Theological Pluralism-A Book Review and My Opinion

Scintillating! A real page turner! I was at the edge of my seat! Not quite. But interesting, engaging and well versed and argued; yes.

“Is Jesus the Only Savior?” by Robert H. Nash has been thus far, a good read. Nash’s treatment of Christian Exclusionism, and Pluralism ala John Hick and other liberal notables has been well thought out and presented. It is obvious from Nash’s writing that he approaches these subjects from a Christian Orthodox worldview and therefore presents his viewpoints within the line of his refutations , which is quite expected as it seems he is out to discredit Hick’s arguments, which attempt to discredit Christian Orthodoxy.

Nash takes a sound approach to his arguments in presenting Hick’s stand first, his arguments then takes this stand and uses biblical and recognized scholarly citations to back up his arguments against Hick’s points; he does this quite well in my opinion. The fact that Hick and his liberal cronies haven’t got a logical argument as the foundation for all of their theology (or lack thereof) comes through most glaringly.

Nash has an easy writing style and language that is easily understood, even for the layperson. He presents his theology in a manner that is accessible to the reader. I especially enjoyed his use of tongue and cheek humor on occasion to make a point lightly.

In a scholarly sense, Nash first presents a complete overview of his thesis, laying out the groundwork for what lies ahead, namely his defense of Christian Exclusionism  against the tide of politically correct brands of theology and why Christian Exclusionism needs defending. Nash’s explanations of all of the key terms in the first chapter help the reader in knowing why it is important to know the information he is offering.  

Once Nash had established his thesis point and explained its importance, he went on using well founded points to build the foundation for his arguments. Nash’s use of citations was well done in both quality and quantity. The scholars’ works that Nash used were by scholars recognized and knowledgeable in their fields. He uses these citations as a good contrast when showing the pluralist arguments as weak and lacking substantial scholarly research.

One of my favorite parts of this reading was Nash’s use of “the excluded middle.” Being a fan of logic myself, I enjoyed Nash’s use of this concept to bore a hole straight through the pluralist point of view. It is incorrect to think that two diametrically opposed points of view can be simultaneously correct. Nash also did a good job in covering the importance of a proposition in his logic argument and showing how the pluralist has no leg on which to stand, since they seem to think that you can have two simultaneous propositions which are opposite, yet correct.

Overall, I have enjoyed my reading of Nash’s book and am anticipative of reading the second half on inclusivism; if he does as well with those arguments as he has done with pluralism, I think I will have yet more ammunition for my apologetics war chest.

Personal Conclusion

I enjoyed reading Nash’s book: “Is Jesus the Only Savior?” As a pastor, beginning bible scholar and one who is proceeding on in my studies in Evangelism and Church Planting, I feel it very important to be armed with as many apologetics and scholarly treatises backing up those apologetics as possible. I feel this book was such a factor as to give me those additional weapons.

The pluralists are rampant among the self professed intellectuals and academics. This feel-good, “I’m okay/you’re” okay approach to theology is dangerous. While it might feel good on the surface to mix and match theologies across a wide spectrum, which is today’s trend, it is spiritually dangerous. People ARE inventing a god in THEIR image, not that of the Holy Bible. There is an old saying, “if you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything” which is much the case today. I know of professed Christians who do Yoga, speak of Karma and many more especially eastern theologies, all while saying that they are Christians.

Ronald H. Nash, author of: “Is Jesus the Only Savior?” stated the case against pluralism well when he wrote: “Pluralism is one of the three or four most serious threats to the integrity of the Christian faith and the end of the twentieth century. When people adopt pluralism, they must abandon every core doctrine of the Christian faith, including the Trinity, the deity of Christ, the Incarnation and the Atonement.” [1] (Nash 1994)

I believe Pluralism is one of the most insidious attractions that the enemy has come up with to date. The belief that “we’re all on different paths to the same outcome” is just one more way for Satan to not only water down Christianity, but to make it a non-entity altogether. To say that the pluralist is on a path is correct, the problem is; the path leads straight to Hell.  In his gospel, John quoted Jesus as saying “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)[2] (John n.d.)That verse says it all for the Christian, you can’t mix and match, you either believe in Christ or you are not a Christian.

