Christianity without Jesus: writing about an article in Hungryhearts

As I began to read several articles in the Fall/Winter 2009 Hungryhearts Journal of Reformed Spirituality, published by the Office of Theology and Worship, PC (USA), I found some contradiction. This particular issue is entitled “An Elephant in the Room” and is about interfaith dialogue. But for the most part it is about more than dialogue. It is about letting go of the view that people of other faiths need Jesus.

And yet the introduction by the Editor, Tammy Wiens, is different. There is an expressed concern for the uniqueness of Jesus.

In the introduction Wiens writes about praying in Jesus’ name. She suggests that prayer in Jesus name is more than simply a formula, “there is a long tradition in the church to suggest it should be otherwise.” Quoting from the book Christian Prayer for Today she writes, “To pray in Jesus’ name is no small thing! ‘The name of Jesus is not just a required tagline,’ writes Moore-Keish, ‘but is the foundation, goal, and resting place in which we offer our prayers.’”

Wiens goes on to point to the Westminster Confession writing:

“Christians believe that apart from Christ we would have no access to God. We pray in Jesus name to gain access to the throne of God’s grace. (Heb. 4:16)"

Then after quoting Westminster (7.290) she commends the other articles as a means to strengthen our own spiritual practices. This is a contradiction that I do not understand.

Several days ago I wrote on the article, “Blessed by an Elephant? Why Not?”. The article I am troubled with tonight is “Contemplative Interfaith” by Ben Campbell Johnson, Professor Emeritus of Columbia Theological Seminary.

Johnson writes about being called to a contemplative life and then a ministry of interfaith work between Christians and Muslims. The writings he began reading as he entered the first part of his contemplative journey were by Thomas Merton, Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross and Willigis Jäger. For those unfamiliar with Jäger (I was not) he is a Priest and a Zen Master who has been censored by the Roman Catholic Church. He advocates a global spirituality founded on the Zen of the Soto tradition.

Johnson explains that as he went further into the contemplative life he found that “Theological issues like the incarnation and the Trinity did not seem as pressing as at other times in [his] life.” Stating that he did not let go of the articles of faith he nonetheless writes “The longer I followed this passage way, the more rigid, doctrinal statements began to melt.”

Johnson moved on to the interfaith ministry, reading books on Islam for two years and then meeting a Muslim woman. After several meetings he writes:

“As she was speaking about her love for God and her devotion to God’s will, a beautiful smile covered her face and a twinkling light shone from her eyes. In that moment I realized I could no longer look upon other faiths as inferior to my own. I no longer felt that I had to convert everyone who did not possess the same truth that I held. That day Aisha became my sister.”

He does not write about his or her thoughts on Jesus, except that he now saw that aspect of his faith as not so important. But in this video they both speak of Jesus Christ.
Notice at the end she is talking about sharing the same values while he is talking about sharing prayer and worship. Aisha has far more integrity in her faith then Johnson has in his.



Oh please tell Aisha the good news:

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God sent not his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the word might be saved through him. He who believes in him is not judged.; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the the name of the only begotten Son of God. (John 3:16-19)"

That is good news to those who are told and believe.

Jesus and the Gurus

I am posting, with his permission, a guest article by Steve Scott a staff member of Warehouse Ministries. A musician and artist, Scott is also the author of several books including, Like a House on Fire: Renewal of the Arts in a Postmodern Culture and Crying for a Vision and Other Essays: The Collected Steve Scott Vol. One. I intend this article as an answer to some of the questions asked in the comment section of my posting The Bhagavad-Gita, the Bible: grief and being human. This is a long posting but should be read as a whole piece. Please read and enjoy.

Jesus and the Gurus

While recently traveling in India, I had an opportunity to begin studying some of the religious and philosophical systems prevalent there. I was able to participate in discussions with many Indians, Hindu, Buddhists and Christians. As a result I had to face climbing down from many of my “Western” presuppositions about Eastern religions. The Indian Christians were fond of reminding me that Christianity itself was an Eastern religion and, furthermore, that Christianity had been in India far longer than it had been in the USA.

