The Bible and Science

The following is the transcipt of Sunday's sermon from the theme, The Doubting Sessions.

I remember the day I sat in the Associate Pastor’s office at my church growing up in Galesburg, Illinois, and he talked to me about becoming a pastor. He knew that I was struggling with some career decisions as for some reason the guidance counselors in high school pressed upon the sophomores (yes, I was only a sophomore) to start discerning their future. Perhaps they forgot that 75% of all college students change their majors anyway. But being only a sophomore in high school and being the kid of person I was (and still am today) I stewed for many days over what the future held for me. Lawyer? Doctor? Major League Baseball Umpire?

Pastor? Now that was a new one. I had a good laugh when I told him about our Shumaker family history and even more so our Shumaker family dynamics and habits. But he kept pressing me on this issue, trying to affirm me. But as the conversation took a more serious turn, we started down the path of theology. I remember saying to him “Rev. Kacick, it would be really hard for me to consider being a pastor with my family and all and besides I really have a tough time believing to begin with.”

“Believing what?” He pressed further.

“It’s this whole science thing. Were Adam and Eve cave people? There is no reference to prehistoric creatures in the Bible, and what about the Big Bang Theory (not the show but the scientific theory of the origin of the universe?”

See I used to be smart but I stopped going to school. But our science backgrounds have seemed to stand in conflict with the stories of faith and have proved to be a block for us in our comprehension of the work of God in our lives. In his book, The Reason for God (the basis of our theme of the Doubting Sessions), Timothy Keller draws on some the top authors of our day who suggest that science in general and evolutionary science in particular has made belief in God unnecessary and obsolete. Concludes one author, “you can not be an intelligent scientific thinker and still hold religious beliefs … it has to be one or the other.” Is he right? Has science disproved Christian belief? Must we chose? Have millions of Christians or billions of religious types through the history of the world been so wrong?

A few weeks ago, I asked you to define religion, today I ask you to define the word science. That’s our question for this morning. I invite you to turn to your neighbor this morning and come up with a definition you can both live with. What is science? Please, no electronic devices to use the internet, so put your crackberrys away. I will give you 30 seconds. What is science?

Wikipedia suggests Science (from the Latin scientia, meaning "knowledge" or "knowing") is the effort to discover and increase human understanding of how physical reality works. The “authoritative Merriam Webster’s Dictionary defines science as the state of knowing: knowledge as distinguished from ignorance or misunderstanding. Hmmm. Now if we were to hold religion and science or Christianity and Science in opposition or as either/or, then does that mean faith or matters of faith are of ignorance or formed in misunderstanding? Does it mean that Christians have a lack of understanding of reality? Man alive, no wonder it is so hard to be a pastor, to have to deal with you people. Just kidding.

We have to remember, that this too is a worldview or a religion itself. We asked what religion was a few weeks ago and one of the definitions was that it was our set of answers to the questions of life, Science can be one of those ways to achieve some of those answers.
There are actually two main areas where we see the conflict of the bible and science, or better where the arguments originate, the questions of creation and miracles or the resurrection. Interestingly enough we don’t take issue with the writings of Paul, the words of the Psalms or the prophets or the books of history. Though some discredit the Bible completely and some take it literally word for word, the conflict with science is with the debate of Darwinism and Creationism AND how to interpret the miracles of Jesus and his resurrection and both of these topics have been going for years.

A few months ago, an angry person came across my blog on skepticism and he brought up this topic of creationism vs. Darwinism This other blogger spoke with eloquence in proving his points but he offered them in such a way that he spoke in absolutes. In trying to be done with the conversation, I suggested that this was just an old debate of the 1970’s (how would I know I was born in 75). But this isn’t just a debate of the 1970’s, but even today this very question is given publicity in the schools as to which curriculum should be taught, and also the already discussions on stem cell research, in vitro fertilization, and other areas of medicine.

