A Religious Divide

There are a number of ways to define the substance of religion. In this case I’m limiting my remarks to the Christian faith, and specifically to how Jesus is understood. One option is to BELIEVE THINGS ABOUT HIM. Faith is affirming a series of doctrinal propositions. This is the approach taken by most people in Christian history for whom believing is the essence of faith. These must-be-believed orthodox doctrines have been spelled out in the historic creeds of the church. (The word CREDO means “I believe.”) Among the essential doctrines about Jesus are the following: Jesus is the Son of God, and as the second person of the Trinity, is God himself. But as he is fully God, he is also, without contradiction, fully human. He was born of the Virgin Mary without having a human father. In his earthly ministry he performed many miracles. Having taken on himself all human sin, he appeased God by his sacrificial death on the cross, thus securing our forgiveness. Three days after his death he was resurrected by God. At the time to be selected by God, he will return to earth..

While the foregoing is an oversimplification, these are some of the essential things to be believed, and doing so is the path to eternal life.

However, there is a very different approach to being a Christian. It is not to believe in specific doctrines about Jesus, but TO FOLLOW HIM IN FAITHFUL OBEDIENCE. Jesus came to show us the path to godly living. The biographical sketches we have about him are found in the gospel narratives we know as Matthew, Mark and Luke. In them Jesus does not focus on committing his followers to believe things about him, but calling them to follow “in his steps.”. A generation after these three gospels were collected and revised, the author of the fourth gospel has Jesus calling the world to acknowledge him as Christ, the divine savior.

While it can be argued that faithful Christians must both BELIEVE and FOLLOW, in our era when supernaturalism is a problematic rational exercise, many Christians are more inclined to FOLLOW, while others are more inclined to BELIEVE. It is how one assigns weight between these two options that separates theologically liberal Christians from evangelicals or fundamentalists.

As I have increasingly come to understand that FOLLOWING is more important than BELIEVING I, have heard from several of my more orthodox friends who accuse me of reducing the whole Christian religion to a list of ethical propositions. That accusation is only partly true. While there are many Christians for whom believing in creedal statements is not the center of their faith, they take seriously the guide to living at the center of Jesus’ life and work.

At the same time it seems to me that when the Christian faith is reduced to a set of propositions that one is to believe, the temptation is to say that all those who do not affirm them, have placed themselves in jeopardy of rejecting God’s offer of forgiveness, and with that rejection, their souls’ salvation—whatever that might mean.

If I am seeking common cause with those actively committed to making this world a better, safer, happier, more just and peaceful place for every person, I will probably choose colleagues who share the ethical commitment I have found in Jesus’ life and teachings, and not those whose faith is centered on doctrines about him. Many of these colleagues will probably be humanists or agnostics.

have been profoundly influenced by Albert Schweitzer who ends his quest to discover the historical Jesus like this: He comes to us as One unknown, without a name, as of old, by the lake-side, He came to those men who knew Him not. He speaks to us the same word: 'Follow thou me!' and sets us to the tasks which He has to fulfill for our time. He commands. And to those who obey Him, whether they be wise or simple, He will reveal Himself in the toils, the conflicts, the sufferings which they shall pass through in His fellowship, and as an ineffable mystery, they shall learn in their own experience Who He Is.

Next week I will conclude this short series on religion and will be taking a break until after Labor Day.