On more than one occasion I have heard it said that a distinctive conflict in the twenty first century will not be between religions, but between hard-line religious positions and a more congenial approach to religious belief – between those who believe they hold the truth against others who are wrong and are enemies, and those who are open to the possibility that other religious traditions have value and may have insights into religious truths worthy of consideration. In light of this possibility, it is worth the effort to consider how each one of us regards our faith and how this regard informs one’s treatment of religious beliefs that differ.

A question that I wrestled with in my college years was along the lines, “If there is one God, how did it happen that there are so many beliefs about God, and how can I be certain that mine is the right belief?” The short answer to this question was to conclude that revelations about God have been experienced by all people over centuries and these revelations have been shaped by the cultures and historical events in which the revelations were experienced. Moreover, since revelations are, to use Paul’s phrase, like “seeing in a mirror dimly”, some revelations are more likely to be closer to the “truth” than others. Each one of us finds our way (or feel led to) religious tenets that seem to us the closest to the truth. But if there indeed is one God, and one God of all creation, then it also stands to reason that God’s spirit moves among all people. And it is possible to listen for how God has spoken in different times, with different people, even to be inspired by others’ testimony, while still feeling very grounded in one’s own faith.

The testimony found in Acts 17 underscores the global nature of all religious origins: “God made from one, every nation of people to live on all the face of the earth, having determinded allotted periods and the boundaries of their habitation, that they should seek God in the hope that they might feel after God and find God.”  We are not enemies, but one family. Our family tree is rich with many stories of God’s love and grace.