Skip to content

Course 18 · Lesson 7.4

Witness, dialogue and respect

12 minute read

Lessons in this course

Course 18 outline

Module 1: Studying Religions Fairly

  1. Describing a religion in its own terms
  2. Insider and outsider views, and the limits of comparison
  3. Pluralism, inclusivism and exclusivism: the basic terms
  4. The comparison grid: God, revelation, authority, humanity and salvation

Module 2: Judaism and Islam

  1. Judaism: Torah, covenant and the shape of Jewish life
  2. How Judaism understands Jesus, Messiah and the Christian claim
  3. Islam: the oneness of God, the Prophet and the Quran
  4. How Islam understands Jesus, the Trinity and the Christian claim

Module 3: Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism

  1. Hinduism: its diversity and central ideas
  2. Buddhism: the Four Noble Truths and the path
  3. Sikhism: the Gurus, the one God and the Guru Granth Sahib
  4. Karma, rebirth and liberation compared with Christian hope

Module 4: Deism, Atheism and Agnosticism

  1. Deism: history and beliefs
  2. Atheism: varieties and arguments
  3. Agnosticism and the question of burden of proof
  4. Meaning, morality and hope in nonreligious positions

Module 5: New Religious Movements

  1. What a new religious movement is, and why the term is debated
  2. Movements with Christian roots and their relation to historic Christianity
  3. Other modern movements and spiritualities

Module 6: Comparing the Great Questions

  1. Revelation compared: word, law, awakening and incarnation
  2. Divine nature compared: one God, the Trinity, the Absolute and no creator
  3. Human nature and the human problem compared
  4. Salvation compared: forgiveness, submission, liberation and awakening
  5. Scripture and authority compared

Module 7: Christian Approaches to Other Religions

  1. Exclusivism, inclusivism and pluralism examined
  2. Catholic and Orthodox approaches to other religions
  3. Protestant approaches to other religions
  4. Witness, dialogue and respect

All courses

Program / Course 18: World Religions / Lesson 7.4

What you will learn

  • Define witness, dialogue and proclamation, and say how they relate.
  • Describe the forms of interfaith dialogue and the limits each tradition sets.
  • State practical rules for honest, respectful conversation with people of other faiths and none.
  • Explain the difference between respecting a person and endorsing a belief.

The big idea

Christians are called both to bear witness to Christ and to love their neighbors, including neighbors of other faiths. These two callings do not conflict, but they require skill. Witness means telling what one believes and why. Dialogue means listening to understand and speaking honestly in a spirit of mutual respect. Respect means treating the other as a person made in God’s image, whatever one thinks of the person’s beliefs. The aim of such conversation is not to win a point, but to be truthful and kind.

Key terms

Witness
Telling what one has seen and believes about Christ, by word and by life. From the Greek martyria.
Proclamation
The public announcement of the gospel with the invitation to respond.
Interfaith dialogue
Conversation between members of different religions to understand each other, resolve conflict and work together, without necessarily seeking agreement.
Proselytism
Seeking converts in ways that use pressure, inducement or deception. Distinguished from honest witness in many church documents.
Syncretism
Blending elements of different religions in a way that changes the content of one of them.
Apologetics
Giving reasons for the faith, as in 1 Peter 3:15.
Hospitality
The practice of welcoming the stranger, which Scripture and the church have long treated as a duty and a means of grace.

Background

Jesus sent his disciples to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19) and to be his witnesses to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). He also taught his followers to love their neighbors, and told the story of the Samaritan, a member of a despised religious group, who showed mercy (Luke 10:25-37). The church has always had to hold together proclamation and love. At different times, it has done each well or badly.

Today many Christians live beside neighbors of other faiths in schools, workplaces and families. Churches, mission bodies and councils have written guidelines for conduct. Among them are the Catholic Dialogue and Proclamation (1991), a joint document by the World Council of Churches, the Vatican and the World Evangelical Alliance titled Christian Witness in a Multi-Religious World (2011), and the Orthodox statements on mission. This lesson gathers their common points and notes where they differ.

Step-by-step explanation

Step 1: Witness and its manner

Christian witness is to tell what God has done in Christ, and to live in a way that fits the message. Peter writes, “be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear” (1 Peter 3:15). Paul says that speech should be seasoned with salt and full of grace (Colossians 4:6). The manner belongs to the message.

