In a our pluralistic culture it is not surprising that portions of the Episcopal Church do not believe that Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Signs of this are everywhere. For example, on May 11, 1991 the Diocese of Maryland in convention defeated a resolution affirming Christ as the only way to God. Or, Trinity News, the magazine of Trinity Parish Wall Street, recently published an article suggesting that we extend our images for God to include pagan images and insights. Or, as Matthew Fox, former Roman Catholic theologian turned Episcopal priest puts it, "There is only one great underground river, though there are numerous wells into it-- Buddhist wells and Taoist wells, Native American wells and Christian wells, Islamic wells and Judaic wells." Matthew Fox, The Coming of the Cosmic Christ, p. 230.
In response to the action in Maryland six diocesan priests published the Baltimore Declaration. This document repudiated the "false teaching that Jesus Christ is only one revelation or manifestation of God, that there are other revelations and other experiences (political, ideological, cultural, or religious) to which we may look or must look to gain knowledge of the true God." It's authors were criticized for being divisive, for using the category of "false teaching," and for their failure to recognize that Anglicanism is an inclusive non-confessional community which accepts diversity. Several observations are in order.
First, the uniqueness of Christ is not peripheral to the Christian faith. It is absolutely central. It is massively attested by Scripture, by the Creeds, and by the tradition of the Church. Without it, there is no Christian church.
Secondly, belief in the uniqueness of Christ is a matter of faith not certainty. If true, it will only be verified on the last day when Christ "will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead." Therefore, we cannot autocratically deny the validity of other religions but humbly recognize that our hope is a matter of faith not sight.
Furthermore, Jesus is Lord of all because he was willing to die for all. His lordship was and is revealed in acts of mercy. In our pluralistic age non-believers are not impressed by claims to absolute truth, but by sacrificial deeds in his name. For this reason true faith in Jesus as Lord cannot be unenlightened, intolerant, or narrow-minded, because these qualities are utterly incompatible with the crucified.
What then is the religious perspective that would see Christ as only one of many? Yale theologian George Lindbeck in his The Nature of Doctrine denotes the dominant religion of our age by the term "experiential expressive" religion. By this he means the idea that all religions refer to a single reality and only differ in how that reality is expressed. Lindbeck considers this view presumptuous. What do people of other faiths think when they discover that their religion, often acquired through great suffering, is suddenly passed off as equivalent to any other? Has Matthew For or anyone else penetrated the mysteries of Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, or Native American religion? Does he speak their native languages? Have we even penetrated to the heart of our own faith? This is what I find especially disturbing about some of the "enlightened" views in the Episcopal Church. It is degrading, not only to us but to those of other faiths. No, Christians show respect for others and themselves when they believe that Jesus Christ is Lord of all and act accordingly. (Plenteous Harvest, December, 1996)
The Rev. Robert J. Sanders, Ph.D.
December, 1996
Archbishop Eames, Evaluation and Critique
Barth - Economic Life and a History Chapter 5
Barth - Political Responsibility for Economic Life Chapter Four
Building Up the Ancient Ruins - A Response to the Present Crisis
Cranmer on Salvation - Introduction
How on Earth Did Jesus Become a God?
Infant Baptism and Confirmation
Introduction to Anglican Theology
Introduction to Anglican Theology - Anglicanism and Scripture
Introduction to Anglican Theology - Articles One Through Five
Introduction to Anglican Theology - Articles Six Through Twenty
Introduction to Anglican Theology - Articles Twenty-One Through Thirty-Nine
It's Not Just Sex, It's Everything - The Virginia Guidelines
Judgment Begins at the Household of God
Jung, the Faith, and the New World Order
Justification, The Reformers, and Rome
Nicea and the Invasion of Bishops in Other Dioceses
Preface to the 1549 Prayer Book
Prefaces and Offertory Sentences
Reason and Revelation in Hooker
Richard Hooker and Homosexuality - Introduction
Richard Hooker and the Archbishop's Address
Richard Hooker and the Puritans
Richard Hooker and Universal Salvation
The Anglican Formularies are not Enough
The Creeds and Biblical Interpretation
The Creeds and Biblical Interpretation Continued
The House of Bishop's Pastoral Study on Human Sexuality - Theological and Scientific Consideration
