“Your love does the heavy lifting.” – John Van Deusen
Texas governor Greg Abbott recently called for the cancelation of plans in the Dallas Fort Worth airport to install washing stations used for Islamic prayer. Governor Abbott warned airport authorities that, “These ablution facilities appear designed to single out one subset of the population for special treatment based on religion… Just as the government cannot favor the secular over the sacred, it also cannot favor one religious view over all others.” Readers might note the irony of this statement given that Texas, under Abbott’s tenure, has required all public school classrooms to feature Christian interpretations of the ten commandments, clearly favoring one religious view over all others in tax-funded public spaces.
On a less publicized front, my (majority Christian) friends and I attended a county fair last week. After thanking service members for their combat experience protecting United States freedoms abroad, the announcer said, “And now we get to celebrate one of the greatest freedoms in our country – the freedom of religion. Let’s pray,” at which point he offered a communal prayer to the Christian Jesus.
Both of these instances use the first amendment of the United States Constitution to explore how Christians should interact with non-Christians. Both also weaponize hypocrisy to highlight Christianity while oppressing other spiritual worldviews. Instead, I’d like to explore what the Scriptures teach us about religious pluralism and a better path forward for Christians living in a diverse world.
Real Religion
If we take Jesus’ words to Thomas in John 14:6 as most Biblical scholars do, then we are to understand following Jesus as the one true path to heaven. This poses obvious questions and challenges to how we as followers of Jesus interact with people of different faiths. I’ll start this post out by saying that I do believe that Christianity is the one true religion as people love to accuse me of not believing so (it might also help to understand that I believe in escapism, or that people can choose salvation in Christ even after death).
In this way, I agree with Christian Nationalists that highlight Christianity as something more real than other religions or spiritual worldviews.
However, I’ve learned that believing in Christianity as the one true religion is often accompanied with the belief that people need to be forced into Christianity which is not something I subscribe to. I hope that this reflection provides an alternative path for Christians with conviction who also want to practice the love and hospitality of the Jewish Jesus and not the grumblings of the American imitation.
Salvation Through Faith
In my seminary class this summer, I found myself reflecting on how I was taught to evangelize as a child. Like a good Christian kid, I was very worried about my friends burning in hell for all of eternity. The way I learned, or perhaps just internalized, saving others, was modifying their behavior into right alignment with God. I cringe to think of this behavior as an adult. As one example, I had a friend named Alex who frequently said “Oh my God” as an exclamation. In an effort to save his hell bound soul, every time I heard this from him I would remind him to say “Oh my gosh” instead. So effectively did I Pavlovian this boy that when I saw him for the first time in years, he caught himself after saying “Oh my God” and said “Sorry, Bryce, I meant ‘oh my gosh.’”
When I see Christian politicians like Greg Abbott try to legislate Christian beliefs, I don’t view him as some evil and unknown man; I see a lot of my younger self in him and those like him. I once believed that salvation came from enforced behavior modification and given the prevalence of this preaching across the United States, I don’t blame those who continue to believe this. However, Paul makes it clear in his letter to the church in Ephesus that this “salvation by behavior modification” is fruitless:
‘For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we may walk in them. ‘
Ephesians 2:8-10 NRSVue
Salvation can only come through faith in God – not through works. This is good news for sinners (which are all of us) as no matter how hard we try, we will always fall short of righteous behavior. If salvation is awarded through faith, than no good deed, whether it is of our own volition or something our political leaders forces upon us, will ever get us into heaven. While many Christians profess this with our mouths and understand this with our brains, our actions tell a different story. We create or advocate for laws that “go against God” so that people may be saved or so that our own salvation may not be jeopardized.
Our salvation is not in our own control. It’s time we stop legislating like it is.
The Choice to Not Choose
The second principle we must accept as Evangelizers is that we are not ourselves the Holy Spirit who can convict and convert non-believers. In other words, the people we share the Gospel with have the right to reject Christ’s authority over their life. Jesus himself warns of such people:
‘Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, fear the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. And even the hairs of your head are all counted. So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows. “Everyone, therefore, who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven, but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven. ‘
Matthew 10:28-33 NRSVue
The people we minister to have the choice to say yes to Christ or no to Christ. We cannot force anyone to become a Christian. Our responsibility is to acknowledge the truth of Christ and not deny him when we’re asked. Our responsibility is not to force everyone to act on and internalize Christian worldviews.
An Invitation
The best news about all of this is that we do not have to wonder about how God wants us to exist amidst a religiously plural society. He has given us Paul in Acts 17 as an example. Paul starts by understanding and learning about Athenian pagan religion:
‘Then Paul stood in front of the Areopagus and said, “Athenians, I see how extremely spiritual you are in every way. For as I went through the city and looked carefully at the objects of your worship, I found among them an altar with the inscription, ‘To an unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things. ‘
Acts 17:22-25 NRSVue
Because Paul has taken time to listen to and understand the perspective of Athenians, he is able to contextualize their faith through a Christian lens. He doesn’t make assumptions about them or denigrate their faith. On the contrary, he commends their religious fervor and simply works to correct the object of their worship. When Paul does this, he keeps in mind that the pagans have a right to choose not to follow Jesus. He doesn’t argue with them or push over their statues or pull their funding to practice religion differently than he does. He simply learns about others beliefs, preaches the Gospel message, and then gets out of the way to let the Spirit move:
‘When they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some scoffed, but others said, “We will hear you again about this.” At that point Paul left them. But some of them joined him and became believers, including Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.’
Acts 17:32-34 NRSVue
A Gospel of Action
Finally, I wonder if we as a Church might turn our attention generally away from banning other people from doing things, and instead pour into a Gospel that makes good news for the lost. In Jesus’ sermon on the mount, he encourages his disciples to shine their light in a darkened world:
‘ “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. People do not light a lamp and put it under the bushel basket; rather, they put it on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. ‘
Matthew 5:14-16 NRSVue
The most effective Gospel isn’t one that restricts what people can do, or tells them what is and is not true. The most effective Gospel is one of good actions that others can see and give glory to God in response.
If the goal of Christians in the United States is to form a Christian nation, let’s do so by ensuring every person is fed and has a roof over their head. Let’s ensure all people have a right to life that cannot be taken away by guns, surgeons, or the death penalty. Let’s build a world in which all people can profit, not just those at the top of the economic food chain.
Following Jesus’ is a choice people have to make for themselves. The work of the cross is difficult and sacrificial. If the only gospel we preach is one of force and control, if the only works of the gospel we produce are restrictions, than I am not convinced we are preaching the Gospel of Jesus. Rather, we are preaching a gospel of Greg Abbott and Bryce Van Vleet. These men, as good as they might be, are not worthy of carrying the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Like this post? Please share it with a friend! Hate this post? Let us know.
Bryce Van Vleet is the #1 selling author of Tired Pages and Before We All Die Let’s Have One Last Chat by the Fireside. He sells poetry art here, published a collection of poems titled Weak Eyes, and masquerades as the spoken word artist Liihey. You can support him by clicking through blog posts or donating (scroll to the bottom of the page).
Living Beyond 
Leave a comment