Friday, February 20, 2009

Universalism

I’m supposed to be doing homework, and instead I’m going to rant because I’m frustrated. As research for a paper I’m supposed to write relating to Christianity and other religions, I looked up this quote from The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis. The quote is from a section at the end of the book where Aslan the lion (who represents Christ in the series) is speaking to a man who has spent this whole life serving a false god, or devil-figure, named Tash. That should be enough background. Here’s the quote:

Thou and Tash are one? The Lion growled so that the earth shook (but his wrath was not against me) and said, It is false. Not because he and I are one, but because we are opposites, I take to me the services which thou hast done to him. For I and he are of such different kinds that no service which is vile can be done to me, and none which is not vile can be done to him. Therefore if any man swear by Tash and keep his oath for the oath's sake, it is by me that he has truly sworn, though he know it not, and it is I who reward him. And if any man do a cruelty in my name, then, though he says the name Aslan, it is Tash whom he serves and by Tash his deed is accepted.

Perhaps I shouldn’t have been, but I was quite shocked that pulling up this quote also pulled up a bunch of blogs and articles condemning Lewis for being a universalist and a heretic. One website in particular (
http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Wolves/cs_lewis-exposed.htm) criticizes Lewis for smoking a pipe and drinking in a pub and believing in purgatory. It says he is “teaching damnable false doctrine” and calls him a “dangerous false teacher.” Now, just so you know my bias on the subject, I’m a pretty unashamed Lewis fan. In fact, he typically makes my top five list of heroes and my mom had pretty much every book he ever wrote lying around our house growing up (not that I read them all, but you get the idea). Anyway, that's all to say, I’m somewhat biased, but that doesn’t mean I agree with Lewis on every theological point so I think I can at least strive for objectivity in my response to this. Actually, this is not intended to be a defense of Lewis at all, but I do want to respond to the universalism charge because it’s a legitimate concern, but I think severely misguided.

Universalism, by my best understanding, is the idea that all roads lead to heaven. That is, all religions are legitimate and all faiths are equal. This notion is contradicted by scripture, which says salvation is found in Christ alone. With this, I agree, as I think would Lewis. But what is salvation? Now I’m going to digress and tell you a little personal story, but will eventually lead us back, I hope, to the topic at hand.

I accepted Christ (was “born again,” “got saved,” or whatever term of Christian jargon you prefer) when I was about six years old. In my six-year-old understanding, accepting Christ meant acknowledging that I was a sinner and that Jesus died to pay the price for my sins. Once I accepted this and asked for his forgiveness, he would come into my heart, and I would go to heaven when I die. Now, none of this understanding is fundamentally wrong, and I still essentially agree with it today, but I think it is both overly simplistic, and overly complicated. Let me see if I can better explain what I mean by continuing my story.

As a teenager, I had a pretty severe crisis of faith, the root of which was doubt in my own salvation. I knew the decision that I had made as a child and had been told that my decision would save me, but gradually, it didn’t seem like enough. In reading the scripture, I read about being saved by grace through faith, but I also read seemingly contradictory statements that implied that it is our actions that denote us as children of God. (Case in point, Paul says that Abraham was justified by faith, and James says he was justified by works. To me, the Bible seemed full of “contradictions” like that). So I was a pretty good little Christian teenager, but I was still a sinner and I began to wonder, am I truly saved? How do I know that praying that prayer as a child is enough? And this sent me into about a year of depression and some pretty intense soul-searching. I scoured the Bible and I begged God for answers to my questions and I didn’t find any.

Gradually, I came out of my depression and my doubt ebbed away. In fact, I’ve never seriously doubted my salvation since. The oddest thing about this is that I never found the answer to the question of what salvation is. The truth, as I’ve come to realize, is that my fears were allayed, not with a doctrinal solution, but with the presence of God himself. In going through that period of depression, God became real to me in a way that he never had been before. My salvation did not and does not rest on praying that “sinners prayer,” on asking God to save me, on walking faithfully with him since, on my own faith in Jesus, or on countless other tenants of traditional salvation that we are taught. My salvation comes from Christ alone. It is God who saves. It is Jesus who paid the price. Nothing I can do will save me. Therefore, there is no assurance except that which comes from God himself. If you try to have faith in your doctrinal notions of salvation, they were utterly fail you. They are true, but they cannot save. They are just doctrines. It is God who saves. I cannot emphasize that enough. Does it make sense what I’m saying?

Now, back to C.S. Lewis and the notion of universalism. I am in no way trying to say that all roads lead to heaven, but I do believe that since it is God who saves and not a doctrine, it could very well be true that he could choose to save a Tash-follower who was ultimately seeking and serving Aslan even though he didn’t know it. I think this notion is very much in keeping with the just and merciful God that the Bible describes. In fact, look in Matthew 25 at the parable of the sheep and the goats, which I think supports this idea.