It was with these thoughts in mind that I set about trying to understand both the similarities and differences between Christianity and other Eastern religions. I began my study in the area of the “guru” or “living master.” As I examined the concept of the guru and the guru tradition, my eyes were opened to some of the mistakes that we in the West are prone to make. We tend to regard the guru as merely a teacher or a channel of a particular spiritual tradition, whereas my studies reveal that the guru properly understood is seen as an embodiment of the very tradition he teaches. (I'll provide some quotes from their own literature that suggests this a little later on.) We also make the mistake of assuming that the guru merely teaches us the way of getting free from our accumulated sin (karma) or free from inordinate attachment to this realm of illusion (maya) and free from such pain such attachment produces (samsara). Deeper study, however, reveals that it is the guru himself who frees us from this threefold bondage. If we devote ourselves totally and wholeheartedly to guru bhakti, or devotion, then he will free us through instruction and possibly through the administration of a massive jolt of spiritual power known in the guru tradition as “shaktipat.”

As I learned more and more of the central role that the guru plays in this tradition, I saw its similarity to the Christian message. Jesus died and rose again to free us from the effects and power of sin. When we are truly following Christ, then we are no longer “bound” by the world. As I studied, I began to see that Jesus and the gurus were both claiming to fulfill almost identical functions. I wanted to see how far the comparison could be taken, so I began to make comparisons between some Indian literature on the guru (notably The Guru Tattwa of Swami Sivananda)* and some of the stories and sayings about Jesus recorded in the literature of the Early Church.

The “Guru Gita” contained in Silananda's text leaves little doubt as to who the guru is and what he claims to be:

Guru is Brahma. Guru is Vishnu. Guru is Siva. Guru is the Supreme Brahman itself. Prostration to that Guru. (v:4)

The guru alone is the whole world, including Brahman Vishnu and Siva. Nothing greater than Guru exists. Therefore Guru is to be worshiped. (v:18)

The form of Guru is the root of meditation. The feet of Guru are the root of worship. The teaching of the Guru is the root of all mantras. The grace of Guru is the root of salvation. (v:12)

By identifying the Guru as being identical to the Hindu trinity and also the source of salvation, the image of the guru as both the embodiment and even the source of the spiritual tradition he espouses become clear. The Christian tradition has some similar ideas about Jesus.

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things were created, in Heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or authorities - all things were created through Him and for Him. He is before all things and in Him all things hold together. (Col. 1:15-18)

In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God; all things were made through Him and without Him was not made anything that was made. (John 1:1-4)

In this the love of God was made manifest among us that God sent His only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him. (1 John 4:9)

Here we can see that the Christians thought of Jesus much in the same way, although their use of a term like “only begotten” is a little alarming. Perhaps they had never heard of the gurus. The absolute necessity of the guru for salvation is also stressed in the Gita.

Prostration to that Guru, due to whose existence the world exists, due to whose effulgence the world is illumined, due to whose bliss all are happy. (v:10)

There is no reality beyond Guru. There is no penance beyond Guru. There is no knowledge beyond Guru. Prostration to that Guru. (v:11)

When God is angry, Guru is the savior. When Guru gets angry, none is the savior. (v:21)

“Gu” is darkness. “Ru” is its remover. Because one removes darkness, he is called a “Guru.” (v:40)

Similarly the Christians stressed the necessity and centrality of Jesus in establishing salvation.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent His Son into the world, not to condemn the world but that the world might be saved through Him. (John 3:16-17)

All this is from God who through Christ reconciled us to Himself. (11 Cor. 5:18)

That is God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself. (11 Cor. 5:19)

Here some differences start to emerge. The cited guru texts seem to place the guru almost at a higher level than God when it comes to forgiving the disciple, whereas Jesus worked “in concert” with God, as it were, to achieve the purposes of reconciliation and redemption. There is no hint of some kind of competitive rivalry between God the Father and God the Son. And again there is the disturbing use of “only begotten” by the early Christian writers. It will be interesting to see if Jesus Himself was as “exclusive” in His statements as His followers. One certainly cannot fault their enthusiasm and devotion.The Guru Gita also counsels wholehearted devotion to the guru as being of spiritual benefit.

The water with which the feet of the Guru are washed is the sacred drink. The remains after Guru's meal are the proper food. Right meditation is on the form of Guru. Constant Japa [repetition] is of Guru's name. For the purpose of acquiring knowledge and dispassion, one should drink the water with which Guru's feet are washed, which cuts at the root of ignorance, which overcomes birth and the bondage of Karma. (v:13-14)

Without any feeling of shame one should fall in full prostration before the Guru and adore the Guru through action, mind and speech at all times. The baths taken in pilgrimages to the seven oceans bring only a thousandth part of the effect produced by drinking a drop of the water that is used for washing Guru's feet. (v.19-20)

The statements of Jesus Himself reveals what He expected from His followers.

