I've been meaning to talk about Emeth from The Last Battle. Tonight we discussed this issue at youth group, so now is as good a time as any to bring it up. ;)
Emeth, you may remember, is the Calormen who ends up in heaven. Aslan says:
Emeth, you may remember, is the Calormen who ends up in heaven. Aslan says:
"Child, all the service thou hast done to Tash, I account as service done to me.... I take to me the services which thou hast 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 I will reward him. And if any man do cruelty in my name, then, though he says the name is Aslan, it is Tash whom he serves and by Tash his deed is accepted. Dost thou understand, child?"
And I love what he says next:
"'I have been seeking Tash all my days!' [said Emeth].
"'Beloved,' said the Glorious One, 'Unless thy desire had been for me thou wouldst not have sought so long and so truly. For all find what they truly seek.'"
At the C. S. Lewis conference, we were warned not to believe this. But I think it's true. Is there any reason why God can't let into heaven those he judges to have truly sought after him, whatever name they spoke? It's the same thing as denying those who are religious without ever truly seeking Christ.
What happens to, say, someone who grows up in a Muslim country, never has a chance to hear the gospel, is not sent a dream or vision from God (which happens a fair bit), and dies.
I am ruffled by those who don't believe there is a possibility here.
Is not God large enough to do something that our "tiny minds" don't understand?
I'm in danger of getting on a rant here, and I've got my toes in Predestination/Free will, so I might as well go ahead and stick my whole foot in.
Calvinists (in my experience) are always talking about God's sovereignty and our "tiny minds" which don't understand how a God who is just yet merciful can send people to hell.
I'll tell you why our tiny minds can't understand it. Because it doesn't make any sense.
Now, in the Muslim situation above, can't we allow, in lieu of God's just/merciful character, the possibility for salvation?
It's not that it matters for them. Whether I believe they can be saved or not does nothing to affect God's judgement on their salvation. But this matters because it can affect our own faith in God's mercy and how we present God's mercy to others.
I read some stuff about Billy Graham falling off the perfect Christian bandwagon (for some people) because he says he now allows for this possibility, just as Lewis does. See this video. This is one verse brought up to contradict his view:
What happens to, say, someone who grows up in a Muslim country, never has a chance to hear the gospel, is not sent a dream or vision from God (which happens a fair bit), and dies.
I am ruffled by those who don't believe there is a possibility here.
Is not God large enough to do something that our "tiny minds" don't understand?
I'm in danger of getting on a rant here, and I've got my toes in Predestination/Free will, so I might as well go ahead and stick my whole foot in.
Calvinists (in my experience) are always talking about God's sovereignty and our "tiny minds" which don't understand how a God who is just yet merciful can send people to hell.
I'll tell you why our tiny minds can't understand it. Because it doesn't make any sense.
Now, in the Muslim situation above, can't we allow, in lieu of God's just/merciful character, the possibility for salvation?
It's not that it matters for them. Whether I believe they can be saved or not does nothing to affect God's judgement on their salvation. But this matters because it can affect our own faith in God's mercy and how we present God's mercy to others.
I read some stuff about Billy Graham falling off the perfect Christian bandwagon (for some people) because he says he now allows for this possibility, just as Lewis does. See this video. This is one verse brought up to contradict his view:
"Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'" - John 14:6
I'm wondering if maybe we might have misinterpreted that verse.
We read it to mean basically: If they don't pray the sinner's prayer they're not in.
What if it means simply this: Jesus died for us so that we might be saved. How else can we be saved? No other way. The only way I can be saved is because Jesus died for me.
Ok. Now let me use a Peter Pan analogy to illustrate my point:
Wendy's walking the plank. She's got Hooks' sword at her back. She's wide-eyed and terrified. She falls and - Plop! Peter catches her. "Oh Peter!" she says.
New scenario. Again, Wendy's walking the plank. This time she's blindfolded. She falls and - Plop! Peter catches her. But she doesn't know who to thank because she can't see him.
Both times she knows that she needs someone to save her from the waters. But one time she calls her savior by name, the other she is only grateful to be caught.
What if we don't know Jesus' name, don't know what he did, but know we need someone to save us, serve good as best we know how, love the people around us - whatever it is that God decides is evidence of a heart that's seeking him.
That person may not know intellectually who they're serving, but they know it's something bigger, greater, more holy, and more beautiful than them. Just creation tells them that there's a beautiful, powerful, intricate, expressive, creative God out there.
I think this is a possibility.
As "God is not willing that any should perish" (2 Peter 3:9), I'm sure he gives everyone a chance. I would have to believe in an unjust and unmerciful God if I believed that he didn't give everyone a chance. And that means the young man from the tribe who worships idols and the muslim who's never heard of Jesus except as a good prophet. Surely God loves them, too.
