Following a tragedy in 2008, Andrew Bowen slipped into a depression. He struggled with the faith he had been raised to live and believe, and he started searching for a different faith. But not, as he told a reporter, faith in God. He was searching for “faith in humanity.”
WeathersSo he decided to experiment, to taste various religions and see which ones agreed with his spiritual palate. And so began the “Conversion Project.” For the 2011 calendar year, Bowen studied one faith each month, twelve for the year. And not just reading about them. He saturated himself in their practices and beliefs. He sought a mentor for each one. First he immersed himself in the literature for that faith, and then practiced its principles and, where possible, participated in its worship.
In January, Hinduism. February, Baha’i. Zoroastrian for March. Then Judaism in April. Buddhism was May. The summer began with agnosticism, continued with Mormonism, and ended hot with Islam. He included Sikh (September), Wicca (October), Jainism (November), and closed the year with Catholicism (December).
Not surprisingly, Bowen has a book deal.
Also not surprising is the distinctive absence of evangelical Christianity from the smorgasbord of options. Perhaps from past experience or just by intuition, Bowen seems to grasp what the Bible declares. Jesus just doesn’t fit on a buffet line of religions. His claims to be God, and His assertion that He is the only truth, keep Him blackballed from the tolerance table. How do you merge Jesus with murderous Islam, vapid Baha’i, or empty agnosticism? You can’t. To his credit, Bowen tasted Catholicism, but there he could hide behind the ritual.
The fact is, Jesus proclaims truth. One truth. And our tolerance-driven pluralistic culture is finding Jesus more difficult to tolerate. He cannot be sprinkled among the mix, and He is not the salad on the side. And he doesn’t easily merge with our politics or feel-good faith declarations. His claims are radical, and His life is exclusive. Once we deviate from Christianity, into the tolerance agenda, we have lost our way. We are no longer serving God. Just ourselves.
Or, as Bowen sadly but insightfully described the end result of his Conversion Project: “I don’t think about God now. I just participate.”