But as to whether evolution disproves the Bible, I can venture down that road discerning that there will not be a head on collision. We look to Genesis one and say that God created the world in six days, so what about the apes, the dinosaurs, the cavemen. But read on. Genesis 2 tells the story of creation without the specific days. There are high points in the Bible that have two tellings. The passing through the Red Sea appears in Exodus 14 and 15 … they slightly differ. Judges 4 and 5 tell the story of a battle … they slightly differ. There always debates as to why there are two accounts … but the second telling in each of these situations offers the poetic side of the event … a recitation that would be used in ancient Jewish worship services. Sure we can say that to God a day is much longer than our definition of a day. But what we know is this … in the beginning God created. This week read both Genesis 1 and 2 and see how the world unfolds, one as the poetic worship song, the other in seeing the beauty of God’s love poured out. I can go on and on for hours about how we look to Holy Scripture to help us explain, perhaps we can explore that in another setting.

There is no one true Christian position on evolution, but perhaps they to not have to be held in opposition to one another. Perhaps they both work to explain the other. Evolution as an all encompassing theory has it’s flaws. But there are many things that science cannot prove that religion explains and there are things that religion cannot prove that science explains .. they are not meant to be held in opposition to one another.

The question is, can we live with both? In many ways, people push religion off on matters of the heart and suggest that science is a matter of the mind. Can we love, live, and believe with both the heart and mind? Absolutely, it is the nature of who we are. It is possible for our heart felt faith and the scientific questions and challenges in our minds to coexist and when they do, we deepen our relationship to God. When I started to love Jesus with my mind, I could begin to answer some of those questions and see Jesus in a whole new light for what he truly was to a whole population of people who needed to hear the love and connection for them.
The other matter is the miracles of Jesus and his resurrection that are often subject to scientific criticism. So I want us to look at the scripture following Jesus’ resurrection in Matthew 28. Again this is right after our Easter story of the tomb being empty. Matthew 28:11-20.

Like the Da Vinci Code suggested in its movie, there were many theories as to the disappearance of Jesus body. This, taken right out of scripture is one that has been widely spread that indeed it was a plot by the disciples to take the body. But what I want to point out is verse 17, “while they (the disciples) worshiped him, some doubted.” This post resurrection Jesus appears to them. Easter has happened. Yet in the midst of worship, some doubted. The very founders of Christianity still had doubt. We are not the only ones to struggle or be questioned, it is in our Christian DNA as disciples.

But also it is the point of miracles that we are to see here. It isn’t necessarily the point of a miracle to cognitive belief, but to be in awe and wonder and in worship. Jesus’ miracles or the resurrection were not magic tricks, but they were expressions of love to show the sick healing and wholeness, to feed the hungry, to raise us from death, and to bring peace to our stormy lives.

There is a lot to be said about the nature of whether to take scripture literally or not … but as we have discovered here that when we dive deep into the scriptures there are many, many meanings. And so we take our experiences and we look at how they are brought out in scripture and how we measure who we are in light of the mission of Jesus Christ. It is ok to live with these questions of discernment and doubt and to allow others to question us, but the reality is we have to avoid the absolutes and allow our doubt to let us question with our hearts and our minds.
So there I sat in that office that day. A sophomore in high school scared to death at the prospect of being a pastor and filled with doubt … but his answer will always stick with me … “Brad, we know in the beginning God … the first words of the Bible, but how God unfolds the rest is in God’s hands.” We have to trust that scripture is being lived out in us and our story is God’s story in us. That God is creating, redeeming, and sustaining us. That God is giving us proof in our own living and dying.

Are we just a random collection of cells that exist in the midst of the rest of this creation without real purpose or direction? Or is there such a thing as destiny or purpose or relationship to one another or a higher being?

My friend was telling me this week that as they sat around the table at a restaurant celebrating his grandchildren’s birthdays, that he paused during the dinner hour to look around the table. And as he looked at each of his grandchildren around the table, he started to tear up dreaming about their potential. As he looked in each face he wondered what they would become and who they would grow up to be and who they would love and what their purpose would be. Is God any different?

So let me ask you this … can you honestly stand on the beach and look our into the horizon at its vastness and endlessness and suggest that there is no Creator? Or can you stand in the meadow with the breeze sweeping through you and believe that this just so happens? Or can you watch the trees turn their colors in the fall or watch the mountains mirror themselves in the lakes below and believe that we just evolved to that point?

