Just so you all know...

This 'Blog' is now a group on FACEBOOK!

Search for 'Convergence!!!' and you'll find us

See you on FACECULT!

Theology of Religions.

Convergence
Teacher: CJ Block
May 3, 2007

One major challenge for Christianity in our culture is dealing with individualism and pluralism at the same time.
Individualism [def]: everybody to their own
Pluralism [def]: all faiths are equal
This sounds good, until value systems oppose.

Jesus commanded, “go into all the world and make disciples” (Matthew 28:19) and “I am the way, the truth, and the light” (John 14:6) but we don’t get very far by simply saying to the world, “We’re right, you’re wrong, end of story.”

• How does Christianity react to other faiths?
• What does Christianity have to give to other religions?
• How do other faiths inform our faith?

These, arguably, are the most important theological questions of the century.

“You cannot criticize a statement of what claims to be the truth except on the basis of some other truth-claim which – at the moment – you accept without criticism.” – Lesslie Newbigin
In other words: true knowledge of anything is impossible outside of personal commitment in faith.

The world is placing more and more value on pluralism and individualism. Traditional apologetics are dying out because empirical truth is becoming devalued in society. What does Christianity offer the world that values individualism to such a high degree that not only is everyone permitted to worship their own god, but that right is defended by others against any who would witness to a different truth?

What is theology of religions?

• It is NOT the new systematic theology
• It is NOT the new missiology
• It is the study of why, from a Christian perspective, other faiths exist at all
• What is their meaning or purpose? What can be learned from them? What does Christianity offer them?
• It is Christianity in dialogue with Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, etc.
• It acknowledging that Christianity’s self-understanding is influenced by interaction with religious others
• Systematic theology is Christian theology in isolation, theology of religions is Christian theology in dialogue with religious others
• We allow the opinions of Buddhists about Christianity to affect our self-understanding: our faith is informed by their faith
• It is a demonstrated commitment to truth that is greater that commitment to our truth

Theological Foundation.

Christian theology of religions centers around two propositions, our non-negotiables that we bring to the table...

• God wants everyone to be saved
• Salvation can be found only in Jesus Christ

What kinds of interactions are there between religions? (Charles Van Engen)

• Comparative Religions (1910): contrasts the major tenets of religions.
• Phenomenology of Religions (1930): why religions exist; assumes equal value of all religions.
• Philosophy of Religions (1950): compares the truth claims of religions as a point of commonality.
• i.e. Christians, Muslims, and Jews all believe people go to either heaven or hell after death. This information is useful for dialogue
• Personal Piety Movement (1960): growing individualism began to protect individual’s right to believe whatever they wanted; this approach is inquisitive but not comparative (it doesn’t matter what you believe, just believe it sincerely.)
• Comparative Sociology of Religions (1970): compares how useful various religions are to society.
• i.e. highest rate of religious conversions between 1980-1995 was Africans to Islam because Islam was perceived as a social benefit
• Inter-Faith Dialogue (current): invites participation of religious others into relationship; inherent vulnerability to conversion of participants; determine objective truth through relationship.

Typology of religious theology.
Three main views provide different definitions of bounded sets…

• Ecclesiocentrism (Exclusivist): No salvation outside the church. Only those counted with the church will be saved. Optimistic about the church.
• Christocentrism (Inclusivist): Salvation is only found in Christ, but Christ’s work can be found in and through other religions. Some Universalist leaning. Concerned with religions co-existing. Weak theology of the fall and sin.
• Theocentrism (Pluralist): emphasizes common humanity. Bible is just one book among many. Inherent pessimism about the church. Christ is just one salvific figure among many. People can be saved in a number of different ways.
  

Three innovative views…

• Realitycentrism: John Hick. There are multiple external realities. We all go to a different party after we die. A meta-religious nuance of pluralism: there is no God or gods or nirvana, there is an entirely other reality which humanity has not yet encountered to which all religious participants point with descriptive words like God, gods and nirvana.
• Acceptance Model: Paul Knitter. There are not only a number of ways to salvation, but a number of salvations. Buddhists will have nirvana, Christians will have heaven, and Muslims will have their dancing virgins. So be it. Tolerance that we will never know, let people make their truth claims and we’ll see what happens (not worth discussing.)

The challenge of these two models is that they are logically self-defeating. To defend the truth of multiple truth-claims is to defend a single truth-claim. If I say that all religions are true, then I have made a truth-claim that violates the claims of other religions. Pluralism IS a religious truth-claim, counter to Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, and Science. It therefore must be defended as a truth-claim in one of the ways mentioned above.

• Evangelistic: Charles Van Engen. Could be called Contextualized Dialogical approach. Particular about faith in Christ, universal in the acceptance in varied cultural expressions of that faith. Concerned with co-existence of religions. The Bible is outside of culture, and has messages for every culture. Separates culture from religion. Leans on universal experience of particular truths. Affirms the light in other religions.

