The Interfaith Christian

Going to (or, on this particular morning, not going to :-) a Unitarian Universalist church has, over the last decade or so, caused me to grapple with two questions.

First, what is the difference between THE TRANSIENT AND PERMANENT IN CHRISTIANITY. (See 19th century Unitarian minister Theodore Parker's take on that at the link.)

The second is, what to do – as a Christian - in a non-Christian (though by no means anti-Christian) congregation which is largely divided (in the context of worship) by the secularists seeking a sound lecture based on Enlightenment rationality and the spiritualists seeking some type of inter-faith spirituality not constrained by any one faith tradition.

I have wrestled and wrestled over the relationship between the Christian and the secular, the Christian and other faiths and Christian language over Christian – and universal – experience.

A lot of books and talks and arguments (thank you, xianity@yahoogroups.com!) have brought me to the following simple, conclusions.

First, what we call spirituality is the experienced connection between ourselves and reality – all of reality. As the joke goes about the Buddhist ordering a hot dog from a vendor in NYC, “Make me one with everything” :-)

It is a feeling based on an ontological reality – the connection between us and the cosmos.

When we feel “one with everything”, we have it. When we don't, we don't have it.

Of course it's a little more complicated than that – relationships always are.

Sometimes we may feel a bit non-spiritual not because we're disconnected from the cosmos but because we don't particularly enjoy or agree with what the cosmos happens to be telling us at a particular point in time. :-)

This brings me to a second point – what to do as a Christian in an inter-faith congregation.

There are really only two things I can do: interpret the Bible, Christian theology and tradition the best way I can to people who are probably not particularly predisposed to hear it (but are interested anyway), and to develop an interfaith and / or secular language for the gospel as I best understand it.

Simply put in interfaith terms, acceptance of the gospel allows me to celebrate life in good times and not so good times, to accept all of life, including the sometimes very grim aspects of life, and to live in hope – even when hope, in it's ordinary connotations – is no longer possible. (Thank you, William Stringfellow.)

And one can do that without worshiping idols whether they be idols of sex or alcohol or avarice or idols of patriotism, career success or family.

My favorite joke is, beyond all doubt, this beauty which perfectly represents the gospel.

A man is walking in a desolate area. He slips off the edge of a cliff and manages to grab hold of a branch about half way down. He can't hold on forever. He knows he will eventually let go and die. But he hollers anyway.

“Help! Help! Can anyone hear me!?”

To his astonishment, a voice returns his cry.

“Yes, my son, I hear you. I am God. What do you want?”

“Oh, God, thank you God, please save me!”

“Do you trust me my son?”

“Oh, absolutely. Please save me! Please!”

“Do you really trust me? Will you do anything I ask?”

“Anything, anything you ask I will do!”

“Let go of the branch.”

There's a moment of silence. And then,

“Hey!! Can anyone else hear me?!!”

Love it.

That's it in a nutshell. Whether or not you can grasp or appreciate or identify (as I have) with the Christian tradition the question is, are we ready to let go of our idols (money, success, reputation, alcohol, sex, patriotism, stamp collection, family, 401K, you name it) and trust God to justify our existences, such as they are, on this earth even in the face of death.

Hope that's helpful to someone, because that's about all I've got.

Why complicate the God question with Jesus Christ?

Again, it's very simply put: because of the cross of Christ.

The heart of the Christian proclamation is not that God rules in triumph in heaven (which I believe God does) but because God, more importantly (for me, anyway), covertly rules in the very midst of the misery of the earth – and God in Christ crucified on a Roman cross perfectly communicates that reality for me.

There is no aspect of Hell on earth that God in Christ has not endured for me, no aspect of my own capacity for depravity (to use a favorite Calvinist expression :-) in which God in Christ has not identified with and redeemed.

And that is good news indeed.

There are some corollaries of course, that need to be worked out along the way.

Forgiveness, and the love of others, for example.

If you have a cosmology that allows you to believe what I just said, it becomes well-neigh impossible to have an enemy – because you no longer believe that anyone can ruin your life, no matter what they do. Even if they end it.

That doesn't close the door on justice, but it reminds us that as Christians – or sympathizers or fellow travelers or, as the late William Stringfellow called them, fellow exiles and aliens – justice isn't about being compensated for personal harm nor is it revenge, it is about the Christian's legitimate concern for the protection of society.

But the basics are simple: for St. Augustine, “Love God and do as you please” and for Martin Luther, “Sin boldly!” (?! :-)

For myself, not being as theologically gifted (or concise) as Augustine or Luther, it is “Embrace and live life as it has been given you, do not trade the false comfort of idols and other gods for looking reality at its harshest in the eye, and never give up hope – even hope where no earthly hope is possible.”

To the extent that we allow God (or whatever word we prefer) to empower us to do this, every worship and all of life will make us one with everything :-)

Bill Bekkenhuis
Bethlehem, PA