There is still a part of me which is reeling from reading the latest Lutheran magazine and seeing the lack of attention given to evangelism at the ELCA synod assemblies.
(see article: http://countrypreacherscorner.blogspot.com/2011/06/and-we-wonder-why.html)
I know we Lutherans haven't exactly been at the forefront of the evangelism issue. We're not exactly the best at sharing our faith stories. Neither do we generally have a sense of urgency when it comes to "saving the lost". Part of this is our cultural heritage. Part of it is our tenacious articulation of being saved by grace and God's action alone--God saves, so we don't need to worry about it. Part of it is our hesitancy of engaging others who may have difficult questions. I'd personally also argue we have set up a system dependent upon "experts" (a.k.a. clergy) who know the ins and outs of the faith better and are better able to convince others to become Christian.
Some of these issues are easily addressed. Others, not so much. But I'd like to give some thought and attention to some things which I see underlying my denomination's reluctance to truly engage evangelism in this day and age.
For the focus of this post, I'd like to turn to the difficult questions portion of our reasons for failing to engage in evangelism. In our "post modern" context, many folks are very reluctant to make definitive statements about truth. It seems truth can become very exclusivistic, and if you exclude anyone now a days, well, you've just set yourself up as the bad guy.
For instance, when proclaiming the Christian faith, it is not unheard of for someone to ask, "How can you say Jesus is the only way to God? Isn't that exclusive? Isn't that arrogant?"
Indeed, I know all too well the nature of such questions and thought. It was very much alive as I attended college. Professors and students alike challenged the statement of Jesus that He was "the way, the truth, and the life." Surely the truth was bigger than Jesus. Surely He wasn't that exclusivisic. (Hey, after all, that was just John's point of view in his gospel account. John may have been wrong.)
For quite some time, I struggled with Jesus' exclusivistic claims. I too wondered the wisdom of claiming Him as the only way to the Father in the midst of a very relativistic culture which celebrated diversity now matter how much on the fringes that diversity was.
But I am troubled by it no longer.
As I read through the book, The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism by Timothy Keller, my discomfort with Jesus' truth claims disappeared. Keller's wisdom and arguments settled deep within me and gave me, I believe, firm footing to refute those who have a problem with Christianity's exclusive claims.
What are Keller's thoughts? I will do my best to summarize:
1. All religions are not equal. That should be self evident, but to many it is not. The religions of the world each have different beliefs and understandings about God. Some don't even believe in God (Buddhism, et.al.). Furthermore, not only are their beliefs different, so are the actions they proclaim. Some argue the deity must be appeased by works committed by humans, others argue no amount of works on our part will appease the deity but it is through grace we are saved. Some religious sects believe the taking of life for the cause of faith is justified, others practice pacifism. Is each "pathway" valid? Is each "pathway" equal? Not a chance. Mutually exclusive truth claims must be evaluated and dealt with. Actions must be judged. All faiths are not equal, and we cannot logically or rationally state such a thing with certainty.
2. Truth does exist. Many would like to think it doesn't. Many would like to think that even if it does, we cannot see it. Oftentimes the old analogy of the blind men feeling around on the elephant comes into play. One believes it's like a brick wall, another like a water hose, another like a broom, etc, etc. Folks use the analogy to indicate we are all blind looking around at the same thing. However, the analogy falls flat because it assumes at least someone knows the big picture. Someone knows there is an elephant in the room. Someone has the capability of seeing the truth. Who has that vision? That's where we must engage in argument and dialogue. A further corollary to this argument are those who argue, "All truth is relative." This statement is one of the more oxymoronic statements ever made. It is a statement of truth, presented as fact. But the statement itself says truth doesn't exist, facts don't exist. Relativity relativizes itself. Somewhere the truth exists.
3. Christianity offers some beliefs which set it above and beyond other faith traditions. While we may "see in a mirror dimly," Christianity offers some insights into God which set it apart from other religions. #1. It is the only faith where God creates the universe out of a desire of love for creation. #2. At its heart, it centers on the God who came down to earth to reconcile humankind unto Himself. #3. It centers on a fully human, fully divine man who proclaimed and practiced love for His enemies, praying for them and asking for their forgiveness while He died for them. A faith which practices such principles can, while holding onto exclusivity, change the world through humility. The true Christian faith, therefore, does not lead to arrogance, or violence, or forceful conversion, but following in the footsteps of its founder, leads to humble service, care of creation, and working for justice and peace.
Now, this doesn't mean there haven't been and aren't those who practice a Christianity which demonizes the other. One only need look at the Spanish Inquisition, the 30 Year's War, the Crusades, and some of the militant "Christian" groups around today to show that there are those within Christianity who haven't lived up to the expectations of it's founder. We should duly note such abominations, repent of them, and then seek to live up to the example of Christ Himself. Yet, even these bastardizations of the faith should not prevent us from digging down to the truth which Christ espoused, lived, and then sent His followers out to practice and preach.
Somewhere, I believe some Christians in the U.S. have lost sight of either 1) the Truth Christ gave us in their desire to fit in with culture, or 2) the humility Christ called for and practiced in His life. These two must go together, hand in glove. They are crucial for our ability to carry out our mission to make disciples of the nations. We must not forsake either one for if we do not believe we have the Truth, what do we have? Just one more methodology among many that may or may not work for a given particular person. That's not our claim. That's not Christ's claim. And because we believe we know the Truth, we are called to spread it. Period.
But we cannot do so without humility. For if we come across as arrogant S.O.B.'s who think we've got it all figured out and that we are better than others, then pack it in as well. Humble service to others without compromising the Truth. Such is the basis for evangelism.
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