At the end of the day, we’re never going to know enough to prove anything or just know. There is only believing a truth claim in faith. We are truly free when we realize there is no objective truth, only universal truth.

Don’t forget that our primary revelation is not the book, it is the man.

To facilitate inter-faith dialogue: build bridges, look for light.

Biblical Ambiguity.
God didn’t communicate this all clearly with lists and arguments: he gave us a story that promotes debate and dialogue. That’s what God chose. Now we have to deal with it.

There is a deep tension between particularism and universalism in the Bible. God’s covenant with Abraham (Gen 12:3) is universal, yet Jesus (John 14:6) is particular. The pagan saints Melchizzedeck and Rahab are honoured as godly, yet the Pharisees are criticized, and Annanias and Saphira (believers in Christ) are killed by God for lying.

Psalm 115:3-8
3 Our God is in the heavens, and he does as he wishes.

4 Their idols are merely things of silver and gold, shaped by human hands.
5 They have mouths but cannot speak, and eyes but cannot see.

6 They have ears but cannot hear, and noses but cannot smell.

7 They have hands but cannot feel, and feet but cannot walk, and throats but cannot make a sound.

8 And those who make idols are just like them, as are all who trust in them.

Practically, how does this work?

Case study: Islam.
Reference Sura 1 from the Qur’ran

How do ecclesiocentrists view Islam?
Their engagement: conversion (e.g. tracts, friendship evangelism, invitation to church, the sinner’s prayer).
Muslim response: defensive apologetics, perhaps an emotive or rational conversation experience.

Christocentrics?
Engagement? Universalist Declaration: “You are already saved by Christ.” Or perhaps particularist declaration: “Christ is in your religion.” Arrogantly ignores different definitions of salvation.
Response? Incredulity: “Who are you to tell us that we are already saved by your false god?” or "Who are you to make those claims about our faith, our Qur’an, you’re going to hell."

Theocentrics?
Engagement? Your god is our god. It doesn’t matter what you believe, as long as you believe something. Way to go!
Response? There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his prophet.

Evangelistic?
Engagement? What does Islam have to say to Christianity? How can you help me to understand my faith in Christ better? Are there ways that Christ can inform your faith as well? Could it be that our experience of Islam is universal, and our experience of Christ is universal? Ie: would we both find Islam legalistic and Jesus grace-filled? Questions are central. Must be open to the possibility that through relationship that reasonably one of us needs to convert. This is about searching for truth together: in a society of universal truth, truth is found through agreement in experience.
Response? READ Sura 3:84-85 … Jesus is one of the prophets. Jesus is a Word from God (3:39, 45) and the Word of God (4:171; cf. John 1:14). He is strengthened by the “holy spirit” (2:87), and is called a spirit from God (4:171; 58:22; cf. 1 Cor. 15:45). Jesus is also uniquely among the Prophets a mercy from God (19:21), and holding a place near to God (3:45). Jesus is also described as the Messiah (al-masih; 3:45; 4:157), although the word doesn’t mean to Muslims the same as it means to Christians. Jesus is a miracle worker (3:49; 5:110; 29:46). 16 times he is called, “son of Mary” and the Qur’an defends his unique virgin birth (3:45-47; cf. Luke 1:26-38).

Matt 28:16-20 – Jesus declares his authority over Islam, in the gospels to Muslims are taught to read and obey.

“Nearest among men in love to the Muslims are those who say, ‘we are Christians’: because among these are men devoted to learning, and men who have renounced the world, and they are not arrogant.” Sura 5:82 (paraphrase)

Prosperity Gospel

Convergence: April 12, 2007
Teachers: Paul Bentham & Phil Lapointe

Biggie size theology
You need to have increase on your mind. When you go to Wendy’s you need to biggie size it – even if you’re not going to eat it all. You show Satan that you have increase in your life and on your mind.
-Creflo A. Dollar

Basic equation
Give more money to the church = health + more $$ (for you and the church)

Oft-quoted scriptures
Malachi 3:10
10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. 11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit," says the LORD Almighty. 12 "Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land," says the LORD Almighty.

Mark 11:24
24Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

John 14:14
14You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it

It is dangerous to take these scriptures out of context. Prosperity gospel teaches that you will receive the desires of your heart…not necessarily God’s will for your life.

What are the problematic implications of an increase mindset?
Focus: heavy on self, low on the kingdom of God.

Motivation: this theology produces a bad motivation for engaging God (don’t boil down the church to your return on investment.)

Assumption: God can be manipulated or bought: If we give him more money, he gives us more back (God is not a guaranteed lottery ticket, the solution to all you’re economic worries.)