I mean, the whole fabric of Christianity starts to unravel if you pull this string.
To state the argument all at once:
If you have to know Jesus' name and be able to recite the Gospel to be saved, and some people die without ever hearing of it (without the chance to reject or embrace it), then they are sent to hell without ever having had a chance to choose to believe the Gospel.
This equals both an unjust God and an unmerciful God. It takes apart the very fabric of the scriptures because without a just and merciful God, where is the point? It's God's justice that has to be appeased in Jesus' death, and his mercy that allowed him to give his son to die for us. There is no point if God is not just and merciful.
So why doesn't Jesus address this in the Bible?
Why doesn't he say, "Eh, don't worry. I'll sort it out whether you witness to them or not"?
Because - I have to smile and shake my head here; God is so amazing - Because God loves us.
Really. He sometimes tells us to do things that make no sense at first.
Because he knows.
Of course, witnessing does make sense. It's sharing the best news in history. But also... Witnessing grows courage in us. It gives us a reason to reach past blind faith and find the proof that the Bible is reliable. It gives us a chance to be a part of an incredible, life-altering experience for both someone else and ourselves. It draws us closer to others. It draws us closer to Jesus. We are able to serve God, whom we love, through witnessing. We get to see evidence of God moving, which grows our faith.
Basically, if we aren't at least willing to share the Gospel, something is broken in us. And how will we know whether we're willing unless we actually do it?
Is it a test?
Maybe I sound like I'm down-playing actually telling others about God. I'm not though, am I? I'm telling you that God may have sneaky, beautiful reasons for the Great Commission.
Sure, he can reach everyone without us. But not so beautifully. Not nearly, nearly so beautifully.
We read it to mean basically: If they don't pray the sinner's prayer they're not in.
What if it means simply this: Jesus died for us so that we might be saved. How else can we be saved? No other way. The only way I can be saved is because Jesus died for me.
Ok. Now let me use a Peter Pan analogy to illustrate my point:
Wendy's walking the plank. She's got Hooks' sword at her back. She's wide-eyed and terrified. She falls and - Plop! Peter catches her. "Oh Peter!" she says.
New scenario. Again, Wendy's walking the plank. This time she's blindfolded. She falls and - Plop! Peter catches her. But she doesn't know who to thank because she can't see him.
Both times she knows that she needs someone to save her from the waters. But one time she calls her savior by name, the other she is only grateful to be caught.
What if we don't know Jesus' name, don't know what he did, but know we need someone to save us, serve good as best we know how, love the people around us - whatever it is that God decides is evidence of a heart that's seeking him.
That person may not know intellectually who they're serving, but they know it's something bigger, greater, more holy, and more beautiful than them. Just creation tells them that there's a beautiful, powerful, intricate, expressive, creative God out there.
I think this is a possibility.
As "God is not willing that any should perish" (2 Peter 3:9), I'm sure he gives everyone a chance. I would have to believe in an unjust and unmerciful God if I believed that he didn't give everyone a chance. And that means the young man from the tribe who worships idols and the muslim who's never heard of Jesus except as a good prophet. Surely God loves them, too.
I mean, the whole fabric of Christianity starts to unravel if you pull this string.
To state the argument all at once:
If you have to know Jesus' name and be able to recite the Gospel to be saved, and some people die without ever hearing of it (without the chance to reject or embrace it), then they are sent to hell without ever having had a chance to choose to believe the Gospel.
This equals both an unjust God and an unmerciful God. It takes apart the very fabric of the scriptures because without a just and merciful God, where is the point? It's God's justice that has to be appeased in Jesus' death, and his mercy that allowed him to give his son to die for us. There is no point if God is not just and merciful.
So why doesn't Jesus address this in the Bible?
Why doesn't he say, "Eh, don't worry. I'll sort it out whether you witness to them or not"?
Because - I have to smile and shake my head here; God is so amazing - Because God loves us.
Really. He sometimes tells us to do things that make no sense at first.
Because he knows.
Of course, witnessing does make sense. It's sharing the best news in history. But also... Witnessing grows courage in us. It gives us a reason to reach past blind faith and find the proof that the Bible is reliable. It gives us a chance to be a part of an incredible, life-altering experience for both someone else and ourselves. It draws us closer to others. It draws us closer to Jesus. We are able to serve God, whom we love, through witnessing. We get to see evidence of God moving, which grows our faith.
Basically, if we aren't at least willing to share the Gospel, something is broken in us. And how will we know whether we're willing unless we actually do it?
Is it a test?
Maybe I sound like I'm down-playing actually telling others about God. I'm not though, am I? I'm telling you that God may have sneaky, beautiful reasons for the Great Commission.
Sure, he can reach everyone without us. But not so beautifully. Not nearly, nearly so beautifully.