Can you see the love poured out in Mexico or youth bending their knees to the poor of Appalachia and believe that would still happen without Jesus Christ miraculous power on this earth? Can you say there are no miracles when you see the power of reconciliation happen between you and someone you love or when you see friends walk side by side with those in pain or those suffering from terminal illnesses … is that possible without Christ showing us how to do that in his ministry? You tell me …

“When they saw him, they worshiped him, but some doubted.” Then they went into all nations with that truth … I am with you til the very end. There is a relationship that science can not explain … but we know it to be true.
In Jesus Name, Amen.

A New Hope

A New Hope is the title of the Star Wars Episode 4 (or the “original” Star Wars, if you will). Did you know that? Episode 3 closes with Anakin Skywalker taking on his new identity as Darth Vader and the empire emerging into rule and the Jedi headed into hiding and the world of peace coming to a close. Anakin is overcome with anger and bitterness, a desire for power, and a sense of independence that led him away from a defined and disciplined way of life into a very “dark side” of his soul. The New Hope is the beginning of a movement of the rebels to find the life without inhibition, but not to be overlooked is that this is also the beginning of Vader’s journey to his son and the life that was intended for him.

A New Hope. I hope that is what I am feeling as I wrap up the last few days of my vacation time. I think back to other times when I felt a “renewed sense” of hope after a mission trip, retreat, or vacation, but then getting back to the grindstone left no room for hope. My last vacation time I spent grieving over my father’s death and helping my mother adjust her finances and make the transition to life without dad. There are many other times, especially early in my ministry that I spent my vacation time either stewing over things back at the office or building up my anxiety about returning to work and facing adversity (that was in the past).

What I am experiencing now is that I have been able to utilize my mind to think not about regret or what has been done or not done … but to be free to think about who I am in my family roles and in my pastoral role. I have thought and prayed a lot about the future … though many things are unclear (as they always are as a United Methodist Pastor) I am excited about returning to the pulpit on Sunday and reuniting with the community that I serve with. Besides the office, I have not been in contact with many through this last week which has deepened my desire to refine my role as a pastor in relational ministry.

I pray this is not a false hope or a fleeting renewed hope. But a New Hope. One that is unlike the past. One that is refined by God. One that lives forward in faith for where we are going. One that shapes me into the man God planned. One that helps me embrace that my older son refuses to leave my side and my younger son is seeking a little attention when he steps outside his little world.

A New Hope. I wish I would have seen vacation and Sabbath differently when I started ministry.

Baseball King, Domestic Goddess, Sin, & Forgiveness

As I sat in the barber shop this morning, I listened to the other patrons shoot around about the story on Sportscenter regarding A-Rod (Alex Rodriguez). A-Rod tested positively for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003 in a screening of MLB players. Though the test results were to remain confidential, the eventual leaking of these results led A-Rod to go ahead and confess that indeed he did use such drugs from 2001-2003. He also suggests that he came to his senses and since the ban was instituted, he no longer takes such drugs (these performance-enhancing drugs were not banned from MLB during such time). Adding to the story is that he emphatically denied using in an 60 minute interview since 2003.

2003 must have been quite a year as that was also the year of Sammy Sosa's bat corking and the arrest and imprisonment of Martha Stewart. There were other issues in the news in June 2003. Looking back at a sermon I preached that month, I said these words:

We snickered with Stewart, we were shocked with Sosa. Though this is nothing new. This has been a wild few years. Anywhere from Coaches to Politicians gone wild, those in the public eye, those icons of the public arena have had their falls recently. Alabama Football coach Mike Price … he had a stripper problem, Iowa State Basketball coach Larry Eustachy … he has a drinking problem, Former President Bill Clinton and former Speaker of the House Henry Hyde … they had zipper problems, Jesse Jackson … he had a baby problem, Former Senator Trent Lott had a color problem.