Blessing: in prosperity gospel, blessing equals money (historically, God’s blessings have been more lasting than money like a Godly heritage, believing children.)

Sustainability: we need to be aware of money in the context of the entire globe. Some lifestyles (i.e. a majority of North American’s) are simply not sustainable.

There is a foundational truth to God’s law, as basic as the laws of nature: when you honor God, God will honor you. But, Jesus also said that many people have done great things in his name, but he doesn’t know them…

Let’s take a look at the Bible…
When we look at scripture as a whole, we ultimately see that God’s plans are good for God (think about the story of Job.)

The gospel is about relationship with God, not monetary increase.

1 Timothy 6:7-10
7For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

We’re not preaching a poverty-mentality; we’re talking about good stewardship. Throughout the gospels Jesus talks about the topic of money second only to love. He doesn’t paint a pretty picture: for the rich man, getting into heaven will be like pulling a camel through the eye of a needle. Ouch.

Think about our character discussions: if you are the type of person who spend $150 on jeans and gives nothing to children who are starving throughout the world, then you care more about a pair of jeans than a human being.

Why do we care?
Prosperity gospel is marketing a distorted version of the church. If we concerned ourselves with every sector of questionable theology we would spend all our time protesting false doctrine instead of doing church. Our concern is the large-scale impact of this situation.

Churches who preach the prosperity gospel are attracting millions of people across North American to their mega-churches through super-charismatic tele-evangelists in designer suits with 7-figure salaries. This is the much-publicized face of Christianity in North America.

Religious leaders influence a majority of North American philanthropic giving. The president of the United States meets with evangelical leaders such as these, and eighty percent of the religious right vote on religious issues defined by these leaders. There is a lot of economic and political power tied up with the prosperity gospel.

The prosperity gospel teaches that Jesus was just a great man who was anointed, and is a model what a man of anointing can do. This serves their leadership structure, because their leaders are also anointed and determine who will do what in the congregation.

These churches have multi-million dollar operating budgets, much of which includes extravagant ‘perks’ for their pastors. The IRS is investigating many of these organizations for a lack of fiscal transparency.

We believe that pastors should be paid their worth, the money that pays their salary is from our tithe (i.e. what we give to God) and so we are accountable to consider the priorities and values that Jesus taught. Many people stop giving to churches and missions when they see the extravagant lifestyles of people within the church. The spending of these leaders is irresponsible and lacking integrity, which filters down throughout the organization and influences the mindset and values of the whole.

Many of the people within this church are experiencing major financial issues. The “prosperity” part works for about 30-40% of the congregation who are good at what they do (and would probably be successful with or without this prosperity teaching.) These individuals testify of their success, and the rest take this as a cue that they should keep running the race (to keep up with the Jones.) This is a major issue in lower-income African-American communities where the prosperity gospel looks the most attractive.

Hospitality

Convergence: April 3, 2007
Teacher: Jared Hazzard
Based on The Emerging Church by Eddie Gibbs

What is hospitality? Open door. Abundance. Pie. Friends. Fireplaces. Food. Certain cultures (Turks, Greeks, Spanish). Safety.

Read: Matthew 26: 17. What is the tone of this passage? Betrayal. Mournful. Gloomy. Confusing.

Before anything else, this was a meal: Jesus and his disciples eating together. Jesus chose the context of a meal for one of the most striking conversations he has with those closest to him. With full knowledge that betrayal was sitting at the table, Jesus chose intimacy and community. Throughout the gospels, Jesus often uses meals as significant teaching opportunities.(Mark 2:23+, Matthew 9:9-12, Matthew 9:14-15, Mark 6:30-44, Mark 7:1-22)

Jesus defended the sanctity of meal times. Hospitality is not simply about food, but these meals give a picture of Jesus: welcoming, connecting, and caring about physical needs.

When Jesus reappears to the disciples after his resurrection, they don't recognize him until the moment he breaks bread. In this intimate setting, he became familiar. After this, he keeps appearing when the disciples are eating. In John 21 he even prepares breakfast for them on the beach. These provisions take a ritualistic, sacred tone.

There is no salvation outside of community. [Reference discussion from February 8, 2007]

We often use mistaken definitions for the in/out of church and salvation. Jesus defined the in and out for us: if you fed my sheep you’re in; if you didn’t, you’re out (Matthew 25:31-46). Hospitality is a form and expression of our salvation. We are required to participate in the life-giving reciprocity of community.

Hospitality requires accessibility. Jesus wasn’t just inviting and leading these people: he was participating in their lives and inviting them to participate in his.

Who did Jesus attract? People who were unlovable, hurting, marginalized, commoners, fishermen, prostitutes, and enemies. Scum.

Oh man.

