Interfaith The Interfaith Bible
The Interfaith Bible
Introduction
These notes are an attempt to read the NT from an interfaith perspective and see what that yields. During the year 2010 my intention is to write a reflection on each interfaith text in The New Testament.
The Etiquette of the Kingdom
In Matthew 5 Jesus is teaching his disciples and the crowd about the
Matt. 5:3-14
3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. 13 You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot. 14 You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid.
Those who mourn, those who are meek, those who hunger for right living, those who show mercy, those who have pure hearts, that who are peacemakers, and those who are persecuted and reviled for their good way of life show that they are children of the kingdom; they are submissive to the will of God and show the divine spirit in their attitudes and actions. When this application is made to these texts, one gets a very different picture from the one that arises when these texts are held captive to confessed, Christian believers.
There is another text that seems to corroborate this view. In Peter's address to Cornelius he says whoever does fears God and does what is right is accepted by God. Note: Acts 10: 34-35:"Then Peter began to speak to them: "I truly understand that God shows no partiality, 35 but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him." God shows no partiality. Anyone who has reverence for God and does what is right is acceptable.
The Impartiality of God
Matt. 5:43
You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.
The interfaith reading of this text falls on the faithfulness and compassion of God. God commands us to love our enemies, to see their point of view, to be willing to forgive them, even to do good to them. The demand for this attitude finds its grounding in the nature of God.
God treats all the same. There is no difference is God's treatment of friend or foe, companion or enemy. God causes "the sun to rise on the even and the good" and send "rain on the just and the unjust." Even minimum life depends upon water and light, without which all living things will perish.
If we are to offer enemies forgiveness and acceptance, how difficult can it be to offer the same to someone whose faith is different from our own. Our enemies seek to do us harm, even kill us, but these persons of other faiths, when they are true to the teaching of their faith, show us kindness, love and compassion. What we are to show each other by our way of live is the spirit of God. Because God is gracious, loving, and forgiving, we are to be the same not only to those who believe like us but to those who believe differently but have come to the road of compassion by a different route.
Hearers and Doers
All of Jesus teaching on the mount lays out the etiquette of the kingdom. This teaching includes not only those who are present in
Matthew 7:24-27
24 Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. 25 The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell--and great was its fall!
The tendency through the years has been to read this text through the lens of Jesus crucifixion and resurrection and the theology of Paul. When this is done the emphasis on hearing and doing what Jesus said as a means of wisdom gets lost. When this text is read through the lens of the last supper, the cross and the empty tomb, it is understood that Jesus offers forgiveness to those who sin and break his commandments. Furthermore, the presence of the Spirit to inspire and empower our obedience is also presupposed and we miss the emphasis on "whoever hears and obeys his words."
When these verses are read through Pauline lenses, the interpretation of the death and resurrection of Christ as God's redeeming act for all humanity has already been achieved and the human role is to believe in the efficacy of Christ's atonement for sin. The emphasis for Paul is faith which grows out of the interpretation of the death of Christ by the church and the emphasis on "everyone everywhere" is lost.
Recognizing that this emphasis of Jesus occurs before his death and resurrection and before the interpretation of
I am claiming that these words of Jesus at the conclusion of his ethical teaching at the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount contains the inclusive truth as spoken by Peter in Acts 10: 34-35 "I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him."
Faith Avails Wherever Found
The impartiality of God and the willingness of God to accept all who show faith is explicitly illustrated in Jesus affirmation of a Roman Centurion. The story is found in Matthew 8:5-13.
5 When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, appealing to him 6 and saying, 'Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, in terrible distress.' 7 And he said to him, 'I will come and cure him.' 8 The centurion answered, 'Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes, and to another, 'Come,' and he comes, and to my slave, 'Do this,' and the slave does it.' 10 When Jesus heard him, he was amazed and said to those who followed him, "Truly I tell you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. 11 'I tell you, many will come from east and west and will eat with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, 12 while the heirs of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' 13 And to the centurion Jesus said, 'Go; let it be done for you according to your faith.' And the servant was healed in that hour.
Three facts stand out in this encounter of Jesus with the Roman officer: Jesus had no hesitation in going to the Centurion's house (I will come and heal him); Jesus declared that even in Israel among his own people he had not found faith equal to that of the Centurion (in no one in Israel have I found such faith); finally, Jesus asserts that many like the Centurion who are not from Israel will eat with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven).
