Post #2 in direct response to Avant Garde’s comments on All Roads Lead to Heaven? (Newcomers, please join the conversation.)
Avant Garde: “…in the guise of questioning the denominations/churches of christianity, and saying “no religion but God leads to heaven”, you really meant “your” God the Son alone leads to heaven!”
You are correct. I really meant that only Jesus – God the Son – leads to heaven. Can Jesus reach people through religions that aren’t Christianity? I address this specific issue under C* below. Faith comes from God but “religion” and religiosity are human constructs.
Meanwhile, I should tell you why I believe what I believe. Maybe you will write me off. Maybe you will continue reading. I respect your decision and point of view regardless. I do not expect you to change your mind. That would take a miracle. But I do hope that you will understand me.
A. Someone is “wrong” from everyone’s perspective
Everyone assumes that someone is wrong when it comes to religion. There are the obvious examples of Christians saying that Muslims are essentially wrong and vice-versa. But what about “All religions are true”?
Even the claim that “no one is wrong” assumes a group of people who are wrong: those who deny that claim and typically implies “everyone is wrong” about the ultimate realities of eternity.
To claim “I don’t/can’t/shouldn’t make claims” is a non-committal cop-out… and is often, in fact, not true of the one who says it.
Christians make ridiculous claims, but that does not mean that these claims are either untrue or more ridiculous than the claims that everyone else is making.
B. The Bible tells us what Jesus claimed
Not all those who profess to be Christians accept the teachings of the Bible in the same way. There are many issues, such as a six-day creation, which seem to be open to a greater deal of interpretation. But on the issue of Jesus, there is much clarity. The Bible deserves fuller treatment, but I can summarize my basic belief: if God exists and he is good, then he would have used just such a means as the Bible to reveal himself to humanity. (Re: Bible’s self-testimony, “As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless…” Psalm 18:30).
C. This is what Jesus himself claimed
Jesus was crucified for claiming to be God in ways that were true of himself and of himself alone. He spoke with authority over the written scriptures. He healed, loved, served and led others as if he were the ruler of creation. For example, “I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” (John 8:58). ‘Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him” (John 14:6-7). His sacrificial death on behalf of humanity could only be done by him, for he alone is fully God and fully human. If humanity needs saving, then we have never had a clearer savior.
D. Jesus saves in mysterious ways
Some churches give the impression that all you have to do is say his name in a prayer. The truth is more personal. We are saved by faith. But this isn’t any sort of will-power that we muster up. It’s a relationship… which God himself initiates. Jesus himself said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). Paul, one of the first generation of followers, wrote, “”For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith– and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God…” (Ephesians 2:8).
*Some have suggested that there are “invisible Christians,” who have a personal relationship with God through Jesus either without publicly professing such faith or without even consciously knowing this. For example, a Buddhist or a Muslim could be a Christian without knowing it by loving God and loving others. Many Buddhists and Muslims find such ideas highly offensive. The idea is convenient those of us who struggle with outreach to members of other religions and with the idea of hell. The idea has strength in the precedent of Jews before Christ clearly having access to God the Father and being “saved.”
E. Either Jesus saves and he alone, or Jesus does not save at all.
If Jesus died for the sins of the world, then we need him, because we all fall short of deserving to be with God forever. If Jesus did not die for the sins of the world, then no one needs him except as an example of how to die for a fictitious cause. Either Christianity is the truest truth or it is the biggest lie. There is no middle ground. Maybe other religions have the possibility of being partially true, but because of the claims of Jesus, Christianity does not have that option.
F. These issues are a matter of faith.
I can testify but I cannot prove. (See previous post.)
Caution
There are people who profess to be Christians who disagree with virtually everything I have just said (including a particularly nasty group of radical Dispensationalists who do not believe that there has ever been spiritual salvation for the Jewish people).
Conclusion
I don’t know if I have convinced anyone, but I hope that answers the question. If I have not, or if anyone has further questions, I am, as always, open to your input.
Post-Apocalyptic Eco-Joy
A vision from Isaiah 34
Many times I read parts of the Old Testament without being gripped by the passage. I take an already fragmentary book like Isaiah and look at its verses in isolation, which makes it even harder to figure out what’s going on. Today was different.
The first half of the chapter contains a warning of God’s coming judgment. “The Lord is angry with all nations; his wrath is upon all their armies…. He will give them over to slaughter” (v2). There are many familiar apocalyptic images: “All the stars of the heavens will be dissolved and the sky rolled up like a scroll” (v4). Then there’s even more blood and gore, even for a Braveheart guy. “For the Lord has a day of vengeance, a year of retribution to uphold Zion’s cause” (v8). Then something strange happens.
God gives the desolate land back to the animals. “The desert owl and screech owl will possess [the land of Edom]; the great owl and the raven will nest there” (v11). The passage goes on to describe thorns, nettles, and brambles overrunning the old battlements. Jackals, hyenas, wild goats, and night animals will “find for themselves places of rest” (v14).
Some would look at these animals and, because they were ceremonially unclean (i.e., unfit for sacrifice), see them as symbolic of God’s judgment. Maybe. But what if God is simply returning that particular patch of land (Edom), back to its original inhabitants? The language Isaiah uses is not unlike that used for the people of Israel, for he says of the above animals:
“None of these will be missing, not one will lack her mate. For it is [God’s] mouth that has given the order, and his Spirit will gather them together. He allots their portions; his hand distributes them by measure. They will possess it forever and dwell there from generation to generation” (vv16-17).
Those are some happy animals. God be praised!
Tags: bible, bible commentary, biblical environmentalism, Christian ecology, Christian environmentalism, ecology, environmentalism