A Baseball King, a Domestic Goddess, our nation's leaders, role models, celebrities, and others we have put on a pedestal have had their flaws. To quote a friend from yesterday, "it is easier to love those who are perfect, isn't it Brad?" Indeed it is. Yet what about the examples of in our own personal lives? When we find out that people are less than perfect. The stories of betrayal or mistrust or broken promises, or lies (big or small) lead us to question the future of that relationship, respect, or trust. It's one thing to think about the legacy of A-Rod or Sosa, the future of Martha or the leadership of a politician, but it is another to consider where forgiveness is in the people with whom we not only have regular contact but also with whom were are in an interpersonal relationship or connection.

Does forgiveness erase all that has happened? Perhaps not. But what forgiveness can offer is an opportunity to let go of anger and resentment or the desire for revenge. Anger and resentment or bitterness are negative emotions that cause destruction to people's lives and even their own health. Even in levels of personal hurt, the small doses of anger that sweep through our emotions work to tear us down as well. Ephesians 4 suggests that we "put away a;; bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you," (Ephesians 4:31-32, NRSV).

The reality is, the person who committed the offense has enough guilt to deal with already and we allow God to deal with such offense. How can we become more loving and forgiving? Perhaps that is a way to peace. I want to grow in that life ... I want to be there in that place. For when we are forgiving, we too are free.

Suffering and Evil

Text of this Sunday's sermon is below. It is the third week in our theme The Doubting Sessions. Feel free to contribute your comments, thoughts...

I love this figurine. (figurine from nativity set is explained below) This is from the nativity set that my father gave me a few years ago; a nativity set that was given to him by his uncle shortly before my uncle’s death. Most of the nativity set is in less than stellar condition. The stable has been replaced. One of the wise men has been replaced. The donkeys are missing ears and the angels lack the wings to fly. But this figurine is one of the wise men. The wise men, three in number, all range in size and stature. But this one, the older one who is kneeling down to present his gift is the image that I continue to go to when I think about God. In my prayer life, in my own devotion and in my own child-like faith, I see this king sitting on a cloud looking down at the world. I know, probably not what you expected.

Yet what God is lacks importance when we seek to answer the question who God is. That is your question this morning, how would you describe who God is? Not asking what God is, so avoid any physical attributes or descriptions of what you think God looks like. But in a word or two how would you best describe who God is to you? If you could share that with your neighbor this morning. (Pause)

What are some of the words you chose to describe God? Omnipotent (all-powerful)? Omniscient (all-knowing)? Omnipresent (God is everywhere)? If things are difficult and you are facing challenges, is that the place you go in your mind? Is that where you find comfort or peace? Or does it lead you to question God even more? When trials hit, do our descriptions of who God is jive with our questions of God or our frustrations with God?

These are hard times that we are living right now. A three year old child living in a cardboard shack in the Mexican village of Anapra is killed on New Year’s Eve as a bullet goes through the cardboard roof. A young man of 15 years old is shot in front of his school as he is mistaken for a gang member. A young mother is diagnosed with breast cancer and it spreads to multiple places in her body. A mother has Alzheimer’s and does not even recognize her daughter anymore. A dedicated employee of 20 years is suddenly let go from his company without cause, leaving a family of five without an income. Another faithful employee made a decision that reflected integrity and now is without a job and wondering how to pay bills this month.

A committed wife is blindsided one day as she comes home to find out her husband has moved out. A young man bicycling on a bike path is tragically killed as a young driver loses control because of text messaging. A couple who has tried everything to conceive a child has reached the reality they wont be able to. A middle aged woman is arrested for shoplifting and can’t deal with the guilt, she ends her life. The children of a work-a-holic father grow up never knowing their father … they think that their father loves their job more than them. And nobody can seem to answer the question, “why?” Why?

Suffering and evil, pain and death. So many situations and these are the ones that I have seen in this last year, that you have seen or lived. And this question, “Why does God … a loving God … a powerful God allow so much suffering and evil and pain” … is the most asked question by both believers and skeptics today. This question is what has raised the most doubt among those I walk with every day and it is the question that we can’t seem to answer.