What are we to make of this for our day? Jesus would have no hesitation in healing a gentile; he would have no problem crossing the line between Christian and non-Christian, he would respond to a spoken need with reference to which church (east or west) or to which denomination the person belonged, or even if he had a denomination.
This even in Jesus ministry also suggests that he recognized faith outside the bounds of Israel's Torah; a Roman showed faith by his recognition that in the spiritual realm Jesus had authority and power just as he had had authority in the material realm. This man's faith consisted of the recognition that Jesus had the ability to heal his servant and it was expressed in his courage to ask Jesus to use this power for the sake of his servant.
Jesus, in a sense, universalized the faith of the Roman, often called pagan by those on the inside of the faith. Jesus stated clearly that there were many others in the world like the Centurion and that many of them would come from the east and the west and from the north and the south (from all over the world) and eat with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the
All these implications add up to one thing: faith is not confined to the authorized religions. Jews, Christians, and Muslims have their faith and sometimes each excludes the other from the grace of God, and they certainly exclude those from all the other faiths. This is a dangerous path to take because ultimately it ends up with your group having the only faith that pleases God, your particular understanding of your faith being the pure faith, and sometimes you get the impression that only you have the true faith.
The "No Faiths" beside the Believers
Matthew 8:28-9:1
28 When he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demoniacs coming out of the tombs met him. They were so fierce that no one could pass that way. 29 Suddenly they shouted, 'What have you to do with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?' 30 Now a large herd of swine was feeding at some distance from them. 31 The demons begged him, 'If you cast us out, send us into the herd of swine.' 32 And he said to them, 'Go!' So they came out and entered the swine; and suddenly, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and perished in the water. 33 The swineherds ran off, and on going into the town, they told the whole story about what had happened to the demoniacs. 34 Then the whole town came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their neighborhood. 9:1 And after getting into a boat he crossed the sea and came to his own town.
The arresting quality of the passage with reference to faith in people who do not belong to
The fact that this community raised swine gives clear evidence that they were not Jews, at least, not faithful Jews. Jews do not eat pork (ck Leviticus) and pigs represent uncleanness to the Jew. So Jesus seemed to have no qualms about giving the evil spirits leave to enter into the swine for evil spirits cannot remain disembodied.
When the two men were healed and the swine ran down the slope and perished in the sea, the herdsmen rushed into the village to tell the residents what had happened. When they heard about the healing and the disposition of the swine, they came out of the village and begged Jesus to depart. These villagers sharply contrast with the Centurion; he was a believer and all of them disbelievers. One wonders if their reaction was not motivated by economics: raising pigs was their livelihood. This incident in the ministry of Jesus reminds me of the rejection of Muhammad by the wealthy citizens of
A Welcome Rewarded
Matthew 10:40-42
40 Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. 41 Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet's reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; 42 and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple--truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.
The tenth chapter of Matthew explains what the disciples Jesus to do when they are sent into the world. Generally, they are to represent him and say and do the things that he would say and do. In order to be such a disciple one's commitments and loyalties must be to Christ above all else. Naturally, these instructions are directed to those who believe in him and sincerely desire to follow him.
Jesus in these instructions is preparing his disciples to go to those who are not committed to him; he indicates how they are to behave. While they are trampling up and down the hills of
If we transpose this principle into the interfaith world, it suggests that the believers from one faith should welcome the believers from another. Those who welcome persons from another faith they will be rewarded: if they welcome you as a prophet, they will receive a prophet's reward; if they welcome you as a righteous person, they will receive a righteous person's reward; even if they offer the believer a mere cup of water, they will be rewarded.
When those of other faiths welcome Christians, God rewards them for their kindness. When one religion welcomes the practitioner of another religion, that person is demonstrating the welcome of God. When a person of either religion fears, suspects the other of bad motives and rejects them, they deny the gracious God who welcomes us all.
Matthew 11:27
All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
At first glance it would be easy to interpret this statement of Jesus as exclusive: no one can know God unless Christ reveals God to them. From and exclusivist point of view, we would imagine that Jesus must be preached, his words must be studied or one of his followers must witness to his presence to enable another to know God. Quite unconsciously we have limited the impact of Jesus to those modes of communication controlled by the Church: teaching, preaching, and testifying. This kind of communication leads to the conclusion that the other must hear our gospel and join our community to know God.
