The trouble with Christianity - Exclusivity
Over the next couple weeks we are going to examine some of the things that people see as being problems with Christianity. We are at a time when Christianity in general – all denominations wither old school and traditional or modern thinking house churches are lumped into one group dismissed.
But the picture is bigger than that. Religion in general is being restricted and controlled. The objection that the culture has with religion is the claim of exclusivity.
Our culture has a question for religion in general. How can your religion claim that you have the one true religion? How can any faith claim to be the one truth about God and the world we know?
That is a very real and valid question. It is a question that we cannot ignore or dismiss. This question is not being asked by just a few. It is huge. The book stores have shelves of responses to that question that come from lots of different religious backgrounds.
If you asked people what was the major barrier to peace in the world in the 1960’s what would the answer be? Would - political ideologies be a possibility. Communist and Capitalist viewpoints had the world on edge and nuclear weapons gave each side massive destructive power. …There was a cold war going on and on for decades.
-- Today, if people were asked about what is keeping the world from being at peace their answer would likely be religion. And more specifically, the exclusivity of religion as the source of separation and strife between people in our world.
We know from the news that people of different faiths are involved in wars based on religious ideology. There are even battles within differing extremes within a single religious faith category.
If you decide to search for evidence that our culture blames religion for the lack of peace in the world, watch the international news, read news articles on the internet, go to the book store and look through the religious and political section. I believe that there will be plenty of evidence presented.
I am going to step out on a limb and tell you that I agree that religion divides people, and families and nations.
Religion can create a short path to oppression and violence.
It documented in history that these things happen!
If you tell people that they are right in their belief and that they are saved by performing that truth…..that has to lead to a feeling of superiority over people that do not hold to the same truth.
Superiority leads to separation, people within a set of beliefs pull away from others which make them unfamiliar with each other. Then it is easier to believe the worst about people and to create negative stereo types about others in general.
Once these images exist as a common view in the minds of a particular religion, it is a just one small step to start passively ignoring outsiders, and it is not a big jump to where the group will actively oppress people with different views or faith backgrounds.
A simple illustration - how do republicans and democrats view, speak about and treat each other?
My point is that, at the least, people within a religion marginalize, discount, ignore people with different views.
In the middle we can dehumanize people, we can feel that they deserve being ignored or abused.
At the worst, religious differences lead to abuse, oppression and even extermination of different people. I will let you think of your own examples of that.
-- Once we realize that religion erodes peace, and separates people…..what can we do about it?
The passage of scripture offers a hint about two ways that people try to deal with that problem. The first two ways will not work. However, the passage clearly identifies one way that will work and that is where we are headed today.
John is writing about people that are teaching different truths. People that are trying to divide or change what the people have learned to be true about Jesus. Generally, John is telling the readers that the information being presented needs to be tested and not just accepted.
The outside teachers are trying to begin a separation or a change in thinking to this group. They are trying to weaken this group of believers. Trying to weaken this new religion.
-- Today there are plenty of authors and educators and groups of people secular and religious that want to weaken religion in general. Richard Dockens –“ the God delusion” comes to mind.
The secular view point in our culture insists that religion should go the way of the dinosaurs and just die off. That evolution and technology have upgraded what man needs and there is no purpose for a crutch that people call religion.
They make every effort to devalue religion and help any form of it to disappear.
The intellectual elite for the past 20 or more years have believed that religion had passed its usefulness. They believe that the need of religion would die a potentially slow death as people outgrow religion.
The thing is, that has not happened. Almost all the world’s major religions are growing. Perhaps not here but in the world the dominant religions are exploding with new followers.
So, while some intellectual types still believe that to be true the evidence is against them. They sit on high and point out problems with all religion in books and journals and just keep waiting for it to die off
Another attack on religion came into play through some governments taking action. They see the clash between religions and have started regulating it. In china they threw out the missionaries and expected Christianity to die out but instead it exploded in growth. Communism tried the same experiment with a similar result.
Government have proven that religion and religious views cannot be simply be made illegal or outlawed.
It seems to me that their efforts have given an almost scientific evidence that within man there is a need to find something to worship.
For some it might be God, others may choose sports, wealth, cars, beauty…Mankind will find a way to show a love of and a value of something which is ultimately worship.
There is a hunger to find something of a religious/spiritual nature.
The passage suggest that that desire will be satisfied if we don’t evaluate what we are hearing and ultimately worshiping.
-- If simple removal of religion is impossible then the obvious next step is containment.
Almost all of the public voices in our culture insist that for there to be peace… we must contain our religious beliefs into the private realm. They will flatly say that religions is fine, religion can flourish.
However, religion is a personal matter and is people are to be able to live together it must be something of personal use and value and never spoken of publically. Never allow your religious beliefs to influence voting or policy decisions.
This can seem very logical to lots of people. It sounds like a fair compromise.
But a part of that sentiment is that that all religions are true, all religions are correct, all religions are equal. It has to be that way because no one can have a claim of superiority.
We must believe that religion is only a tool for private use and that it can never be applied to the larger society.
In general our society believes this. The news media enforces this ideology. Government has a firm separation line that is watched like a hawk watching for the movement of prey.
Verse 5 explains the viewpoint… They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them.
The view sounds simple and believable and perhaps even logical. It even sounds as if it is fair and humble.
Here is the problem with that idea. The people with that view want to restrict religious views from participation in community issues. They want their view which are independent of any religious influence to be the standard in the definition of law and morals and fairness.
Basically their call for no religious influence…marginalizes and devalues and perhaps even attacks people different views, religious views. The call for limiting or blocking people with religious viewpoints is based on a group that is claiming that they know a better truth….They have their own truth….
