We live in a world where we see and hear more about other faith traditions than we used to, or at least it seems that way to me. It is hard to walk down a city street in a metropolitan area without seeing people whose attire points out that they are part of another faith tradition. We kid, ourselves, however, if we think that we are the first group of people to live in that kind of diversity. In fact, the early church was trying to carve out its place in a world filled with numerous faiths and worship of multiple gods. But, those early Christians were professing their faith as a minority group in a world with religious diversity. We proclaim our faith in the United States where Christianity is the majority religion, not the minority faith, although it could be argued that the non-religious are now the majority.
These two quotes did not make it into last week's sermon, but they might make it into this week's sermon:
Will all be saved? Willimon says we are not permitted to believe that, but we are encouraged to hope that. Willimon, Evangelism interview, United Theological Seminary, Dayton, OH, fall 2009
Ron Hall: “Looking back now, I mourn the mutual wounds inflicted in verbal battles with the 'unsaved.' In fact, I have chosen to delete that particular word from my vocabulary as I have learned that even with my $500 European designer bifocals, I cannot see into a person's heart to know his spiritual condition. All I can do it tell the jagged tale of my own spiritual journey and declare that my life has been the better for having followed Christ.” Same Kind of Different, Ron Hall and Denver Moore, 60
I love the story in Acts. Paul makes the connections with those who worship other gods by connecting what they already worship with God. In some ways, this provides a helpful model for us as we approach other traditions, at least to the extent that it allows us to see what we have in common with other faiths. If Paul spoke this in a condescending way ("I have the answer dummies, so get on board!") then it probably is less helpful to us. I think it's important to remember that Paul speaks and writes from a minority perspective, which means his claims have little power behind them except the power to connect and persuade and almost no history of how Christians live out their faith in the world. When we approach people of other faith, we have a long history of how Christians have extended themselves to other faiths (which is a mixed bag, to say the least) and we come with the background of Christianity being the majority faith in the United States. That means we have to be careful in ways that Paul did not (at least in my opinion).
The reading from I Timothy reminds us that God's desire is for everyone to be saved. Does that drive us to demand everyone believe in Jesus Christ, or does it open us up to considering how God might save others in ways we cannot yet imagine or understand?
I do know that the only way I know how to proclaim my faith is through the lens of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Even as I might try to connect with other faiths, I do so from my own faith. I do not think that giving up my faith in the name of connecting with other works for either party. That being said, it is also important to remember that Jesus called us to be servants of others and he exhibited a lot of humility (can you imagine knowing you can overturn the world, but still choosing to submit to death on the cross?). How do we live in that tension between coming to God in Christ and humbly serving Christ in God's efforts to save and redeem the world?
What do you think?
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