But suppose that the Spirit is no so controlled by the Church as we tend to believe! What if the Spirit is loose in the world, speaking through media which we Christians do not control? What if the Spirit has already covered the earth even as it hovered over the sea? (In Genesis 1:2 we read: "And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.") What if this same Spirit hovers over human consciousness in all persons in all the world? Could we then say that the Son through the Spirit is revealing God to all persons? And those who pay attention to the Spirit come to know the God that Jesus came to reveal.
From this statement of Jesus we should recognize that the Jesus of history is not limited to the first century, that the work of the Spirit is not controlled by the Church, and that there have always been people who have come to know God without the benefit of preachers, teachers or sacraments under the church's control.
I believe that I have met and talked with people who have been tutored by the Spirit, whose lives have been transformed and fulfilled without their having intimate knowledge of the Gospel. Other religions who have not had available to them the biblical understanding of Christ, have, nevertheless, met him and been changed through him by the Spirit. Jesus says that what has been hidden from the wise and intelligent has been revealed to infants. Consider this shocking fact: infants (new born) know what escapes the scholars and pastors.
The Gentile's Hope
This was to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah:
Matthew 12:18-20
Here is my servant, whom I have chosen, my beloved, with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. He will not wrangle or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets He will not break a bruised reed or quench a smoldering wick until he brings justice to victory. And in his name the Gentiles will hope.
This prophecy of Isaiah who wrote it as a note of hope for
This hope need not follow the traditional Christian interpretation that those who believe and are baptized into Christ have this hope. While this is true, it is also true that there are others who believe in justice, gentleness, and a kind way of speaking free of discord and dispute who will find hope in the virtues that he embodied.
I do not see this text in any way limiting, but I see it as expansive: anyone who participates in the values and virtues that were embodied in the Christ hopes that these will prevail in a world of conflict and debate. I take the vision of the prophet to include Christianity and the Church but it is much larger than that in that it opens doors for who believe in God to find the path of hope.
A Tree is Known by its Fruit
Matthew 12:33-37
33 Either make the tree good, and its fruit good; or make the tree bad, and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers! How can you speak good things, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 The good person brings good things out of a good treasure, and the evil person brings evil things out of an evil treasure. 36 I tell you, on the day of judgment you will have to give an account for every careless word you utter; for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.
Most scholars hold that Judaism and Islam are primarily religions of behavior, that Jews and Muslims are much more interested in what one does than what one believes while Christianity focuses on belief. Certainly there is truth in this assessment when we consider the writings of
In this text Jesus focuses on behavior that springs from one's inner nature. Jesus was accused of healing and casting out demons by the power of Beelzebul, the ruler of demons. Jesus concludes his defense of his work with the illustration of the good tree and the bad tree, or good fruit or bad fruit. Because his opponents had accused him of being in league with the devil, Jesus applied the good fruit and the bad fruit to speech, good speech and bad speech originates in the heart, not from the lips. He emphasizes that by one's fruit you will know them.
With respect to interfaith this teaching seems to suggest that if a person produces good fruit: kind speech, truthful speech, hospitable speech: this fruit testifies to the goodness of his heart. Conversely, foul speech indicates a vile spirit which cannot produce good fruit. No matter what a person professes, unless that person lives and acts with grace and love, the tree is bad and the fruit is bad. Jesus concludes that "by you words you will be justified and by your words you will be condemned." This judgment is based on behavior and not on beliefs! We should, therefore, examine the behavior of those who believe differently from us to determine the state of their hearts.
Another instance further illustrates Jesus emphasis on behavior as a guide to discernment. He said, "This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines." (Matthew 13:8-9)
Feeding the Hungry
Matthew 15:33-38
The disciples said to him, 'Where are we to get enough bread in the desert to feed so great a crowd?' 34 Jesus asked them, 'How many loaves have you?' They said, 'Seven, and a few small fish.' 35 Then ordering the crowd to sit down on the ground, 36 he took the seven loaves and the fish; and after giving thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 37 And all of them ate and were filled; and they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. 38 Those who had eaten were four thousand men, besides women and children.
Jesus never asked what people believed nor did he examine the purity of their lives before he fed them! Getting food when a person is hungry does not depend upon lucid faith or commendable actions. People are fed because they are hungry, and for no other reason.
Repaid for Choices
Matthew 17: 24
Then Jesus told his disciples, 'If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25 For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life? 27 For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done. 28 Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.'
