A conversation that I've been having a lot recently is the conversation about religious plurality and the Christian faith, or to put it very simply how should followers of Jesus think about and interact with people of other religious faiths. Which is interesting because my friends over at Homebrewed Christianity have been having this conversation as well.
In a blog post on their website Tripp Fuller brought up that whenever Christians try to have a reasonable conversation about how plurality and the Christian faith someone always brings up John 14:6 and uses it as a trump card. As someone who has been a part of these kinds of conversations I find that troubling, because in my experience the way that verse is used is often as a conversation ender. Basically someone will say, "well Jesus said, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life and no one comes to the Father except by me.'" And act as if that's all that needs to be said about other cultures and religions.
So for that reason I want to engage with the John 14:6 text and explore what it really has to say to the issue of religious plurality. I want to start out by looking at the immediate context of the verse, and believe it or not Jesus wasn't talking about muslims or any other religion. Jesus is not looking to say which religion is right and which are wrong Jesus is simply saying that wherever I am present people can experience God.
The other problem I have with the trump card usage of this verse is that it assumes that Jesus is automatically not present in other cultures and religions. But consider what Paul says in Colossians 1:
"The son is the image of the invisible God,
The one who is first over all creation.
Because all things were created by him:
Both in the heavens and on the earth,
the things that are visible and invisible.
Whether they are thrones or powers or rulers or authorities,
all things were created through him and for him.
He existed before all things,
and all things are held together in him."
Paul makes it very clear that all of creation was created by Jesus, in Jesus and for Jesus and Jesus is present in all of creation. Paul goes on to say that Jesus is in the business of restoring all things in creation, and that means all people, cultures and religions.
So I'm totally okay with saying Jesus is the way, truth and life and no one gets to the Father except through him but I also have to believe that Jesus is in at least some ways present in every community and Jesus is actively working towards every community being restored to how God intended creation to be all along.
And I think that distinction matters when it comes to the way we think about missions. Whenever you find yourself in a community of people who have different religious beliefs than you rather than assuming you have an absolute monopoly on truth; what if you took the time to be patient, listen, pay attention and pray to try and discern the ways in which Jesus is already present and working to restore this community to the way God intended it to be. Then once you start to get a good idea what that is you can participate in what Jesus is already doing.
Grace & Peace
Great post. This interpretation is a HUGE step in the right direction. I like what Tripp Fuller is saying, too. Though, perhaps I find myself disagreeing with Paul, as well as what you say here when you quote Paul. Why is there a need to see Jesus as creator of the whole universe and omnipresent throughout all creation? This seems to jump back into the circular 'conversation ending' jargon. It seems silly to me to credit a single man as being harvester of all of creation. I see Jesus as someone who saw the world clearly and published his poetic thoughts to the public, freeing his followers from religious folklore.
ReplyDeleteI'm loving the concept of religious pluralism right now. It seems critical for us to respect other cultures and find divinity in them, as the globe continues to shrink due to our modern communication systems.
Thanks for publishing your great thoughts, Ryne.