♪ “He’s got the whole world – in His hands! He’s got the whole wide world – in His hands!” ♪ Perhaps you recognize this song. It sounds nice – but is it based in fact? More importantly, does He love the whole world? Or just a select few?
Here’s a simple experiment. Take a globe or a map of the world, close your eyes and randomly put your finger down somewhere. I will bet that with a fair amount of accuracy you can identify the dominant religion of that area. If you put your finger on Iran or Saudi Arabia: Islam. Poland, or Brazil or Ireland: Roman Catholicism. England: Church of England (duh!). India: Hinduism. North Carolina, my current home: Christianity, likely an evangelical variety. Some areas may be a bit more of a challenge: some countries in Africa it will be Christian and others Islam. Some areas in East Asia will follow Islam instead of the religions we typically associate with the East. You are also unlikely to land on one that you would identify as Jewish unless you hit Israel. Why is it this way? Why wouldn’t there be a more equal distribution of religion throughout the world? I think the answer is rather obvious: people tend to follow the religion of their family and their surrounding culture. In some areas certain religions are strictly enforced. The reason why some areas are so predominantly Catholic to this day is that other groups were violently suppressed by institutions such as the Inquisition; much like some areas today are mandated to be Islamic by groups like the Taliban. It’s not like children growing up are taught all the religions and given free choice to pick the one they think best. Usually a specific religion is chosen for them, either by family, or culture, or in some cases the government. Did it have to be this way?
Early in the Bible God selects Abraham to be His guy and sends him to what is now Israel. His family stays in that area, except for a sojourn in Egypt. There Moses confronts Pharaoh, but that’s as far as the prophets of Israel made it into Africa. Later in their history the Israelites are taken captive into Assyria, and later Babylon, but that’s as far as they go in Asia, and their intent is always to return to Israel. Following these captivities you do have the Jewish Diaspora, Jews traveling to and settling in various parts of the world, but not with intent to evangelize; those places never become predominantly Jewish. The Jewish prophets are focused on the Jewish people and those that interact with them (such as their oppressors), but not so much the rest of the world. So the “word of God” is pretty much restricted to a tract of land about 260 miles by 72 miles, or about half the size of my current home state of North Carolina. For many centuries the rest of the world – Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas – encompassing the vast majority of mankind – remain ignorant of who God is and what He wants of people. At least according to the Bible.
March of Abraham, by Jozsef Molnar. Ca. 1850
Picking up on an earlier point: the only nation in the world to have Judaism as its majority religion is Israel, the Promised Land of the Chosen People. I think it is kind of funny that as soon as Abraham arrived in Israel a severe famine struck, forcing him to go to Egypt (Genesis 12). That happens repeatedly, even setting up the Hebrews’ 400 year sojourn in Egypt (Genesis 42). Gee, Lord, maybe a little more rain for the Promised Land? But the worst part is that Israel sits between Africa, Asia and Europe, which were all pagan. Egypt, Assyria, Babylon and later Rome all became enemies and oppressors of Israel. Even today Israel is surrounded by enemies. Why did God confine His beloved people to one small area, surrounded by pagans and enemies? Is that really how the God who loves the whole world would operate: restricting His domain to one small nation? Sharing His wisdom only with one tribe of people?
Of course eventually you have the ministry of Jesus, who preached that the end of the age was at hand, but was crucified for claiming to be the next King of the Jews. During his ministry Jesus seems to follow the previous prophets of Israel, saying, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 15:24). That is also what he instructed his disciples to do, see Matthew 10:5, 6. Jesus never traveled farther than the northern edge of Israel. He was hardly an international traveler.
