CHRISTIANITY LITE by Larry Stout
CHRISTIANITY LITE by Larry Stout, 1/18/09
The Roman Empire did not oppose Christianity because of their believe in Jesus as the Messiah. There were many gods that were worshipped within the Empire. What made Christianity so offensive was exclusivity claimed by the Christians. They believed that faith in Jesus Christ was the only way to eternal life. This was why Christians could not bow to Caesar, and that was why they were persecuted.
Today, we do not bow our knee to Caesar, but we see nothing wrong with others doing it. In June of last year, a Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life published survey results revealing that 70 percent of Americans said that they believed religions other than theirs could lead to eternal life. Evangelicals were shocked, shocked by the results and the Pew Forum conducted another survey in August to verify the results. Not only did 65 percent agree (again) that other religions were credible, but when asked which religions, the respondents essentially said all of them.
This is what I call Christianity Lite. It is okay to be a Christian as long as you do not hold to the view that it is exclusive of other religions. That would be intolerant – the worst sin in the post-modern world. I had a young man once say to me that it was “rude” of me to think that he was going to hell if he did not accept Christ as his Savior. Since I realized that the God of Love would never want me to be “rude” to anyone, I immediately accommodated the young man and said, “Forgive me for offending you. You are right. I need to revise my theology and accept the fact that all roads lead to Heaven.”
No, that is not what happened. I do not believe in Christianity Lite. I believe in Christianity Light – where the Bible is the lamp to my feet and the light to my path. On the basis of God’s revealed Word to mankind, I understand that Jesus Christ is the ONLY Way, Truth and Life. I, unfortunately, am a minority in today’s society. The same Pew Forum found that only 39 percent of Christians believe that the Bible is the literal Word of God.
Christians should be made to realize that when they hold a weak view of Scripture, they are undermining their faith. Os Guiness, the Christian philosopher, made the observation that “unlike other religions, the Jewish and Christian faiths hold that the link between God and human beings is a call in the form of words.” Take away the sacred writings of Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam, and there would still be Buddhists, Hindus, and Muslims. To be a good Muslim means to follow the Five Pillars of Islam – none of which have to do with reading or understanding the Qur’an (Koran). The difference between the two predominant Islamic sects, Shites and Sunnis, has to do with succession from Mohammed and not differences in the holy writings.
A true Christian believes that the Lord God has revealed Himself in His Word, and that Word is the standard of truth. If we do not like it or if it disagrees with our present sensibilities, it is up to us to change – not change it. As James Montgomery Boice once profoundly put it, “You will never understand a passage of Scripture until you are willing to be changed by it.”
Alan Segal, a professor of religion at Bernard College has been quoted as saying, “We are a multicultural society, and people expect this American life to continue the same way in heaven.” It has never been more true that the message of Christ crucified (and all that is implied in that statement) is “a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles” (I Corinthians 1:23). Yet, it has also never been more true that this is the message that the world needs to hear. “In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” (John 1:4-5)
The Roman Empire did not oppose Christianity because of their believe in Jesus as the Messiah. There were many gods that were worshipped within the Empire. What made Christianity so offensive was exclusivity claimed by the Christians. They believed that faith in Jesus Christ was the only way to eternal life. This was why Christians could not bow to Caesar, and that was why they were persecuted.
Today, we do not bow our knee to Caesar, but we see nothing wrong with others doing it. In June of last year, a Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life published survey results revealing that 70 percent of Americans said that they believed religions other than theirs could lead to eternal life. Evangelicals were shocked, shocked by the results and the Pew Forum conducted another survey in August to verify the results. Not only did 65 percent agree (again) that other religions were credible, but when asked which religions, the respondents essentially said all of them.
This is what I call Christianity Lite. It is okay to be a Christian as long as you do not hold to the view that it is exclusive of other religions. That would be intolerant – the worst sin in the post-modern world. I had a young man once say to me that it was “rude” of me to think that he was going to hell if he did not accept Christ as his Savior. Since I realized that the God of Love would never want me to be “rude” to anyone, I immediately accommodated the young man and said, “Forgive me for offending you. You are right. I need to revise my theology and accept the fact that all roads lead to Heaven.”
No, that is not what happened. I do not believe in Christianity Lite. I believe in Christianity Light – where the Bible is the lamp to my feet and the light to my path. On the basis of God’s revealed Word to mankind, I understand that Jesus Christ is the ONLY Way, Truth and Life. I, unfortunately, am a minority in today’s society. The same Pew Forum found that only 39 percent of Christians believe that the Bible is the literal Word of God.
Christians should be made to realize that when they hold a weak view of Scripture, they are undermining their faith. Os Guiness, the Christian philosopher, made the observation that “unlike other religions, the Jewish and Christian faiths hold that the link between God and human beings is a call in the form of words.” Take away the sacred writings of Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam, and there would still be Buddhists, Hindus, and Muslims. To be a good Muslim means to follow the Five Pillars of Islam – none of which have to do with reading or understanding the Qur’an (Koran). The difference between the two predominant Islamic sects, Shites and Sunnis, has to do with succession from Mohammed and not differences in the holy writings.
A true Christian believes that the Lord God has revealed Himself in His Word, and that Word is the standard of truth. If we do not like it or if it disagrees with our present sensibilities, it is up to us to change – not change it. As James Montgomery Boice once profoundly put it, “You will never understand a passage of Scripture until you are willing to be changed by it.”
Alan Segal, a professor of religion at Bernard College has been quoted as saying, “We are a multicultural society, and people expect this American life to continue the same way in heaven.” It has never been more true that the message of Christ crucified (and all that is implied in that statement) is “a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles” (I Corinthians 1:23). Yet, it has also never been more true that this is the message that the world needs to hear. “In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” (John 1:4-5)
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