Religious pluralism, inclusivism and exclusivism

C. S. Lewis said that, "If you are a Christian you do not have to believe that all other religions are simply wrong...you are free to think that all these religions even the queerest ones, contain at least some hint of truth. He also said that, "being a Christian does mean that where Christianity differs from other religions, Christianity is right and they are wrong. As in arithmetic - there is only one right answer to a sum, and all the answers are wrong: but some of the wrong answers are much nearer being right than others."
John 14:6 says, "Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'"
Acts 4:12 reads, "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."
Also, 1 John 5:11-12 explains, "And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. "
This would make me what is called an exclusivist. I believe that salvation is found in Jesus Christ (alone), and without Him all are lost in their sins. God's Word in the Bible says that there is no other name, under heaven, by which we must be saved. Based on the understanding already attained, man could not live up to the light of general revelation and save himself through the god he believes in. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is a gift from God - not by works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:8-9.
Concerning sharing the gospel with those who hold to the belief that people can be saved through the general revelation, what they know to be true based on their surroundings, their understanding of God, what would be the point of telling them of the life they can have through Jesus Christ if what they know already is enough? I believe that man, in his heart, is innately wicked, prone to wondering, prone to sin, with a hole inside that only God can fill, and therefore needs God. Man cannot save himself. It is only through His Son that we have life, hope, and are made into new creations.
The problem with other religions, though they may have elements of truth in them, is that they don't hold the whole truth. The one they follow is not God. They follow one who didn't and couldn't raise from the dead to save our sins, or they try to live up to a standard of life that is accomplished by works, in which ultimately we can never be good enough. Only God is perfect. Our perfection as human beings come through Jesus Christ's atonement for us. He redeemed us when we were lost in our sins. Even the "good" person cannot be saved based on that alone. It includes belief. In Romans 10:9-10 it says, "That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved."
There is a party of people that are religious pluralists. These are people who believe that there are a vast number of people and different faiths by which they live, and in that we all have something of similarity in our beliefs, our destinies are intertwined and there is more than one way to reach heaven. They believe that, "Despising the religions of other people and claiming superiority for ones own can be a form of racism." Those within this party would say that there are, "fundamentally different answers to the problem of existence;" that even though we may not all believe exactly the same thing we will all reach the same goal and will have answered the problem of existence.
However, I believe that man's destiny is not intertwined. Man is not good, only God is, and deserves death. Just because a person follows a god does not mean that they will be saved...For there is only one way, one truth, one life. All those who don't follow that way will be (sadly) condemned and die. Those who do believe and are saved by His amazing grace will live forever with Him in heaven. One other thing that C.S. Lewis (who actually was an inclusivist...I'll touch on that in a moment) said was, "truth must surely involve exclusions." Truth means believing that one thing is right and the other things are wrong. There may be aspect's about a person's belief that are right, but if they don't follow after the most important fact, Jesus Christ's (who was completely God, and completely man) death and resurrection for our sin's payment. And don't believe that what the bible says is true, there is no hope for that person. God loves us. He wants all mankind to be saved.
Back to what Inclusivisim is: It is the basic assumption that the "unevangelized may be saved if they respond if faith to God based on the revelation they have." They hold that those who have never heard of Jesus Christ, or the salvation that they can have in Him, can still be saved based on what they know through the revelation they already have; that people, if they follow what they believe is God, than they will be saved because of their faith in it. "One of inclusivism's key assumptions is the belief that general revelation is sufficient to bring people to salvation."
It is true that we are all included in God's salvation plan, that He died for all of us. However, we have to receive and open that gift in order to have it. There is only One God, only One who gives life. Though other religions may have elements of truth in them, there truly is only one way that we can be saved. All roads don't lead to heaven. The sad fact is that most roads lead us away from Him.
God loved us so much that He was willing to die for us. What other religion has a God who would be so humble and gracious towards people who stubborn and like sheep, have gone their own way?

A sauna makes me thankful for work.

Work is always a blessing...though not always something I want to go to everyday.
Today I found a new reason to be glad to work...an air conditioned building! Now, I certainly don't mind the heat. Yesterday's 104 degrees was bearable. Today's 90 something wasn't so much. The reason being was the humidity, and today beats yesterday by FAR. It makes you feel all sticky, and even if you are just sitting there in the protection of some form of shade, sweat begins to come out of your pores. Ewww!
As soon as I walked out of the hospital at 11:30 tonight, which is when I worked until, it felt like I was literally walking into a sauna! A short time later I arrived home. I pulled my glasses out of their container, which I put them in while leaving work, and no joke! They fogged up because of the temperature difference!
All that to say that if for no other reason that work is at times a blessing, right now it is so because of the air conditioning!
Thank you Lord!

Intently

"But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it -he will be blessed in what he does." James 1:25

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going..." Acts 1:8-10

Blessing comes when we look intently into the perfect law that gives freedom. Isn't it almost ironic that we should receive freedom from something that has set up "rules", a law? I don't think so. Perhaps it would be true with all other laws, but God's law is perfect, as is He. He didn't give it to put restrictions on us, but to help us find Him. Therefore it was an act of love, because He is the beginning and the end. He is the reason for existence, and the hope for eternity. When we look intently to the law, we are looking intently to God and in God is found freedom.

