A friend once chided me for suggesting that Jews, Muslims, and socialists might get to heaven before him or me – both of us being upright Christians, of course.  He was aghast that I should have forgotten what Jesus himself so clearly spells out: that the way to the Father is through the Son. That there is only One Way. And that those who deny Jesus will be denied before God.

Not so fast, I countered. Didn’t Jesus also say that the last would be first? That at least eventually, every knee will bow?  That he will gather “all people” to himself? And that he will never turn away anyone who comes to him?

It’s a thorny question, and one made timely by the current furor over a Florida preacher’s plans to burn the Koran on September 11th. But it’s a question we who call ourselves Christians need to grapple with, because book-burning and name-calling never got anyone anywhere. In fact, book-burning can lead to people-burning, or drowning, or beheading: look at colonial Massachusetts, where Quakers were drowned as witches, or the Spanish Inquisition – or the Protestant Reformation.

America seems to be a pretty religious place right now, but let’s not start patting ourselves on the back yet. The religious right in Jesus’ time were also well-educated, and also sent their kids to special schools. They could also quote chapter and verse, and they lived upright, decent lives – at least as far as most people could tell. But Jesus saw right through them, and had no patience for them at all.

He called them white-washed tombs and vipers, and challenged them to bear fruits of repentance – to practice what they preached.  And in the one place where he talks about separating the sheep from the goats – that is, Judgment Day – it is painfully obvious that the dividing line comes between those who lived lives of mercy and compassion, without even knowing it, and those who did not.

It’s all about deeds matching words. If you look at the Gospel carefully, you’ll find  that Jesus did not come to bring a new religion or a new set of rules. He came to bring life, to save people and to heal people. He came to give people hope. His spirit is free and generous and open. Yes, he is sharp on sin, and yet his whole mission is about forgiving, not condemning.  And so he is not afraid to be seen with prostitutes, tax collectors, or Samaritans – the heathen of his day.

Already a hundred years ago, the German pastor Christoph Blumhardt  warned his son-in-law, then a missionary in China, about the dangers of the narrow, conventional view. American Christians today would do well to ponder his prophetic words:

The typical view of Christianity is that we have to fight to carve out a path for the gospel, in the name of “vengeance” or “justice.” The inconsistency of today’s Christian church is as crass as at the time of the Crusades, when people were “converted” at sword-point.  But we Christians have brought a curse upon our own heads by murdering the Chinese. Instead of healing them, we are punishing them…

But no one should become Christian according to our formula. May God grant you a mission that is in accord with his will, not ours, so that people become truly free and liberated. Whether they are called Christians or not is immaterial—despite what many churches seem to think. If God is restricted to gathering people through the means we have seen so far, then his kingdom is lost!

Don’t forget: “God so loved the world…” It is a miracle that you can associate with unbelievers in the name of Christ without baptizing them. After all, God’s spirit flows from heaven down to earth without pious human help. And his spirit compels people to do what is needed—even if they are not aware of doing it.

 

For more of Christoph Blumhardt's letters to his son-in-law in China, see The Hidden Christ, a free ebook.

 

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Your Turn. Tell us what you thought about this article:

Responses

Thank you for this emphasis on Jesus the peacemaker who wants to draw all to the Father.  I am always helped by the words also attributed to Jesus, that he has other sheep that are not of this flock.  We know what we are called to do as Christians; we don't know who else is of Christ's flock for His reasons.  I hope that the meaning of those words is that not only those of the Abrahamic faiths  are "of the flock" but believers of all the great religions.

I also think often of the passage in Acts, where someone tries to call out demons by speaking "in the name of that Jesus who Peter preaches."  The demons reply, "we know Jesus and we know Peter, but who are you?"  It is perhaps the only place in scripture that makes me laugh.