And He who does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. He who finds his life shall lose it and he who loses his life for my sake will find it. (Matt 10:38-39)

On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and proclaimed, if anyone thirst let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said “out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.” (John 7:37-38)

Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper, laid aside His garments, and girded Himself with a towel. Then He poured water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. (John 13:3-5)

This is where some of the real differences start to show. Jesus calls His disciples to carry a cross in their devotion to Him. He also points out that all who are thirsty should come to Him to drink the “living water” that He can provide. He says nothing about washing His feet in it first. In fact, in order to set an example of the kind of spiritual devotion he wants his followers to participate in, He knelt and washed the feet of His followers. Also, one can see in the fellowship of the last supper in which Jesus shares a common cup and a common loaf, a far different picture than the one painted by the Guru Gita which insists that eating the guru's leftovers will somehow enhance your spirituality. The most disturbing aspect of Jesus' statements deals with His own claims concerning the exclusivity of salvation through Him.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me. (John 14:6)

So Jesus again said to them, “Truly truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers; but the sheep did not heed them. I am the door; if any one enters by me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy, I came that they might have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. (John 10:7-11)

When I asked a current “perfect master” about this in Beas, India, he told me that Jesus was the only way for his particular age and people. I was, of course, confused by this - surely the concept behind the guru and the master hadn't changed so radically as seemed to be indicated in the stark differences between what Jesus said and did and some of the things contained in the Guru Gita. Also, Jesus seemed to be unaware that any had come before Him or would come after Him who could achieve the spiritual results that He had achieved. The Gurus, of course, would point back to their gurus, (i.e., the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi would point to Guru Dev, etc.) and the guru tradition. Jesus did no such thing. He didn't seem to think His message was limited by its historical location or only applicable to a certain period of history.

A final difference I noticed is this: some of the gurus were prone to establish their credentials by talking about their austerities - prolonged isolation in (for example) the Himalayas where after extensive yogic exercise and bodily mortification they realized their divine nature: that they were identical with the divine principle of the universe. It struck me that in order to establish Jesus' credentials as a spiritual master that it would be strategically viable to include a similar “testimony” concerning His prolonged meditation and “God realization.” I searched the New Testament in vain. I did, however, find this in Philippians 2:5-11:

Christ Jesus, who through He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even death on the cross. Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

*Guru Tattwa. Sri Swami Sivananda. The Divine Life Society, Himalayas, India (1976)

All Bible quotes are from the Revised Standard Version.

The living coming One-a poem

If I could walk beside the dead
And take their hand imparting You,
the Holy Thrice transcendent One.
But in what a minor world they roam,
seeking hope beneath, within, among
the still dead places
untouched by spring’s bright promise. Picture by Derek McHenry

“Jesus is dead”

If I could open eyes,
the eyes shut by some fairytale like witch,
who traded her poor bought candy for the chance
to eat the fat of lambs
and children.
If I could shine that light of You
until blindness opens to the risen Lord.

“He ain't coming back.”

If I could help him/her look down lonely
halls, highways and rough flights
until they catch the song that rises from the shadows.
Tears to be gathered in a bottle, laughter falling, broken
yet gathered back
to the one possessed and owned by God.
The coming One, the King of kings.

“If civilization or even humanity will survive the next few decades it will be up to some incredibly good fortune AND human beings making wise choices.”

It is His sovereignty that grips;
His love that reaches for the dead one;
His power that touches the tortured eyes
of those who now peer into darkness.
It is His promise that holds the world together
His promise that brings our spring.
His promise that prepares good works

This is a poem written by me with a little help from Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel and an unintentional (he didn't mean to help) Presbyterian pastor, John Shuck. See also Psalm 56:8, Malachi 3:17-18 and Eph 2:10.

