Christian Dialogue Essay

While reflecting on how a Christian might benefit from the study of other religions, one key factor came to mind, that key component being the overall commission to evangelize and spread the Word to all the world. To achieve this sort of task, the most valuable asset a Christian should possess is a diverse knowledge of other faiths. I say this, as I feel it is important to understand the beliefs, practices, and acculturation of those you seek to reach. While one might have absolutely no stake in learning about other religions; the knowledge of other cultural and religious beliefs and traditions form effective relationships. The key principal, is to know your audience and how to relate to them with an empathetic mindset. For Christians attempting

The relevant definitions of dialogue offered by Merriam-Webster (2015) are; “a conversation between two or more persons” and, “a discussion between representatives of parties to a conflict that is aimed at resolution”. Given these definitions, a Christian dialog with other religions, involves being able to maintain reciprocal communications with people of other religions with an attitude of respect and friendship in a confident fashion. The overall goal of such dialog is contextualization, which involves building a bridge that creates interreligious relations with individuals and communities of other faiths by situating the message to their culture (Corduan, 2012). According to Corduan (2012), “evangelism requires the interplay of three of three cultures: the biblical culture, the evangelist’s home culture and the receptor’s culture” (p.59). Since the very last instructions Jesus gave to the disciples before He was taken up to Heaven was to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”(Mark 16:15-16, NIV); the desired end result of an effective Christian dialogue with people of other faiths should to lead to their conversion and commitment to Christianity. In order to achieve such a task it would benefit a Christian missionary to learn everything from other

According to Cosgrove (2006), this sort of learning also aides in the development and strengthening of one’s worldview; which in turn would affect one’s view of morality and how others view the world (p. 21). When examining the validity of other religions one might assess certain key aspects such as evidence, logical consistency, existential repugnance and how it applies to human nature (p.66). When examining the evidence presented by a religion we naturally would turn to what we know about the world and ourselves (p. 66). However, when analyzing the logical consistency of a religion, one would want to ensure that nothing is contradictory within its doctrine and teachings (p. 66). In order to test existential repugnance one would need to imagine whether or not they picture living in a world which is aligned with that particular religion (p.67). Lastly, and perhaps the most effective test of a religion is to examine it against the human personality by examining how it views self-awareness, consciousness, free will, moral notions, creativity, and spiritual aspirations (p. 68). Making such an assessment of other religions strengthens critical thinking skills in order to better serve a diverse world (Cosgrove,