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A Theology of Pluralism

© Jill Critchley Rubin

I want to take a moment to break from the usual themes addressed in this venue. I have spoken at length on a number of issues faced by interfaith couples as they prepare for marriage. Yet, how do these personal issues stand in a more social context? What is the greater community doing to reach out to its interfaith couples? And what are we, as interfaith couples, doing to help others understand our theological interpretations?

Interfaith dialogues among Christian and Jewish communities are becoming more frequent if not more popular. However, validating another's faith seemingly opposite of our own is a big and sometimes intimidating hurdle to clear. How can evangelical Christians or Orthodox Jews agree that each faith may embrace elements of God's truth without turning their backs on their own religious beliefs?

I cannot claim to know God's truth, and therefore, I will not claim that my religious views are any more or any less valid than those of others. Yet, I would like to share with you a little about how I made peace with God and my own beliefs of his will for my life.

At first, I was skeptical. I was scared that I would have to choose between my future husband and my God, knowing I could never give up my faith, and thinking that if I didn't there would be no way to salvage our relationship. In the beginning, I also thought that the fact that my fiancé was considerably less religious than myself was a blessing. I now know differently.

The fact that we are both open, tolerant and loving people is what saved us, and my continual search for God's truth is what solidified my decision to go through with this marriage. Upon reading John 15:6, which says "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me," my mind wandered slightly. I understood the evangelical interpretation of this verse well. I had been taught that anyone who does not accept Jesus, cannot be accepted by God. Intellectually, this was difficult for me to swallow. On one hand, I couldn't understand why one would not accept Jesus, and on the other I could not justify why God would turn his back on a good and faithful person, just because it wasn't Jesus who was centered in this faith.

I knew plenty of people who seemed much more deserving of God's promised future than myself, despite the fact that they did not consider themselves Christian. This thought was later expanded when I met my fiancé. We joked that I am a better Jew than he is because I am more willing to follow the letter of the Jewish law (to an extent) when it comes to issues such as fasting on Jewish holy days. Later, I realized, however, that he, a self-professed "atheist Jew," was a better Christian in many ways than I was. He represents to me many of the qualities possessed by Jesus. He is full of love for all people, slow to anger and quick to forgive. He is calm and non-judgmental, accepting and supportive. I, on the other hand, am lacking of many of these qualities, and yet, I call myself a Christian.