Last week, I was speaking with a woman who I will refer to as "Mary". Mary owns her own business, and is active serving the community in which she lives. She's very pleasant, and very open to discussing many issues. While in her place of business, we exchanged pleasantries, and I said "Merry Christmas". She said "It sounds so good to hear someone say that instead of "happy holidays". So I asked her if she was a Christian. She said that she was that among many other things, and that began what proved to be an intriguing conversation.
She said that she believed in re-incarnation, and also that many other religions were just as true as Christianity. So I asked her if she thought a religion could be true if the spokesperson for that religion was proven to be a liar. She of course stated "no, if the prophet or teacher is proven to be a liar, than what part of that teacher's teachings could you believe?" So then I asked her once again if I had correctly understood her to say that she claimed to be a Christian, among other things. She reassured me that she had been raised Catholic, but later moved to the Lutheran church, and was currently an acitve member of a local church.
So I asked her how she dealt with the fact that in John 14:6, Jesus said "I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man comes to God, except through me." She immediately responed "Well, you obviously know that by being raised Chatholic and Lutheran, I know almost nothing about the Bible. I said "that's OK, Mary. You don't have to know the whole bible to make some wise decisions. But, now that you know that Christ, the representative of Christianity clearly stated that only Christianity leads to God, what are you going to do with that. Either Jesus is a liar, and thus invlaidates all that we know about Christianity, or indeed there are NOT many ways to God, but just one. "Mary was both puzzled and disturbed by this delemma. And seeing this, I didn't want to leave her hung up. So I added "Mary, most of the people I speak to believe something. Many of them even appear to believe the right thing. But few people can adequately explain "why" they believe "what" they believe.
"Mary" went on to say that she believed that the Bible probably wasn't believable, because of the many tranlsations, as well as that according to what she had been told, 2/3rd's of it was missing. My response to her was a comprehensive logical look at that objection. I said first "If the God you believe in is in fact a true God, then could that God be imperfect? In other words, by definition, doesn't a God have to be infallible?" She quickly agreed. Then I said "Then isn't it logical to conclude that if Jesus is God, and represents our Father in Heaven, then every thing he said about God the Father, as well as himself would have to be perfect as well? And if that's true, then the 1/3rd of the Bible that you believe we have, could not contradict or change the 2/3rds that you believe is missing, without debunking Christianity as a false religion, right?" Again "Mary" agreed that logically, a God must be perfect, and therefore he could not contradict himself or lie, or be wrong, because then he would cease to be a God. So then I asked her "If this is true, then it really doesn't matter if we have 1/3rd of the Bible as you believe, or all of the Bible as I believe, because one part of it can't contradict any other part of it, or NONE of it is believable." "Mary" agreed with me that the logic was sound. So then I asked her once again "So logically, "Mary", ff Jesus clearly stated that He is the only way to God, then doesn't that mean either he's a liar, and therefore Christianity is a false religion, or he's telling the truth, and therefore all other religions are false." This really stopped her. She looked at me as though seeing me for the first time and said, "You've raised some questions for me that no one has ever asked before. I'm going to need to think about this for a while, because the consequences of this conversation are staggering. If what I believe is false, then I'm in big trouble." I told her that I'd stop back in in a few days and see how she was doing. I told her that I wanted to be a friend, and that I hadn't meant to be pig-headed or argumentative. She reassured me that I had been neither. I invited her to visit the Crossroads and also promised her that I'd get her a book that might help her understand the answers to her questions.
Perhaps as you read this blog, you've come up with some questions. Why not respond, and I'll try to answer them as honestly as I can. I'm not out to change anyone, but sometimes examining the reasons why we believe what we believe helps us to "firm up" our beliefs.
Merry Christmas,
Jim
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2 comments:
I take issue with the fact that she said, "because she was raised Catholic and Lutheran, she knows almost nothing about the bible."
Having been raised Lutheran, at one of the local churches no less, the bible was the basis of all of my learning via services and Sunday School lessons. From being able to find and recite passages, researching God's teaching on various topics and just learning what the bible contains, is the whole foundation of my Lutheran education.
If she didn't know about the bible, she chose not to read the bible, and not to actively participate in her church - and I have a hard time with her blaming the church for this. I find it very sad when people choose this avenue in life, and then blame the church/pastor for their lack of knowledge.
People need to be active in not only their physical health (which means exercising and eating right), but in their spiritual health as well (which means learning more about the God they worship).
Awesome comments. I'm sorry that you "take issue" with what Mary said. However remember that I didn't say it, Mary said it. I totally agree with you that when we stand before our Lord someday, we won't be able to say I didn't know the truth because my church didn't teach it. I also know, having been "raised in the church" that not every church teaches the Bible. That is one of the biggest challenges I have as a pastor. Many of the people who come to me are Biblically illiterate. I can't at that point challenge their past experiences, but I can begin to lay the groundwork so that they can begin to take responsibility for their own relationship with God. As lay people, we can also encourage others to delve into the Bible regardless of whether or not it is used significantly in church. What do you make of the stories that many churches are moving away from teaching that the Bible is God's word and inerrant and authoratative?
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