Is Christ Present in non-Christian Religions?

                                                   Is Christ Present in non-Christian Religions?

                                                   By Dr. Juan A. Carmona
                                                   

One of the many issues among the various religious communities is their claim that they have either the highest degree of revealed truth, or a total monopoly on God's truth.  They tend to believe that they and only they have a correct understanding of what God intended to say to humankind.

Christians are no exception to the rule.  With their nauseating overemphasis on the passage of Scripture (John 14: 6) where Jesus claims to be "the way, the truth, and the life," they resort to demonizing and bad-mouthing other faith groups, and to close the door to the slightest possibility that some of these faith groups may in some way unknown to us, experience not only a knowledge of truth, but also, the presence of this very same Jesus the Christ who claims to be "the way."  They almost automatically and mechanically resort to assuming that any religion other than the Christian faith is either totally humanly constructed and generated, or diabolically inspired.  Many Christians dismiss, right from the outset, the need for ecumenical or inter-faith dialogue, because they believe that they have the "truth" sown in their pockets.  As a matter of fact, many Christians will dismiss other Christians outright, because they believe that other Christians don''t have the "right doctrine," or the "right theology," as they understand it and claim to have.

At the risk of sounding like I am compromising or "watering down" the basic claims and tenets of the Christian faith, I respectfully submit that these attitudes of having a monopoly on truth are not only arrogant and presumptuous, but also go against the grain of biblical revelation regarding Jesus.  The picture that we have of Jesus in the both the Gospel accounts and in the epistles and letters of the New Testament, is one of a person who is not bound exclusively by any tradition, including His own, i.e. that of Judaism.

How, then, do we get out of this pickle?   Do we continue to emphasize a Christ-centered approach to salvation and truth, and thereby exclude the slightest possibility that others have experienced truth and the saving grace of Christ in their own communities?  Do we continue to attempt inter-faith dialogue and a mutual commitment to truth-seeking?

This writer humbly and respectfully submits and sincerely believes that Jesus is not restricted to any one faith group or its traditions.  I furthermore submit, that the saving grace and presence of Christ is present in a variety of religious and spiritual experiences. Christ is cosmic, omnipresent, and transcendent. Christ is much bigger than our dogmas and neatly packaged confessions and statements of faith.

May we be humble enough to acknowledge and bow to this Cosmic Christ who says "Come unto me, all of you who labor, and I will give you respite."  This promised rest is not only rest from physical labor, or from the bondage of sin, both individual and systemic, but also from the labor of constructing boxes in which we confine this Cosmic Christ.

In the Name of the Creator, and of the Liberator, and of the Sustainer. Amen!                                    

Okay God, What have You to Say?

                                                   Okay God, What have You to Say?

                                                   By Dr. Juan A. Carmona


How many times have we heard a cacophony of voices, airing opinions on different subjects, and in the midst of the confusion surrounding the discussions, ask someone, "What is your take on this?"  Or how many times have you or I written a letter to someone asking them what is their opinion on a given matter? This letter might just as well have been entitled "A Letter to God."

We look around us, and either witness or hear about atrocity and tragedy, burglary, murder, rape, terrorism, and so many other things that are destructive to human life.  We hear about children being kidnapped, dragged away by crocodiles, etc.  We ask, "Where is God in all this?" Here I ask a more pointed question: God, what is your take on this?  What do you have to say, if anything about all this?

We experience frustration after frustration with God's apparent silence, or in our failure to get a clear answer from God.  I remember the biblical story of John the Baptizer, sending a message to Jesus from his jail cell. After preaching and baptizing in the Jordan River, and then being incarcerated for no wrong-doing, he apparently became disillusioned and sent his disciples to ask Jesus "Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?"

When we experience disillusion or disappointment in God's non-answer, we raise similar questions. We even ask if we are kidding ourselves by putting our trust in someone who never bothers to answer our questions.

These kinds of questions are not limited or unique to the average every day person sitting in the pews of the church or of whatever faith group they are affiliated with.  Even those of us in positions of leadership struggle with those kinds of questions on a daily basis.  We would be totally dishonest if we were to deny that those struggles are part of our spiritual journey.

As a minister and theologian, I have struggled with those same questions from time to time, as different things continue to occur. I do not have nor would I even attempt to concoct answers relative to the tragedies that continue to happen in our nation and in the world.  So every day, I write a mental letter to God, and await for the answer.  Other than that, I just take the attitude reflected in the Beatle's song, "Let it Be."  I strongly believe that "there will be an answer, let it be."

In the Name of the Creator, and of the Liberator, and of the Sustainer. Amen

Is God Conservative or Liberal?: The Real God Stands Up

                             Is God Conservative or Liberal?: The Real God Stands Up

                             By Dr. Juan A. Carmona


We live, not only in a society, but also in a world where there are competing ideologies.  People subscribe to one ideology or another for a variety of reasons.  It appears that ideologies (sets of beliefs) have a life of their own in that they manage to sway people in different directions and also to have people live their lives according to them.  One group of people is as convinced as another group that their ideology is the "correct one."  One individual as as convinced as another that her/his set of beliefs is the "right one" to live by.

There are two terms that we hear of in the realms of morality, politics, and religion.  They are "conservative" and "liberal."  Those who are "conservative" strive and do their best to preserve the status quo, i.e. keep things as they are "because it''s always been that way." They believe that we should maintain intact those norms, perspectives, and values which were handed down and imposed since ancient times. In the realm of religion, those who consider themeselves "conservative" believe that what was handed down umpteen years ago was given by God, and therefore, not subject to change or modification.  On the other hand, those who claim to be "liberal," believe in being "open minded," and also believe that we should modify beliefs and practices wherever possible, and that we should be "open to a wide variety of perspectives."  In the realm of religion, "liberals" believe that we should interpret the ancient sacred texts in the light of the different branches of human knowledge, i.e. the natural and the social sciences, and not be bound or restricted by "out-moded"  views and mindsets.

