Jesus among Other Religions

(Part of the "I Don't Know What I Believe" message series from www.libertyhillumc.org) 

There are a variety of toothpaste brands on the market today. Some trying to convince us that there “whitening” power is stronger than other brands. Various brands claim to prevent cavities with regular use. A few assert that they will leave our breath smelling refreshed. With so many different types of toothpaste on the market, how do we decide which is best for us? Are you loyal to a particular brand? Is the toothpaste you use now the same toothpaste you grew up using? “It has worked for all these years,” you declare. “Why switch now?” Are you a bottom dollar kind of shopper? Do you purchase whatever is on sale? Or are you the adventurous type? Do you switch up just to be different? Are you the type of person that goes out and tries the latest thing on the market? If “bacon flavor” toothpaste is advertised on television, will you be the first person in line to purchase?

If we had to be honest with ourselves, we view Christianity as one brand among many in a shopping mall filled with choices. There are no longer oceans separating Christians among other religions. Muslims, Jewish, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhist, and Christians rub shoulders on a daily basis. Our children attend school with other children who have a different belief system. Our Facebook feed is filled with friends who believe differently than we do. How do we engage our faith among the different belief systems?

Many have taken the buying a particular brand of toothpaste among the variety of options type of approach. We have always used this brand and it has worked for my family. We are not willing to switch. Others will scream false advertising among the different brands that offer grand promises. “Crest is the only brand that can whiten teeth.’ we proclaim. Of course, there will be some that will always go for the cheapest and some will jump on the latest fad.

As long as we see our faith as one option among many, we will continue to find it a challenge to give witness to Jesus. Two extremes have developed over time in our discussion of Jesus among other religions. One approach has been to reduce religion to a common denominator. This pluralist approach has tried to find the common thread that runs through all religions. For some this has been seen as love. A few have defined it as justice while some have assumed it is the mystical experience with the Grand Other. The other extreme has preached condemnation of different beliefs. They seek to destroy all other religions in an attempt to “prove” that they are correct. Neither of these approaches are faithful. The biblical view of engaging people of different beliefs is one of a witness.

First century Christianity was born into a religious plural world. The Greco-Roman world was filled with differing faiths and worship of a variety of gods. The early Christians had to figure out how they would proclaim the message that Jesus is lord among the differing worldviews. It was not developed in the ivory towers of higher learning. Instead it was fleshed out along the streets, synagogues, political structures, and religious world of their neighbors. In Acts 17 the apostle Paul and his friend Silas are giving witness in Thessalonica in a synagogue. A few Jewish listeners are convinced in his message that Jesus is the messiah along with some Gentiles. But others are not accepting. They get angry and cause uproar. The believers usher Paul and Silas out of town by night. They don’t stay long in the next town because of the indictment against them. Paul’s friends feel it is important to his safety to get him out of town. They lead him to Athens and tell him to stay there until he can be joined by Timothy and Silas.

The ancient Athenians have been described by historians as intellectually curious and very religious. It was the cultural center of ancient Greece. Athens was the place where culture, religion, and politics emerged to form an eclectic population. While waiting on his friends to arrive, Paul takes in the sights. He tours the city. When he finds shrines dedicated to different gods, he begins to discuss their existence with whomever and wherever he can. He goes to the synagogue, the marketplace, and eventually to the very same spot where Socrates stood and was condemned for teaching a “new” thought. The Areopagus stood on a hill overlooking the city. It was the place where official business was discussed. The name of the group took on the name of the building. Paul stands before the Areopagus proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus. We are told some scoffed, some wanted to hear more, and a few actually believed. Despite these few individual conversions, no local community was founded in Athens. We have no letter from Paul to Athens, nor does he mention the city again in any of his other writings. The Apostle does what he has simply been commissioned to do. He gives witness to Jesus among the Athenians. Paul cannot speak of the gospel without making reference to the particularity of Jesus. He connects the significance of the Jesus story with humanity’s yearning for knowledge and understanding of God. He does it by quoting from the writings of his listeners. He does not dismiss their convictions but instead uses their belief as a starting point in explaining the Jesus story.

We cannot give witness to Jesus if we cannot find a way to help those who we are telling find a way to make sense of it according to their hopes and their search for truth. The gospel is always contextualized. One gospel writer begins, “The word became flesh and lived among us” (John 1:14). The same Word spoken that brought the world into existence and sustains creation has now taken on flesh. In Isaiah 45:15 God is described as one who “hides himself.” The believer in Jesus declares this to be no longer true. God is one who “has become flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood” (John 1:14 The Message). The faith of a Jesus follower is one of dialogue. It presupposes a commitment to the gospel while at the same time holds to the love of neighbor. If I reduce my witness to one faith among many, the dialogue becomes meaningless chatter. If I refuse to take my neighbor’s faith seriously, then I become arrogant and the witness becomes worthless. The gospel witness must hold both of these realities in tension as the story of Jesus is told. The central symbol for the follower of Jesus is the cross. The cross teaches that the place of connection with others is the point of greatest humility. By putting my faith at risk in loving my neighbor, I confess Jesus Christ as Lord. Jesus and not religion, is where our hope must be found. Religion is not the means of salvation. Jesus is the way, truth, and the life. All religions, including Christianity, are held in judgment under the cross.

The Church does not possess absolute truth. We are a mixed bag of sheep and goats. We are filled with saints and sinners.  The Church serves as a witness to the One who is truth. Our commitment is to point people in a particular direction who are on the search for truth. Truth is not a doctrine, worldview, or a particular religious experience. Truth is a person.

The quest for truth always requires asking the right question. “What happens to non-Christians when they die?” is the wrong question. It is only a question that God can answer. In John 10:16 Jesus says, “I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold.” In his conversation with a religious leader Jesus compares the redeeming work of the Spirit like wind that “blows where it chooses” (John 3:8). The gospel of Mark records a story of Jesus encounter with a young, rich, and religious man. He asks Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” When Jesus speaks of the challenges involved, the disciples look at him and ask, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus replies, “with humans it is impossible, but not for God: for God all things are possible” (Mark 10:17-27).

Jesus’ main concern was not about getting us into heaven. It was about getting heaven into us. We are taught to pray, “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” and “Thy kingdom come.” As followers of Jesus we are not asked to tell a plan of salvation, we are asked to give witness to a gospel story. “Where I go when I die” fits into the story but it alone is not the gospel story. When “Where do I go when I die?” becomes the only question we ask, the gospel story becomes simply another religious story among a supermarket of other stories.

How do we serve as a witness among other religious traditions? We begin not with condemnation but with hope. We share not propositions of a plan of salvation that differs from other plans of salvation but we tell a story. We tell the story of Jesus. It is a story that begins with the creation of the world and finds its completion when Jesus is glorified to the ends of the earth. As a witness, I am to tell how His story invites me to participate by loving my neighbor. We are storytellers invited to tell the story of God making God self known in the person of Jesus and inviting everyone to participate in His kingdom. Our message is not simply a salvation message. It is about the One who brings salvation.