Our visiting speaker was Catriona Laing who spoke on the Trinity and also commented briefly on her interfaith work with the Cambridge Interfaith Unit. One of the newer "techniques" in interfaith dialogue she described, was Scripture Reasoning, (see a previous post describing this) and this reminds us of the centrality of the scriptures to our faith and world view.
The Gospel reading was the end of Matthew when Jesus gives the great commission to his followers to "go make and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the father, Son and Holy Spirit."
Catriona talks about the tension these kind of passages cause in an interfaith context. The great commission is a clear command to evangelise the nations, there is a reference to the Trinitarian nature of God and a high Christology which refers to Jesus as the Son of God. The temptation for Christian participants in interfaith encounters is to gloss over or ignore the missionary aspects of the Christian faith altogether. Clearly these latter responses are unsatisfactory and those of other faiths are surprised at how willing Christians are in seeking to appease others by compromising on their own faith.
Miss Laing suggests that the church be faithful in applying faith, reason and tradition in the interfaith arena so that we may be faithful to the Gospel, but also be humble in our interactions.
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2 comments:
A temptation is often, to be frank, to be ashamed of Christ. I think this is essentially because of the radically unusual commitments Jesus asks us to make towards our fellow men, and in society.
I think this may explain Peter's betrayals. It was Peter's innate normality that inclined him to betray Christ in the face of the extraordinary path that Jesus had chosen. This, of course, was also why Jesus understood and was compassionate about being betrayed.
I think this inherent temptation can be magnified today by a Christian's own 21 century reflections on what many secular, european minds, who are less than friendly towards the gospel, are inclined rather often to say about how domineering and imperialistic the Christian faith has reputedly been since Constantine's time, and more relevantly, in the previous two centuries or so, in the context of Europes global hegemony.
An embarrassed shame about our own imperialistic past, which is reasonable and noble enough in-itself (though why are other cultures not so ashamed of their own empires?) can sometimes, I think, get conflated and mixed in with a shame towards the gospel which I think is very inappropriate.
Also, I'd want to say that the two questions of a) being respectful and considerate and loving towards Muslims (and other non_Christians) and b) preaching the Gospel to them, and indeed to all non-Christians, shouldn't be considered to be incompatible (as liberals often seem to consider them, so it seems). If you think about it, it is strange that they should do this, isnt it?
Finally, Andy, if you will indulge me, it just struck me that the phrase 'make disciples of all nations' could perhaps have two meanings. It could mean turn the entire peoples en masse to Christ (one thinks of how Armenia became Christian all at once), or it could mean make disciples IN all nations, so not necessarily of all the people in them (well, unless they want to convert!).
The latter would be a less imposing, domineering interpetation, I would have thought. Yet one that upholds the need for all to hear.
Anway, Im just thinking out loud.
I hope you r having a nice time in blighty.
Sorry!
I meant to say 'Peter's denials', not his betrayals.
Though perhaps we can say That Judas betrayed Jesus for related all-too-human reasons...?
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