Jesus, the coming King

If we listen and agree we shall be deceived, and if we follow we shall fall into hell. As we sat around the tables at our Presbytery meeting talking about what might be a center that the whole Presbytery could agree to, I could only think of our great divide. And in words placed on the Witherspoon Society’s site by their web master I know that the chasm is a spiritual one as wide as eternal death is from everlasting life. It can only be healed if God reaches out in redemption. Picture by Penny Juncker

The words I saw were written by John Shuck a Presbyterian (U.S.A.) pastor in Tennessee. The words are a part of an advent meditation that Doug King saw as “thoughtful” and so posted them on the Witherspoon site. The words:

“What might it mean for Jesus to return? The return of Jesus is a powerful symbol of finding rest, peace, justice, and balance in our personal lives and in our interconnectedness with earth. To sing, ‘come thou long expected Jesus’ is to sing with the expectation of fulfillment for balance and peace.”

The writer of those words, Shuck, goes on to suggest that the kind of return he is writing about will happen if we are willing to give birth, if we we are open to the creativity of “the universe.” Furthermore the kind of anticipation we are to have is “an anticipation” of “an expansion of our consciousness or awareness.”

I am writing about this because I do not understand the outlook of those who search for a central focus which ignores the very heart of the gospel, that is, that Jesus died for sinners. Why are some holding on to an expectation that our center as a denomination or a Presbytery will hold around the building of clothes closests or homeless shelters, while they fail to hold dear the Lord Jesus Christ and the hope of his personal coming.

It seems that for some, such new age theology, equates with the same theology that insists on the ordination of unrepentant homosexuals. And such an impersonal understanding of Jesus just might very well be the only proper way of connecting him to those who wish to allow sin free reign. With such meaning we can throw away the transforming power of Jesus. We can forget to look for him. Forget advent.

As Yeats wrote, the center does not hold. And surely “some rough beast” moves among our shadowed churches wishing to be born in place of the King of Kings.

The truth is the Lord Jesus Christ is returning. He was King, he is King and he will be King forever. We celebrate now the Incarnation, the birth of the eternal Son into our world. That is the Christmas story. But it is so much more. He is the God who lived with us and died for us. He is the God who rose to give us new life.

But it is still more. He is the eternal Son forever fully God and fully human. We are united to him in his resurrection. We are fed and nourished by the Lord of heaven. Nothing can ever separate us from him. He is the coming King who has set up his everlasting Kingdom.

“And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. “ (John 1:14)

The perfection and righteousness of Jesus Christ

My devotional reading this morning reminded me of quite a long time ago, working for Apologetics Resource center. One of the readings was Luke 1:26-38. Another Hebrews 2:1-18. There was some commentary in my devotional book about the importance of the eternal Son taking on human flesh.

The verse in Luke that caught my attention was “The Holy Spirit will over-shadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.” And in Hebrews, “for it was fitting for him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings. For both he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father; for that reason he is not ashamed to call them brethren,…”

One of my first attempts at writing about a religious movement after writing about Scientology was a movement I have mentioned before, the ‘Manifested Sons of God.’ The central theme of this movement was that a group within the Church would be so filled with power from the Holy Spirit that they would overcome death before Christ returned. Some times this was referred to as the Man-Child Company a misunderstanding of Revelation 12.

Their main understanding of Jesus Christ was more or less an adoptionist view. That is, God choose Jesus the man and so empowered him with the Holy Spirit that he could accomplish his works. In other words he was not eternally Christ but became Christ. They saw the word “perfect” in Hebrews meaning that Jesus had not yet lived up to the requirements of God so God was making him a perfect man by his suffering. In other words he was imperfect and so God was making him perfect.

But that word perfect instead implies that the work that Jesus was called to do was being completed by his sufferings. As Donald Guthrie’s in his commentary states, “The meaning is rather ‘to bring completion’ in the sense that suffering was necessary before Jesus could be the complete pioneer of salvation, or the perfect high priest.” But many leaders of the Manifested Son’s of God didn’t see it that way.

Jesus wasn’t perfect without, etc.etc, doing this or that. And to top it all off we, like him, could all be made Christ.

While I was writing the paper, I discovered that one of Sacramento’s Christian radio stations was almost completely taken over by teachers who were in this movement. God works in interesting ways. Only one pastor on the station that I knew about, a Calvary Chapel pastor, did not teach this heresy. I called him to talk. When I started explaining the problem, he said, “Wait just a minute, I want to put you on conference call so that some other people at my Church can hear.” It turned out that Pastor was just in the process of renewing his contract with the station.

