One Way?
Warning: the post contains spoilers for The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis. (Do I have to give a spoiler alert for a 61-year-old book?)
In the last book of the Chronicles of Narnia, the world (Narnia, not our world) comes to an end and most of the main characters end up in that world's version of Heaven, if they were followers of Aslan. Interestingly, a man from Calormen who worships the god Tash is also there. It is explained that, although he worships this other god in name, his good deeds and righteousness could only be accepted by Aslan, since Tash could only accept evil acts. Thus, he was worshipping Aslan, though he did not know it.
This is not in line with the accepted canon of most mainline churches. Indeed, I am quite surprised that Lewis has not been accused of being a heretic and his writings derided, much like the reaction to Rob Bell when his book Love Wins came out a few years ago.
Such a view is at odds with verses such as:
"Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'" (John 14:6 NIV)
I guess Lewis' reply to this verse would be that it is only through Jesus' sacrifice on the cross that we have access to God the Father, although in cases like that of the Calormene's, you don't have to be aware of the source of your salvation in order to receive it.
But that still isn't quite consistent with Scripture:
Lately, I've been wondering whether a part of me doesn't believe that Jesus Christ is the one and only way to God. Not because my mind does not grasp the theology or I have doubts about the interpretation of Bible verses, but because I have looked at my actions and they do not reflect that belief.
If I truly believed that Jesus was the One and Only Way to God, maybe I would not be so embarrassed by the street preachers at Yonge-Dundas Square; instead, I might become one of them. If I truly believed that I knew the secret to eternal life, I would not be able to keep from talking about it constantly. If I truly believed that salvation could come through Christ alone, I would risk being rude and losing friendships. If I truly believed that it would bring my friends into a relationship with God, I would fast and pray for days on end.
But I don't do those things.
So what do you do when your heart and your brain seem to disagree? The answer, I think, is to pray. Pray that God would reveal to you what His will is, and that He will soften your heart to align with His or provide wisdom to understand His will. Spend time in His Word and listening for His leading. I mean, it's a hugely 'Sunday School' answer, but that doesn't mean it's not true!
*The savvy reader may note that these verses only include a one-way conditional, not a biconditional. (in other words, it says that those who call on the name of the Lord will be saved, but it never says that those who don't call won't be), which is maybe how you can get around these verses. But if I'm being that nitpicky, I should probably look at the original Greek, which I haven't done. Also reading formal logic into ancient texts might be pragmatically disingenuous.
Note: Despite Lewis' position, I don't think he would say that evangelism is not necessary. Lewis devoted a great deal of his time in evangelism and apologetics, including the writing of his book, Mere Christianity, which is based on a series of radio talks he gave. In the story, the Calormene is disoriented and confused upon arriving in 'Heaven,' which is hardly a strong endorsement for that way of doing things. It may work to get you to Heaven, but you aren't really prepared for it when you get there, and you end up spending your whole life working towards the wrong goal.
In the last book of the Chronicles of Narnia, the world (Narnia, not our world) comes to an end and most of the main characters end up in that world's version of Heaven, if they were followers of Aslan. Interestingly, a man from Calormen who worships the god Tash is also there. It is explained that, although he worships this other god in name, his good deeds and righteousness could only be accepted by Aslan, since Tash could only accept evil acts. Thus, he was worshipping Aslan, though he did not know it.
This is not in line with the accepted canon of most mainline churches. Indeed, I am quite surprised that Lewis has not been accused of being a heretic and his writings derided, much like the reaction to Rob Bell when his book Love Wins came out a few years ago.
Such a view is at odds with verses such as:
"Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'" (John 14:6 NIV)
I guess Lewis' reply to this verse would be that it is only through Jesus' sacrifice on the cross that we have access to God the Father, although in cases like that of the Calormene's, you don't have to be aware of the source of your salvation in order to receive it.
But that still isn't quite consistent with Scripture:
"If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, 'Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.' For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, 'Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.' How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: 'How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!'" (Romans 10:9-15 NIV)*
I bring this up not to question Lewis' theology, but my own. See, the book of James in the Bible teaches that what you believe should be reflected in your actions.
"In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, 'You have faith; I have deeds.' Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds." (James 2: 17-18 NIV)
The idea is that, if you truly believe something to be true, your actions will reflect it. If, for example, you say over and over again that you believe that global warming is a serious issue, but you don't bother to even sort your recycling from your garbage or fix your leaky faucet or turn off your lights when you leave the house, people will start to conclude that you're all talk. You say you believe that action should be taken to prevent or slow global warming, but your actions reveal that you believe the opposite. Lately, I've been wondering whether a part of me doesn't believe that Jesus Christ is the one and only way to God. Not because my mind does not grasp the theology or I have doubts about the interpretation of Bible verses, but because I have looked at my actions and they do not reflect that belief.
If I truly believed that Jesus was the One and Only Way to God, maybe I would not be so embarrassed by the street preachers at Yonge-Dundas Square; instead, I might become one of them. If I truly believed that I knew the secret to eternal life, I would not be able to keep from talking about it constantly. If I truly believed that salvation could come through Christ alone, I would risk being rude and losing friendships. If I truly believed that it would bring my friends into a relationship with God, I would fast and pray for days on end.
But I don't do those things.
So what do you do when your heart and your brain seem to disagree? The answer, I think, is to pray. Pray that God would reveal to you what His will is, and that He will soften your heart to align with His or provide wisdom to understand His will. Spend time in His Word and listening for His leading. I mean, it's a hugely 'Sunday School' answer, but that doesn't mean it's not true!
*The savvy reader may note that these verses only include a one-way conditional, not a biconditional. (in other words, it says that those who call on the name of the Lord will be saved, but it never says that those who don't call won't be), which is maybe how you can get around these verses. But if I'm being that nitpicky, I should probably look at the original Greek, which I haven't done. Also reading formal logic into ancient texts might be pragmatically disingenuous.
Note: Despite Lewis' position, I don't think he would say that evangelism is not necessary. Lewis devoted a great deal of his time in evangelism and apologetics, including the writing of his book, Mere Christianity, which is based on a series of radio talks he gave. In the story, the Calormene is disoriented and confused upon arriving in 'Heaven,' which is hardly a strong endorsement for that way of doing things. It may work to get you to Heaven, but you aren't really prepared for it when you get there, and you end up spending your whole life working towards the wrong goal.
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