It surely is a sign of the times. Plans have been unveiled for the ‘House of One’ in Berlin, due for completion in 2023. According to the leaders of the project, the aim is to ‘make tangible that religions can be an asset - putting a model of a peaceful coexistence opposed to all atrocities committed in the name of religion.’ This ecumenical project has not only received the support of personal donors and private companies from several countries and backgrounds, but has been sponsored by the German government’s Ministries of Interior and of Environment to the tune of 10 million Euros. Other sponsors are the city of Berlin, the European Union university Erasmus programme, and other public institutions, think tanks and foundations. It is an impressive array of supporters from a very wide range of sources.
So what is the ‘House of One’? When it is finished, the building will have a church, a synagogue and a mosque, all connected by a central room. It will be a visible portrayal of the supposed unity of these three great world religions, bringing them physically closer together in a single structure. Plans for early events include an inter-faith prayer event for peace. A former Federal President of Germany, Christian Wulff, has said, ‘The “House of One” offers unique conditions for dialogue.’ Bishop Markus Dröge stated, ‘We want to show that faith doesn´t divide Jews, Christians and Muslims, but instead reconciles them.’ Who could be opposed to such a noble enterprise?
Well, actually, anyone who takes seriously the teaching of the Bible, the teaching summarized in the great creeds and confessions of the Christian Church. The understanding of God set out in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments is not that of Islam or Judaism. To begin with, he is a Trinity, one God in three equal, eternal persons. Neither Islam nor Judaism can or does accept such a view. Indeed, the Islamic view is that anyone who put another alongside Allah is shirk (accursed). The followers of the three religions do not worship the same God, however much some, including supporters of the ‘House of One’, argue that they do.
Also crucial to Christian faith is the unique place of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is indeed a prophet, as Islam and Judaism may be willing to accept, but he is so much more. To honour him as merely a prophet is in fact to dishonour him. In the language of John 1:1, he ‘was with God’ and he ‘was God’. The very term ‘the Word’ indicates his being the perfect expression of God and the ultimate revelation of him. Furthermore, according to Hebrews 1:3 he is ‘the radiance of God’s glory and the exact imprint of his nature’. What is revealed in Christ is God as he truly is. ‘Whoever has seen me has seen the Father,’ he says to his disciples (and to us) in John14:9. We could continue to pile up biblical support, but we have said enough.
The truth is that the ‘House of One’ is a symptom of the multi-faith confusion in which Western European culture is entangled. When there is no absolute standard of truth, all religions are equally valid, or, in fact, equally false. Truth claims are at best ‘true for me’ or ‘true for you’, but they may be entirely different ‘truths’. We have become familiar with such ideas in the age of ‘postmodernism’. That may be a declining philosophy whose high-water mark has passed, as all the other intellectual fads which preceded it have passed, but its influence is still significant. Any claims to have absolute truth will be howled down in the public forum. If you are in any doubt, try it sometime.
In this environment a multi-faith approach to religions is almost inevitable. To claim that one religion is ‘right’ and others are ‘wrong’ is regarded as incredible, unacceptable, even dangerous, perhaps possibly ‘hate speech’ that should be prosecuted. The ‘House of One’ shows us where one of the greatest spiritual battles of our era is being fought. If trends continue as they are and if the Lord does not grant a powerful working of the Holy Spirit in the conversion of multitudes, the situation will deteriorate further and Christians will find themselves even more marginalised than they presently are. We had better be ready.
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