I know you've seen the "co-exist" bumper stickers. They've been around for quite some time now, and while some interpret it to mean that we should all just get along, its actual message is much more sinister. Essentially, it reflects the same sentiments voiced by so many today, namely, that we "should respect all religions" as if all religious ideas are, by some wave of the magical wand of "faith," equally valid or true.
In such a culture, however, Christians must remember that they are bound by two realities, the first of which is the creation of each person in the image of God. This reality guarantees individual intrinsic value and provides the logical basis for treating each person accordingly, hence the justification for lovingly preaching the Gospel of Christ to them all.
The second reality to which we are bound is simple logic. While the cultural status quo is to give both equal weight and respect to all religious ideas ("co-exist"), the Christian can no easier jettison logic in regard to his/her faith than a math teacher can discard the idea that only one right answer exists to a mathematical equation. Logic tells us that while all opposing views may in fact be wrong, they cannot all be right.
Even Jesus thought and preached in logical terms, and while demonstrating his love for all people as their sin bearer, he actually showed divine contempt for those ideas that stood in stark contradiction to those claims concerning Himself and His work. He loved people to be sure (John 3:16), but he had no time for those whose ideas made one "twofold more the child of hell" than they were (Matthew 23:15).
In a nutshell, then, Christians, like Jesus, should also love people of every religious sect, but treating people with the respect due them as divine image bearers is a far cry from the brain-dead acceptance of every religious idea as equally valid. Hence, the greatest respect emerges with our rejection of the cultural pressures to "co-exist" and then breaking the bonds of silence by preaching the logically exclusive Gospel of Christ and the salvation found in Him alone. We must be found, per Paul, "Casting down imaginations (thoughts, reasonings), and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God…(2 Corinthians 10:5).
Tony
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