By Rudy Barnes, Jr., December 22, 2108
The last prayer of Jesus in John’s Gospel emphasizes the unity of all believers (John 17:20-23). John’s gospel presents Jesus as the universal Logos, or Word of God--a light that shines in the darkness (John 1:1-14). The prayer is for faith in the message of God’s word rather than in the messenger. It’s ironic that John’s Gospel is often cited to support faith in Jesus as a divine being (John 3:16 and 14:6) rather than as a great prophet who exemplified the Logos.
The prayer of Jesus for the unity of all believers is a prayer for religious reconciliation. Jesus was the good shepherd who sought to bring together the sheep of other religious flocks (John 10:16). His prayer was not to convert all people to a religion that would later be known as Christianity, but to reconcile all believers in the universal family of God.
Exclusivist Christian beliefs that consider Jesus the only manifestation of Logos and the Trinitarian alter ego of God conflict with Jewish and Islamic beliefs that accept the teachings of Jesus as the word of God but reject his divinity. The unity of all believers has universal meaning when it is understood that Jesus was a universal Logos rather than a surrogate Christian god.
The story of the last judgment is Matthew’s apocalyptic vision of God’s judgment (Matthew 25:31-46). It makes salvation dependent on works of mercy for the least of those among us, rather than through faith in Jesus as the Trinitarian alter ego of God. Those who ignored the least of those were condemned, and their religious beliefs didn’t save them.
When taken together, the unity of all believers and the last judgment debunk the idea that salvation is limited to one religion. Jesus taught that all who do the will of God are his spiritual kin (Mark 3:35); and God’s will is summarized in the greatest commandment to love God and our neighbors--including those of other races and religions--as we love ourselves.
The greatest commandment is a common word of faith, taken from the Hebrew Bible, taught by Jesus and accepted by Islamic leaders. Together with the new command in John’s Gospel to love one another (John 13:34), those love commands define the faith and works of the unity of all believers, and promise them a new birth in a spiritual life that will never end.
Jesus was a Jew who never promoted any religion over others, not even his own. Jesus knew that God was bigger than any religion. But Christianity and Islam have put God in a box by proselytizing exclusivist beliefs in order to become popular and powerful religious institutions; and they continue to assert that their religion is the one true faith, and condemn all unbelievers.
Christian morality was corrupted by politics under Constantine in the 4th century, and the Reformation doctrine of sola fide (faith alone) made things worse by asserting that moral works are irrelevant to salvation. The nadir of Christian morality came in 2016 when white evangelical Christians ignored the moral teachings of Jesus and elected Donald Trump president.
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The Book of James describes the need to balance faith and works. James asks: What good is it, my brothers if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? ...As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. (James 2:1, 26). That is especially true in a democracy, where our political deeds affect all others, especially the least of those among us.
Most white Christians have ignored the teachings of Jesus and promoted distorted doctrines of Christian morality to support radical right politics. When they elected Donald Trump as president they sacrificed Jesus on the altar of partisan politics. In this season of Advent, Christians should seek to bring the light of God’s love into America’s increasingly dark politics.
There is no place for religions that ignore the least of those among us, or that promote religious exclusivity in a world of increasing religious diversity. But unprincipled religious and political leaders continue to exploit fear and hate through religion to promote their power. This Christmas let us seek the light of the world to dispel the darkness around us.
Related Commentary:
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(1/11/15): The Greatest Commandment: A Common Word of Faith
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(2/8/15): Promoting Religion Through Evangelism: Bringing Light or Darkness?
(4/5/15): Seeing the Resurrection in a New Light
(4/12/15): Faith as a Source of Morality and Law: The Heart of Legitimacy
(4/19/15): Jesus: A Prophet, God’s Only Son, or the Logos? http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2015/04/jesus-prophet-god-only-son-or-logos.html
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SO well said Rudy. I read a book one time that expressed this so well. "Mister God This is Anna". It was really an obscure little book but profound wisdom. I have always considered myself, not a Christian, but an imperfect follower of Christ's teachings. The world is becoming ready to let go of either or and embrace both and. Which I believe was the essence of what Christ was trying to teach. The we are BOTH human and a cell of the larger body of God, with Christ as our guide and teacher.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your articles, your intelligence and thoughtfulness as well as your courage to speak unpopular truths carry much light.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments. I share your thoughts and appreciate your encouraging words of wisdom.
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