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Bible Questions and Spiritual Discussion
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Christian Exclusivity, or the paradoxical truth of "you guys think you are the only ones who are right"
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I am struggling with this alone, DAB family, so I am bringing it to you for advice and discussion. I have a dear friend of many years, and the last two have been very interesting to say the least. We are "the sister each other never had" though tensions over viewpoints and disparate beliefs have mounted at times over the last couple of years, and overflowed today. Concurrently over the last two years, I have been baptized and found a renewing, beautiful Christian (beginning) walk in life, and she has had a teen child go off the rails with drugs and joined up as a card-carrying member of AA. We have both grown stronger in our "beliefs" and there was a real opposition today.
She had burst out about a year ago, that her main objection to Evangelical Christians (that would be me) is that they believe they are the only ones with the truth, how wrong this was, etc. etc. Jews are right, Muslims are right, Gays are right, everybody is right as long as you believe and try to be a good person (hello - even I know, that is works). I heard Timothy Keller preach and teach about this exact topic, and it was incredibly enlightening. Though someone that espouses this all-encompassing viewpoint SOUNDS humble, it's actually inperialistic because the person insisting this believes THEIR synergistic beliefs are right, and far superior to your Christian beliefs. Beyond interesting - how very inciteful and true!
SO I was totally stoked to discover the above-referenced podcast teaching by Timothy Keller, on this EXACT topic, entitled "EXCLUSIVITY" about two months ago. This extraordinary teacher took six weeks in the life of his NYC congregation to address, one by one, the top six objections that people i.e. non-believer New Yorkers (if a tougher crowd could exist) have against Christianity. His response and teaching was insightful, gripping, and uncontrovertable...he answered the question and beyond, over what I could ever do or even think of, so I'm sharing this as it has been so helpful. I had sent the link to her a couple weeks back, and today when I gently inquired, she said she absolutely refused to even entertain listening to it. LA LA LA LA - I CANT HEAR WHAT YOU ARE SAYING - fingers in ears, refused!
Personally I now get it that Christianity IS the only true faith; all others are blends and mashups of altered man-made dogma along with outright lies, interwoven with the spirit of deception, and just enough of the truth uncreatively lifted from truth, all straight from the enemy. Warning, my AA rant ahead - in my mind AA completely showcases where this confused and deceived cultural approach, not God-based approach, is headed, as they promote accepting somebody who comes forward naming Scrambled Eggs as their Higher Power, because they really really love them. Or Boats. Or trees. This is what happens in those rooms; I have been there myself and seen it. I don't get how intelligent people could seriously entertain the confused written ramblings of a devolved alcoholic with delusions of paranoid grandeur as THEIR BOOK (YouTube Dr. Bill and see for yourself). AND they have no success rate to speak of at all. BUT we are supposed to just accept this and move along, the forced "give it to God, aka Scrambled Eggs" smile in place, believing that whatever silly or deceptive or terrible thing people come up with on their own is VALID. Anything goes, and it's all ok and good in their world view.
All this to say - how do I get out of the analytical mess I get myself into when I think like this?!? Everyone has exclusive beliefs as the clash of "world vs Christian" views so often prove. But here's the point that Timothy Keller makes at the summary of his talk; and here I do begin to refer directly to points he makes. Like no other theory or philosophy or 12-step group or religion (and like what I am feeling not that able to do right now, but with grace and prayer will do later today) the Christian gospel and Christianity offers the solution to exclusivity, exclusively! Christian beliefs are uniquely able to produce loving, peace-loving, reconcilling and inclusive behavior based on the radical features of the origin of Jesus' salvation, the purpose,and the method of His Salvation. How do you recognize the spirit of God? Jesus is GOD utterly filled with humble behavior, in Jesus ultimate reality has become visible..He's the man on the cross, LOVING people who do not LOVE HIM. Forgiving those abusing Him. When you take that into the center of life, you can't be less either - believe it more deeply than ever before, and this miraculously begins to heal this broken world.
Finally, I think of various Bible teachers who I have heard say the flat-out truth is, an unbeliever has no more idea of you as a believer than a fish has of a balloon (or some such analogy). While this may indeed be totally true, it's not that helpful to adopt as a stance in my life - unbelievers abound. And I see my opinions, my misteps, my pride, MY MY ME ME instead of the humility and reconcilliation (which I don't think my AA friend is going to come up with, actually expect the opposite as she TOLD me "it was going to affect our friendship if we discuss this ever again") and grace (DID I say her name is GRACE?) needed to repair the breach here. Almost laughable, it's so simple now that I lay it all out. Thank you, Jesus!
