A Fresh Perspective - 08/24/07

There are signs within the evangelical community that there is a more progressive, inclusive kind of evangelicalism emerging. For example, in the past some biblical texts have been interpreted to completely close the door to people outside the Christian faith, such as the one in John that says: "No one can come to the Father except through me (Jesus)." I suggested in an earlier column that this could be the language of devotion, hence the language of exaggeration, not intended to be interpreted literally.

Some moderate evangelical interpreters have suggested other meanings. One suggestion is that the text only affirms what is true for Christians; other religions are neither affirmed nor rejected.

Another suggestion emphasizes the word "Father." The text is not denying that people of other religious traditions can know God; rather, the text is saying that the kind of relationship Jesus had with God as "Father" (as compassionate, loving Parent) can only be known through Jesus. Only Jesus can reveal the kind of relationship he had with God.

Still another interpretation views Christ as the "cosmic Christ" who is able to reveal God to people in many different ways. When God raised Jesus from the dead, Christ became the Lord of all creation. In the sermon attributed to Peter in Acts 2, Peter says, "God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah." Paul, or one of his disciples, says in the Letter to the Colossians, that Jesus, in his exalted state, is the "firstborn (first in rank) over all creation." If Jesus is now Lord of creation then Jesus is no longer confined to a single, temporal location. Jesus, as Spirit or in a spiritual sense, can now communicate and reveal God in many different ways and through many different traditions.

I have come to believe that the risen, living Christ is great enough and gracious enough to accommodate and adapt himself to many different ways of believing and thinking in order to make God known and knowable.

The time has come for evangelicals to rethink how we do missions; especially how we share God's love with people of other religious faiths. The time has come to meet them, not as underlings who need our superior knowledge or guidance, but as mutual friends and pilgrims on a journey. The time has come to embrace the mystery and wonder of God's unconditional love for and involvement with all the peoples of the world.

Chuck Queen is Senior Pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church, Frankfort (www.ibcfrankfort.com); he welcomes your comments at cqueen@fewpb.net. Look for "A Fresh Perspective" every Friday.