Peacemaking conference address stirs
theological controversy
Some say news reports were 'misleading'
by Jerry L. Van Marter, PNS
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- 16-August-2000 -- So what's the big
deal about Dirk Ficca?
Ficca, a Presbyterian minister member of Chicago
Presbytery and executive director of the Parliament of the World's
Religions, ignited yet another heated theological debate in the
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) when he questioned whether salvation comes
solely through Jesus.
The capstone of Ficca's July 29 keynote address at the
Presbyterian Peacemaking Conference, as reported by the Presbyterian
News Service (PNS), was his question: "If God is at work in our
lives whether we're Christian or not, what's the big deal about
Jesus?"
The response -- in calls, letters and e-mails to the
news service, the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program office, and General
Assembly Council executive director John Detterick -- was immediate and
strongly-worded. "Is this another Re-Imagining?" queried one
e-mailer to PNS, referring to the controversial ecumenical women's
conference of 1993. Others threatened to boycott the Peacemaking
Offering and still others demanded that Ficca be brought up on heresy
charges in his presbytery.
Ficca was on vacation and unavailable for comment.
But two national staff members who helped plan the
Peaceamaking Conference -- the theme of which was how to maintain
effective relationships with persons of other faiths in an increasingly
pluralistic world -- rose to Ficca's defense and hinted that PNS
reporting may have been partially responsible for the controversy.
PNS reporter John Filiatreau summarized Ficca's
90-minute presentation in 10 paragraphs of a larger news story on the
entire July 26-29 Presbyterian Peacemaking Conference. PNS stands by
Filiatreau's story.
The Rev. Victor Makari, coordinator for the Middle
East and the Office of Interfaith Relations in the Worldwide Ministries
Division, acknowledged that "trying to condense 90 minutes into a
few paragraphs understandably and necessarily leaves a lot
unrecorded." For instance, he noted, Ficca's question about Jesus
"was rhetorical, not dismissive" and insisted that Ficca
"went on to express his own credo, which is thoroughly Presbyterian
and Reformed."
Sara Lisherness, coordinator of the Presbyterian
Peacemaking Program disputed Filiatreau's characterization of Ficca's
address as "a radical brand of ecumenism." She said there's a
big difference between ecumenism and interfaith relations and that
Ficca's take on interfaith relations is "cutting edge, not
radical."
The PNS account of the conference was "alarming
and disturbing," according to the Rev. Bill Giles, executive
coordinator of The Presbyterian Coalition --- a consortium of
conservative-evangelical groups in the PC(USA). Giles said that, based
solely on the PNS story, he wrote a letter to Detterick charging Ficca
with "pushing syncretism and heresy."
Giles, after hearing portions of Ficca's address read
to him by PNS, said that the PNS story was "misleading,"
adding, "We need to see a full text (of Ficca's speech) and we need
to see it fast ... like yesterday."
"A very good, important thing is
happening"
As reported by PNS, Ficca told the peacemaking
conference that "God is at work in our lives whether we're
Christian or not ... Christians through Jesus of Nazareth have access to
God in an intimate parent/child way; it does not rule out that other
people don't have other kinds of relationships with God....God's mission
in the world will not be accomplished without the church, but ... maybe
God's mission can be accomplished with others beyond the church."
Makari said "this is a very good, important thing
that's happening. These issues will increasingly press us against the
wall because the world is getting smaller and we are in a very close
encounter with people of other faiths. It is time for Christians,
particularly Reformed Christians to solidify and deepen their faith as a
result of these encounters."
Lisherness agreed. "The issues Dirk raised are
important issues and reasoned conversations about these issues are good
conversations to be having right now," she said, noting that, among
other things, vice-presidential candidate Joe Lieberman is an Orthodox
Jew. "A critically important question is how we retain our identity
as Presbyterians and Christians, how we are faithful to our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ and how we work with people of other faiths."
Ficca's address also needs to be understood in the
context of the conference's worship, Lisherness said, insisting that
"worship and Bible study reflected who we are as a Reformed
Presbyterian people of faith, with never any allusion to any other
understanding of faith apart from our Reformed Presbyterian
understanding."
As reported extensively by Filiatreau, the biblical
theme passage for the conference for the conference was the story of the
good Samaritan in Luke 10. "We focused on the gospel question 'Who
is my neighbor?'" noted Lisherness. "As our neighbors
increasingly come from other cultures and religions, the question of how
to remain neighbors is critical," she said. "The good
Samaritan didn't demand conversion but demonstrated love, mercy and
healing -- that is the good news of Jesus Christ."
The Peacemaking Program selected the topic of
interfaith relations for this year's conference -- only after focusing
last year's conference on the topic of Christology -- Lisherness said,
"precisely because global conflicts are killing people for their
religious identities ... and who's to say we won't be confronted by some
these same dynamics in our own country. As Presbyterians, we need to be
at the forefront as American Presbyterians in addressing these
issues."
Makari said he couldn't fault the critics, though he
wished they would read Ficca's text before solidifying their
conclusions. "People are sincere in holding on to the precious
salvation they have been given in Christ and in sharing that good news
with the world," he said. "I'm sure their aim is to avoid
theological confusion that might hint that anything goes. Theology
matters and people want to be sure that we're not giving confusing
messages."
Makari also said he believes there's a "subtle
anxiety" at work. "Maybe its our Protestant work ethic, but we
feel we're responsible for the salvation of the world. There's a
difference between sharing good news and guaranteeing the salvation of
the world as if it depended on our efforts," he said.
"Scripture is amply clear that God is in charge of salvation and
our calling is to be willing, obedient and joyful servants at the hand
of a saving God."
