Allow me a modern retelling of an old Mahayanna parable:
To the Mahayanna, any means by which they can lead another into nirvana is equally valid. To some Christians, this may sound a lot like when Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9:22, "I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some." Is Paul the old man yelling the Gospel in various terms to souls in risk of burning? That certainly refflects a popular interpretation of Paul: use whatever means possible to get lost souls to pray the sinner's prayer.
Paul's means of becoming all things to all people is by, though being free, making himself "a servant to all, that I might win more of them (1 Cor. 9:19)." Paul does not alter the substance of the Gospel, but rather, in love, brings it to both Jew and Gentile without altering the message of hope: Salvation in Christ Jesus through his salvific work on the cross.
The message of the Gospel is, "Get out of the house, it is burning." There is danger in using fringe benefits of Christianity as a means of luring people into the faith. These "conversions" are not likely to be transformative or lasting. Far too often, these converts use Jesus only as the name of the leader of their cult of what Christian Smith calls Moralistic Therapeutic Deism:
"Come, come, and Jesus will make your problems in your marriage go away." Or, "Come, come, we have exciting 'worship' music and trendy skits." And, "Come, come, Jesus wants you to be healthy, wealthy, and wise."
Rather, the message of the Gospel is, "Come, come, to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me. My name is Jesus, and I have redeemed you from your sins. I have purchased you with my blood. I have reconciled you to your loving Father, and will share with you my inheritance in His kingdom. Come, come, and be my disciple. Take up your cross and follow me."
May the Spirit's quickening beam melt the even the hardest of hearts to this message.
Suppose there once was an old man with twenty sons. They all lived together in a house. The house had no windows, and only one door in the front. One day, the old man returned from the village to see that the house was on fire. Seeing the house ablaze and knowing all his sons were inside, the old man set to getting them out.Mahayanna, the more liberal of the two main branches of Buddhism, believes that there are many paths to ultimate enlightenment. This parable illustrates one of their most fundamental beliefs: Though there are many means through which one can escape samsara (the cycle of rebirth), it is not wrong for there to be many paths to the same goal. In broad terms, this leads to a religious system with paths to nirvana almost individualized to fit anyone's lifestyle.
His sons did not want to leave—they were busy playing Halo 2 on the inside of the house, and were rather unaware of the fire. The old man, knowing he could not force them out of the house, yelled through the door, "Hurry, quick, the house is on fire! You must leave now!" But none of the sons responded.
Knowing the boys would not respond to further pleas of this type, he set to luring them out of the house by any means possible. "Come, come!" he shouted, "I have candy for you all!" And eight of the boys came running out, each trying to be the first through the doorway. Though the old man had no candy, eight of his sons were safe on the outside.
He tried again, "Come, come!" he yelled all the more frantically, thinking of a new means with which to draw them out. "I want to take you to buy a new TV for you to play video games on!" Lured by his lie, five more of his sons came running out of the house, spared from the fire.
One last time, he tried to draw the final seven sons out of the house. "Come, come!" he yelled at the top of his voice, "Let us go buy a new Xbox 360 so you can play Halo 3!" The final seven sons came running, each wanting to be the first to their father.
What then do we say of the father? Is he guilty of falsehood? No, rather, he used whatever means neccessary in order to bring to his sons something better than what was promised. His deception was only a skillful device to persuade his sons to get out of the house and save their lives.
To the Mahayanna, any means by which they can lead another into nirvana is equally valid. To some Christians, this may sound a lot like when Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9:22, "I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some." Is Paul the old man yelling the Gospel in various terms to souls in risk of burning? That certainly refflects a popular interpretation of Paul: use whatever means possible to get lost souls to pray the sinner's prayer.
Paul's means of becoming all things to all people is by, though being free, making himself "a servant to all, that I might win more of them (1 Cor. 9:19)." Paul does not alter the substance of the Gospel, but rather, in love, brings it to both Jew and Gentile without altering the message of hope: Salvation in Christ Jesus through his salvific work on the cross.
The message of the Gospel is, "Get out of the house, it is burning." There is danger in using fringe benefits of Christianity as a means of luring people into the faith. These "conversions" are not likely to be transformative or lasting. Far too often, these converts use Jesus only as the name of the leader of their cult of what Christian Smith calls Moralistic Therapeutic Deism:
"Come, come, and Jesus will make your problems in your marriage go away." Or, "Come, come, we have exciting 'worship' music and trendy skits." And, "Come, come, Jesus wants you to be healthy, wealthy, and wise."
Rather, the message of the Gospel is, "Come, come, to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me. My name is Jesus, and I have redeemed you from your sins. I have purchased you with my blood. I have reconciled you to your loving Father, and will share with you my inheritance in His kingdom. Come, come, and be my disciple. Take up your cross and follow me."
May the Spirit's quickening beam melt the even the hardest of hearts to this message.
1 comment:
A most valuable, blogified contribution to my thinking. You pinpoint a very relevant issue and give me a helpful hook on which to hang a Biblical response. Thanks.
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