Garth Rattray | Religions should be more tolerant

Many people do not realise that Jesus’ name was not ‘Jesus Christ’. In keeping with the tradition at that time, He was likely called Yeshua ben-Yosef (Yeshua son of Joseph). Furthermore, ‘Christ’ comes from the Greek word ‘Christos’, which means the ‘Anointed One’, and is ‘Messiah’ in Hebrew.

Additionally, Yeshua was not a Christian. The Christian religion began about 30 to 33 years after His death (and resurrection). It started out as a Jewish sect within Jerusalem and grew to embrace Gentiles (non-Jewish people). It was officially recognised in 313 AD and became the state religion of Rome circa 380 AD.

Yeshua was a devout follower of the Jewish faith. In fact, he was a rabbi (a teacher of the Jewish faith). He embraced Judaism and said that He came to fulfil the Jewish law and prophecy. He agreed with the Hebrew scriptures but criticised ‘external ritualism’ and the hypocrisy of the influential leadership, the Pharisees. He asserted that true faith required repentance (profound spiritual transformation).

It is said that to be a true Christian, one must believe that there is only one God, the Holy Trinity – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Naturally, one must also believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God … born of a virgin, led a sinless life, was crucified, died, and resurrected to return at some time in the future. You must also believe that the holy Bible was inspired by God and is, therefore, the authoritative Word of God.

Christianity is one of the Abrahamic religions. It, like Judaism (of course), and Islam, can be traced back to Abraham. All three are monotheistic (believe in one God). They all originated in the ‘Middle East’ and share prominent historical personalities: Abraham and Moses. They believe in the essentiality of prayer, charity (goodwill), the spiritual need for ethical teachings and practices, morality, and their [individual] sacred writings (scriptures), the holy Bible, the Torah, and the Quran. They also believe in a tradition of prophecy.

FIVE MAJOR RELIGIONS

The world’s five major religions are Christianity (2.3 - 2.6 billion followers), Islam (approximately 1.9 billion followers), Hinduism (about 1.2 billion followers), Buddhism (approximately 500 million followers), and Judaism (with approximately 15 million followers). Although Judaism is the smallest among the top five religions of the world, it is historically very important because it is from Judaism that Islam and Christianity came.

There could be more than 4,000 separate religions, faith groups, and denominations around the world. The top 10 list of ‘religions’ is rounded out by Sikhism, Shinto, Jainism, Bahá’í, and Secularism.

It is prudent to add that Jamaica developed a unique Abrahamic religion: Rastafarianism. It began in the 1930s and was influenced and catalysed by the works of Marcus Garvey. Rastafarianism incorporates protestant Christianity into pan-African consciousness. The religion considers Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie to be the incarnation [the second coming] of Christ … Jah. The emperor is, therefore, seen as divine. Rastafarianism emphasises the philosophy, the lifestyle, and the spirituality of the religion. The Rastafarian religion now has about 700,000 to 1 million followers worldwide.

I am not Rastafarian, but I have many Rastafarian friends. Despite their elevation within our and other societies, an indeterminate number of people still harbour negative opinions of those who follow that religion. The founder of comparative religion, Friederich Max Müller, 19th-century German philologist, is quoted as saying, “There never was a false god nor was there ever really a false religion unless you call a child a false man.”

Since all religions promote compassion, peace, and hinge on [some degree of] spirituality, I find it amazing that there have been ‘Holy Wars’ (an oxymoron of no mean order). Holy Wars (religious Crusades) were started by Roman Catholics from Western European countries. The fighting was centred on control of Jerusalem and the Holy Land. But the conflict included pagans, so-called ‘heretics’, and other Christian sects. They took place between 1095 and 1291 AD. Aside from misdirected religious passion, the wars were also motivated by political conquest.

Denominations come under the umbrella of ‘Christianity’. But several of these denominations belittle and even debase some others while maintaining an acrid air of superiority. I have been in a church when the person leading the congregation posed a rhetorical question. He told the congregation not to respond verbally because the church is not a church that shouts out (he named the denomination). The congregation laughed, and he was so pleased with himself that he repeated his slur. I almost walked out.

Many years ago, I was trying to raise funds to donate to a church that needed a bus. I was selling tickets to an event. I went to a random church from another denomination, but the minister stared me in the face and flatly announced, “We do not support other churches”.

Wider afield, some religions assert that they will be the only ones going to Heaven. I refuse to believe that my Heavenly Father would bar anyone from His presence because he/she does not believe in the minutiae of a religion. Even if the person believes in Him, loves his/her fellow human beings, lives a moral life, is spiritual, and is kind to the point of being self-sacrificial, and is a Hindu, Jew, Muslim, Sikh, or whatever … people seriously believe that God will not allow them to see His face.

I hope that one day, religions will see themselves as children of the one God, cooperate, and be tolerant of one another.

Garth Rattray is a medical doctor with a family practice, and author of ‘The Long and Short of Thick and Thin’. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and garthrattray@gmail.com.