This text suggests that Jesus was giving a universal message to his followers. He states that "anyone" whether Jew or Gentile who wishes to be a follower must deny him or herself. He also divides the world into those who wish to save their lives and those who are willing to give their lives him his sake and the sake of the good news. When the Son of Man comes, he will repay everyone.
If the message of Jesus is for the whole world and if the whole world will be judged on giving their lives or holding on to their lives, people of other faith will be included. He addresses them in his emphasis on "everyone"; he divides them according to those who cling to their lives and those who give themselves to something greater than themselves. At the judgment each person will be repaid for what he has done.
The Only Way (Move later)
John 14:6-7
Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.'
Any Christian who has entered into the interfaith world has been forced to deal with the issue of Christ as the way to God. Shirley Guthrie describes three ways that Christians may view other religions: exclusivism, pluralism and inclusivism. He says that the traditional Christian position has been exclusive, that there is no other name and no other truth that brings people to God. The attitude has been that we have the truth and other religions do not.
The pluralist acknowledges spiritual and ethical truth in other religions. If that religion is not superstitious, offers meaning and direction in life, and is not politically oppressive, it is recognized as a true, valid and saving religion. These religions may acknowledge Muhammad, Moses, the Buddha or Brahman. All these faithful paths lead to God says the pluralist.
The inclusivist like Karl Rahner holds that the revelation of God in Christ is the one true religion but that the Spirit of Christ is at work in persons outside the Christian tradition informing and inspiriting their lives making them "anonymous Christians." Guthrie's solution is to place Jesus Christ at the center without the distortions that the church has created through its dogma and creeds and the way that various communities have created a private interpretation of Jesus Christ.
Though this is a tempting view, I am not helped by it because in the end he asserts that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life very much like the traditional Christian has always done. About 4:00 am on Tuesday morning, November 24, 2009 I was wrestling with this problem when another solution came to me. As I repeatedly went over this verse, it occurred to me that Jesus was emphasizing the FATHER, no one comes to the FATHER except through me. In Jesus we encounter the unique aspect of God's nature as Father. Other religions do not place emphasis on the image of God as FATHER, like Christ did. The Father for Jesus was personal and intimate; and he spoke of the Father as Abba. He knew the intimacy of one who was compassionate, caring and ever present to him. Jesus embodied the understanding of God as Father, to see him and to know him was equivalent to knowing the Father.
This manner of dealing with this seemingly exclusive statement means that the understanding of God as Father arises in and flows through the life and teaching of Christ Jesus. It does not mean that it is the only valid understanding of God; it does not say that that those who do not confess Jesus, as traditional Christians confess Jesus, do not know God. It does mean that they do not know God as Father as Jesus did.
To see that Jesus is the way to the Father does not mean that other religions do not know God; it does not mean that people who do not say "I believe in Jesus Christ as my personal Savior" are going to hell. This does not imply that Christians are better than other religious people, that they can therefore feel superior or look down on those or judge those who do not confess Jesus as Lord and savior.
To emphasize one faith over another smacks of pride and saturates the adopted faith power and control. Jesus is the way that I have come to God; he has made the presence of God real to me; I honor Christ as the way to the Father but I believe that he has shown me that I do not honor him by claiming superiority over others and engaging in combative arguments regarding the rightness of my faith.
The Child Metaphor
Matthew 18:2-6
Jesus called a child, whom he put among them, 3 and said, 'Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me. 6 If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea.'
The "Child" as a metaphor holds rich possibilities. In this child we see a symbol of innocence, trust, dependence and beauty. Also, the child represents the character of people of the
A child comes into the world without conscious values, without prejudice, and without feelings of superiority or inferiority. All of these are learned responses to life. Unfortunately, parents, families and society influence children to adopt false values, embrace prejudices, and succumb to feelings inferiority.
When Jesus declares that we must become as little children, he is pointing to the necessity of getting rid of learned values that separate us from our fellow human beings. Many of us need to renounce the false values of money and power to embrace love, forgiveness, and compassion. We need to erase our prejudices by the acceptance of every person as a fellow member of God's kingdom and in a relationship of love to find our common ground. Inferiority and superiority are constructs of our present reality that provide nothing of value to us. To own ourselves: to live in the present moment, to see life through clear lenses, to recognize that the ground is level: will place us all on the common journey where it is possible to live together in peace and harmony.