureans and
Stoics. His very first quote is of a Roman Stoic philosopher, Lucius Annaeus
Seneca “God… does not live in temples made by man.” Verses 25 through 27 are
paraphrases of Seneca, verse 28 contains another direct quote of Seneca and the
second quote is from the Phaenomena
of Aratus, and then in verse 29, Paul paraphrases Seneca again.
Paul was trying to convince the Greeks that their worship
of the “unknown God” was tantamount to idolatry. But rather than building his
case on the Jewish or the relatively recent Christian scriptures, Paul built
his whole case against idolatry from their very own religious and philosophical
texts.
When talking with anyone, finding common ground is very
important. It may not be that you are interested in the same things, but
rather that you show that you take an interest in other people.
In sales, many people are taught F.O.R.M. to break the
ice and build rapport. F.O.R.M. stands for Family, Occupation, Recreation (what
do you like to do for fun?), and Mutual acquaintances. It’s not just for sales,
it can be used in any conversation. Even if you are an introvert, you can have
a pretty good conversation and get to know people based on these four things.
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