Emergent Embraces Ecumenism - UPDATED
Tim Challies posted on his "A La Carte" the link to D.R. Brooker's blog (Running Well) where he reveals that Brian McLaren and Tony Jones have forged ahead to the first ever "Emergent Christian, Jewish Leaders" meeting. I don't think the implications of this meeting and motivation can be understated. What is at stake for Christianity in attempts to deny the exclusivity of Jesus Christ and the gospel is the very identity, distinctives, and contours of the Christian faith. Instead of looking for a Generous Orthodoxy, we should contend for genuine orthodoxy, and that, my friend, is where we have arrived. Over the past couple of days, I have been thinking about the theological lineage of the Emergent Movement, and I am preparing to make the case that the Emergent Movement has its roots in the same family tree as religious pluralism. I know that this charge carries a high level of "provocativeness," but I believe it to be true. While there are, of course, many differences, the similaries are striking to say the least. Quote by Tony Jones in the press release: "As emerging Christian leaders have been pushing through the polarities of left and right in an effort to find a new, third way, we've been desperate to find partners for that quest," he said. "It's with great joy and promise that we partner with the leaders of S3K to talk about the future and God's Kingdom." What Others Are Saying: Emergent - us "Emergent Christian, Jewish Leaders in First-Ever Meeting" Emergent What? "EmergentVillage Meets with Jewish Leaders" Xphiles "Inter-Religious Emergers?" Doug Pagitt "Emergent Christian/Jewish Leaders Meeting" J. Shawn Landres "Emergent Christian, Jewish Leaders in First-Ever Meeting" Leighton Tebay "Growing Concern with Emergent" Jeff Wright "Just In Time for Christmas: Attacks on the Exclusivity of Christ" Darryl Dash "Emergent Christian/Jewish Leaders Meeting" Adam Cleaveland "Emergent Christian/Jewish Leaders Meeting: UPDATE" Steve McCoy "Emergent, Jews, and Justice" Mike Noakes "S3K and Emergent" Joe Kennedy "Emergent and Kingdom Work" Organizations: Synagogue 3000 and Emergent Village Key Issues: * Level One Issues on Mohler's Theological Triage) Uniqueness of Jesus Christ The Doctrine of Salvation (locus/particularity/atonement) Exclusivity of the Christian Faith The Kingdom of God Revelation of God (General/Specific) Message (content) of the Gospel (truth claims) Interfaith Movement (Ecumenism) Intra-religious Dialogue (Syncretism) Covenant (Continuity/Discontinuity) Epistemological, Ecclesiological, and Escatological Implications Questions being asked: "Are Christians the only ones who can advance the Kingdom of God? How do you define it?" "Can Christianity learn from other religions?" "Can people be saved without ever knowing or believing in Jesus Christ?" "Can people unknowingly be doing "Kingdom things?" Or "Can one be a part of the Kingdom of God without personally knowing the King?" "Does the message of Christianity lie in social context ("love your neighbor" and "unto the lease of these" or propositional truth or both?" "Are other world religions 'vehicles' of salvation?" "Is explicit saving faith necessary for one to be saved?" "Is there only one way/method (evangelism) for the Kingdom of God to be advanced? Is the Kingdom of God contingent upon human effort?" "Has God really rejected the Jews or is He still in covenant with them?" I wish I had the space to copy and paste some of my favorite comments. I might just have to do that if I have some spare time (scratch that - too busy!)
posted by Timmy Brister at 12/09/2005 10:36:00 PM
1 Comments:
If you are interested in some new ideas on ecumenism and the Trinity, please check out my website at www.religiouspluralism.ca. It previews my book, which has not been published yet and is still a “work-in-progress.” Your constructive criticism would be very much appreciated.
My thesis is that an abstract version of the Trinity could be Christianity’s answer to the world need for a framework of pluralistic theology.
In a constructive worldview: east, west, and far-east religions present a threefold understanding of One God manifest primarily in Muslim and Hebrew intuition of the Deity Absolute, Christian and Krishnan Hindu conception of the Universe Absolute Supreme Being; and Shaivite Hindu, Buddhist, Taoist apprehension of the Destroyer (meaning also Consummator), Unconditioned Absolute, or Spirit of All That Is and is not. Together with their variations and combinations in other major religions, these religious ideas reflect and express our collective understanding of God, in an expanded concept of the Holy Trinity.
The Trinity Absolute is portrayed in the logic of world religions, as follows:
1. Muslims and Jews may be said to worship only the first person of the Trinity, i.e. the existential Deity Absolute Creator, known as Allah or Yhwh, Abba or Father (as Jesus called him), Brahma, and other names; represented by Gabriel (Executive Archangel), Muhammad and Moses (mighty messenger prophets), and others.
2. Christians and Krishnan Hindus may be said to worship the first person through a second person, i.e. the experiential Universe or "Universal” Absolute Supreme Being (Allsoul or Supersoul), called Son/Christ or Vishnu/Krishna; represented by Michael (Supreme Archangel), Jesus (teacher and savior of souls), and others. The Allsoul is that gestalt of personal human consciousness, which we expect will be the "body of Christ" (Mahdi, Messiah, Kalki or Maitreya) in the second coming – personified in history by Muhammad, Jesus Christ, Buddha (9th incarnation of Vishnu), and others.
3. Shaivite Hindus, Buddhists, and Confucian-Taoists seem to venerate the synthesis of the first and second persons in a third person or appearance, ie. the Destiny Consummator of ultimate reality – unqualified Nirvana consciousness – associative Tao of All That Is – the absonite* Unconditioned Absolute Spirit “Synthesis of Source and Synthesis,”** who/which is logically expected to be Allah/Abba/Brahma glorified in and by union with the Supreme Being – represented in religions by Gabriel, Michael, and other Archangels, Mahadevas, Spiritpersons, etc., who may be included within the mysterious Holy Ghost.
Other strains of religion seem to be psychological variations on the third person, or possibly combinations and permutations of the members of the Trinity – all just different personality perspectives on the Same God. Taken together, the world’s major religions give us at least two insights into the first person of this thrice-personal One God, two perceptions of the second person, and at least three glimpses of the third.
* The ever-mysterious Holy Ghost or Unconditioned Spirit is neither absolutely infinite, nor absolutely finite, but absonite; meaning neither existential nor experiential, but their ultimate consummation; neither fully ideal nor totally real, but a middle path and grand synthesis of the superconscious and the conscious, in consciousness of the unconscious.
** This conception is so strong because somewhat as the Absonite Spirit is a synthesis of the spirit of the Absolute and the spirit of the Supreme, so it would seem that the evolving Supreme Being may himself also be a synthesis or “gestalt” of humanity with itself, in an Almighty Universe Allperson or Supersoul. Thus ultimately, the Absonite is their Unconditioned Absolute Coordinate Identity – the Spirit Synthesis of Source and Synthesis – the metaphysical Destiny Consummator of All That Is.
For more details, please see: www.religiouspluralism.ca
Samuel Stuart Maynes
6/10/2014 03:05:00 PM
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