Varying Perspectives

Re Love One Another, July/August

I want to thank both Pandit Sharma and Rev. Fraser for their statements that appeared in the July/August issue. Juxtaposed, the two very different positions create a case study that Christians, particularly in North America, very seldom experience. Sharma enabled us to be on the receiving end of someone sharing his faith—and it wasn’t Christianity. Fraser’s expression of anger allowed us to feel the anger that many followers of other religions experience when we share Christianity with them. Too often we forget that Christian missionaries—no matter how sensitive we are to others—are sharing our faith with people of other faiths. They may well feel that we are belittling and mocking their faith as we talk about Jesus.

I do want to respond to one of Fraser’s comments, however. He felt that Sharma was making a joke when he asked, “what about those who lived before Christ?” Far from being a joke, this is a major concern for many. North Americans tend to be very individualistic but other peoples tend to emphasize the community. We will never know how many people rejected Christianity because they wanted to go to wherever their parents and grandparents had gone after death. I do know of one Hindu who converted to Christianity not because of Jesus, but because his wife had been a Christian and he wanted to go to where she went after she died.
The juxtaposition of the two statements allowed us to experience a moment of humility, and a lesson that we need to learn. Thank you again to both Pandit Sharma and Rev. Fraser for teaching us.