Is Christianity the Only 'Intolerant' Faith?

Randy Newman, in his excellent book on sharing the gospel with those close to us, records the fascinating exclusivism of Buddhism:

When asked about other religions' ability to provide refuge, the Dalai Lama replied, 'Liberation in which "a mind that understands the sphere of reality annihilates all defilements in the sphere of reality" is a state that only Buddhists can accomplish. This kind of moksha or nirvana is only explained in the Buddhist scriptures, and is achieved only through Buddhist practice.'

--'"Religious Harmony" and Extracts from The Bodhgaya Interviews,' in Christianity through non-Christian Eyes (ed. Paul Griffiths; Orbi, 1990); quoted in Randy Newman, Bringing the Gospel Home: Witnessing to Family Members, Close Friends, and Others Who Know You Well (Crossway, 2011), 87 n. 8
Dane Ortlund

Born This Way (so Raise Your Glass, All You Fireworks)

Three hit songs in the last few months have pushed the same message: You are awesome. You’re awesome just the way you are, even –no, especially– if you don’t fit in.
The three songs are “Firework” by Katy Perry, “Raise Your Glass” by Pink, and “Born this Way” by Lady Gaga. I don’t know who is sending out the talking points for pop singers, but these three divas are on message. A certain style of relentless affirmation is apparently the order of the day. Why? What is the radio saying to us? I’m not sure these songs are worth thinking about, but here are some observations about them.
1. It’s youth ministry. Okay, obviously these songs are not talking to us, if by “us” you mean readers of blogs like this. These artists appeal to a very young audience, giving them a soundtrack for their lives, lives filled with songs their fans can be embarrassed about when they grow up. And the message for the kids is: “Love yourself and you’re set, there’s a spark in you, just ignite the light and let it shine, you’re original, can’t be replaced,” etc. Louder, more positive, LOUDER!
2. But for what religion? It’s clearly not Christianity, or any of the other fusty old faiths. It’s some kind of primal celebration of life itself, some sort of vitalism that requires ecstatic self-affirmation. Pink (excuse me, that’s P!nk) is by far the least articulate of the three, but even she wants to know “what part of party don’t you understand?” Katy Perry might be paraphrasing the book of Esther when she muses, “Maybe the reason why all the doors are closed is so you can open one that leads you to the perfect road… when it’s time you’ll know.” But in the paraphrase is the jump to a different faith, a faith of self-celebrating. “I sing myself and celebrate myself,” said Walt Whitman (who was probably an early prophet of this faith). These singers celebrate themselves by bringing their fans into the circle of self-celebration. “It’s all about you, by which I mean me.”
It makes perfect sense that the priests of this new religion are the celebrities. Their celebrity status is the very thing that shows them to be the elect, the apostles whose message must be heard. In an article entitled “God at the Grammys,” Neil Strauss lines up quote after quote to show that “Before they were famous, many of the biggest pop stars in the world believed that God wanted them to be famous, that this was his plan for them, just as it was his plan for the rest of us not to be famous.”
3. The affirmers are young women. I don’t really know what to make of this, but I can’t think of any male voices who are delivering this message to the young people quite so clearly. Bruno Mars tells his girlfriend “You’re amazing, just the way you are.” –and she apparently needs a lot of affirmation, since according to another Mars song, people are always throwing grenades and blades at her. But he’s talking directly to one person he is romantically in love with, whereas the divas are shouting love-words at a crowd, preacher-style. Of the three young women with the “Yay You” songs, only P!nk is older than 30. They beam affection at their fans from the stage, from P!nk calling her fans “my underdogs” to Gaga’s bizarre mass therapy sessions masquerading as concerts. What exactly is this diva-affirmation? It’s not generalized romance, as if the love crooner were to look up from his girl and say to a surrounding crowd, “You’re ALL amazing, just the way you are.” And though all three divas build their careers on sexiness, it’s a sexiness exactly like porn, which is to say perfectly impersonal. Can you imagine a manly man delivering this message? I suppose we’ll get that sooner or later, but at this stage of cultural development, a male voice would be way too fatherly to carry the message. Only Gaga has dared to gesture in that direction, with her chummy reference to “Capital H-I-M.”
4. It’s a message targeted at misfits. Katy Perry’s song is for those who “feel like a plastic bag,” or “paper thin” or “like a house of cards.” Pink’s song is to people who are underdogs, “wrong in all the right ways,” “nitty gritty dirty little freaks,” “too school for cool, and treated like a fool.” And Lady Gaga sings to “subway kids,” encouraging them to “have no regrets.” But above all, Lady Gaga sings to male homosexuals. The gay element was a sub-text for Perry and P!nk, made explicit only in their videos (which both feature men kissing at crucial moments). But Lady Gaga makes it central, and her whole song is deliberately pitched to be a gay rights anthem (“don’t be a drag, just be a queen”). But “Born this Way” isn’t really about being gay at all. Gaga’s using the cultural cachet of homosexuality to push the religion of self-affirmation. Similar layers of contradiction abound: All three are conspicuously skinny women trying to position themselves as being on the side of obese girls (again, both videos so far feature young women who feel shunned because of their weight; Gaga, on the other hand, dons fleshy-bony shoulder spikes that simulate anorexia); all three are white women celebrating racial diversity at the level of a United Colors of Benneton fashion statement.
5. It’s no good talking about it. Because the ready defense is “OMG, it’s like just a song or whatever, why are you analyzing it?” And also because the whole point for all three singers is to get people to notice them, and the various tricks of all their songs serve only that end. But the message is “You, that is, I, am awesome. Look at me and listen to me.” And when we do, even to shake our heads, we obey. It’s a perfect match between their medium and their message, because they can promote their religion in the very act of promoting themselves. You couldn’t make up a better religion.
The Scriptorium