We don’t do a very good job of this.

Some emerging churches have defined hospitality as, “creating a safe place for all to worship”…a space for vulnerability without fear of being ostracized for gender, race, disabilities, doubts or orientation (Emerging Churches, Eddie Gibbs).

How hospitable are we? Are Thursday nights a good measure of this? We may come on Thursdays for teaching and growth, without necessarily inviting. Perhaps more indicative are the connections we build through are other communities of influence.

In John 8, Jesus tells the woman who has committed adultery two things: you are not going to be stoned…and you have to stop sinning.

When we trade convincing arguments for accepting relationships, we allow the Holy Spirit to do his job. Jesus only relied on apologetics with religious-types. Jesus’ behavior in the synagogue was revolutionary; his behavior outside was relational.

As a body, can we contain diverse perspectives while remaining committed in relationship?

We believe undoubtedly that Jesus is the perfect revelation of and route to God – but why would we deny the spirituality of other human beings? Remember: the separation of sacred and secular is a myth...humans are holistic beings.

We must acknowledge that we could be wrong. We do not have a monopoly on truth: our understanding of the Bible is a biased, filtered through our worldview. There are things that we can learn from other creeds, religions, and lifestyles. Profoundly spiritual experiences can happen outside the church. Consider this: in Athens, Paul saw conversions engaging in dialogue, using the words of their own poets. Why be afraid of being evangelized? If the truth is the truth, we have nothing to fear.

Sometimes we make ridiculous decisions simply because a community’s doctrine does not align with ours. During the Enlightenment we rejected the Jews and the Muslims to align ourselves with scientists…people who don’t believe in God. The thing is, a human beings actively seeking God are all on the same playing field.

So just offer a plate.

Well I had a dream I stood beneath an orange sky
Yes I had a dream 
I stood beneath an orange sky
With my brother standing by
With my brother standing by

I said Brother, you know you know
It’s a long road we’ve been walking on
Brother you know it is, you know it is
Such a long road we’ve been walking on

And I had a dream I stood beneath an orange sky
With my sister standing by
With my sister standing by
I said Sister, here is what I know now
Here is what I know now
Goes like this...

In your love, my salvation lies
In your love, my salvation lies
In your love, my salvation lies
In your love, in your love, in your love 



Well I had a dream
I stood beneath an orange sky
Yes I had a dream
I stood beneath an orange sky
With my brother and my sister standing by
With my brother and my sister standing by
With my brother and my sister standing by
--lyrics from "Orange Sky" by Alexi Murdoch

Relationships & Confrontation PART 2: Confrontation Between the Body of Christ and the World

Jesus is neither level-headed nor reasonable. And there is a difference between how Jesus confronts religious authorities and unbelievers.

In Transforming Power, Robert Linthicum reminds us that in the book of Luke there are 133 stories involving Jesus. In 116 of them, he is confrontational. 45 of those times, he was confronting his friends.Linthicum lays out two kinds of power: unilateral (vertical) and relational (lateral). Both can be used for good or evil. It is our responsibility, as believers, to use both of these kinds of power.
How can we exercise these kinds of power responsibly?

• Civil Disobedience
• Direct Confrontation
• Indirect Agitation

“We have been called by the Revolutionary One to demonstrate our love for him, with insubordinate acts of generosity and kindness, with a struggle against injustice, with an activist’s vision for a renewed world in which God is acknowledged as the one, true God, and every knee is bent in service to him.” (Michael Frost, Exiles)

A couple of confrontations that Jesus instigated:

READ [Matthew 21: 12 – 17]The only time Jesus became agressively (physically) confrontational, it was because his people were being unwelcoming. The merchants' tables were set up in the Gentile quarter, where the Gentiles were supposed to be able to offer worship in the temple.

READ [John 2: 13 – 25] The Temple story from John's perspective.Instead of asking what should we do, let’s ask what will be the consequences of us doing what Jesus would do?

• We will be judged by the religiously pious.
• The marginalized will feel welcomed by us.
• The poor around us will not have need.
• Made into outcasts.
• Sent to jail.
• We’ll see miracles.
• Expectation of death.

Our reputation should be that of Christ’s, ultimately loving and accepting of people, ultimately irreligious and intolerant of injustice.

A love that requires explanation [Gregory Boyd]

To ask questions that require explanation is appropriate confrontational love if done in the right motive. For instance, if the church is not drawing in the prostitutes, poor, marginalized, corrupt and lost, whose fault is it? The Lord’s? The church’s? A love for Christ and his concerns is behind the question, if it is received by others who love Christ, it will be received in love. If it is received by those who judge, the questioner will be judged for having asked the question.

Do you want to be like Jesus? Do you believe that your behavior in this case exemplifies Christ?