The 2011 document on Christian witness, agreed by the World Council of Churches, the Vatican and the World Evangelical Alliance, set out principles including acting in God’s love, imitating Jesus, rejecting violence and coercion, respecting freedom of religion, avoiding false testimony, and building interreligious relationships. Christians of many kinds agreed that witness may not use force, bribes or deceit.

Step 2: Forms of dialogue

Catholic teaching, in Dialogue and Proclamation, describes four forms of dialogue: the dialogue of life, in which neighbors live side by side; the dialogue of action, in which they work together for justice; the dialogue of theological exchange, in which specialists discuss their traditions; and the dialogue of religious experience, in which people share prayer and contemplation. Many Protestants and Orthodox use similar distinctions.

Each form has limits. In shared prayer, Christians and others must be careful not to imply that all prayers are the same, and the churches have guidance on when joint services are fitting. In theological exchange, participants should represent their own tradition and not claim to speak for all. In life and action, the main requirements are neighborliness and honesty.

Step 3: Practical rules for conversation

A short set of rules, drawn from the practice of many Christian and other traditions, may help. Listen first and ask questions that you want answered. Describe the other’s faith in terms its adherents would accept, as in the first lesson. Compare ideals with ideals and failures with failures. Admit the faults of your own tradition without being asked. Say plainly what you believe and why, without pretending that you hold no view. Do not use conversation as a trap. Do not press someone who has said no. Share a meal.

Expect disagreement and treat it as normal. Not every conversation ends in agreement, and a conversation that ends in friendship and honest understanding is a good one. Respect does not require saying that all views are equally true. It requires telling the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15).

Step 4: Respect, conscience and freedom

Respect for a person is not the same as agreement with the person. The Second Vatican Council taught in Dignitatis Humanae that every person has a right to religious freedom, and that no one should be forced to act against conscience or prevented from acting in accord with it. Protestants and Orthodox have affirmed similar principles. The history of forced conversions, which includes Christian forced conversions of Jews and pagans, is treated by these documents as a wrong.

Religious freedom has two sides. A Christian should defend the freedom of others to hold and share their faith, including Muslims, Jews, Hindus and nonbelievers, and also the freedom of Christians in countries where they are persecuted. Defending freedom for others is itself a form of witness.

Step 5: Hope, humility and perseverance

Christians trust that God is at work in each person and that conversion is God’s act, not the result of technique (1 Corinthians 3:6). This trust removes anxiety and the temptation to manipulate. It makes patience possible. It also calls for humility: Christians can learn from others, for example from the discipline of Muslim prayer, the study practices of Jewish communities, the compassion of Buddhist teachers and the hospitality of Sikh gurdwaras, without giving up their faith.

The final measure of Christian conduct is love. Paul writes that without love, a person who has every gift is nothing (1 Corinthians 13:1-3). A Christian whose arguments are flawless but whose manner is cold has missed the point, and a Christian whose kindness never speaks of Christ has also missed it. Both are needed.

  1. How can I tell the difference between witness and pressure?
  2. What might I learn from the faith of a neighbor of another religion?
  3. In what situations is shared prayer appropriate, and when might it create confusion?
  4. How do I describe my own faith honestly to someone who disagrees?
  5. What would it mean to defend religious freedom for people whose beliefs I think are wrong?
  6. Which of the rules in Step 3 do I find hardest to follow?

Examples

A neighbor’s question

A Christian’s Muslim neighbor asks why the Christian does not eat pork or does eat pork, what the cross means, or why Christians have so many denominations. The Christian answers plainly, asks the neighbor a question in return and invites the neighbor to a meal. Nothing is pressed. Over the years the two families know each other well.

A bad conversation

A young Christian hands a Jewish classmate a tract and says he will go to hell if he does not believe. The classmate is hurt, and both are embarrassed. A better approach would have begun with friendship, listening and an invitation to talk, with the same conviction expressed gently.

Joint work

After a flood, a church, a synagogue, a mosque and a Sikh gurdwara organize a shared relief effort and a joint meal. They do not pray together, but each prays for the victims in their own way and the volunteers work side by side. The effort is an example of the dialogue of action.