Paul Lacey
Richmond/IN

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The German poet Goethe said once, "when people start burning books, soon they will burn people. Sadly, some people just don't get it. Thank you reuben

Fred Jones
Kingman, Maine

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Oh yes, I agree with the article that compassion, mercy, love and forgiveness, the basics of Jesus’ principles, are nowhere apparent in burning the books of another set of beliefs. Or any books.  It seems the so-called Christian right in our country has, nearly to a man (person) discarded those principles.  Good Lord!  They’re the principles on which our country is based!   How can anyone who claims to be a Christian and also claims to be an American support prohibiting Muslims from practicing their religion, whether in actuality or symbolically, as in book burning?  The answer?  Education.   If these jokers had a good education through high school where they learned about government (civics) not usually taught anymore in high school as it commonly was back in the fifties, they’d know better from the start. Most people today haven’t a clue how our democracy is really supposed to work and have no idea what is said in the Constitution. If they learned in English class about civilized debate and logical fallacies, maybe even been taught by their social studies teachers about the diversity there is in the world and that it is part of the underpinnings of democracy – well, just maybe they wouldn’t be so quick to pull the trigger.   By the way, I hear you’ve got a nice school over there.  Keep up the good work, and for heaven’s sakes, teach them about government, our government, and the Constitution.  Did I mention history?   Can’t leave that out, either.  

That’s what I think.

Warmest regards,

Richard

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We do not fight against flesh and blood  but against Powers, rulers etc that are in the spirit. We are here not to start physical fight.

The burning of the Koran has nothing to do with winning spiritual battle. It is a physical act against physical body and need to be descouraged. The conquencies are too grivious for him (the pastor) his congregation to stand and may just bring third world war. A true believer need no to start this.

I would like to encourage that we need to walk with the spirit of God and try to live in peace if possible with all people. We need not foerget that for us to live is Christ and to die is gain, so we are here on earth has gospel workers.

In the wonderful name of Jesus I pray that the pastor who wanted to burn the Koran need to understand the role of Jesus in the minds of people and need to clearly understand the Cross of Jesus and its impact to lives of Believers.

Transiscius
kasungu, Malawi

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Philosophy class has been reading articles about & discussing the Cordoba Center all week,  This weekend, they are writing about it, so the issue is high on all of our minds.  This article is quite appropriate and may go well with a speech on non-violence by Martin Luther King that we will also be reading.  Of course, it seems evident to me that abandoning one's ideology in order to promote it is sure to have the opposite effect.  Christ was the Prince of Peace.

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So much heat is being generated here in New York with the islamic center plan.  Especially among my friends who are firefighters and some folks at my job.  I said if we could harness that energy and convert it into electrical power we could close some power plants. The man in Florida who proposed the burning of the Koran is not doing it for peace or even out of Christian love for the victims of Sept. 11th.  He is doing it in anger at Muslim people , I think. I told one of my friends that I believe he has the legal right to burn the Koran but I would have the right to stand next to him with a bucket of water and a fire extiguisher to spray the book.  we both may be arrested or yelled at or beat up by the different parties but in this country we have the right to do it and be arrested. He sure got his name known , but it sets a bad message from his " church". 

Peace, Marty

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wow.  I really like that article.  I have been trying to find the best way to introduce a good friend to the wider perspective of Christianity, and couldnt find the best way to explain that it is more about the spirit than the letters of the law.  You can be correct in actions, but still f-d up in purpose.  This article helped a lot, thank you. 

gloria

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Burning books and burning people are connected because both stem from a desire to eliminate ideas that are a threat to some group or ideology. Heinrich Heine recognized that such a connection could exist and perceived that once people could be persuaded to burn books, then at least some of them could be persuaded to take the further step of burning those responsible for the creation of those books. Perhaps they could even burn all those connected in any way with the degenerate ideas in these books, which, if allowed to propagate, might threaten the Christianity itself. Most people probably don't think about or see these connections, but they must recognize that something sister is going on when books are burned. Perhaps it's simply that such an action reminds people of Nazi Germany.

Finious