How do you respond when someone is against marginalized people in the church and holds a position of political power? With a spirit of humility. Where does it say that in the Bible?

If the corporations of Canada are milking the poverty of the world’s third world countries to line the pockets of rich CEO’s what should we be doing? If the lifestyle of the average Canadian is 4 times greater than the sustainability margin of the earth, what should we do? Lobby, don’t purchase from those companies, etc.

READ [Matthew 23:1-36] “Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, 2 “The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the Scriptures. 3 So practice and obey whatever they say to you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach. 4 They crush you with impossible religious demands and never lift a finger to help ease the burden...5 “Everything they do is for show. ..13 “How terrible it will be for you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you won’t let others enter the Kingdom of Heaven, and you won’t go in yourselves. 15 Yes, how terrible it will be for you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. For you cross land and sea to make one convert, and then you turn him into twice the son of hell as you yourselves are. ..23 “How terrible it will be for you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest part of your income, but you ignore the important things of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but you should not leave undone the more important things. 24 Blind guides! You strain your water so you won’t accidentally swallow a gnat; then you swallow a camel!25 “How terrible it will be for you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites!...27 “How terrible it will be for you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity. 28 You try to look like upright people outwardly, but inside your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness.29 “How terrible it will be for you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! ... 33 Snakes! Sons of vipers! How will you escape the judgment of hell? ...36 I assure you, all the accumulated judgment of the centuries will break upon the heads of this very generation.”

ouch.

There is a dichotomy/tension between the older and younger Christians when they interpret this passage– how do you work toward peace and holiness? Reconciliation. Issues are never the issues. Look for the deeper meaning behind what Jesus says.

Jesus confronted these individuals for what reasons? Pharisees weren’t letting people into the Kingdom even though they weren’t getting in themselves. Is this confrontation prideful?What should we confront in our own lives? Our churches? Our city? Our country? Whatever the issues, there are Biblical principles to address each of them with – we should be aiming on the original intention of God.

Jesus and the Roman leadership:

- His direct confrontation with Caesar: [Matthew 21:15-22 (Mark 12, Luke 20)] Render to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s. What belongs to Ceasar? Everything with his image on it. What belongs to God? Everything (including Caesar!).

- His direct confrontation with Pilate: [John 18: 28-19:16]28 Jesus’ trial before Caiaphas ended in the early hours of the morning. Then he was taken to the headquarters of the Roman governor. His accusers didn’t go in themselves because it would defile them, and they wouldn’t be allowed to celebrate the Passover feast. 29 So Pilate, the governor, went out to them and asked, “What is your charge against this man?” 30 “We wouldn’t have handed him over to you if he weren’t a criminal!” they retorted. 31 “Then take him away and judge him by your own laws,” Pilate told them.“Only the Romans are permitted to execute someone,” the Jewish leaders replied. 32 This fulfilled Jesus’ prediction about the way he would die.33 Then Pilate went back inside and called for Jesus to be brought to him. “Are you the King of the Jews?” he asked him.34 Jesus replied, “Is this your own question, or did others tell you about me?”35 “Am I a Jew?” Pilate asked. “Your own people and their leading priests brought you here. Why? What have you done?” 36 Then Jesus answered, “I am not an earthly king. If I were, my followers would have fought when I was arrested by the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world.” 37 Pilate replied, “You are a king then?” “You say that I am a king, and you are right,” Jesus said. “I was born for that purpose. And I came to bring truth to the world. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true.”38 “What is truth?” Pilate asked. Then he went out again to the people and told them, “He is not guilty of any crime. 39 But you have a custom of asking me to release someone from prison each year at Passover. So if you want me to, I’ll release the King of the Jews.”40 But they shouted back, “No! Not this man, but Barabbas!” (Barabbas was a criminal.)19 Then Pilate had Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip. 2 The soldiers made a crown of long, sharp thorns and put it on his head, and they put a royal purple robe on him. 3 “Hail! King of the Jews!” they mocked, and they hit him with their fists. 4 Pilate went outside again and said to the people, “I am going to bring him out to you now, but understand clearly that I find him not guilty.” 5 Then Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said, “Here is the man!” 6 When they saw him, the leading priests and Temple guards began shouting, “Crucify! Crucify!” “You crucify him,” Pilate said. “I find him not guilty.” 7 The Jewish leaders replied, “By our laws he ought to die because he called himself the Son of God.” 8 When Pilate heard this, he was more frightened than ever. 9 He took Jesus back into the headquarters again and asked him, “Where are you from?” But Jesus gave no answer. 10 “You won’t talk to me?” Pilate demanded. “Don’t you realize that I have the power to release you or to crucify you?” 11 Then Jesus said, “You would have no power over me at all unless it were given to you from above. So the one who brought me to you has the greater sin.” 12 Then Pilate tried to release him, but the Jewish leaders told him, “If you release this man, you are not a friend of Caesar. Anyone who declares himself a king is a rebel against Caesar.” 13 When they said this, Pilate brought Jesus out to them again. Then Pilate sat down on the judgment seat on the platform that is called the Stone Pavement (in Hebrew, Gabbatha). 14 It was now about noon of the day of preparation for the Passover. And Pilate said to the people,* “Here is your king!” 15 “Away with him,” they yelled. “Away with him—crucify him!” “What? Crucify your king?” Pilate asked.“We have no king but Caesar,” the leading priests shouted back.16 Then Pilate gave Jesus to them to be crucified.