The website condemning C.S. Lewis as heretical that I cited above says, “there is only one true gospel, and that is salvation through repentance and faith in the blood of Jesus Christ.” I agree with this statement, but in the context of the website, it worries me. I think we’re making a god out of our salvation doctrine and worshipping it instead of Christ. Christ does ask us to repent and have faith in his blood, but that is not why we are saved; we are saved because Christ saves us. End of story.

I hope you don’t take this the wrong way and call me a heretic. If you do disagree, I’d like to hear your concerns so maybe I can explain myself better than I have.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Eat it

I like to read the comments that people leave in response to online news articles and editorials because they help me to feel like I’m in touch with real, uncensored opinions on these subjects. Lately, I’ve been sensing an attitude of real hostility towards Christians that I find alarming. I wonder what the Christian response to such negative attitudes ought to be. I know that we’re viewed as intolerant, ignorant, irrational, and archaic. The Bible does teach us to expect persecution and to rejoice in it. Peter wrote to early Christians, “do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed” (I Peter 4:12-14a, NIV). However, I wonder if the suffering that American Christians have to face is what Peter had in mind. If we’re persecuted because we are spreading hatred, are greedy, are careless about the environment, or fail to advocate for the poor, is that the kind of suffering that we should rejoice in?

In Mountains Beyond Mountains, Tracy Kidder (2003) wrote about a friend of Dr. Paul Farmer—a priest named Father Jack—who preached an untraditional gospel message that focused mostly on social action and less on the rigid moral guidelines that American evangelicals are so fond of touting. Father Jack ended up moving to Peru to work with the poor and dying because he contracted a multi-drug resistant form of tuberculosis (MDR). However, Father Jack’s death was certainly not in vain, since it alerted Farmer to the presence of MDR in that Peruvian community. This not only led to Farmer’s organization launching a successful campaign against MDR in Peru, but also to global action as Farmer and Jim Kim campaigned successfully for more awareness and better treatment worldwide. Father Jack’s death saved many lives in Peru and is continuing to save lives all of over the world. Father Jack was living out the gospel by giving his life over to the poor and the sick. He was killed by disease, an enemy of human life. I think this makes him a martyr, and his kind of suffering is a kind in which Christians ought to rejoice.

When Jim Kim faced frustrations working in Peru, Farmer told him “remember, serving the poor in Carabayllo is more important than soothing your own ego. It’s called eating shit for the poor” (p.131). All Christians are called to eat shit for the poor, but the irony is that many Christians would get too hung up on the offensiveness of the word “shit” to even stop and think about what this phrase should mean for them. I think this attitude represents a lot of what is wrong with American Christianity; we have become so focused getting people to agree with our version of morality and salvation that we ignore the bigger picture of caring for others. This skewed focus is at least one of the reasons that we are faced with hostility in America. James wrote “religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world” (James 1:27, NIV). American Evangelicals have been very focused on the last half of this verse, but what about the first half? What about the millions of African children who have been orphaned by AIDS? Moral guidelines are important, but so is practical action.

People like Paul Farmer and Jim Kim are living out Jesus’ example of unselfishly caring for the poor and the sick. They may have faith of sorts, but they certainly aren’t professing evangelical Christians. The irony, of course, is that many people who are professing evangelical Christians will look at these two men and will not be able to get past the fact that they are not living by “Christian” lifestyle norms. Jesus said “whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40, NIV), which implies that in serving others, people may be serving Jesus even if they do not know or acknowledge his name. Of course, for those of us who do acknowledge his name, the responsibility is even greater because we represent Jesus to the world, and we have no excuse for ignoring his commands. We may have to take secular criticism of the church seriously, and look to the Paul Farmers and Father Jacks of the world as examples. Christians can continue to avoid being polluted by the world, but they should also avoid unnecessarily polluting the environment. And we can continue to avoid saying the word “shit,” but we should also be willing to throw down our egos, take Farmer’s advice, and eat it for the poor.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Love and Marriage (go together like a...)

We just had Valentine's day, so what the heck, I'll be vulnerable...

I have this problem balancing my head and my heart. I have a feeling that it is either going to get me into real romantic trouble, or going to cause me to be single forever.


I always thought of myself as a little bit cynical in the love department. I don't think this comes from a lack of successful relationships--I think it's just my intensely practical, logical side coming out. I always said that I didn't believe in soulmates and that there is not one perfect person out there for you. I do believe that God has a plan and that if you are supposed to get married, he has someone that he intends you to be with. But it's not just click you find that person and it's perfect. People fall out of love everyday. By the way, everyone should read Gary Chapman's The Five Love Languages before getting married. Heck, everyone should read Gary Chapman, period. It seriously changed my life. But anyway, he is a marriage counselor, and he talks about those glorious "in love" feelings that give you butterflies. They wear off after a while and if you're not solid and committed to working on your marriage, well, that's the point where some people lose interest and go off and seek other people. That approach, at least the way that I often describe it, sounds really unromantic. But let's face facts. Something like 50% of marriages end in divorce. How do you avoid that and have a happy one? I think Chapman is on to something, which is why I take him seriously. If I ever do get married, I intend it to be permanent, so I have to bring that element of practicality into it. I have to.