Different perspectives

Catholic

The Catholic Church teaches that dialogue and proclamation are both parts of its mission, not competing, and that genuine dialogue requires each partner to be open about their own convictions (Dialogue and Proclamation, 1991). It condemns coercion and defends religious freedom (Dignitatis Humanae).

Orthodox

Orthodox statements on mission stress witness through worship, service and the example of the saints, and reject proselytism that uses pressure or takes advantage of weakness. Orthodox churches have been partners in dialogue with Muslims and Jews, and also in disputes with other Christians over where missions are appropriate.

Protestant

Evangelicals stress the Great Commission and the duty to share the gospel with all, with respect, as in the Lausanne documents. Mainline Protestants emphasize dialogue, shared service and humility. Protestants of both kinds sign the 2011 statement on Christian witness, which affirms both witness and respect.

Jewish and Muslim voices

Jewish leaders often ask Christians to respect Jewish identity and not target Jews for conversion, and have issued statements such as Dabru Emet (2000) calling for a new relationship. Muslim leaders have issued A Common Word (2007), and also ask that Muslims not be treated with suspicion. Both invite honest dialogue about differences.

Scholarly

Scholars of interfaith relations note that dialogue works best when participants have secure identities and clear commitments, and that vague agreement often hides real differences. Critics on one side say dialogue can dilute conviction, and on the other, that witness can become aggression. Research suggests that sustained personal contact reduces prejudice.

Why it matters

The course has asked for fair description, careful comparison and honest judgment. This lesson turns those habits into conduct. Christians who can speak truthfully and kindly with those who disagree serve both their faith and their neighbors, and do what Peter, Paul and Jesus himself asked of them.

Common misunderstandings

Misunderstanding: Dialogue means giving up your own convictions.

Correction: Genuine dialogue depends on each side stating its convictions honestly. Churches teach that it complements and does not replace proclamation.

Misunderstanding: Witness means arguing until the other person agrees.

Correction: Witness is telling and living the truth with gentleness. Conversion is God’s work, and pressure and trickery are condemned by the major church documents.

Misunderstanding: Respecting other religions means saying they are all true.

Correction: Respect is shown to persons and their freedom, and it includes honest disagreement. Saying all religions are true would be false to what most of them teach.

Misunderstanding: Christians should avoid learning from other religions.

Correction: Christians may admire and learn from the discipline, hospitality or compassion of others, as the Council said they should regard what is true and holy in them, while holding to Christ.

Knowledge check

What are the four forms of dialogue described in Dialogue and Proclamation?

They are the dialogue of life, in which neighbors live side by side; the dialogue of action, in which they work together for justice; the dialogue of theological exchange, between specialists; and the dialogue of religious experience, in which people share prayer and contemplation. Each has its own aims and limits.

What does 1 Peter 3:15 teach about the manner of witness?

It tells Christians to be always ready to give an answer for the hope that is in them, with meekness and fear. The manner of witness is gentle and reverent, not aggressive. The message and the manner belong together, and a harsh manner contradicts the gospel it announces.

What does the Christian witness document of 2011 reject?

Agreed by the World Council of Churches, the Vatican and the World Evangelical Alliance, it rejects violence, coercion, bribery, deceit and false testimony in witness, and it affirms freedom of religion and respect for other faiths. It also affirms that Christians are called to share the gospel.

What is the difference between respecting a person and endorsing a belief?

To respect a person is to treat them as made in God’s image, to listen, tell the truth about them and defend their freedom of conscience. To endorse a belief is to agree that it is true. One can respect a person while believing, and saying kindly, that the person is mistaken on important points.

Think it through

  1. What is the best conversation you have had with someone of another faith or none? What made it good?
  2. Where do you see the risk of coldness in argument, and the risk of silence in kindness, in your own habits?
  3. How might your church make visitors of other faiths feel welcome without hiding what it believes?
  4. What would it cost you to defend the religious freedom of people you disagree with?

Independent assignment

A plan for a conversation

In your notebook, write about 400 words planning a respectful conversation with a person of another faith, real or imagined. Name the tradition, list five questions you would ask, state what you would say about your own faith in about 100 words, and name three mistakes you will try to avoid. Finish with a paragraph of about 100 words on what you hope to learn. Do not send it to anyone.

Further study