Before He left, Jesus proclaimed that His children would receive power when the Holy Spirit came on them, and they would be His witnesses...of the perfect law that gives freedom. As He was taken up, the people looked intently into the sky where Jesus was found. That is what we are to do as well. Not necessarily looking up into the sky in a literal sense, but looking intently to our freedom, to Jesus. Looking intently at Jesus, obeying Him and doing what His Word says results in blessing, though that blessing may come in a different form than we expect. In that, in Him we will find freedom in being intent and intentional in seeking out Wisdom. And in Him we have the power to be who He has called us to be, to be obedient and to be His witnesses as we travel this earth for the short time we are here.
God has called me. I must go forth, allowing for Him to reveal the road as is fitting that I should see, and granting me the strength to press onward towards the goal.
May His Name be honored!

Beauty

Beauty can be found if closely we look. Often times the details go unnoticed as we rush through the moments and the days. We forget how much God has given to us unless we take the time to be still, and with eyes open wide take the time to see what is around us. Like the flowers, we too have much beauty. It is found only after the soil has allowed us to set in roots to grow strong, the rain has poured love to drink in, and sunlight has given the vitamins necessary to exude the likeness of the one who creatively made us who we are, making a beautiful masterpiece of our lives. We only become that for which we are created if we allow the processes of life to refine and build us up, taking hold of the truth of the image of the one in which we were created. Alone, we are but seeds.

Damp, the summer ground drinks in. Stillness envelops the area, the only sound to be heard is the song of God's creation. As a gift, light twinkles in the eye of the beholder.
Days pass, one on the heels of the other, racing towards the end. No amount of pushing or stopping in the human realm can change the course of history. Observation made can, however, fill the life with wonder, sadness, rejoicing, hope.
Softly love comes, comforting as a white cloud in a blue sky. The burn of heat suddenly shaded as though covering a little one under the shadow of it's wing. Protected, cared for, watched over, freedom is found. Freedom to run and play. Freedom to be and give. Knowledge of being held when it seems as all energy is spent and all that remains is to lay down in the hand of One who gives rest and makes new.

Sun shine bright upon my face.
Wind blow a touch of cool.
Refresh the body,
Renew the mind,
Bring songs of joy into the heart.
Look up into the sky,
See the dancing of creation as life is given to mortality.

Be still and know that I am God....

Grace by Stavesacre

From the album "How To Live With A Curse" by Stavesacre is the song "Grace".
Think(ing) about the words:

Lyrics:
When I was a mountain, strong with stone, silver and gold
Strip-mined wildly, spent it all
Leaving only stone

(Chorus)

But Grace, are You hangin’ on for me?
Tell me it’s true, You still do
Come back around this way

When I was Your lover – passionate and bright as the stars
Left You for the least of whores
Broke Your precious heart

(Chorus)

“Oh, I’ve been standing right here, all along.

My dear, I’ve been standing right here
Ever as before
Oh, I want nothing more than you
Stay please, come back to My arms and
Rest your weary head,
Don’t ever leave again,
Beloved.”

(Chorus)

Grace
Grace –

“Oh, I’ve been standing right here all along.”

Stepping Forward

The exploration has begun on a wider road once again. Listening to the advice of my friends, I have been asking God what it is that He wants me to do, where it is that I am to step next in this fleeting life. It's interesting to have a passion for one thing, go to school for it, and then find that a few years later the direction is beginning to take on new roads, unanticipated scenery.
You see, these last few years I've been working full time to pick away at my student loans so that I can work overseas with youth. I still very much desire that, however there is a possibility to take the opportunity to learn more along the way. Baseball great Yogi Berra said, "If you come to a fork in the road, take it." That doesn't exactly give much direction, does it? No, but I'm going to keep stepping forward knowing that God will lead and direct as He shows the path, banking my faith on the character of God that doesn't change. He we can trust.
School seems to be a very viable option for me to pursue knowledge that can take me forward. Over and over again, I have been encouraged to look at the option of going back to school. This would be not just to gain some unnecessary knowledge and unwanted debt, but because God has given me a good mind to use, and so therefore I should be continuing to expand my horizons. Perhaps somehow God will put together the dream of working with youth with the skills to meet their physical needs. I really believe in a holistic ministry, meaning meeting the needs of the whole person, physical, spiritual, mental. In fact, that was the subject of my final 20 some page paper in college. Doesn't it make sense that I should pursue a field that would contribute to making that belief become possible? I don't know how or when or if God is going to put things together, but I am going to walk with Him, by His grace, daily seeking what He may hold for tomorrow and yet living for today. Our lives pass before our eyes and if I can be used by God to do anything while on this earth, it is to make a difference in people's lives, and not just any difference, but a life changing difference.

A quote to sum up what I'm thinking and the path I want to take:

"To laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children, to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends, to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch... to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded!" -Emerson

Rafting Adventure

This last weekend was spent rafting down the Deschutes river with a great group of people! It was a group that composed of six of the team members that are going to Rwanda this summer, a sister of one of the team members and myself, an honorary rafting adventurer. We had a fabulous time of playing in the water, as well as reading and talking about God, and enjoying donuts to celebrate Drew's 21st birthday!