[The following material is from O Timothy magazine, Volume 11, Issue 3, 1994. David W. Cloud, Editor. All rights are reserved. O Timothy is a monthly magazine. Annual subscription is US$20 FOR THE UNITED STATES. Send to Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, Michigan 48061, fbns@wayoflife.org. FOR CANADA the subscription is $20 Canadian. Send to Bethel Baptist Church, P.O. Box 9075, London, Ontario N6E 1V0. The Way of Life Internet web site is http://www.wayoflife.org/.]

The following are some quotes from a World Council of Churches dialogue held Dec. 1-5, 1987, in Kyoto, Japan. The theme was "Spirituality in Interfaith Dialogue," and the amazing testimonies by those involved show a gross ignorance of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and true Bible Christianity. The following quotes are from the WCC publication Spirituality in Interfaith Dialogue edited by Tosh Ari and Wesley Ariarajah:

"`Listening to the Silence: Through Zen and Taize' - by Michael Como--I realized that just as the monks at Hosshinji [a monastery of Zen Buddhism where Como was staying] insisted that EACH OF US WAS SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA IN OUR OWN BODIES, SO TOO COULD I FIND MARY IN THE WOMAN BESIDE ME..." (p. 6).

"Upon arriving here [Hiraizumi] I first stayed with the family of a Buddhist priest for six months. EVERY MORNING WE CHANTED SUTRAS BEFORE THE BUDDHA Dainichi, every evening I prayed before my Franciscan cross and an icon of Mary" (p. 6).

"I now live in my own house, I CONTINUE TO PRAY DAILY BEFORE MY JAPANESE- STYLE ALTAR. UPON IT, ALONG WITH THE IMAGES OF JESUS AND MARY, IS AN ICON OF SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA..." (p. 7).

`"Discovering the Incarnation' - by Diana Eck--My own capacity to `see' the incarnation has been extended greatly by the faith of Hindus. ..." (p. 10).

"In Shiva's city I began to see that it is precisely in this place, in the full presence of suffering and death, that HINDUS AFFIRM THE FULL AND ETERNAL PRESENCE OF SHIVA and the faith of safe-crossing to the far shore. ..." (p. 11).

"`Enlightenment through Zen' by Thomas G. Hand, SJ--For almost twenty years now I have been engaged in interfaith dialogue, especially in the field of practical spirituality. I am an American Jesuit priest, and I have lived in Japan for 29 years. FOR SIX YEARS I FORMALLY PRACTICED ZEN under Yasutani Hakuum Roshi and Yamada Koun Roshi, Kamakura. I am still doing Zazen. For the past three-and-a-half years I have been on the staff of Mercy Center, Burlingame, Calif., USA, especially engaged in the programme of our Institute of Contemporary Spirituality. ..." (pp. 49-50).

"Beginning with the external and bodily, the main place of most of our meditations here at Mercy Center is the Rose Room (so called because the unfolding rose is the symbol of enlightenment in the West just as the lotus is in the East). On the walls are Japanese shikishi (fine paper squares) with Zen sayings in Sino-Japanese ideographs, two Taoist paintings and a picture of the Miroku Bosatsu (Maitreya Bodhisattva) from Koryuji, Kyoto. These are well received by people and set a good tone to the room. However, the main shrine or centerpiece has, of course, the cross as central. IT IS HOPED THAT BEFORE TOO LONG THIS CROSS WILL GIVE WAY TO A STATUE OF CHRIST SEATED IN MEDITATION, a statue which will include clear influence from Buddhist statuary in its simplicity and feeling...

"Another area in which other faith influence is apparent is in our chanting. We chant briefly at the beginning of meditation periods, in order to bring our energies together and to create that special silence that arises after chanting. WE USE THE SACRED SYLLABLE OM IN ITSELF AND ALSO JOIN IT TO THE HEBREW NAMES OF MARY AND JESUS (Om Miriam, Om Jeshua). At first glance this may seem like a hybrid, but actually it turns out to be an excellent chant" (pp. 50,51).

To find supposed spirituality in heathen religions is folly. There is no spiritual life whatsoever in paganism.

Consider the testimony of Isaiah 8:20--"To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them."

Consider the testimony of John 14:6--"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." 
Consider the testimony of Acts 4:12--"Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."

We see, then, the utter folly of these statements by so-called Christian leaders who attended the WCC "Spirituality in Interfaith Dialogue." They are the blind leading the blind.