September 14, 2005 7:30 PM
The Soul of Christianity
Huston Smith has spent a lifetime studying world religions—what he calls “the world’s great wisdom tradition”—not only conceptually as a scholar, but also experientially.
“I firmly believe that all of them contain faith sufficient unto salvation,” Smith says.
He shared kaleidoscopic stories ranging from “indelibly impressed” memories as the son of Christian missionaries in China to his most recent favorite Buddhist tale about hope in which a tiny bird drops water on a raging forest fire “because it was the only thing it wanted to do.”
What is the essence of Christianity, in his view? “The shortest answer is compassion, but to that must be added wisdom,” he says. “The heart can be in the right place, but still be all out of step.”
He adds, “We are in good hands, and in gratitude for that fact it would be good if we shared one another’s burdens. Those themes run through all the world’s religions.”
But then what is distinctive about Christianity? It’s not the Incarnation, he muses, because Hinduism has avatars.
“What I find distinctive about Christianity is, first, the Trinity, that God is triune, all equally God. The second is the atonement… There is a defect in our nature and we cannot get out of it by pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps. We need divine help in the form of Christ’s death and resurrection.”
Hear more of Huston Smith’s luminous insights and celebrate the release of his new and final book on religion, The Soul of Christianity, as he talks on stage with Ray Suarez, senior correspondent of The Newshour with Jim Lehrer.