As the weeks went by the owner of the station, who was deeply involved, started teaching with an open line for discussion. I remember clearly that when I pressed the point that Jesus was Christ from his conception his remark was “a little Christ.” The important thought here is that many of these poor people were encouraged to works righteousness rather than the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

But the truth is, God the Son took on our flesh, lived without sin, died on the cross for our sins, and rose to give us eternal life. As the verse states, Jesus is bringing many sons and daughters to glory. It is his righteousness not ours. We find our perfection in Jesus.

Another reading was Psalm 87: “His foundation is the holy mountains. The Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all other dwelling places of Jacob. … But of Zion it shall be said, ‘This one and that one were born in her’…” It is those reborn, born anew into the Church of God, the true Church, the blood washed throng that the Lord will notice…”The Lord will count when he registers the peoples, this one was born there.’ Then those who sing as well as those who play the flutes shall say, ‘all my springs of joy are in you.’”

Jesus Christ, God's final revelation

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I believe that biblically Jesus Christ as he is found in Holy Scripture is God's final revelation. On a recent posting about Jesus Christ, experience, and revelation, Carl Hahn of Los Angeles, accused me of being an absolutist about Jesus as God's final revelation found in Scripture. (Well yes I am.)

I wrote, "Jesus Christ as he is found in Scripture is God's final revelation"

Carl wrote:

"Maybe I don't know what you are talking about, but I think that is simply not true. From personal experience I know this not to be true. But I wonder: Where do you get such an absolutist notion?Surely not from Scripture?"

I did give Carl some Scriptures and some biblical commentary remarks on those verses.

But I found something more that I wanted to add so I decided to make a posting of this. I will first place here some of my comment on that posting then I will add the extra material.

"God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world." (Heb. 1:1-2)

James Moffatt in A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews writes of the above verses:

"The final disclosure of God's mind and purpose has been made in his Son, who is far superior to the angels; beware then of taking it casually and carelessly!"

And:

"...Christ is God's last word to the world; revelation in him is complete, final and homogeneous."

Again more Scripture, "Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son." (2 John 9)

A.E. Brooke author of The International Critical Commentary on the Johannine Epistles writes:

"The true revelation of God was given in Jesus Christ. He who rejects the truth about Christ cannot enjoy the fellowship with God which Christ has made possible for men."

And now the extra is F.F. Bruce's The Epistle to the Hebrews, (The New International Commentary on the New Testament) This is on Hebrews 1:1-2.

"God has spoken'. This initial affirmation is basic to the whole argument of this epistle, as indeed it is basic to Christian faith. Had God remained silent, enshrouded in thick darkness, the plight of mankind would have been desperate indeed; but now He has spoken His revealing, redeeming and life-giving word, and in His light we see light. Our author is not thinking of that general revelation of Himself which God has given in creation, providence and conscience__

'Lo, these are but the outskirts of his ways: and how small a whisper do we hear of him!' (Job 26:14)
...
The earlier stage of the revelation was given in a variety of ways: God spoke in His mighty works of mercy and judgement, and made known through His servants the prophets the meaning and purpose of these works; they were admitted into His secret council and learned His plans in advance. He spoke in storm and thunder to Moses, in a still small voice to Elijah. To those who would not heed the gently flowing streams of Shiloah He spoke by means of the Euphratean flood. Priest and prophet, sage and singer were in their several ways His spokesmen; yet all the successive acts and varying modes of revelation in the ages before Christ came did not add up to the fullness of what God had to say.

His word was not completely uttered until Christ Came; but when Christ came, the word spoken in Him was indeed God's final word. In Him all the promises of God meet with the answering 'yes!' which seals their fulfillment to his people and evokes from them an answering 'Amen!'

The story of divine revelation is a story of progression up to Christ, but there is no progression beyond Him. It is 'at the end of these days' that God has spoken in Him, and by this phrase our author means much more than 'recently'; it is a literal rendering of the Hebrew phrase which is used in the Old Testament to denote the epoch when the words of the prophets will be fulfilled, and its use here means that the appearance of Christ 'once for all at the end of the age' (Ch. 9:26, RSV) has inaugurated that time of fulfillment.God's previous spokesmen were His servants, but for the proclamation of His last word to man He has chosen His Son."1

Picture by Stephen Larson
1.I have broken this very long paragraph up for easier reading.