The Uniqueness of Christ
By Jean-Paul Rempp, Pastor of Church "La
Bonne Nouvelle" in Lyon, France, and worker with Christian Witness to Israel
Jean-Paul Rempp participated in Issue Group #2: The Uniqueness of Christ in the Context of Postmodernity and World Religions
The Issue Group #2 was titled : "The Uniqueness of Christ in the Context of Postmodernity and World Religions." It was a privilege for me to be involved, with about 50 other theologians, in this intense brainstorming under the leadership of Dr. Rolf Hille, Principal of the Albrecht-Bengel-Haus, Tübingen, Germany, and Chairman of the Theological Commission (World Evangelical Alliance). I felt a tremendous spirit of work and co-operation, in a particularly strong spirit of fellowship.
As we began to grasp the theme, we very quickly agreed that it was impossible to apprehend, in such short a time of work in Pattaya, the totality of the subject, with so many complex questions needing to be explored. So it was decided to concentrate mainly on the theme : "The Uniqueness of Christ in a Post-modern World", to which the new International Director of Lausanne, Dr. Tetsunao Yamamori, referred on the last evening in these terms:
"… Dr John Stott, in his Lausanne interview with Gary Barnes, described pluralism as the most critical issue today. Pluralism, itself an ideology, 'affirms the independent validity of all faiths. It therefore rejects as arrogant and wholly unacceptable every attempt to convert anybody (let alone everybody) to our opinions.' Now, post-modernism is an idea that denies the existence of transcendent truth. In such a context of evangelization, we must boldly proclaim the uniqueness of Christ because, as Dr. Stott says, Jesus is unique in his incarnation, atonement, resurrection, and gift of the Spirit. Without the successful defense of the uniqueness of Christ, our evangelistic efforts will become nullified."
In spite of restricting our subject, we did not manage to complete exhaustively our paper. But, perhaps, the not yet definitive introduction you will find below, could give you a glimpse of the concerns that we did treat in the paper to appear.
Introduction
"'So are you saying there's such a thing as absolute truth ?' the teenager confronts the pastor after his talk. 'I don't believe there is absolute truth. I think you can believe whatever you want to believe. All religions are the same, so whatever is good for you is good for you, and whatever is good for me is good for me.'
As a Christian, who by definition believes in the Christ who gives meaning and significance to all things, how do you deal with a challenge like this? This kind of challenge is part of the worldview called 'postmodernism'.
What do we mean by the 'uniqueness of Christ'?
The Lausanne Movement has clear statements on the uniqueness of Christ and its relation to evangelism:
(On Jesus) We affirm that there is only one Savior and only one gospel… Jesus Christ, being himself the only God-man, who gave himself as the only ransom for sinners, is the only mediator between God and people. (Lausanne, 1974)
(On Jesus) We are called to proclaim Christ in an increasingly pluralistic world… In the first century too there were 'many gods and many lords'. Yet the apostles boldly affirmed the uniqueness, indispensability and centrality of Christ. We must do the same. (Manila, 1989)
(On Evangelism and Culture) The development of strategies for world evangelization calls for imaginative pioneering methods… The gospel does not presuppose the superiority of any culture to another, but evaluates all cultures according to its own criteria of truth and righteousness, and insists on moral absolutes in every culture. (Lausanne, 1974)
(On Evangelism) [the Lausanne Movement] is determined to bear a positive and uncompromising witness to the uniqueness of our Lord, in his life, death, and resurrection, in all aspects of our evangelistic work including inter-faith dialogue. (Manila, 1989)
What do we mean by post-modernity?
Though the term 'post-modern' applies to a variety of philosophical perspectives, mindsets, orientations, and moods, we have discerned four major areas of similarity of the concerns and issues, which point in a similar direction. They are:
the loss of meta-narratives (grand narratives, stories that purport to give meaning),
the collapse of absolute truth (or skepticism about absolute truth claims),
skepticism about historical meaning, and,
the general loss of meaning.
The focus of this paper is to explore how the challenges and the opportunities presented by post-modernism might influence and shape the Christian proclamation concerning the uniqueness, the decisive pre-eminence, of Jesus Christ. The thesis of this paper is that those who believe in the uniqueness of the Lord Jesus Christ must find new ways to creatively and effectively communicate His person and work within a post-modern framework. We will explore four crucial areas for consideration:
Biblical and Theological Foundations for the Uniqueness of Christ
Opportunities and Cautions that Postmodernism Offers
Systematic and Apologetic Engagement with Post-modernity and Pluralism
Methods of Communicating the Uniqueness of Christ…"
Being personally involved in Jewish evangelism
Being personally involved in Jewish evangelism, I believe that all of these four crucial areas of consideration have also to be applied in our approach of the different kinds of present Judaisms.
Besides, our group asked the Lausanne Committee for a similar work to be done on the second part of the subject : "Post-modern World, World Religious and the Uniqueness of Christ." If this project could be achieved, LCJE could probably be one of the partners working on it.
Already in view of this second kind of work, a sub-group has been formed which worked on the last two days of the consultation. I was part of it.
We tried to answer two questions:
a) What are the key issues for Post-modernism overlap with core beliefs from other faiths ? We found:
I. 1 : holistic
2 : experience
3 : not propositions but stories
II. 4 : relative
5 : tolerance
6 : pluralism
III. 7 : pain and broken trust
8 : hunger for relationship
9 : gap between our morals and our ability to meet them
10 : individual self-centered
IV. 11 : concern for global environment, no boundaries
b) How does Postmodernism influence Christianity's response to other religions?
1. Other religions are influenced by postmodernism, so we may have new common ground with them.
Eg. Youth leaving God, is an issue for both Christians and Moslems in Western settings.
2. At some points, other religions overlap with postmodernism, so if we can make creative missional responses to post-modernism, those responses may also help engage those religions, too.
Eg. Hinduism relates to relativism. A response to relativism would connect with Hindus and post-modernists alike.
3. Post-modernism can act to break down other religions, softening people, lacking references, towards to Gospel.
Eg. Christlike respecting of people's decisions yet whilst also offering a life-giving alternative (Christ) might seem very appealing to post-modernists from other religions.
4. Community : The church must be prepared to reshape, in order to offer new life-giving relationships to postmodernism converts from other religions. Relationships sensitive to cultural worldviews in which they see Christ. We need to be at least sensitive to a wide variety of cultures. Tensions may result in the church from such cross-cultural currents, but it is vital if we want to have a real impact.
Eg. French local church that has Christians from Jewish, and from Moslem backgrounds. This is a powerful witness, particularly because this kind of coming together after often creates tensions outside the church.
As a Frenchman, I was glad to inform all participants of our issue group 2 of the existence of some interesting papers written in French:
Jean-Paul Rempp
[email protected]