[1] Is Jesus the Only Savior? By Ronald H. Nash, 1994, pg 10

[2] John 14:6, Holy Bible, New International Version

Bad Confessions or "I Can't Get No, Satisfaction!"

"Because if thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord, and shalt believe in thy heart that God raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved: for with the heart man believith unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." Romans 10:9-10

As Christians, we all make the Great Confession. We confess in our belief in the deity of Christ. We confess that we believe in ALL of the promises of our Holy Bible. We confess that we believe in John 3:16 specifically. We confess our whole faith in God. But happens when we practice bad confessions? What happens when we admit to the truths of the Bible but then hold back. One might say: "I know God does all things for all people and will take care of my needs" in one breath and then say how worried they are about their bills. In this case you have two confessions, the faithful first confession, then the faith failing second confession where the worry comes in.

I know from personal experience as a former type A personality that it is quite difficult to "let go and let God." But to give into worry and the enemy is to deny the Lord's truth, that He can take care of everything. To pray fervently to God then to not act as if God will answer will negate your prayer. Perhaps He may answer your prayer, but not to the extent you want. If you want satisfaction in your prayer answers, you got to really believe that He will give you your request then act as if it's coming. Otherwise, not acting in faith is bad confession.

A lot of what I am saying sounds a bit like that found in positive motivational and sports motivational tapes doesn't it? In the motivational genre they tell you to picture the outcome and eventually see the outcome. Well, God wants that in your faith too! He wants you to ask Him for what you want or need then just consider it done. He may not give you the exact outcome you expected, but as the Holy One with all knowledge, His answer will work out better anyway, after all, only He can see the big picture.

So, if you're having any challenges in your prayer life, start small with your requests, as your faith may not be at the level to expect something big. Start out with the following faith building exercises and don't forget the Christians' Affirmations I sent in my last lesson.

Confession Lesson:

If I confess "the Son has made me free" (John 8:36) then I possess absolute freedom. If I confess "the righteous are bold as a lion" (Proverbs 28:1), I possess lion-hearted boldness in spirtiual warfare.

I will send more in my next lesson, but I encourage you to find your favorite scriptures in the Bible and do the preceeding Confession/Possession exercise and you can quickly find out just how great things are through the power of God.

Meanwhile, may the Good Lord bless and keep you all, in Jesus' name, Amen

Please Pray for America-An Evangelical Prospective

I was reviewing all of the pictures rotate through the main page of our evangelism site, Are You Ready for Eternity Ministries and getting wistful. I looked at all of the great things happening worldwide in Jesus' name and thought about "what are we doing here in America?" To see people coming to Jesus from all of these cultures is so moving! We have members here who are dealing with populations of less than 1% who have ever heard of Jesus. Wow, what a marvelous work they are doing in His name and Hallelujah for the results! God Bless you for the great work you are doing among these Godless people! I wish I were that strong! 


Now we come across the water to America, land of the free, home of the spoiled! The people of the United States remind me of the rich young man in Jesus' parable. Who wants to sell everything and follow Jesus? Not many I'm afraid. When I was young, I thought that everyone at least knew the name Jesus and the spirituality behind his name. Prayer was not challenged, and most claimed some Christianity. No longer...too many think of the name Jesus as just one part of an obscene cuss word. The feel good ministers have watered down the message so completely that many so-called Christians think that hell does not exist. Americans can learn about Christ anywhere and anytime, there are many opportunities just to seek Him out with all of the media we have here. Unfortunately, the apostacy is rampant and getting worse. This could be a reason to celebrate as, doesn't all this evil and apostacy mean His return is growing nearer, yes it does. BUT, I still mourn those souls who won't make it and I mourn for our Father in Heaven who will have to make the final judgement on all of those souls who could have made it! 