Jesus is confronting authority of Pilate and Caesar in a different way than his confrontation of the Pharisees. Saying God isn’t a King is as serious offence as saying that Caesar is above God. When we are to confront the powers-at-be, we are to do it with a degree of respect, and to confront the appropriate issues: unlove, lack of justice, lack of faith, etc.

Are we replicating the temple in our own churches with bookstores, coffee stands, etc.? What are the tables that should be overturned in our churches? Who are the Pilates that we should declare Christ’s kingship to, even on threat of death? Who are the Pharisees today, the “other” Christians, or we who think we are already right to judge them?

Relationships & Confrontation

If you want to confront someone else in the body of Christ, this is how you do it…
Convergence: March 15, 2007
Teacher: CJ Block
Based on the works of Gregory Boyd, Darrell Johnson, and Michael Frost

“Our fundamental sin is that we place ourselves in the position of God and divide the world between what we judge to be good and what we judge to be evil. And this judgment is the primary thing that keeps us from doing the central thing God created and saved us to do, namely, love like he loves.”
--Gregory Boyd

This is where we start…
We were always meant to love like God loves.
We were never meant to be judges (that’s why we’re crappy judges).
Judging offsets our ability to love: judging and loving are diametrically opposed.

John 17:13-25 – The Love Passage
Jesus says to the Father: you love them the same way you love me.

The love between the Trinity is:
Perfect. Unconditional. Eternal. Indescribable (Dawn breaks into song…). Uncontainable. Pure.

This has serious implications.
This is our foundation for dealing with conflict and criticism in the Body.

[book recommendation: Repenting of Religion by Boyd]

1 John 4:7-21 – Another Love Passage
But anyone who does not love does not know God—for God is love

…But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love has been brought to full expression through us.

[read that again: FULL EXPRESSION]

…If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we have not seen? 21 And God himself has commanded that we must love not only him but our Christian brothers and sisters, too.

What does this mean for us as believers?
We can’t even know God apart from love for each other.
[think: community, forgiveness, short accounts]

Johnson suggests that God loves us in such a way that his knowing himself is altered by his love for us...

We are empowered to love this way: the same way that God loves himself.

The Breakdown: The Tree
Love and judgment are always at tension.

At creation, we had the ability to love with the Trinitarian love.

When we ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, we were empowered to judge the difference between good and evil.

The problem is, we can’t balance love and judgment like God can.

“We cannot love and judge at once. Our knowledge of good and evil is always bent in our favor” – Boyd

[note: the one thing that Jesus judges the most and harshest: the judgers themselves]

The Model: Jesus on the Cross

when he was wearing the sin of the world,
when he was at the place to judge,
he chose to die.

His wrath against the sin was so great that his love for us was pushed to the limit of his own experience of death.

This is how God loves and judges.

It’s somewhat paradoxical. We don’t fully understand this. But, from what we do understand…

Some points to take home…
We are not able to know the difference between good and evil, but we can discern what will lead someone to a closer walk with God from something that will lead them away from God. It is not judgment to encourage someone to be loving, faithful, kind, etc.

When we judge people, we ascribe worth to them lower than our own. We set ourselves up as gods. Judging people is a basic form of idolatry, anti-love.

More Scripture: Romans 2:1-4 and James 4:11-12
God’s love: kind, tolerant, patient.

When we try to judge people, we do something for them that only God is equipped to do. This is a sign of distrust in God’s ability to judge and love at the same time. Unlike us, he can do both. We are only required to do one.

Judging someone else to be worse than you is to fill a gap in your heart meant for Christ. He is the only one that should be filling up your self-esteem.

Conversely, judging someone else as better than yourself is to judge yourself as worse. Again: that’s Christ’s job, not yours.

Judging people is a basic apple addiction, we keep going back to that stupid Tree.

Whether or not we think that judging is our right: our GOD is exactly the kind of God that when faced with the opportunity to judge, chooses to fight temptation, die a humiliating, grace-filled, painful, innocent death on a God-forsaken cross.

