Comments on the September/ October 2003 Horizons Magazine
by
Viola Larson
The September/October _Horizons_, the Presbyterian Women’s magazine, is
focused on ‘Nurturing Our Faith.” Charlotte Johnstone, author of the
‘Dispatch from Forbearance Presbyterian Church” column, in her perceptive,
slightly comical and deeply sad article, ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow With
Claire,” writes of Claire,
Her bedside table became increasingly crowded with the kind of self-help
books of vague spirituality that promised serenity, clarity and
unclouded purpose. She was an uncritical student and the culture
accommodated her enthusiastically. (7)
After experimenting with such practices as yoga, astrology and feng shui,
Claire finally drifts away from the Church altogether while looking for ‘the
right thing,” so that ‘everything would be fine.” The author makes it
clear that Claire is not nurturing her faith; she is rather trying out a
smorgasbord of spiritualities. Claire in a very dramatic way has
‘suspended” her beliefs as Jack Walsh recommends Christians do in another
article entitled, ‘Suspend Your Beliefs Without Losing Your Faith.”(19)
Walsh is attempting to help the reader ’embrace and honor all faiths,”
without losing their own ‘religious convictions.” He suggests ‘our belief
systems can be a roadblock to unity and prevent us from walking with our
brothers and sisters.” (He is talking about all faiths here, not just other
Christians.) I am reminded of the words of Jesus to His disciples,
Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him
before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I
will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven. Do not think I
came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a
sword. (Matthew 10:32-34)
Of course, Jesus doesn’t mean that those who believe in him should bear the
sword against the unbeliever, but rather the unbeliever might very well be
disposed to bear the sword against those who confess Jesus Christ as the
only Lord. We as Christians are to be respectful and loving toward those
belonging to other faiths, and we should for the sake of witness know what
they believe. But we are not called to suspend our beliefs for even an iota
of a second. Unity is meant to be a fruit of the body of Christ, not the
body of world religions. R.T. France comments on verse thirty-four of
Matthew, ‘Jesus speaks here, as in the preceding and following verses, more
of a division in men’s personal response to him. As long as some men refuse
the Lordship of God, to follow the Prince of peace will always be a way of
conflict.” (Tyndale: _New Testament Commentaries,_ 188)
Walsh quotes James A. Connor’s statements about holding on to life, and how
that is possible for Christians, Jews, Muslims and Buddhists together. ‘It
is possible for Buddhists because enlightenment reveals the true nature of
life,” he writes. So perhaps Claire taking a class in feng shui and
learning about ‘chi” is okay since that is a Buddhist practice and belief.
Or perhaps we have just become so confused and syncretistic in our
spirituality that it is almost impossible to publish Christian material that
is faithful to the Lord. One of our problems is a failure to grasp the
faithfulness of God, the certainty of the love of Jesus Christ for His
children. Johnstone writes that Claire, ‘wanted answers,” and ‘wanted
reassurance.” Well of course, Christians have no assurance of physical or
even emotional or mental well-being. But they do have the promise of the
forgiveness of their sins, the assurance of resurrection, and best of all
the promise of being now and forever with Jesus Christ, of living forever
within the fellowship of the Trinity. As saint Paul said, ‘More than that, I
count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing
Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and
count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ.”(Phil.3:8)