The major problem in the communities of faith relative to "conservative" and "liberal," is that people who subscribe to either ideology, tend to believe that their particular ideology reflects the mind of God, They are strongly convinced that the way they think is the way God thinks, i.e. if I am "conservative," then God must also be conservative or if I am "liberal," then God must also be liberal.  So I ask, then, "will the real God stand up?"

To the disappointment of all, regardless of what ideology they subscribe to, I will say that God is neither conservative nor liberal.  What is God, then?  God is God and is not either identified with or restricted to our way of thinking and seeing things.  God as God transcends all human ideological constructs, and therefore, cannot be equated with our ideas, no matter how lofty they may seem.  God is not female or male, God is not Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Muslim, or whatever other community of faith we wish to confine God to. God is not a Democrat or Republican, neither Communist nor Socialist, but just God.

How then should we proceed to solve this conundrum?  How can we find resolution?  Let God be God.

In the Name of the Creator, and of the Liberator, and of the Sustainer. Amen!

Rev. Dr. Juan A. Carmona

Is God Conservative or Liberal?: The Task of Having the Real God Stand Up

                     Is God Conservative or Liberal: The Task of Having the Real God Stand Up

                     By Dr. Juan A. Carmona

The Undefinable God

                                                   The Indefinable God

                                                   By Dr. Juan A. Carmona

In writing this essay, I am reminded of a hymn that has always been one of my favorite ones.  In fact, it was a hymn that I incorporated into a worship service in which I preached while I was still a student at the New Brunswick Theological Seminary in 1978.  The hymn was ¨Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise.¨ To this day, both the words and the tune of that hymn ring in my ears and in my heart.

I remember that back in the early 1970´s I read a book which speaks about the ¨semiotic¨ language that we use when speaking of God.  The writer took great pains to mention that the best we can do when making reference to God is to utilize semiotic language, i.e. language which contains a lot of symbols and points to something beyond itself.

I have learned in the years of my spiritual journey that God can be conceptualized (with qualification), but not defined. I remember the saying of one person who stated, ¨God is much greater than any praise which we can give Him.¨  We all have our concepts and ideas as to what and who God is. One concept is not necessarily better or more correct than the other.  It is not a question of ¨better or worse,¨ but rather one of ¨just different.¨ It is not necessary to trump one concept in favor of the other, but rather, just to ¨let a thousand flowers bloom.

We wreck our brains trying to figure God out and trying to put Her/Him into our neat little boxes, as if God could be confined or restricted.  We tend to think that our semiotic language about God settles the problem for once and for all as to who, what, and how God is.

God is beyond concepts and beyond definition.  God is even beyond language, no matter how fancy or lofty our language may be.  God cannot be reduced to our human definitions or to our fallible and erroneous mental constructs.  The minute that we even dare to think that God is ¨like this or like that,¨ we have missed the point, and, in essence, restricted God to our conceptual, ideological, and linguistic limitations.

How, then, do we resolve the issue of trying to relate to a being who cannot be defined?  My formation and experience inform me that the best thing we can do is to let God be God. What does this mean?  For me, this means that we cease for once and for all to attempt packaging and boxing God in. Let God be and work how He/She wants to and let us rely on Her/His grace to help us become the people we should be.

In the Name of the Creator, and of the Liberator, and of the Sustainer. Amen.

Rev. Dr. Juan A. Carmona

Did Jesus Really Say That?

                                                  Did Jesus Really Say That?

                                                  By Dr. Juan A. Carmona




One of the many things that makes our Christian faith a complicated issue, is our claim to believe in the sayings and teachings of Jesus as recorded in the Christian Scriptures (New Testament).  We claim that our lives and our faith are based His teachings.  We consider Him the final authority for faith and practice, and at the same time, claim that the Scriptures of the New Testament are the final court of appeal for faith and practice.  We seem not to be able to decide where the ultimate authority lies.

The major problem with our claim to be guided by the words of Jesus, is that the alleged words of Jesus were written by those who were familiar with Him and with His earthly ministry. And since, as has been mentioned before, they were not following Him around with a tape recorder, it raises the question as to whether they were actually able to retrieve His sayings and teachings successfully.  And since there was a time gap between the time of His earthly ministry, resurrection, and ascension to Heaven, on the one hand, and on the other hand, the time of the writing of the Gospel accounts, the issue is further compounded.
And to top it off, we no longer have the original autographs with us, and subsequently we rely on the manuscripts (hand-written copies) which differ among themselves as to content and style.

How, then, can we be sure that we have the original words of Jesus, given these complications?  We might attempt to undertake the enormous task of studying the language of the New Testament (Greek), and at the same time compare the various manuscripts to determine which one most likely reflects the contents of the original autographs. That, in and of itself, is a very difficult task.  And then, we still are not guaranteed to come up with the original words.  We might then, decide to take a step of faith, and trust that through the manuscripts and the various translations, we have His original words.  But then, that would just be an affirmation of faith, which to some extent, relies on a shaky foundation.

This essay was not intended to cast any doubt on whether or not we have the words of Jesus verbatim.
It was intended to stimulate our thinking in terms of how scholarship can help strengthen our faith rather than diminish it. I hope that this has given you ¨food for thought.¨

In the Name of the Creator, and of the Liberator, and of the Sustainer. Amen.

Rev. Dr. Juan A. Carmona