The original lies at the Tree in Eden were that God was untrustworthy, so humans could become God and live forever.

In fact, the truths which undid these lies were their polar opposites: we were revealed as untrustworthy, so God became human and died.

Remember: the ethics of the New Testament are not prescriptive laws, they are descriptions of who we are. We are kind, gentle, and self-controlled when we stop believing the lies about who we are not.

Erasing the line between “in” and “out”
Remember when we described Convergence as interconnected spheres instead of an in-group/out-group?

You are less likely to judge someone if you stop trying to determine whether they are “in” or “out”.

In a centered set, everyone is “in”. You are less likely to judge someone if you are not trying to determine whether on not they are “in” or “out” compared to your standards.

2 Guiding Questions: Matthew 18:15-35

What is a sin against me?

How did Jesus treat pagans and tax collectors? Love.

Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?”

“No!” Jesus replied, “seventy times seven!”

Personal Salvation?

From: Convergence Teaching by CJ on Feb 8 2007

Extra ecclesiam nulla salus (Outside the church there is no salvation)

What is the church’s relationship to salvation?

Presented by Cyprian, argued by Origen, Augustine, Aquinas and others was adopted by the Catholic church as a measure of exclusivity. It has been used in history to keep people out, and to give the church the authority to determine who was "in."

As Christians, our work is to participate in our own salvation, the salvation of our community, and God’s ultimate plan for the salvation of our world. So let's talk about salvation.

PERSONAL SALVATION (a myth?)

Are you are saved? How do you know?

Most of us would point back to a time when we prayed a short sinner’s prayer, and recieved our personal salvation. Who can show me the sinner’s prayer in the Bible? Where did the sinner’s prayer come from? It's actually a condensed version of the basic salvation theology called The Romans road. Eventually, instead of declaring a creed orsomething, we just adapted several scriptures into a prayer and -- Presto! You're saved. Like magic.

So again, how do you know you are saved? Ok, now we can get to the meat - I am saved because I am a disciple of Jesus.

Who is a disciple of Jesus is in the Bible?

First, Jesus talked a lot about the Kingdom. Somehow, those who are his disciples are invostors and representatives of the Kingdom of God (or Kingdom of Heaven in Matthew). BEING IN THE KINGDOM is Both an event of entering, and a process of participation. It's not just the moment of first prayer, it's the process of ongoing participation. We will argue here that if you are missing the latter, you are likely not saved. No participation - no salvation.

Many have entered but never participated. Its like being drunk at an AA meeting. What’s the point of being in an environment of freedom if you bring your bondage with you? You entered, sure, but if you don’t participate, then what good is it to say you go to AA meetings?

The Kingdom is focused on: Ethics (Matt 5-7); Mission (Matt 10); Commitment (Matt 13); Community (Matt 18); and Stewardship (Matt 24-25). There are all about doing stuff, not just believing stuff. And all of this stuff requires community. You can't excersize ethics, stewardship, or commitment in isolation.

Our personal salvation model is a modern concept, introduced at the same time as secularism. Personal salvation is not entirely Biblically sound. Salvation by participating in a community of the saved, and in relationship with Jesus, is the Biblical model.

What does it mean to be in relationship with Jesus? Let’s ask him? John 14:15; John 14:21; John 14:23-24 Lovers are doers! But is this Jesus’ example? 1 John 4:8-12; Rom 5:8; John 15:9-13. What are the elements of love in community here? Can those things be excersized independent of community? nope.

The premodern monks and mystics seem at first glance to be the first “personal-salvationists” in the world. They seem to have isolated themselves outside of the community, but any amount of historical digging will reveal that they played a huge role in the wider community, they were not individualists. They were dialectically influenced, and everything they wrote about was in the context of community. They grew food together, and often provided medical and educational support for the community around them. You (plural) are a royal priesthood, 1 Peter.

I cannot exhibit discipleship, experience love, or even work out repentance independently. I cannot exibit the fruits of the Spirit individually, so what value then is individual / personal salvation?

Remember the Great commission (in Matt 28)? Can this be done outside of community?

I'll add to that The Great Responsibility in Luke 4:18ff (cf. Isaiah 61), this is what Jesus saw as the responsibilities tied to the great commission. Can this be done outside of community?

There seems no Biblical sense in which any isolated individual can be saved outside of community.

But what about what Paul said? The closest argument to individual salvation there is in the New Testament is the case of Abraham. Paul says that he was saved by faith, and James says that he was saved by obedience. I believe they were right.

Paul says that Abraham was declared righteous by faith (Gal 3:6-9), and seems to preach a faith based salvation. But curiously in 1 Cor 3:11-15, it is our works which will be tested. And he seems to entirely contradict himself in Romans 3:31 “Do we then nullify the law through faith? Of course not! On the contrary, we establish the law.” So what's the deal, is Paul lying? Confused?