Spiritual Not Religious?

Is “spiritual” the right word to describe our friends and neighbors interested in God, prayer, and the mysterious? Jonathan Edwards thinks not:

Now it may be observed that the epithet “spiritual,” in these and other parallel texts of the New Testament, is not used to signify any relation of persons or things to the spirit or soul of man, as the spiritual part of man, in opposition to the body, which is the material part: qualities are not said to be spiritual, because they have their seat in the soul, and not in the body: for there are some properties that the Scripture calls carnal or fleshly, which have their seat as  much in the soul, as those properties that are called spiritual. Thus it is with pride and self-righteousness, and a man’s trusting to his own wisdom, which the Apostle calls fleshly (Col. 2:18).
Nor are things called spiritual, because they are conversant about those things that are immaterial, and not corporeal. For so was the wisdom of the wise men, and princes of this world, conversant about spirits, and immaterial beings; which yet the Apostle speaks of as natural men, totally ignorant of those things that are spiritual (I Cor. ch. 2). But it is with relation to the Holy Ghost, or Spirit of God, that persons or things are termed spiritual, in the New Testament. (Religious Affections, 198)

I think Edwards is spot-on here. Now, it’s not worth correcting the people we are trying to reach. But it’s really more accurate to stay an increasing number of Westerners are religious, not spiritual.
Kevin DeYoung

When Tradition Turns Toxic

There’s a lot that can be said for tradition. Tradition helps us know what to expect, helps us know our roles. Tradition can mark special events like weddings, funerals, and holidays. Tradition is good because it is respectful of the wisdom of those who have gone before us. It connects us with the past.
I’m a big fan of tradition. But Jesus wasn’t always. “Tradition is the living faith of the dead,” to quote Jaroslav Pelikan. “But traditionalism,” he went on to say, “is the dead faith of the living.” Tradition can be horribly abused. It is a wonderful servant and a terrible master. Some of the dumbest and most hurtful things we do in life are owing to unthinking allegiance to tradition. Tradition sometimes turns toxic.
In Mark 7:1-13, Jesus rails against tradition. He cites two problems with the traditions of the Pharisees. Tradition turns toxic when (1) we enforce man-made traditions as God-made commandments, and (2) when we use man-made traditions to nullify God-made principles. Sometimes as conservatives we forget that adding to Scripture is just as deadly as subtracting from it.
Kevin DeYoung

The Pope's Self-Flagellation

The late Pope John Paul II, who has been put on the fast track to sainthood by the Vatican, regularly whipped himself as an act of penance to feel closer to God, and signed a secret document saying that he would step down as pontiff if he became incurably ill, according to a new book.
"Why a Saint?" by Monsignor Slawomir Oder, the Vatican "postulator" in charge of the canonization process, says the Polish-born Pope performed self flagellation as a bishop in Krakow and continued to do so in the Vatican after being elected Pope in 1978.
"In his wardrobe, among his vestments, there hung on a clothes hanger a special belt for trousers which he used as a whip," Monsignor Oder says. He said self flagellation was "an instrument of Christian perfection" emulating the sufferings of Jesus Christ.
He added that in Poland the former Bishop Karol Wojtyla often slept on the bare floor to practice self-denial and asceticism, often disturbing his bed in the morning to pretend he had slept in it and so avoid drawing attention to his act of penitence. I'm so thankful that Jesus bore my punishment for me and in my place! 
Oh, and please note, the proper term is "flagellate," not "flatulate."  I've actually heard several folks confuse the terms when telling me that the Pope "self-flatulated."  They were a bit perplexed when I said in reply "don't we all do that?"