Pray for me that I have the grace and humility to become more humble, ask her forgiveness, take her over dinner next week, zip my lip and walk it out not talk it out going forth.
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fetacompli 08/18/2011 20:09 |
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Ray
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08/18/2011 21:21 |
hmmmm, love it. Great discussion :)
Love Grace. Pray without ceasing. You'll do great!
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Helga
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08/18/2011 23:28 |
Fetacompli I think we all need prayer to draw unbelivers closer to us by shining the Light of Jesus through us and winning people by our actions instead of words. I deal with this daily and when things go wrong I get reminded by non-Christians of "you see religion is what causes all those problems". I often want to start a discussion but just have to shut up, because to argue about something "they are not really interested" is wasting energy and so I keep on praying for them that God will pardon their veil which stops them from seeing and believing in JESUS.
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GodB4Me
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08/24/2011 11:23 |
Great advice Helga,
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Bibleman
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08/24/2011 16:55 |
I have grown up attending AA meetings, and I would have to say that AA isn't really supposed to be about any religion - in fact, that is one of its tenets. However, a lot, and I mean a LOT, of AA attendees are believers in Jesus. In fact, I have only ran into a few 'non - christian' AA attendees, at least as far as what they claim to believe.
And while I never struggled with the claim 'you think you are the only ones who are right', because I knew that it was just an accusation, not a philosophical argument, I lately posit a big question mark about ultimate truth, because a lot of people who are not christians are far more inspiring than many who are church regulars, and many church regulars are downright atrocious in my personal opinion.
Having said that, you are 100 percent right about plenty of religions taking truth and mish mashing it with human ideas and greed - the work of the devil, so to speak.
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Jake Van Horn
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08/26/2011 02:29 |
I'm also surrounded by non-believers on a daily basis, in all aspects of my life, with opinions ranging from apathy to outright hostility. Man I wish at times I had the answers to these questions. But then again if anyone of us could simply "talk" an individual into accepting Christ in many ways this would take away from the power of the Gospel.
Helga is so right. Its the actions and decisions we make and take with our non-christian friends, family and neighbors that become our testimony. When a person has made the decision that they no longer want to hear any argument for the case of Christ, they have made a will full decision to reject the gospel. But with God all things are possible. I love the saying that "we can do a lot of things besides pray but we shouldn't do anything until we pray.
Sometimes I wonder if it isn't the people who are the most hostel towards Christianity who are actually being convicted the strongest of its truth. Its pretty hard to ignore the truth day after day with a smile on your face.
As we pray for the salvation of the lost and live out lives in love, tenderness and mercy, putting ourselves aside and the needs of others in the forefront, who knows but God, what seeds we may be planting even in the most hardened hearts. We may not end up being the one who actually has that final conversation that God will use to bring them to salvation. But it will be our faithfulness day by day that He will use to prepare their hearts for that exact moment.
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Ray
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08/26/2011 08:16 |
Tom (Calico) pointed me to this teaching series called "Say What" by Bruxy Cavey:
http://www.themeetinghouse.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=121&Itemid=3
You have to slide down the page to June of 2010. It is very good material on how to engage people. It is not a cookbook approach to outreach, rather pointing to some tools and ideas we can use. Asking questions is the one I use the most since listening to Bruxy, but there are other ideas of value.
I find I rarely have the answer to people when I feel like I need it, but the Socratic method is very handy for helping people explore their way towards the Lord. How do you feel about that? :) Asking Grace, or anyone for that matter, questions demonstrates that you care what they think, which is always a step in the right direction and it gives you a second in with them when you listen (praying all the while).
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Peter
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08/26/2011 09:46 |
fetacompli, I feel your pain. Many of my loved ones are not believers, and many of those have closed the door to even considering Jesus or the Gospel. We must remember that Jesus commanded us to PREACH the Gospel and make disciples, not to convince people. That is not our job. Our job is to get the message out there, and disciple those who have a desire to explore further.
In my experience, once that door is closed, there is nothing that we can say to open it again. That can only be done by the Holy Spirit. Our job is to be there when it is open to receive them in love and disciple them so that they have all they need to make a decision when (and if) they are ever ready to really consider the message. I will indeed pray for you to have humility and grace to seek her forgiveness. I pray that your friendship would be restored, and that your friend will reach a point that, seeing you "walk it out, not talk it out" will inspire her to inquire about what it is that makes you tick... and I pray that the Holy Spirit would direct your steps and words in that moment, and open her heart at that time to receive the message of the gospel.
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