One of the worst fears I have for the United States is the two reigning political parties...the Republicans who claim to stand for the rights of Christians, but of whose many prominent members, many don't seem to care for God's people, and the Democrats, who claim to stand for the people but often don't stand for God. Neither party seems to hold to the ideals that Jesus taught. No matter what some would like to think, our country was found on Christian principles and therefore should have a great many saved. I no longer think so. I know it was naive of me to think that our country had an advatage. The apostacy is so huge that we are losing ground by the minute. My heart is breaking for all of the lost souls I encounter. In many cities that used to be strongholds for Christians, there are many porn shops. You can turn on the TV and see commercials that just a decade ago would have been rated R and not allowed by the networks. 


Please pray for the USA as Satan has gotten an ever increasing stronghold in what used to be a very faithful country. I believe the loss of faith within our country has also caused our slow decline. We used to be the country that helped the world (and still are to some extent), but we just aren't what we used to be. Please pray for a new revival, so we can get as many souls as possible for the Lord before His return.

Christian Affirmations or "I'm good enough, I'm smart enough and dogone it, God likes me!"

Many of us remember the Stuart Smalley character on SNL, espousing an affirmation something like the one found in our subject line. There are other real self emprovement gurus who many of us have studied with more affirmations we can say to get us revved up about life and our circumstances. From a philosophical standpoint, many of those sayings are helpfull and can get us excited from a psychological standpoint. But where does this lead us in a spiritual standpoint? How do we take psychological wellness training and use it to affect our spiritual well being? Bible study is of course the most important, for as we become more knowledgeable of Gods Word and His promises, the easier it is to tie those promises into our feelings of wellbeing from an earthly standpoint. God knows we have to live on this earth and He's got us covered! In a book I just picked up, The Power of Your Words, authors Gossett and Kenyon have written out a nice little Christian Affirmation as follows:

God is Who He says He is
I am who God says I am
God can do what He says He can do
I can do what God says I can do
God has what He says He has
I have what God says I have

It seems pretty simple doesn't it? Even very logical. But what it really comes down to is faith. If you believe in what God says in His Word, you must believe what the six preceeding lines say in that affirmation, no ifs, ands, or buts! God has made many promises to us. It is up to us to hold those promises faithfully in our hearts and count on them when things get tough. There are an encyclopedic amount of promises from God which I will be doing in a series, but let's take an overview based on the Christian Affirmation.

God is Who He says He is
The first thing we have to believe as Christians. If we don't believe in God then why follow Jesus, His son and second part of the Trinity.

I am who God says I am
Since you are a Bible professing, Jesus confessing Christian, you must believe what God says about you and your status in His Holy family.

God can do what He says He can do
Again, our faith in His Holy Word tells us this truth, all of the fantastic stories of God are not fiction, all of the things the Bible tells us of God's power since the creation denote a God whose existence fails to mortal words. He is and can do whatever He wants.

 I can do what God says I can do
Here's where the practice of faith becomes more difficult for many of us. God has told us many a time what power we have through Him, but we often either forget or just don't store up the faith to acknowledge and act upon this truth." I can do all things through Christ who strenghthens me" wasn't written just to look good, He meant it!

God has what He says He has
This one is pretty easy for most Christians. We know that God intrusted us with HIS CREATION. It's all His and we are merely stewards, property managers in the modern vernacular. He also has the power He says He has so why doubt Him.

I have what God says I have
God has made us many promises as stated previously. He can give us all the power, fortune and blessings He wants. Much of the time, it comes down to how we use what He has trusted us with. You are responsible for earning the endowment of His promises. Your rewards may not come as wealth but as other increased responsabillities within the Christian community.

I like the Christian Affirmation because it helps to remind me of where I am in my Christian walk...that I need to be practicing faith most of all in my day to day life to realize more and more of God's gracious promises. But through living a life of faith, how glorious a life we can live until Jesus' triumphant return!

