Preached part 1 to the 'Believing One God' message yesterday. This week preaching part 2, and I want to two things. I want to focus on how Christianity is unique narrative in light of the other religious narratives held by our neighbours (how and why would we feel okay with trying to convince someone to switch their allegiances?) And secondly, I want to talk about how God can use people from different faiths to bring truth to Christians - truth that we might not have received if we had no interaction with people from a different faith. Last Sunday (yesterday) the main point was that Christian can affirm truth as they see it in other religions (just like Paul affirmed truth about God, as he saw in other religions...Acts 17); this Sunday, rather than stopping at Christians blessing truth where they see it, we want to appreciate that other faiths can bring truth to us where we don't see it.
Some passages to consider in particular. In light of Christianity as unique - Amos 9:7 and Acts 10:34-35. In light of God using people from different faiths to bring us into deeper truth - Genesis 14:18-19 and Exodus 18 and Numbers 22.
So if I understand what you are getting at, Christianity is uniquely true in having a more complete and universal grasp on truth but there are still areas where it sees truth inadequately (as through a mirror dimly) or perhaps not at all. The greater though incomplete truth of Christianity still presumably justifies a shift in paradigm or switch of allegiances, but claims to more complete and universal truth do not necessarily mean there aren't truths which are better or even exclusively seen in non-Christian belief systems. Do you have any examples in mind? Jethro and Balak are examples of people who were Godly and evidently religious but outside the chosen people, as defined by race and culture. Are you suggesting with those examples that there are Godly people, in a prophetic and not just a moral sense, outside the church?
ReplyDeleteyes...I would say that there is truth in Christianity - ie. Jesus is God incarnate - and justifies a switch of allegiances; and yes, there is truth that can come to us from outside of our Christian Scriptures and Christian communities. Jethro and Balaam are good examples: both men are examples of God using people from outside the "covenant people" (the people with whom God has a unique relationship) as his mouthpieces and agents to guide and assist.
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