Does Christainity Divide?

Well here we are already into 2008. Like every other new year, we have to endure the craziness of Christmas. I hope I am not confusing you but Christmas is actually the best time of the year for me because it is a time for me to reflect on the birth of my Lord Jesus Christ. Well this year, I heard a very good sermon from Alan Moore the Rector and St. Andrews South Brisbane (Queensland, Australia). I wish it was recorded. The thing that I remembered most was what he said about the Magi in the Gospel of Matthew. Unlike the popular press, who were fixated with what the Archbishop of Canterbury said about the accuracy of the Christmas story, I am more interested in why Matthew included the Magi in the Christmas story. Alan's point is that the Magi were not Jews but yet they recognized Jesus' kingship. This is interesting to me because Matthew's Gospel, although written in Greek, was written for a Jewish audience. And yet Matthew made it clear that Jesus' kingship applies to both Jews and Gentiles (non-Jews). Of course this is not the only part of the Bible that supports the idea that Christianity, unlike some other world religions, has universal significance. In the ancient world, the worship of deities can be very nationalistic. In recent times, I even heard of a story of how the Falun Gong tries to win over Chinese Christians by arguing that Chinese should believe Falun Gong over Christianity because Christianity is a "Western" religion. Perhaps this is why many people are put off by religions because to them religions divide people.

I recently came back from a work visit to North America. While in North America, I was able to visit my cousin Patrick who lives in Boston. Patrick considers himself an ex-Catholic and was curious about my faith. Patrick suggested:

... that religions, throughout history, has played a role of dividing
people into categories (Catholic, Christian, Jew, Muslim, Buddhist etc).

But do religions divide? I cannot speak for Jews, Muslims or Buddhists. However, I can certainly point to references in the Bible where God's people are drawn from tribes and nations. Consider the following from the book Revelation:

9After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10And they cried out in a loud voice:
"Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb." (Revelations Chapter 7 verses 9 to 10)

But still Patrick's words are reinforced by recent images of terrorism like the slaying of Benazir Bhutto - supposedly by Islamic extremists.

On Sunday, Christine, my father and I had Yum Cha with my friends Bob, Semmi, Rhys and Anthony Cheng. Bob, Semmi, Rhys and Anthony are not Christians. Somehow the topic got on to whether Chinese is better than English as a song-writing medium. I was the one who ignorantly suggested the topic. Bob took offense arguing that English also have many good poetic tools. Actually what I was trying to say was that Chinese is a better medium for writing Christian praise songs because of its ability to succinctly express certain ideas like "Grace" and "Love". My friendship with Bob can only go so far because my relation with God is nonsensical to Bob. Bob has no need for a god in his life. In fact, he and many others used the "Flying Spaghetti Monster" to ridicule organized religions. There you have it, Christianity separates me from my non-Christian friends. But some will ask how can a god of love divide people?

Actually it was not God who divided people. It was actually mankind who decided that we do not have any need for a god or rather it was mankind who decided that we want to establish our own rule apart from God. This is the real meaning of sin. Sin is not just about killing or robbing. Sin is man's deliberate attempt to walk away from our creator (see Genesis). This first broken relationship ultimately led to many many more broken relationships.

In Christ, God intended all mankind, regardless of tribes, nations or languages to enjoy a full relationship with him. My non-Chinese Christian friends may not fully understand the Chinese words in the Chinese worship songs that I now enjoy so much but yet the work of the Holy Spirit is such that we can all participate in the same worship knowing that the love and the grace of God binds like no other relationship on earth. Now that is true multiculturalism.