Our descriptions of God are usually all-powerful, all loving, God is everywhere. God loves us all. But then we ask, how does that loving God allow evil? How does that all powerful God intervene and stop that suffering? If that God is all-knowing, then certainly God knows what ails, if God is everywhere, where are you now? But do those questions fall in line with everything we know about God?

The theology of pain and suffering seems to have no end or resolution. Such events that lead to pain and suffering, or those things we define as evil are lost in mystery. Though it is hard to pinpoint or define, it is easier to answer this question this morning by suggesting what isn’t the answer. Why would God allow such suffering and evil? It can’t be that God doesn’t love us. We know and we believe the promises of scripture. It can’t be that God is indifferent or detached from our condition. Remember that we believe in Jesus Christ, the word became flesh and lived among us … the cross is our reminder that God takes our misery and suffering so seriously that God was willing to take it on himself in Jesus Christ.

Medieval theologians called evil "absurd" or in other words, something without meaning. St. Francis of Assisi defined evil as the "absence of God". Yet, we still find ourselves trying to justify and we walk down a path of frustration with the God we have given our devotion to. If we were to step back and look at it from a broader scope in our faith. When we ask "how could God allow" or "why won't God intervene" and similar questions, does that jive with our understanding of God and how we have known God up until this point? My guess is we have known and experienced the love of God in many relationships, events, and high points in our lives. Our experience with God is found in those relationships of love and hope.

In the book that we are basing this theme called The Doubting Sessions on, is a book entitle the Reason for God, by Timothy Keller. He poses this scenario in the book: If we have a God that we feel close enough to that we can be mad at because he hasn’t stopped our suffering or the evil around us; then we disregard the God of love who promises over and over in scripture … I will be with you. The problem with tragedy or suffering is a problem for everyone … those who believe and cling to God and those who do not. Why do bad things happen to good people? Why do bad things happen to bad people? God doesn’t punish and pick and choose who is going to get this or that done to them. We have to remember that there is a thing called human evil in this world that creates tragedy for others. There are decisions we make that hurt others. There are other tragedies that take place that are shrouded in mystery … but it happens to you and to me … the good and the bad.

If you feel that abandoning your belief in God or being mad at God makes our problem easier to handle than we are giving up on hope … that one great thing that we have been given through our faith system. Let me say that again: If you feel that abandoning your belief in God or being mad at God makes our problem easier to handle than we are giving up on hope … that one great thing that we have been given through our faith system

We turn to scripture this morning. Last week we found Jesus before Pilate saying, “My kingdom

is not of this world.” Today we find Jesus later that day. Luke 23: 26-43. I invite you to follow along on the screen.

26 As the soldiers led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. 27 A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. 28 Jesus turned and said to them, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. 29 For the time will come when you will say, 'Blessed are the childless women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!' 30 Then " 'they will say to the mountains, "Fall on us!" and to the hills, "Cover us!" ' [a] 31 For if people do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?" 32 Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. 33 When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. 34 Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." [b] And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. 35 The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is God's Messiah, the Chosen One." 36 The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar 37 and said, "If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself." 38 There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. 39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!" 40 But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong." 42 Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. [c]" 43 Jesus answered him, "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise."

If you are who you say you are, then save yourself and save us. Deliver us from this pain and suffering. Take this away. Why? Why? Where are you? Reading more in the passion narrative in the Gospel of John we find Jesus cry our, My God My God, why have you forsaken me? It is in those moments that we feel the greatest distance from God and believe that if God was all knowing, all loving then why us? Why now?

It is easy for me in my own pastoral care and counseling that I offer to people in times like these, it is easy for me to remind people that God does not allow this to you, God doesn’t cause this. It is easy for me to explain that God is with you in your suffering and in our difficulties. It is easy for me to say, you know God is not in that cancer. God is not in that divorce. God is not in that bullet. God is not in that hatred or that Alzheimer’s or that text message that led the girl of the road. That is all true. We find God in the suffering. God weeps with me in tragedy. God walks with me through evil. God comforts me when I am broken. God waits for me when I push God away. How do I know this? We feel God in relationship. The Bible never promised that bad things won't happen, But God did promise ... "I will be with you."

