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Recently, Merritt met with President George Bush and several faith leaders in the Oval Office. Bush called on a Catholic priest to pray, Merritt said, "but if it would have been a Muslim or a Hindu saying the prayer, I would not have left the room. When he prayed aloud, I would have prayed silently to the one true Christian God, like I do any time during prayer."

Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission,told Christianity Today that he too prays silently when a representative of another faith leads prayer.

In order to avoid affirming syncretism on such occasions, no restrictions can be placed on prayer, he said. Distinctive nuances of each faith must be maintained for true pluralism.

"I only pray one way. I pray as a Christian would pray. I would expect if a rabbi is there he would pray as he normally would pray, and same with someone from any faith," Land said.

There is a difference between interfaith prayer at a civic event and interfaith worship, said John Stackhouse, Sangwoo Youtong Chee Professor of Theology at Regent College. In a worship setting, "there may be no circumstances where it is appropriate. There are too many serious theological problems between faiths." Setting those aside for united worship is pointless, he said.

Stackhouse once attended a Jewish-Christian service, which he said was "reduced to a Jewish common denominator." By accommodating both faiths, the service was generic and monotheist. Joint worship only makes sense, he said, if those present are jointly worshiping the same God, and that is unacceptable to Christians.

However, unity meetings to discuss various crises set off by September 11 are understandable, Stackhouse said. Events like the September 14 National Cathedral service are acceptable because they are more of a civic ceremony than worship.

Timothy George, dean of Beeson Divinity School at Samford University, Birmingham, Alabama, said he is not against sharing prayer in civic settings. He is also very much in favor of interfaith dialogue.

But worship is different.

"If you participate, every person—not just Christians—should be accorded the opportunity to show their faith in the way it requires," George said. "We must insist that Christian distinctives not be compromised. Otherwise, we are engaging in a masquerade and not giving truth to our relationships with other faiths."

Kevin Mannoia , dean of the C. P. Haggard School of Theology at Azusa Pacific University, agrees. "It is okay to come to the platform of public statement or the table of discussion as long as that platform or table does not imply some syncretism," he told CT. "When it is to show the pain and suffering we all shared September 11, then it is fine."

Mannoia said he understands the concerns of some Christians over participation in joint services, but he is not convinced it is inappropriate—as long as beliefs are not compromised.

"We recognize other religions, and to deny they exist is to stick our head in the sand," he said. "To not participate would be a loss for Christians. Do we want to be seen as absent from important events like those responding to September 11? Evangelicals are at a point where we have a maturity to understand our identity. We know who we are. We don't need to compromise our faith."

Todd Hertz is the Assistant Online Editor for Christianity Today.

Copyright © 2001 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

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December (Web-only) 2001, Vol. 45