GlocalNet

Connecting for Glocal Transformation

Why As a Monotheist - I am a Christian

Keep in mind these are my views.  They have been developed gradually over the years as I’ve interacted with different people of different faiths.  I can deeply love and respect people and yet disagree over who God is.  Frankly, the dialogue between other faiths has made me think deeply about why I believe what I believe.  I do not consider myself a heavy duty theologian or philosopher, but, when you connect with people of different faiths, you are forced to think about God and your own faith - So here goes . . .

1.  My view is that the ONE God should be God, who has been present in all of history & mankind, consistently in messaging every era.  Judaism continues to wait for the Messiah that brings a new world order.  Islam acknowledges the truth of Judaism & Christianity, yet sees them as being polluted and all of Islam as correcting false teachings and interpretations of Judaism & Christianity.  Christianity values and accepts the Jewish faith and tradition, but sees Jesus fulfilling it.  Christianity would see Islam as denying the divinity of Jesus thereby nullifying the message and ministry of Jesus.  Only Christianity accepts Judaism as it is but also believes Jesus is the Messiah leading to the embracing of the entire world with the good news of Jesus - God.  The implication is that only Christianity can hold all of history inclusively from beginning to end by accepting the Hebrew Scriptures as truth and as is. Obviously, Jews would disagree as to who Jesus is. 

2.  My view is that the ONE God should be God who loves all tribes, nations, and peoples with a consistent message.  Missionary books of the Bible are in the Old Testament - Jonah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel - even the Psalms are God proclaiming who he is to the nations and calling men to follow him.  Judaism however is more racial and tribal than global and inclusive.  Only Christianity & Islam are embracing of all tribes, tongues, and nations. 

3.  My view is that the ONE God should be God who has revealed himself in objective revelation.  That leaves us with sacred Scripture.  If I accepted the Koran at the same level of inspiration as I do the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) and the New Testament - then I would have to be a Muslim.  If I accept Islam, I have to deny the authority and inspiration of the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures as polluted.  If I accept Judaism, I reject the Christian and Islamic Scriptures as tangents from the main texts.  If I accept Christianity, I accept the Old Testament - Jesus being the fulfillment and Messiah.  I accept the New Testament, obviously, but I would see the Koran as a tangent from the main text. 

4.  My view of ONE God consistently revealing himself through history is strengthened by my view of Hebrew and Christian Scriptures with multiple authors and consistent teaching and revelation - given the fact the Bible was written by multiple people in multiple centuries.  If I accept Islam, all of my faith hangs on a single person’s accuracy for all interpretation of who God is. 

5.  My view of the ONE God being Jesus is seen in the extreme measures of redemption and forgiveness that make the way of discovering the mercy of God unlike any other - but I’ll write on that tomorrow. 

So - - - because the message of Christianity holds all of history accepting the Old Testament as is, because it includes all people and is not exclusive to a tribe or single nation, because of the objective nature of the Old & New Testaments that hold all of humanity, and because of the nature of the compilation of the Old & New Testaments, and finally because of the extreme nature of redemption - I’ll be writing on that tomorrow - I am a Christian.

Comments

    There are no comments for this entry yet.

Leave a Reply

Name:

Email:

Location:

URL:

Remember my personal information

Notify me of follow-up comments?

Please enter the word you see in the image below:


Blog Categories

Search Glocalnet

Support

Partners

Northwood Church Vision 360

Glocalnet Books