The arguments swirling around the presentation by Dirk
Ficca to the Peacemaking Conference have given us a fresh awareness of
the important question: How do we relate to people of other faiths?
The always-interesting web site, beliefnet,
provides plenty of food for thought on the subject. Marcus
Borg's essay on the question "Is Jesus the only way to
salvation, and is Christianity therefore the only true religion?"
leads into a broad discussion among many viewpoints on the exclusive or
inclusive nature of salvation.
An
opposing view is put forth by Ben Witherington III, professor of New
Testament at Asbury Seminary in Kentucky, with an essay titled "In
a Pluralistic World, There Are Still Constants." His claim is that
it is a misunderstanding of the gospel to consider anything but Jesus
himself as the center and sole basis of salvation.
There are also helpful materials from various
Christian churches (including a statement
from the new PC(USA) catechism), as well as Islamic, Jewish,
Buddhist and other sources.
And now the Vatican has weighed in on the side of the Presbyterian
Coalition (with a few important variations, to be sure!), announcing
that nobody has the true faith but the Roman Catholic Church. Click here
to see a good report on this in the Washington
Post.
Ecumenical
News International has issued a lengthy report on reactions from
many Protestant and Catholic leaders. Hans Kung calls the
And for an earlier Religion News Service report on the Catholic
statement, click here.
So what do you think? How do you
understand the apparent agreement between conservatives in the
Presbyterian Church and the Catholic Church? Is it really necessary for
each faith tradition to make absolute and exclusive claims for itself,
or can we (must we) find ways to talk together, work together, live
together ... even pray together?
Please
send a note, and be sure to let us know who you are (unless you
really prefer to remain a nameless voice crying in the
cyber-wilderness), and whether it's OK for your WebWeaver to share this
note with our visitors here.
