THE NOISY GONG OR CLANGING CYMBAL OF SYNCRETISM IN CHRISTIANITY ~ DANGEROUS DABBLING ~ EXPOSING HYPOCRISY ~ PART 15

When I first got to the prison camp, one questionnaire/survey I was asked to fill out was given to all incoming inmates by the Chapel. I was asked what religion I practiced and what type of resources provided for me would be most helpful in furthering my walk in said religion. I responded, “Anything by reformed teachers or the puritans.” Surely, they would know what I was talking about, right? I never heard back.

 

After a year and a half, I got a job working in the Chapel. I begged and pleaded to be able to work there for one reason: access to the library. The Chaplain refused me several times; but her assistant, in a weak moment, hired me. I will say that I got along very well with both the Chaplain and the assistant, even though it was apparent our theologies were at opposite ends of the poles.

 

There was a lot of ‘down time’ at the Chapel, but workers still had to put in a full day there. No matter what prison job you held, you did your job, then you sat there for the rest of the day to talk with other workers or read quietly. Some jobs (like those in the Central Dining Room), all you could do on your down time was talk to others. No books, writing materials or sleeping allowed.

 

The Chapel oversaw and facilitated the worship practices of every known religion one can possibly imagine, a place where syncretism brewed in a melting pot of diverse cultures and ideologies. The Chaplain was an ordained lesbian minister of the episcopal church. There was a Wiccan grove right outside the Chapel alongside a native American wigwam used as a sweat lodge. The assistant to the Chaplain was a charismatic who taught the Beth Moore study. The available religious medium, for the most part, promoted modalism through oneness Pentecostal teachers. There was very little access to any solid teaching material in the library unless it was an overlooked book which that person removing ‘books that cause division’ happened to miss. I was once instructed to go into the back room and look for something only to find a treasure trove of great books that were being disposed of because they wouldn’t be tolerated by the masses. I was allowed to have what I wanted. God is faithful! I could only surmise that there once was a solid library in this Chapel.

 

For the most part, individual religions were instructed by inmates. When a small group of us asked to have a Bible study sanctioned by the Chapel based upon Scripture, we were told that ‘Christianity’ was ‘covered’ with the Beth Moore study (though only a small group could participate in each study which could take months). We asked if we could possibly teach a study on ‘How to Study the Bible’. This was turned over in the assistant’s mind for a few moments as a possibility before she outright said, “I don’t think so.” Instead, we sat at a picnic table outside, wind blowing, guards circling in their trucks and openly studied our Bibles (which was not permitted).

 

I probably shouldn’t have been as shocked as I was when talking to many of the chapel workers to find out that their whole theologies were syncretistic.

What is syncretism? Syncretism is a philosophy or belief that seeks to mix different religions and theologies into one. The word comes from a Greek verb meaning “to combine”. In order for syncretism to work, doctrinal differences must be dismissed.

Harper’s Bible Dictionary states that syncretism is “either a conscious combining of two or more religions over a short period of time, or a process of absorption by one religion of elements of another over a long period of time. In both types the absorbed elements are usually transformed and given new meaning by the fresh context. The borrowed item may remain outwardly the same, but its new context signifies something quite new.”

 

Achtemeier, P.J., Harper & Row and Society of Biblical Literature. (1985). In Harper’s Bible Dictionary (1st ed., p.1008). San Francisco: Harper & Row

Embracing syncretism leads to loss of absolute truth, compromise and assimilation to the surrounding culture. Syncretism has been attempted throughout all human history, as we shall see. God stressed early on to the Israelites the dangers of syncretism, yet the nation of Israel engaged in syncretism over and over again.

Exodus 34:12-16—Be careful that you do not make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land into which you are going, or it will become a snare in your midst. But rather, you are to tear down their altars and smash their memorial stones, and cut down their Asherim—for you shall not worship any other god, because the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God—otherwise you might make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they would prostitute themselves with their gods and sacrifice to their gods, and someone might invite you to eat of his sacrifice, and you might take some of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters might prostitute themselves with their gods and cause your sons also to prostitute themselves with their gods.

 

1 Corinthians 10:21—You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.

 

The Colossians were dealing with syncretism when false teachers infiltrated the church attempting to persuade the people to combine the pure message of the Gospel with Judaism and Gnostic-type beliefs that were prevalent in that time (and continue today in many different forms). The worship of Jesus Christ is exclusive, and this was Paul’s message in the Gospel consistently. The first chapter of the book of Galatians deals with this idea that adding anything to the Gospel of Jesus Christ makes it another gospel which is no gospel at all.

 

The Roman Catholic Church has been adept at weaving syncretistic schemes in their “missionary” efforts all over the world. Hinduism is guilty of the same. With gods numbering in the thousands, they have no problem adding a Jesus who is palatable to them to their pantheon of Hindu gods. This is why many Hindus will say they have “accepted Jesus”. This is why digging down into exactly what a person believes is key to defining truth.

 

The mission of syncretism is this: Find common ground and combine belief systems. Muslims see no problems with declaring that the God of the Bible and their god Allah are actually one and the same. This is absolutely not true. The one true God of Scripture and Allah are diametrically in opposition to one another. I witnessed in prison one Muslim “witnessing” to a new believer telling her that she should begin to study with her because Allah is the God of Scripture. I said, “That is absolutely not true!” The Muslim looked at me with mouth hanging open and said, “I had no idea.”

 

The ecumenical movement today is working hard to unite all the churches in Christendom, especially under the Roman Catholic pope. The World Council of Churches has been leading this charge since 1948. The Charismatic movement has done much to help the cause.

 

What’s so bad about syncretism? First and foremost, God clearly forbids it in His Word. In syncretism, something is always given up or added to the Word of God which affects the worship of God. This is to compromise God’s Word. Isaiah acknowledges the fact that God was no longer with His people because they had participated in syncretism. Isaiah 2:6, 8—For you have abandoned Your people, the house of Jacob, because they are filled with influences from the east, and they are soothsayers like the Philistines. They also strike bargains with the children of foreigners. Their land has also been filled with idols; they worship the work of their hands, that which their fingers have made.

 

A riot ensued in Ephesus when Paul preached the exclusive claims of the gospel refusing to blend true Christianity with the worship of Diana or Artemis.

 

Jesus said in John 14:6—“I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.”

 

Christianity is monotheistic; therefore, syncretism has no place in Christianity. Ironically, the ecumenical movement promoting everything that relates to unity is known for its great ‘love and tolerance’ for every religion and belief system, yet all it really does is cause more confusion in defining a belief system based upon the absolute truths of God’s Word—the God who is love. While an orchestra of ecumenical sounds coming together in syncretistic harmony is music to the world’s ears, it is nothing more than a noisy gong and clanging cymbal in God’s ears and those who know Him.

 

In the next post, we will pick up in Exodus 32 where we last left off.