But that is not enough for us to just say that God is with us in our suffering … but we have to believe that there is something coming out of this. When we go back to the core of scripture … we have to remember that they all, all of these great characters experienced hardship or suffering. Hebrews 11 gives us the long sermon on all of those who lived a faith-based life even through their own times of suffering. But they are pointed to in scripture because of how they impacted the world around them and the lives around them. If all of us experience the pains of this life, what sets us a part in our faith is the belief that we can make something out of our experiences through the grace of Jesus Christ.

Our faith is founded in the resurrection. The Bible teaches us that the future is not an immaterial “paradise” but a new heaven and a new earth. As we talked in here back in the fall, that the ideals of heaven come crashing into our world and we experience a renewal, a cleansing, a restoration. Our scripture with Jesus on the cross … “today, you will be with me in paradise.” Today, in your suffering or in your death, you will be with me in paradise. Our ultimate view of life as Christians is the concept of resurrection. What that means is not just Jesus being raised from the dead at Easter … but resurrection means a restoration of the life we always wanted.

Too many times we see death as the consolation prize, that heaven is the consolation prize for the losses of this life and the joys that might have been. But resurrection doesn’t mean that we end up with the life we never had … it means that we are restored to the life we always wanted. Today, you will be with me in paradise. This can instill in us a powerful hope that in our lives and in our trials we can transform the world around us. That in trials we find strength and a life that has been promised … whether in this life or the next.

You have all heard my lament about 2008. I couldn’t wait to turn the calendar because it seemed to be one personal tragedy after another. But now as 2009 unfolds, many of these situation I described at the beginning of the sermon have happened to people close to me just since the first of the year or in the last 6 months. But I know that such pain for me in 2008 has helped me become a better pastor and companion for those who walk through such pain now.
The ultimate defeat of evil or suffering is found in how we invest in hope and the restoration and reconciliation of all things and all people and all …. Dreams … whether it be in this world or in the world to come. Today … Today you will be with me in paradise … coming from a man hanging on across to take away our sin and fulfill our hope.

Antwone Fisher is a movie based on the true events of a young man in the navy dealing with repressed anger. His life was one of much suffering. His father was killed before Antwone was born and his mother gave him up after giving birth to him in prison. His journey through foster homes was one of abuse … mentally, physically, and sexually. His abandonment on the streets left him homeless. The movie is about these struggles and how people can be restored to the life they always wanted. His journey into his past led him on a quest to find his mother and the family he never knew. I close you this morning with this clip, a picture of heaven on earth … of when our journey comes to fruition and our own suffering and battle with evil knows its defeat.

(Video Clip)

In Jesus Name, Amen.

Is There One True Religion?

Text of this Sunday's sermon is below. It is the second week in our theme The Doubting Sessions. Feel free to contribute your comments, thoughts...

Knowing that college was my first step to ministry and that getting a master’s degree was a must, I tried to shape my studies at Illinois State University in a way that would prepare me for seminary. English 101, check. Speech classes, check. American Religious History, check. The History of Western Thought, check. The Bible as Literature, check. Communicating with the Aging Generation, a must for the United Methodist Church, check. First Aid, (look at wrist) check.

The History of World Religions, wow, check. I did not take that until my junior year, but that was perhaps the first class of many to follow that would require me to step outside of small, blue-collar, Midwestern town mindset. Growing up in Galesburg, Illinois, there were two types of people when it came to religion. Those who went to church and those who didn’t. If you went to church, you went to Bethel Baptist, First UMC, Trinity Lutheran, First Presbyterian, one of the huge Catholic churches or one of the small neighborhood churches. If you didn’t go to church, it was because you were working or you didn’t believe in organized religion. It was a predominately a Christian community. There was the one Jewish family that moved to town when I was in high school, but they celebrated Christmas with us … so we didn’t say much about that.