Until next time, may God bless and keep you, in Jesus' name, Amen

God and the Barber

A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed.
As the barber began to work, they began to have a good conversation.
They talked about so many things and various subjects.
When they eventually touched on the subject of God, the barber said: “I don't believe that God exists.
'Why do you say that?' asked the customer. 'Well, you just have to go out in the street to realize that God doesn't exist.
Tell me, if God exists, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children?
If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain!
I can't imagine a loving God who would allow all of these things..'
The customer thought for a moment, but didn't respond because he didn't want to start an argument.
The barber finished his job and the customer left the shop.
Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with long, stringy, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard.
He looked dirty and unkempt. The customer turned back and entered the barber shop again and he said to the barber:
'You know what? Barbers do not exist.'
'How can you say that?' asked the surprised barber.
'I am here, and I am a barber. And I just worked on you!'
'No!' the customer exclaimed. 'Barbers don't exist because if they did, there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside.
'Ah, but barbers DO exist! That's what happens when people do not come to them!
'Exactly!' affirmed the customer. 'That's the point! God, too, DOES exist! That's what happens when people do not go to Him and don't look to Him for help.
That's why there's so much pain and suffering in the world!!!

Our Personal Walk with Jesus

Hi Friends,

In my opinion, our personal walk with Jesus is the most important relationship we can enter into. Since Jesus sacrificed Himself for the forgiveness of our sins, we know He loves us; all He wants is for us to love Him back, this is where your personal walk begins. One has to make a choice whether they will walk with Jesus in a full time relationship, or just send Him a postcard every once in a while when they are in some type of trouble, asking for Jesus to help them through.

Hoping that we have elected to make that choice to let Jesus walk with us full time, now we must decide what kind of relationship and walk we will share. Of course, the best way to get to know Jesus is through His Word, so a regular reading of the Bible is in order so it's a great idea to engage in some kind of Bible Study, preferably at a good church, but at least you can look one up on the internet or ask me and I'll make some suggestions. The next important thing is to find a good church, one who relies on and teaches biblical truth, that way you can find the support of and be supportive of like minded Christians.

Now, once you have found the church that works for you, don't forget that you are still having a Personal Walk with Jesus. Unfortunately, many who attend various churches want to get a little too involved in the walks of others, I once knew of a man who would go driving by the bars in the evening and bring back a list of parishioners to the pastor who's cars he had spotted at those bars. This activity in my opinion is reprehensible! It's a great way for good growing Christians to be scared away from not only church, but Christianity as a whole. This man certainly was not without sin, he did not need to be involved in the judgement of the potential sin of others for as Jesus said, "He who is without sin, throw the first stone." The list writer needed to be concerned with his own walk, not the walk of others.

Jesus addressed this problem of being concerned with other people's relationship with Him when He was talking with Peter during His post resurrection visit to seven of the followers at the Sea of Galilee. The men had just finished eating and Jesus had asked Peter if he loved Him three times. After Jesus told Peter to follow Him, the following exchange took place: (Matt 21:20-22) "Peter turned and saw that the follower Jesus loved was walking behind them. When Peter saw him behind them, he asked Jesus, "Lord, what about him?" Jesus answered, "If I want him to live until I come back, that is not your business. You follow me.'"

Jesus had told Peter, the Rock, that his personal relationship was just that; Personal! "YOU follow me" is to me the most eloquent and direct way Jesus could tell us not only that He wants a personal relationship with us, but that our personal relationship is indeed between us and Him.

That's all for now. Until next time, may the countenance of our Lord shine upon you and your life be met with many blessings,

Fr Charles

Introduction

Hi Friends,

To kick off this new blog, I guess I should introduce myself and share a little of my background.

I am an Anglican Priest for the Evangelical Anglican Church.. My current positions are Archdeacon and Director of Communications for the EAC and Co-Rector of St Joseph's Anglican Church.

Personally, I am of the faith that the Holy Bible is the inerrant word of God. I am religiously conservative and socially liberal, which means I follow the Bible as my source of knowledge on God and His will and I love all people without regards to their personal race, creed, national origin, sexual orientation, etc. I believe it is God's place to judge and not mine. I have enough to do with my own walk with God than to convict you for how you have yours. Which brings me to today's conversation, Our Personal Walk with Jesus.