….They criticize religious faith position to protect their secular faith position.
The view is that no single religion could possibly have the whole truth. It seems logical.
This no one know the full picture is often supported with the story of “The blind men and the elephant.”
I am not going to repeat it so I hope you have heard and remember it.
Basically, these blind men or men in the dark are walking along and find an elephant. Having never experienced one before they each reach out and feel what is in front of them.
One is standing at the side of the elephant and says it is like a wall, another finds the trunk and describes the elephant as being like a snake. The third feels the leg and announces that it is like a tree.
The story suggests that each person sees part of the reality and cannot agree on the total truth of what an elephant is actually like. Each man partly right however, their view of the truth about the elephant is incomplete and there for lacking.
So according to the secular world ..independent of religious influence, No religion can claim to have the whole truth.
British missionary to India – Leslie Newbigin – writes in his book “The gospel in a pluralist society”, that he was quoted this story over and over as he tried to witness to people about the Christian faith…He was troubled over the use to the story t discount his viewpoint.
Until one day he realized that they only way you can tell the story of the blind men and the elephant is that you assume that you see all the truth….
That you know the full truth and can see where others are wrong….
When people that claim to be natural and not influenced by religion claim that people with any religious convictions are blind and can’t see the whole picture. They are being arrogant and that they are superior over all others.
From this superior position they claim that no religion should attempt to convert others to their viewpoint. What they don’t see is that they are trying to convert other to their own limited/ blind point of view. They are doing exactly what they critize religions of doing.
They also have a limited view and as blind….
-- Ok, I know that My message this Moring is a little bit brain intensive. But I hope you will stay with me for just a few more minutes.
The suggestion that all religion should be kept private and not be suggested or allowed to influence decisions within a community or government is just a little impossible.
Some people suggest that religion should not influence morals because religious views are bases on one groups beliefs and no group should be allowed influence over a community because it cannot be judged. They want to just find what works for everyone.
It won’t work because – everyone has a set of beliefs that influence what we think to be fair and right and safe. There are people that believe in happiness of the individual. They believe the divorce should be easy, that people should be allowed to live together with no judgment form anyone, That gay marriage is ok.
Others believe that an individual is less important than the group. That the family and community is more important that the individual. So divorce would be more difficult, relationships more limited so that families will be stronger and children’s lives are more protected.
That is a simplistic way of looking at it but how will restricting religion from influence in public policy help keep peace?
What is religion?
– is it set of beliefs and services held each week?
- Religion is a set answers to the big questions in life.
Why are we here?
What is right and wrong?
How do we fix problems?
How should we spend our time?
Religious belief are faith assumptions that lead people to living life in a defined way.
It is impossible to leave our faith at the door because everyone has this kind of belief system wither religious or secular.
People that want to restrict religion from influencing public debate and standards believe that their personal set of exclusive beliefs are more enlightened,. More fair, More valid…superior to any other way.
The question for us to consider, which set of exclusive beliefs produces a loving, inclusive, reconciling peaceful behavior?
- If restriction of religion is impossible.
- If containment of religion is also impossible.
- If everyone holds exclusive beliefs that are unavoidable?
Then division and peace are really no closer than before.
What strategy to find peace will work?
Let’s be fair and admit that the Christians religion is been the cause of wars and oppression. Christianity when viewed as being THE TRUTH and superior to everyone else’s views and religion become a wedge against peace.
Some call for Christians to compromise by looking for the common ground. We all want peace. We want a safe place to live that has fair courts and justice for all people. We want people to have opportunity and freedom to better ourselves.
But it is pretty clear that the things we have in common with other religions and with people with no-stated religion has not brought peace.
We have to look at what is different in Christianity. What is unique in our faith system. What is it about our religion that empowers us to be agents for peace and reconciliation in our world.
There are three things that if we as individuals take to heart will change us to be what God intends.
First is the Origin of Jesus’ salvation
Purpose of Jesus’ salvation
Method of Jesus’ salvation
Origin V2 - This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,
Has come..not borne…he was someplace else…. Every other religion claims their founder was human…
Jesus – God comes into the world
Purpose – come in the flesh – other religions come to liberate you form flesh to help you to escape flesh…physical world is the problem
Some claim flesh is real but bad and we need live right so we can escape to go to heaven where things are great.
Christianity sez that God receives a body and that salvation is to redeem the physical world. Fix a broken world…Make all things new…. God is going to bring heaven here according to the book of revelations.
Christianity offers hopes for this world
Method of GRACE – all other religions – tell that to be saved must perform the truth – love God – other people- family –neighbor….If God sees you doing the right thing he will save you. There are plenty of Christians that also hold this view.
But, the gospel is totally different… V10) This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
God comes and suffers for people that don’t love him, that don’t love each other, that are not acting right….
Jesus is not a wise teacher that comes just to tell us how to live to be saved.
He comes to live as we should and to take our place in punishment for how we actually live.
These three distinctions are the things that make you live in a way that will bring peace and reconciliation to this world.
We have no grounds to feel superior.
No works that have any power to make a difference without God’s blessing.
No self obtained righteousness that puts us on a pedestal above anyone else.
If we live with a view that your faith makes you superior to friends and family and the people around you….you are depending on religion and not Jesus as your savior.
The Christian faith is the only one that has a foundation that we can never save ourselves. That everyone around you just as bas as you are and maybe even better than you. This Religion if taken to heart makes you humble. It shapes you to represent what the world needs…inclusiveness, love and grace to everyone.
The alternatives to Christian faith suggest that y are only good if we do good things. If you live in a way that is superior to others. That what you think and do matters more than what others believe and do.
Which point of view do you think leads to peace and inclusiveness?
All Glory be to God!