Even going to ISU, most of the students classified themselves as Christian, though most Sunday mornings when I headed to church, I had to ride in elevator full of … well let’s just say people had too much to drink Saturday night. The huge number of people who came down from Chicago were non-practicing catholics and the conservative protestant students stuck together in campus ministries. But the History of World Religions showed me a world, a religious world, that was much bigger than Christianity. The religions of the ancient world in Rome and Greece, the growing Islamic faith, the long heritage of Judaism, the many different spiritualities of native cultures, Hinduism, Buddhism, Shinto, Zoroaster. When you step back and see how diverse the global religious community is, you begin to see just how small we are.

Contrast that experience to this community. With the help of the university and the larger sense of community of Champaign-Urbana and most of our kids are not only exposed to the social and cultural diversity, but our children are growing up in a religious community of pluralism. Our Christian children are invited to Bar mitzvahs, they understand the dietary restrictions of their Muslim classmates, and they coexist without much question. The world is much bigger than what most of us experienced growing up.

Yet the question is asked of me often, “if Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, what about all of those other religions?” We are in the midst of a theme called the Doubting Sessions and we are addressing some of these questions that are raised out of doubt and skepticism. If there were two kinds of people in this world now, perhaps we would describe them as those who are religious and those who are skeptical. The book that is the focus of this series is called, The Reason for God, by Timothy Keller, a pastor in New York City. Last week we talked about all of the injustice that Christianity has been responsible for through the years, today we address the question, “Is there one true religion?”

To get us going in our conversation today I want to invite you to turn to your neighbor and give your definition to the word, Religion. What is religion? In your own words, how would you define it? What is religion. I will give you about 30 seconds to share with your neighbor.

According to Wikipedia, religion is a set of stories, symbols, beliefs and practices, that give meaning to the practitioner's experiences of life through reference to an ultimate power or reality. How many of you were that specific? Just kidding. Your religion could also be seen as your worldview; your beliefs, your assumptions about how the world works and how you explain it. Another way to answer the question what is religion is to answer by saying it the set of answers to the questions of life. To say that there is one true religion is a religious view; likewise to say there is not one true religion or to say that all religion is non-existent is a religious view.

Given those definitions, there still is the question, is there one true religion? Is there one set of values or beliefs that take superiority over another? Claiming one true religion is a dangerous matter. The reality is, the greatest threat to world peace is religion. Yet who prays for world peace more than anyone else … the “religious.” Almost every religious tradition has promoted itself as the one true religion and have had their own exclusive tendencies.

For Christianity in particular, so often, scripture is pulled out of context in order to prove something, but yet the whole of scripture and the Word as we know it as Jesus Christ offers a message that is much more encompassing. Christians at the end of the spectrum have thrown up the scripture out of John. Thomas asks Lord, how shall we know the way to this mansion, “Jesus answers, I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the father except through me.” If you went to any Illinois Football games this fall, you may have seen this on the banners being held outside the stadium. As my friend and I walked by, my friend, “How’s it going?” The voice yelled back at him, repent or go to hell!

Is Jesus a way or the way, I have been asked many times. I am the way, truth, and the life. We turn to scripture where this element of truth comes up again. John 18, I invite to follow along, John 18: 33-38a:

28 Then the Jewish leaders took Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness they did not enter the palace, because they wanted to be able to eat the Passover. 29 So Pilate came out to them and asked, "What charges are you bringing against this man?" 30 "If he were not a criminal," they replied, "we would not have handed him over to you." 31 Pilate said, "Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law." "But we have no right to execute anyone," they objected. 32 This took place to fulfill what Jesus had said about the kind of death he was going to die. 33 Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, "Are you the king of the Jews?" 34 "Is that your own idea," Jesus asked, "or did others talk to you about me?" 35 "Am I a Jew?" Pilate replied. "Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?" 36 Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place." 37 "You are a king, then!" said Pilate. Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me." 38 "What is truth?" retorted Pilate.

The truth. For this I came into the world to testify, to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice. What is truth?

Great question, Pilate. What is truth? The religious leaders say this Jesus is a criminal, yet he is described as king of the Jews. But what we fail to recognize or what we fail to hear is Jesus voice, he tells us those who belong to the truth listen to my voice … and what does this voice tell us in this text? My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, then my people would be fighting for me … that’s the way and the truth of this world. This world, Jesus suggests time and time again in scripture, is about power. This world is about violence. This world is about keeping people out and the religious establishment in. This world casts out the sinner or explains that people are blind or handicap because of sin. This world values money. This world values power. But my kingdom isn’t of this world.

