How Very Open-minded
Posted: Wednesday, November 02, 2005 at 12:25 am ET

The Los Angeles Times reports that an Irvine, California church has pushed its commitment to theological inclusivity to include opening its facility to a Jewish synagogue and an Muslim mosque.

From the paper's report: There's an Irvine house of worship that changes religions at least once a week. Irvine United Congregational Church sports golden crosses for Sunday morning services. Jewish High Holidays see it transformed into a sanctuary for Congregation Kol HaNeshamah, filled with Torahs, ram's horns and yarmulkes. And Friday afternoons, worshipers carefully unroll prayer rugs onto the floor of what becomes the United Mosques of Irvine. "Our theology is inclusive," says the Rev. Steven Swope, acting minister of the Christian congregation that owns the church. He believes it is one of the few of its kind in the nation with a tripartite arrangement. "Jesus is our way," he said, "but other people have other ways. This is our way of living that out."

"Jesus is our way," explains the pastor. That's all -- just our way. Just think about how it would have looked if the Apostle Paul had taken that approach at Mars Hill in Athens [see Acts chapter 17]. Paul could simply have celebrated the fact that the Athenians were "very religious," told them to celebrate their diversity, suggested that they share altars, and thrown in a few words about Jesus being his way.

The rest: Albert Mohler