James clarifies by saying that it was Abraham’s obedience that made him righteous (James 2:14-26). Both authors refer to the exact same text in Leviticus when they make these seemingly opposing claims about Abraham.

So which is it, salvation through faith or works? Neither / both.

Faith AND works is salvation

Let's look at it a different way. Can fruit / works be exercised all by yourself (Galatians 5)?

Can I be loving, patient, kind, etc, outside of relationship with othr people? nope. I can't even excersize the fruit of the Spirit in isloation, so I too am not saved independently of my relationship to others. Again, there seems to be no such thing as individual salvation. My faith can only produce actions, the fruit of the spirit, and the beatitudes, in community. In other words, MY personal faith is useless, it is not even enough to be saved. Faith in Christ requires involvement in community. Not only that, but Jesus says that our love is not holistic until it is expressed for our enemies. That’s a communal gospel.

In fact, of all of the times in Paul’s writings when he refers to salvation or being saved, there is only 1 time when it is in an individualistic context (1 Tim 4:16). Look them up! There are a ton of references to salvation in Paul's writings, but they are instructions to groups, not to individuals.

As we saw a couple of weeks ago, you can neither know who you are nor invest in your own character outside of community. In light of the fact that you can't be saved outside of community, this makes a lot of sense.

Individual IN community is saved

ASIDE: There are times of isolation for the sake of relationship with God that are important in a believer’s life (desert experiences, the dark night of the soul, garden of Gethsemane) but those are properly and always: in response to calling; never out of rejection of the community; and without exception, involve a return to community.

The real question is, If we can prove Biblically the case for both Individual and Communal salvation, what Godly motive would there be to defend individual over and against communal salvation?

We've done this for a couple of hundred years because of the individualism in teh wider society. We the Church have made deep consessions to the world in the area of individualism to the point that we have allowed it to hijack the Biblical model of salvationin community.

Salvation is participation with Jesus in the community of the church, in bringing his Kingdom to bear in the world.

COMMUNAL SALVATION IN PRACTICE

Why do you come to Convergence? Let’s look at the Missional works (that is, faith that leads to action) of Convergence:

How many are involved in risky missional outreach or community service in the areas of social justice? Are we doing the Luke 4 stuff? If the Bible says that you must be involved in those things in order to be a Christian, what happens to your sinner’s prayer? How about the groups that we all laid out last week, how many of us now see them as missional works.

Our corporate mission is to bring the gospel into our culture to form faith communities. So what kinds of communities are we involved in? Are we taking responsibility for spiritual growth and social justice in those communities?

Let’s have a look at two the two exit ramps of Convergence:

Because we are transient, we must have strategic exits from this group. Because salvation is only in community, at Convergence we intend for long-term community participation in these two things:

1. The Peaceful Takeover of Broadway: Our mission to revitalize our inter-dependant lazy older brother, Broadway Church. How are we reaching out to Broadway? (Or if you go to another church, how are you reaching out there?) What is our long term intention for Broadway as a conglomerant of churches? MEMBERSHIP at Broadway is a necessary part of the strategy if you want influence in a modern church. We need to learn the language of modern church just long enough to be influencial . We can rewrite that language later.
2. Lifelong A-Proximate Communities: We must be active in working out our salvation in participation with others who are doing the same. By doing this, we can build relationships that will be with us forever, no matter where we live or what we are doing in 10 years from now. Location is helpful, but not necessary for relationship.

So extra ecclesiam nulla salus is what we’re still dealing with. And where the Catholic church interpreted it as their right to deny or grant salvation (exclusive), at Convergence we have an inclusive definition: Anyone who is participating in the global Church, by participating in obedience to Christ in community, is saved. Instead of being the keepers of salvation, demanding allegiance to the institution, and keeping those out of the church (and salvation) that we don’t want, Convergence reinterprets this phrase, not to identify who is out, but to give back to Jesus the right to decide who is truly in. What does this mean for those who call themselves Christians but are not actively participating in community? Can that faith truly save them?

What does this mean for those we lead to Christ? For those who have walked away from communities of which we are a part?

So here's what we've come up with:

1. Faith and works are intrinsically tied. Faith without works is dead, works without faith are as filthy rags.

2. Individual salvation and communal salvation are tied. You can’t be saved in isolation, as the fruit of the spirit and acts of obedience require community. Likewise, you can’t just be saved in community with no individual conviction of Christ’s Lordship.

3. Jesus is both Savior AND Lord. For a long time the individualistic church has sold him as savior THEN lord. You can’t have half of Jesus. He is called Savior 16 times in the New Testament, he is called Lord 420 times. Obedience is not optional.

4. Christianity has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried. – GK Chesterton.