If we were to go line by line through scripture, focusing on what the whole of Jesus ministry says ... we get a whole different scope of what his kingdom is about. Peace, love, justice, humility, comfort, kindness, hope, equality. But how easily is that forgotten when we come to understand what is truth or what is the one true religion. You notice, while his kingdom or his world view differs from that of this world … you notice he doesn’t say it is wrong, he doesn’t condemn the Jewish leaders … he does criticize how they have put burdens on people, but even in this text he is resolved to say that our views are different. My kingdom is not of this world.

As we consider what that message may be to us today is that our earthly world views, there is a kingdom much bigger than us. Perhaps that is what is key for us in our argument. The Christians, Muslims and Jews all subscribe to the Old Testament, to the Hebrew Scripture begins with the acknowledgment that we are all made in the image of God, male and female, in order to be in community. And yet when we look even within Christianity itself, the divisions run deep. I can’t begin to tell you how many fellow Christians have condemned me to hell.

We have these deep commitments and convictions about what we perceive to be the truth. That our religion or our world view or our answers to the questions of life are the truth and this naturally leads to feelings of superiority. For some it leads to condemning those who differ, in many ways it leads to a religious downward spiral where people are marginalized and oppressed … which is contrary to what their holy scripture taught to begin with.

What is truth? Is there one true religion? This question of truth is becoming vital because the world is becoming increasingly religious. The fastest growing religion in the U.S. is Islam. In Korea, number of Christians in Korea in the last 50 years has went from 0% to 45% of the population. By 2060 it is estimated that there will be ½ billion Christians in China if the pace continues. What is truth?

Typically when I am asked the question of one true religion, I give the image of the house. If any of you have ever read the Interior Castle from St. Teresa of Avila, it is a matter of getting to the core or our spirituality. We enter through door of a house at a very basic level. Our birth, our invitation to church or Sunday school. But once we are in the house we are constantly moving to the innermost part of the house. The steps that lead up the staircase are experiences of Christian community … mission trips, Sunday school, potlucks, worship services. The pictures along the stair case are of those spiritual mentors who have helped show God’s ways to us. They look upon us as we climb up the steps of experience.

As we reach the top of the steps and prepare to enter into the most sacred part of our souls and the most intimate connection with God that we know … we enter through the Jesus’ door … as Christians, that is the way into that innermost part of our souls. Because it is in that relationship we experience God. Now are there other doors into that most intimate of relationships with God? I don’t know … but in my interior castle … that’s the way I know … it is to Jesus’ kingdom that I have been invited to, raised up in and walked through.

When we get to the heart of scripture, talking on our own faith now, when we get to the heart of the truth which Jesus speaks and his kingdom, those who walk in that way, truth and life have a foundation of respect for people of other faiths. The very nature of valuing God’s creation that we see throughout the Old Testament sets a precedent for appreciating the wisdom and values of others, but Jesus’ way that is revealed to us is one of humility. Philippians 2, that was read earlier, if were to imitate the way of Jesus we are reminded to “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” That way of Christ was to “not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a human being, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death even death on a cross!

Rather than be superior, Jesus invites us to regard others as superior to us. Rather than seek to achieve a salvation through moral improvement, Jesus comes offering forgiveness and grace. It is in our DNA as Christians. We have been offered the way of Jesus Christ. We take that route, that door. That is our truth. But his way, and his truth is not found in one line of scripture. It is found in a life. He prayed for his enemies, he humbled himself. At the very heart of our worldview, of our religion is a man who died for his enemies, praying for forgiveness. Reflecting on this could lead to a radically different way of dealing with conflict and those are different than what we believe.

Look at the whole of what scripture tells us and we see that Christians have a chance to save the world. That doesn’t make us better. But it ushers in a kingdom that is not of this world.

In Jesus Name, Amen.