However, after his death his disciples begin to spread the word that God had raised Jesus from the dead, to reign in heaven until the end of the world, at which time he will return to judge the wicked and reward the faithful. Unlike the Jews they have a very evangelistic approach, and actively go out into the world to spread this message. Their main impact was in the Mediterranean area, not surprisingly, and the Roman Empire which occupied it. Slowly, over a span of about three centuries, they win converts; it is an uphill battle, as most of the world is pagan and ignorant of the Jewish God, and obviously ignorant of this Jesus savior. However, the disciples chip away at this pagan world, become a respectable religion, and eventually the dominant religion of the Empire.[1] That enables the growing church to turn from word-of-mouth and gentle persuasion to government-sanctioned expansion and outright coercion. The religion spreads throughout Europe, and eventually other parts of the world, including the Americas when the Europeans make their way there. However, in the almost 2,000 years since Jesus they have only been able to convince a bit less than one-third of the world to partake in some form of Christianity. That is actually fairly impressive, but it still leaves a majority of the world outside of God’s kingdom. That’s a lot of people facing eternal punishment from a God who is supposed to love them.
Well, that’s their fault, right? They could choose to follow Jesus, right?
Let’s also consider another prominent religion in today’s world: Islam. Islam derives from the teachings of one man: Muhammad, who lived from 570 to 632 CE. He spent his time mostly in the cities of Medina and Mecca, so, an area even smaller than Israel. After his death his disciples slowly but steadily spread his teachings, much like Christianity, so that about one-quarter of the world today follows some form of Islam. Like Christianity much of this growth has been accomplished by the Sword not the Word. But it still leaves a large majority of people on the outside.
Did it have to be this way? I don’t think so. Why choose one man, Abraham, and build a people around him in one tiny part of the world? Or choose one man, Muhammad, and start a religion in one isolated area like the Arabian Peninsula? Wouldn’t God want the whole world to know Him and listen to His precepts? Instead of a string of prophets in Israel alone, why not inspire people all over the world with a similar message? Is God limited in the number of people He is able to inspire? Can He speak to only one at a time? If God could speak to people in Israel, why not also to tribal elders in Africa? To monks in Asia? To shamans in the Americas? Why not prepare the whole world with God’s message rather than let ignorance reign for so many centuries, letting pagan religions pop up all over, creating huge obstacles for those preaching The Truth?
Even if there was only one savior – Jesus – why not prepare people all over the world to look forward to him and his redemptive mission? Think how quickly the good news of Jesus would have spread if people all over the world had been taught to expect such a savior. Surely God had the power to inspire people all over the world, not just in Israel. Or Saudi Arabia. What if the same message that Muhammad received had also been received by others around the world. There would be no need for governments or militias to enforce his teachings; they would be welcomed by those prepared to believe.
Of course, even if God had done this not everyone would believe. Not everyone in Israel followed the teachings of their prophets. Not everyone in Arabia listened to Muhammad. But if God had planted His wisdom all around the world at least the millions, now billions would have a reasonable chance of knowing and accepting The Truth. It would not be necessary for Christianity to advance through the torture of the Inquisition or Islam to advance through the weapons of the Taliban.
In the words of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Judas: “Why’d you choose such a backward time in such a strange land?”[2] I think that’s a valid question. God, if you love the whole world, why didn’t You spread Your message around a bit more, right from the start? Why does geography have to determine one’s religion? Why didn’t the ancient Mayans have the same access to Your truth as the ancient Israelites or Arabs? Or the Maori of Polynesia? Or the Hindus in India? If You love all people, why not give all people equal access to Your truth? As it is, the religion of most people will depend on the accident of their family and its location of origin, and the odds are it won’t be the “right” religion.
Thinking exercises:
1. Why do you think God allowed various religions to spring up around the world, while restricting His prophets to only one small area? Do you think God is somehow limited in the number of people He can inspire at one time?
2. Paul said that the idea of a crucified Messiah was an obstacle to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles (1st Corinthians 1:23). Is there anything more God could have done to prepare both groups for this revolutionary idea?
3. In college I had professors who seemed to want everyone to learn the material and pass while others seemed to see it as their duty to weed out the lower achievers. How would classify God in this regard? Is He trying to save everyone, or to weed out those who don’t deserve salvation?
4. Is the existence of a diversity of religions around the world evidence that God is not concerned with the specifics of what they teach? Is He more concerned with doctrines or with doing?
[1] Bart Ehrman’s book The Triumph of Christianity details the methods and the mathematics of how this was accomplished.
[2] Judas sings this in the song Jesus Christ Superstar in the musical of that name.
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