A Christian Response to Diwali

I cannot express my sadness at the shift we observed when President Trump chose to light the diya for Diwali. As a Christian, I affirm that the only Way, Truth, and Light is the person of Jesus Christ, who said, “No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6 NASB95).

Diwali, which is a Hindu festival celebrating the triumph of good over evil, celebrates the return of lord rama (lower case intended), another name for vishnu, by the lighting of the diya. Paul warns in 2 Corinthians 11:4-5 that “Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore, it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works” (NASB95). Christians must shun all affiliation with the demonic realm, even if the appearance is in light. From the Jerusalem Council, we have been told to “abstain from things offered to idols” (Acts 15:29). Though we love our Hindu neighbors, we cannot greet them with “Happy Diwali,” because it is wishing demonic activity into their lives.

The fact that demonic entities were once again invited to the White House illustrates how dangerous “Christless conservatism” can be. This is what results when there is a failure in the churches to teach true discipleship. In our effort to become more seeker friendly, we have abandoned most of our discipleship time in lieu of relationship-driven small groups. While I affirm the role covenant relationships play in the Body, we have become a theologically ignorant group of American Christians who embrace everything in the name of tolerance. While Christianity is inclusive in that all are invited to bow at the feet of Jesus, it is also a call to forsake all else and live holy lives. Pastors must make room for the Christian teacher to operate in their office that they may teach the foundations of the faith, for the “equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting” (Eph. 4:12-14 NASB95). We have five-fold ministry gifts for a reason.

We are on the cusp of a revival. What type of revival I have not yet decided. While everyone is talking about “God,” the question the Christian needs to immediately ask is “Which one?” Just several weeks ago at the Kirk Memorial the Administration was speaking of God and everyone said turn to Jesus. As I have viewed the posts from the same administration this week, they have been using God to prop up Hinduism. Is this a revival of unitarianism, or are we seeing transformation wrought by the power of the Holy Spirit?

Church, we need to pray. Our President thinks that good works will get him to heaven – maybe. This is an epic failure on the part of his pastor – both his misunderstanding of the Gospel and his celebration of Diwali. As we pray, we need to pray that God will “open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith” in Christ (Acts 26:18 NASB95).

As for me, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes” (Rom. 1:16). This includes every tribe, tongue, and nation. It is a call to those who celebrate Ramadan and Diwali and those who celebrate nothing at all to come to the cross of Christ which is “foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Cor. 1:18 NASB95).