The one true music collection

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This week's texts make me think about interfaith dialogue,
and interfaith dialogue makes me think of a conversation with my friend Ali. We
were trying to reconcile the fact that each of our religions--or at least some
segments of each of our religions--claims that the other's religion is flat out
wrong.

"Here's how I see it," Ali said. "Your religion is like your
music collection. Of course you think your music collection is the best in the
world. If you don't, then why are you listening to that crap? It's time to get
some new music.

"But if you do, then you have to understand that I think the
same thing about mine. And of course we're both right, so if we're smart, we'll
accept when one of us offers the other our headphones and says, 'Listen to how
awesome this is.'"

The metaphor's not perfect: My music collection doesn't
claim to be the one true music collection. Then again, I don't believe
Christianity needs to make that claim, either.

The metaphor does allow me to do two things I very much want
to do: be unapologetic about thinking my religion is the best--otherwise, why
am I listening to that crap?--and yet be humble about the fact that others feel
the same way about their own traditions.

Some will grind their teeth at this namby-pamby relativism. "Only
one of two opposing truth claims can actually be true!" they'll claim. "Which
one is it: yours or Ali's?"

To which I respectfully reply: I actually don't care. I'm
happy to wait till I die or till the end of time or whatever to find out. In
the meanwhile, it seems like everybody and their brother is in some sort of war
about Truth, and I don't want any part of it.

I just want to hang out with Ali. Who really does have some
awesome music on his iPod.