Tuesday, January 6, 2009
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The Beer & Theology blog is a companion tool for those who attend "Beer & Theology," a gathering in local bars/pubs around Spokane Washington to discuss beer and theology.
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I know this is a touchy subject and people have a lot of strong opinions about it. I can only offer a few brief thoughts. It is not a well thought out argument...just some thoughts.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that we often place a ton of emphasis on knowing about Jesus. What does that really mean though? How much do we have to know before we get our trip to heaven approved? In my life the emphasis has been on knowing Jesus as your lord and savior who died for our sins since we are sinners, etc. But the last 5-7 years I have taken great comfort in reading the story of Jesus and his disciples. He was with them for several years, but they consistently misunderstood his purpose and they often just plain got things wrong. That encourages me because they were considered his closest followers. If his followers can make these kind of mistakes then I can hope that there is grace for the rest of us. I guess it just makes me wonder, at what point were the disciples "saved"? I mean, they didn't even know about Jesus' death and resurrection until after it happened, does that mean that their lives up to that point were not "saved"?
Maybe none of that makes sense. My point is that I don't think that it is about knowing the details and understanding them as much as it is about having faith. Having faith does not require me to know the specifics of Jesus' life, or necessarily all that he has done for me. Let me put it this way. Every week, as I drive to church, I cross the Maple street bridge in my car. I have taken science classes and I get some of the general concepts of how a bridge works, but I don't think I could explain it very well to anyone. Yet I have faith that the bridge will hold me - so I cross it without a second thought. I do believe that Jesus created a way for us to get to the Father - a way to life, and freedom, and "heaven". In my mind, Jesus is the bridge. But I don't necessarily have to know all about the bridge, or understand it much at all in order to cross it. I just have to trust it to do the job. I don't even have to know what a bridge is called in order to cross it.
I guess I am just not convinced that people need to hear the name of Jesus in order for his saving work to be possible. It sure makes it easier if someone is there to point out the bridge and explain to you what it does, but even without that it seems that people could have faith enough to cross it. I truly believe that Jesus is the only way to the father and to eternal life, but I think we sometimes put a bit too much emphasis on understanding how Jesus is the way rather than just having faith that he is the way.
Like I said, it is just a few rambling thoughts, but if I wanted to actually argue this point well I would need a lot more space to write and a bit more time.