All of that said, I'm afraid that I'm a little more of a romantic idealist than I thought before. I'm not sure if I can be a practical cynic and a romantic idealist at the same time, but I'm certainly going to try. See here's my thing: I want to be crazy about the guy that I'm with. I want to be madly in love. I want to be so in love that it would be devastating if it ends. I'm amazed now that I can actually say that because it did end, and it was devastating--moreso than I ever anticipated. And maybe I regret a lot of it, but not the being in love part. That wasn't fake, and I'm not willing to get into something again until I at least feel that much if not more. Wow, and the chapmanesque side of me says that those were just feelings that never would not have naturally lasted anyway. If I can find a nice guy now, who I like and could learn to love, who is decent and good and cares about me, I have just as much chance at a happy marriage as anyone. And the kicker is that I totally believe that! I mean, if arranged marriages can work, then the scenario that I described above can certainly work. I just don't want it. If I JUST wanted to be married and that was the goal (and that is a fine goal, and there is nothing wrong with that goal) I think I would go there. There are more important things than sexual attraction. Committment, support, a Christ-centered relationship, shared values. But I'm not going to go there. Beause don't JUST want to be married. I don't want it at all if I can't HAVE it all. Being single is too great to give up without being compelled. Without caring so much that you just can't help it, can't not be with them. And you know what, that's OKAY. Being alone forever is OKAY. Jesus said, "whoever can accept this should" (rough quote). Paul said that he wished all men could be single as he is and that those who decide to marry do well, but those who decide not to do better. I'm not doing anything wrong.

I'm not committing myself to a lifetime of singleness. I'd like to be with someone. I'd love to be married. I think I'd be good at being married, and I've been praying for a while for someone who will be a partner to me. God understands what I mean by that, even if you don't. But I'm hyper-demanding because I don't just want the person who is my best friend, equally committed to serving God, and has all those qualities that I think are important, etc. I also want chemistry. Lots of it.


So here's to another Valentine's Day alone. Here's to loving being single and never never settling.

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Sea Change

I'm at the SPU library trying to get homework done. It's one of the only places I can really settle in and work. It's just very pleasant. I very much miss working here and going to school here.

I'm supposed to be doing homework, but as I was walking through campus, I was completely captivated by a quote on one of the banners: "So hope for a great sea-change on the far side of revenge. / Believe that a further shore is reachable from here." -Seamus Heaney. SPU's motto is "Engaging the Culture and Changing the World," so most of these banners have something to do with that. It's corny, I know. We made fun of it when we went to school here, but it's had a pretty profound impact on my life. One of my favorite quotes of late (it's on my facebook along, now, with Heaney) is

"You see things, and say why? But I dream things that never were, and I say why not?"
~George Bernard Shaw

There's something about this that really captures the imagination. Why not dream about how to change the world? I love sea-change because it's so poetic, but has a lot of meaning too. "Suffer a sea change into something rich and strange." Of course, that is Shakespeare, from The Tempest. Sorry, I apologize for getting all literary, but that's kind of the way my brain works (years of English-major training). The play is about a ship wreck, and sea change in the nautical sense can be a dangerous violent thing. But change can be good also, especially when we (as individuals or a society) desperately need it. And no I'm not really talking about Obama, but I guess it's undeniable that change is in the air. Anyway, I won't drone on any longer. Here's some more of Heaney's poem:


Human beings suffer,
they torture one another,
they get hurt and get hard.
No poem or play or song
can fully right a wrong
inflicted and endured.

The innocent in gaols
beat on their bars together.
A hunger-striker's father
stands in the graveyard dumb.
The police widow in veils
faints at the funeral home

History says, Don't hope
on this side of the grave.
But then, once in a lifetime
the longed for tidal wave
of justice can rise up,
and hope and history rhyme.

So hope for a great sea-change
on the far side of revenge.
Believe that a further shore
is reachable from here.
Believe in miracles
and cures and healing wells.

Call the miracle self-healing:
The utter self-revealing
double-take of feeling.
if there's fire on the mountain
or lightning and storm
and a god speaks from the sky.

That means someone is hearing
the outcry and the birth-cry
of new life at its term.

-From The Cure at Troy

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Will I live to write again?

Hopefully. I miss my college blog. I'm just not sure what I want blogging to look like in this post-college period of my life. I've toyed with the idea of having multiple blogs: one for friends, one for strangers so I can be anonymous, and maybe one on a certain topic. I want to write all the time, but I just don't have the time. So will I continue with this? I certainly hope so.