Jesus answered, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." --John 14:6
I am in Chapter 5 this month in Diana Butler Bass's book "Freeing Jesus." She spent the first half of the chapter talking about her seminary training and it's negative effect on her faith. She said the seminary taught, "...submission to divinely ordained authorities was the way of Jesus." She used a map as an example:
When we think of a way, we often think of a destination: the way to where? In the case of Jesus, he is the way to the Father, to being with God forever, point A to point B. And between the points, the route is plotted on a map. The map is the journey, not all the things that happen along the way. The destination is the meaning and purpose of the trip, and staying on the road is the most important thing."
She said the seminary was obsessed with the map and for the seminary the map was "orthodoxy"----authorized doctrine or practice. She went along with this because she was young and wanted to be accepted even though much of it she did not believe to be true, like the Calvinistic teaching of predestination where God chooses who will be saved (HERE is how Andrew Farley explains its meaning). There were many more doctrines that she wrestled with.
Bass quotes Father Richard Rohr, "Religion has turned the biblical idea of faith. . . into a need and even a right to certain knowing, complete predictability, and perfect assurance about whom and what God likes or doesn't like." Bass writes, "I had gone to seminary expecting that it would strengthen my faith; instead, it presented the sort of religion Father Richard describes.
Biblical scholar Peter Enns calls this the "sin of certainty." He believes, "Aligning faith in God and certainty about what we believe and needing to be right in order to maintain a healthy faith--these do not make a healthy faith in God." Bass says she had "confused being right, believing correct doctrine about Jesus, with walking the way in trust and expectation of surprise. She said the worst thing is that she was angry with those who disagreed with her, "an anger verging on a kind of theologically justified contempt."
A few years later as a doctoral student at Duke University she attended a seminar in which Elizabeth Clark, a scholar of early Christianity, spoke. This was a pivoting point for her. Clark talked about the extraordinary diversity of Christianity in the Roman Empire and how this presented a political problem for emperor Constantine who needed to consolidate his power through imperial unity and uniformity. In other words, all the orthodoxy of the new State church, was devised for Constantine's power, not inspired by the Holy Spirit. "Christianity, at least in its official version, froze into a system of mandatory precepts that were codified into creeds and strictly monitored by a powerful hierarchy and imperial decrees. Heresy became treason, and treason became heresy. She writes that further study of history continued to undermine her theological certainty.
Bass says that as the world becomes more complex people are trying to hold on to certainty wherever they can. She says it's why "people move to gated communities, associate with only those who think as they do, block critics on Twitter, believe in conspiracy theories, and find safety in watching Fox News."
After spending all that time writing about what's wrong with the church she finally gets to the point:
The way is the way of love, as Jesus himself said, "Everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:35). Love is the evidence and the location finder of the way.
Norman Wirzba, professor of theology and ecology and author of "Way of Love" reminds readers that Christianity is not, in essence a set of teachings, but a way of life. Christian faith is a vision of flourishing that bears witness to God's love everywhere at work in the world." I like how he defines sin: "Sin, at its core is the failure of love."
Bass concludes:
The Jesus way is full of switchbacks, spirals, and unexpected turns; mystery, paradox, unknowing, unsaying....No wonder Jesus says, "Follow me" and "I am the way." But for a guide, you might never find a path..."
The map I followed after being saved was labeled "Self-improvement." I wrote about it in the first post in this series HERE. I'd received Jesus (Point A) and thought the route to Heaven (Point B) was to love everyone perfectly, to act and look perfectly, to never make a mistake. While I'd gotten good at eliminating sins of commission I constantly failed at eliminating sins of omission. Those were often hard to correct because I couldn't be aware of everything everybody needed! This made me hypervigilant....and exhausted.
Finally, in 1978, I discovered it was the role of the Holy Spirit to improve me, enable me, guide me. I was just to let Him and to renew my mind in His word and be mindful of what I allowed into my life by way of temptations. Most importantly I sought God in prayer and "leaned not unto [my] own understanding." I finally began to grow in God's Grace and find true peace. Loving others has become "second nature" especially once I realized I do not have to like everyone!
There are many, even Christians, who take objection to believing that Jesus is the only way to God. The thing is, Jesus is very clear about this in the Gospels. There may be many paths leading to Jesus, but once you arrive there---at the narrow gate---believing that Jesus died for your sins (past, present and future), allows Him to enter into your life. His Holy Spirit joins with your human spirit. As one, you now have assurance of being with Him for eternity as well as being ever present with you now as your guide and helper.
I've always wondered about people who lived before Christ came. In the Old Testament those who trusted God were saved. I suspect that all the peoples before the Israelites who worshipped a god or gods might fall into the same category. We are told in Romans 1:18-23 that God reveals Himself through His creation. Their belief in a Being greater than themselves whom they revered and sought to please might be all that was necessary. But the need to know for certain, as Bass has pointed out, became a stumbling block for her. It is not our responsibility to figure out whether someone is/was saved. We are only responsible for our own relationship with God. As we grow in His Grace our lights will shine the Way for others.
Lord, Your Word tells me that Your yoke is easy and Your burden is light. You promise me that if I will take your yoke upon myself and learn from You, I will find rest for my soul. I know this to be true. May I never try to carry a burden on my own for I know that not only grieves Your Heart but hides Your light from the world.
Link to Scripture: Matthew 11:29-30
Take Action: Is Jesus the Only Way to God?
No comments:
Post a Comment