Welcome to the Summer 2006 study for the Koinonia Class of Calvary Baptist Church, Denver, Colorado. We’re looking at the issue of Jesus and Salvation, using the book “Is Jesus The Only Savior” [James R. Edwards, Is Jesus The Only Savior? (Grand Rapids/Cambridge: 2005)]. We encourage each person to buy a copy and follow along.
Does An Exclusive Savior Threaten World Peace?
When I first saw that title to the 10th chapter of Edwards’ book I thought it a strange question. I hadn’t seen the Gospel (the good news that God through His Son Jesus Christ was reconciling the world unto Himself) as something divisive. I should have remembered how violently some people reacted to Jesus and to the early church as it spread into various countries.
I should also have remembered how certain political leaders (especially totalitarian ones) felt threatened by a religion that promotes freedom. I also should have noticed how threatened some feel within the church today by those who adhere very strongly to their beliefs (the once positive term “fundamentalist” has been made into a pejorative by some).
Of course we have seen what can happen when rigid and self-righteous Christians use the power of the state to impose their religion on others. We are wise to be wary of any state-sponsored religion (or ideology) which can easily become a coercive force of conversion. The Inquisition is a stain on the Church, and, as a Baptist, I’m very aware of the role Baptists played in the development of the Bill of Rights for our Constitution. Baptist preachers were often persecuted by state-sponsored religions in the colonies, so they were highly involved in religious-freedom issues.
Such coercion is not limited to the Church, though. Millions have been slaughtered by an attempt to instill communism in different countries. Jihadist Muslims who are driven to impose Sharia law in every country are a prime example today of the danger of the merger of fanatical religious belief with the power of political and military force.
The world is getting smaller, so diverse people with strongly held beliefs are living closer together. As Edwards notes, “How can the increasing interdependence of the world and the persistence of religious truth claims be harmonized? Universal religious claims, especially as they appear in the West, are not obviously compatible with the many and diverse cultures, nations, and social systems of the world.” (page 183)
Edwards identifies one cause of the very strong desire of many today to question the doctrine of the uniqueness of Christ and to promote “soteriological pluralism” (i.e. the idea that there many ways to salvation). That cause is that after 9/11 “we fear that the misuse of one religion or ideology will lead to violence, and that the violence of one jeopardizes the peace and unity of all.” Therefore, some feel, “If Jesus can be demoted from the sole savior of the world to one savior among others, that is one less match to ignite the powder keg.” (page 185)
After reading the first half of the 10th chapter, I saw more clearly the reason for the title to that chapter. The question, “Does an exclusive savior threaten world peace?”, is vital to ask and answer if we are to avoid the extremes of either a theocracy or a watered-down, lowest-common-denominator gospel of a Jesus who could never be a threat to anyone. I don’t see much danger of a Christian theocracy in America. There are too many interest groups who will resist (and sue to stop) such attempts. I do see the opposite danger (as does Edwards) of those within the church who act as if all will be well if we just get along with others, promote tolerance, and accept each other’s diverse beliefs as all being equally valid (in other words, not preach Jesus as the unique revelation of God and God’s only provision for salvation).
Edwards devotes the last half of the chapter to grace, Jesus as redeemer of all, and how the Gospel is God’s message of peace for all. I’ll finish this chapter in the next post.
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