I had attended a chapel service at the Union Theological
Seminary, NYC devoted to John 14:6:
·
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth,
and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
However, the participants lined up to give their testimonies
to prove that this verse had to be wrong, because they had observed that there
were many ways to God. They insisted that the belief that there is only one way
was judgmental and divisive. However, their faith is equally judgmental and
dismissive of those who do not believe as they do.
This “progressive” belief has percolated down throughout the
West. A woman just gave me her testimony about how she came to the Lord. She
concluded by confidently declaring that we all worship the same God, but do we?
What does it mean to worship the same God? Does it mean that
we all have our “higher power," whatever it might be – our car, ourselves,
a stone – and that one “higher power” is just as valid as the others? More
importantly, does any “higher power” suffice in the Mind of God?
Biblically, such an idea is unthinkable. All of the
Canaanites had their gods, but they were all detestable before the God of
Israel. He therefore warned Israel:
·
“You shall not intermarry with them, giving your
daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons, for they would
turn away your sons from following me, to serve other gods. Then the anger of
the LORD would be kindled against you, and he would destroy you quickly.” (Deuteronomy
7:3-4 ESV)
·
“But you shall keep my statutes and my rules and
do none of these abominations, either the native or the stranger who sojourns
among you (for the people of the land,
who were before you, did all of these abominations, so that the land became
unclean), lest the land vomit you out when you make it unclean, as it vomited
out the nation that was before you.” (Leviticus 18:24-28)
Only one revelation of God and worship was acceptable to
God. This pertained to anyone who preached a different revelation of God:
·
“If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises
among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or wonder that he
tells you comes to pass, and if he says, ‘Let us go after other gods,’ which
you have not known, ‘and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words
of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams.” (Deuteronomy 13:1-3)
Jesus followed suit about the exclusivity of the God of
Israel. He informed a Samaritan woman that there was only one revelation that
was acceptable before God – the revelation made to Israel:
·
“You worship what you do not know; we worship
what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is
now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth,
for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those
who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:22-24)
Jesus made no allowance for the Samaritan religion. He wasn’t
a multiculturalist. God had to be worshiped in one way only – according to the truth
of who He is. Paul likewise had warned:
·
But even if we or an angel from heaven should
preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be
accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to
you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. (Galatians
1:8-9)
However, such exclusive claims are repugnant to modern
secularist and progressive ears. In contrast, they believe that, with one world
religion, they can cure the ills that plague humanity. Professed Christian,
Tony Campolo, has placed his hope in a unity based upon common mystical
experiences:
·
“A theology of mysticism provides some hope for
common ground between Christianity and Islam. Both religions have within their
histories examples of ecstatic union with God… Could they have encountered the
same God we do in our Christian mysticism?”
(Roger Oakland, Faith Undone,
108)
Other progressives have sought other means to break down
what they regard as the unacceptable Biblical “Us vs. Them” division. However,
Scripture unflinchingly teaches a consistent distinction between the children
of the light and those of the darkness:
·
Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For
what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has
light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a
believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with
idols? For we are the temple of the living God; (2 Corinthians 6:14-16)
Consequently, the only deep and lasting unity can be the
unity which the Spirit of God has achieved (Ephesians 4:1-5).
Questions of truth and accuracy pertain to all of our
academic endeavors – history, science, business, and geography. Why should
questions of truth not pertain to God? There is no reason at all to believe
that any god is right if it feels right. Some believe in an impersonal,
uncaring, and amoral god who cannot judge them. Such a god represents an escape
from God. This god is a lump of putty that we can mold into anything that
pleases us, but it cannot be God, not our Creator and Redeemer.
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