Getting to Know You

Today in class we discussed the various religions of the world. While the percentage breakdown of each religion on both a global level and on a national level were interesting and somewhat surprising, the real surprise was discovering those religions that were growing rapidly in the United States.

We split up into groups and were tasked with digging deeper into the religious beliefs of several different religious groups. I selected Baha’i, mostly because I had read an article in Relevant Magazine in which Rainn Wilson, star of The Office, discussed religion. This caused me to do a bit of independent research that revealed that Wilson was a member of the Baha’i faith.

So I was intrigued.

It turns out that Baha’i is currently one of the world’s fastest growing religions. When taking a closer look, it’s easy to understand why.

Baha’i is pretty staunchly monotheistic, but they believe that Jesus, Mohammed, Buddha, Krishna and others were all manifestations of their god. This creates the illusion of inclusivity. People from all religions can be included, because their deity figure is just a manifestation of the real god. What is interesting about the god of Baha’i is that they believe that he is omnipresent, but that he’s impersonal and that they can’t have a personal relationship with him. How terrible it must feel to have a god that is literally all around you, but is still so far away and unreachable.


All of this made me think about the way that we do ministry to internationals. Do we take the time to understand the ins and outs of the major religions represented on our campuses? Or do we assume that all we need to do is hand them a tract and have someone translate it for them?

I think there is value in taking the time to understand a person’s religious beliefs, especially if they differ from mine. I think it can be extremely beneficial to understanding how to witness to people coming from other faiths.

For example, because I know that Baha’is already think of Jesus as a manifestation of their god, I know I can use his teachings as a starting point. Because I know that their god is omnipresent but impersonal, I can contrast their god to the God of the Bible, who is omnipresent and who wants to dwell in our hearts.

If nothing else, taking the time to understand the other person’s religious beliefs will impress the person you’re trying to witness to.