In the southern tip of India, there is a little town called Piravom. The word Piravom comes from the root word piravi, which literally means “birth” or “nativity.” According to legends, Piravom is the hometown of one of the magi, or Wise Men, who visited Jesus at his birth. The city still maintains a thriving Christian community and a majestic cathedral dedicated to the magi.
Growing up in Piravom as a teenager, I always wondered: “the Wise Men of the East are the earliest religious figures to worship Jesus, but they do not even belong to the so-called “Judeo-Christian” tradition. How come the knowledge of the most pivotal moment in human history, God’s descent to the human world, reached the Eastern world before it did the Promised Land? “
The profundity of this unexpected revelation to the Wise Men who were “outsiders” to God’s covenant with Israel made me question my own presumption against Christianity as a “foreign” religion. I decided to embark on a spiritual journey in the footsteps of his “ancestors,”on a trail that was lit by the Star of the Savior. On this pilgrimage from the East to the West I discovered the glimpses of God’s revelation illuminating the deep recesses of world religions, waiting to be discovered and experienced. I was fascinated by the silhouettes of “Christ figures,” cryptic symbols that point us to the God of the Bible, emerging behind the veils of ‘other’ religious traditions.
In the course of my expedition through world religions, I met the Hindu avatar, an embodied god with a salvific mission; he encountered the bodhisattva of Buddhism, an enlightened teacher who has taken a vow to rescue humanity from the suffering world; I witnessed God revealing Himself to the world through His Word in Sikhism; I came face to face with the Jesus of Islam, the only human ever to enter the world without a father and the only prophet who is going to come back again. I explored the Jewish texts, struggling to reconcile the conflicting portrayals of the Messiah as a triumphant king and as a suffering servant. In the end I, like the Wise Men of the East, caught the glimpses of God’s revelation unfolding in every culture and every religion, finally reaching its culmination in Jesus Christ.
It was the birth of The Mosaic Course, a series of seminars on world religions explored from a Christian perspective. Following the method pioneered by Paul at Athens (Acts 17: 22-29), the lectures explore points of contact between Christianity and world religions and use them to build bridges across which the Gospel can travel.
The Mosaic Course consists of seven short online modules, exploring the foundational belief systems and practices of six major living religions in the world, with a special focus on how Jesus Christ is being perceived by each of these religions. Each module features an audiovisual learning tool, testing and grading system, and a number of supplementary resources. Once all the seven modules are completed, a Mosaic Certificate will be awarded to the participant.
Philip Yancey, multiple Gold-Medallion-winning author, and editor at large of Christianity Today has been an avid advocate of the project since its inception. He traveled to both Toronto and Los Angeles to officially launch the Mosaic Course in Canada and in the US. “Mathew has just the right spirit and content to speak to a culture often confused or turned off by religion,” says Yancey. "We think this project comes at a time when the Church in the postmodern pluralistic West needs some practical knowledge, encouragement, and insight to help them understand and engage better with people from other religions," says Dr. Greg Waybright, the Senior Pastor of Lake Avenue Church, and former president of Trinity International University.
The story of my adventurous journey from the East to the West and my discovery of God’s redemptive revelations in world religions can be read in my book, “The Wise Men and A Racist God.” It has received raving reviews and endorsements from various Christian leaders and theologians. Amos Yong, one of the most prolific evangelic theologians of our times, encapsulates the thesis of the book in his enthusiastic endorsement: “How can the world religions be so drastically different and yet also uncannily similar and possibly related? Might these paradoxical observations be resolved because Jesus is both the unavoidable stumbling block that sets Christianity apart but yet perhaps also the one way that somehow they all point to? The Wise Men and the Racist God invites readers on a journey to consider these questions in light of a gospel that challenges, even as it opens up a conversation with people in other faiths.”
I consider himself a citizen of the world. Originally an electrical engineer from the East (India), I pursued a successful corporate career in the Middle East (Kuwait), and later transitioned from ‘technology to theology’ in the West (Canada). I hold a Masters's degree in Theological Studies from the University of Toronto and a Ph.D. in Intercultural Studies from Fuller Theological Seminary.
I currently live in Los Angeles with my wife Joanne, and daughters Hannah and Emma. We have been active members of Lake Avenue Church for the last four years.
The Mosaic Course will be offered live at Lake on Sundays from February 19 to April 2 from 7-8:30 pm.
Register for the Mosaic Course