A recent poll by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life found that many Americans are personalizing their faith, picking and choosing from a diverse variety of religious traditions according to how they meet their individual needs. This type of flexible faith has resulted in 60% of Americans blending their beliefs with New Age and Eastern beliefs, including astrology, reincarnation, and the spiritual benefits of yoga. More Americans are also folding rituals of other religions into their faith.
The result of this is a blended faith. People go on some sort of a personal spiritual journey, through a buffet line, mixing and matching the beliefs and practices of various religions into an individual faith that suits them best. Many people even practice more than one faith, taking the term “diversity” to its extreme. This practice is defended by noting that God loves all of us, so we shouldn’t just ignore the people and practices of other faiths. The idea is that any place where people are getting in touch with their own sense of the divine is a place of worship.
However, is this blended faith genuine? In the Old Testament, this practice–adopting beliefs and rituals from other religions–was considered to be idolatry. We frequently see God judging Israel and other nations for this. In 1 Corinthians 10, Paul condemns these practices as “pagan revelry,” and he calls for us to flee from such idolatry. 1 Peter 4:3-5 says, “For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do–living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. They think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation, and they heap abuse on you. But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.”
No, this blended faith is not genuine–it’s just an individual convenience. Furthermore, it doesn’t change the gospel message. God is immutable, and the faith that he commands us to live is a pure faith, free from sin and free from any non-gospel beliefs and rituals. We must simply acknowledge our sin, accept the saving grace of Christ through faith, and live our lives for Him, according to His will–not ours.