Because the world is fallen, God had to send his son to redeem us and that is what the fourth chapter of Engaging God's World, is about: redemption. Jesus was sent to redeem all of creation because everything is fallen. As Plantinga said, when Jesus came into the world, "he acted like a repentant sinner. He got himself baptized, like every sinner. He absorbed accusations. He accepted rebuke without protest. He endured gossip about his choice of friends and his eating and drinking habits." Jesus didn't just live without sin, he also went through everything, and a lot more, than every sinner has to go through. He showed us how to live, and redeemed us through his death and resurrection. One thing that Plantinga says is that "nobody gains union with Christ by himself." I don't completely agree with this. This means that you need a church or at least a group of believers to be unified with Christ. What if there is one person in a remote country who comes to believe in God and there are no other Christians around? Does this mean he can't be unified with God and is doomed just because of his geographical location and culture? I think a church is still important but I also think it is possible, but not easy, to become a unified with God without one.
Jesus died and then rose again and we can symbolize being unified with him through baptism. The act of baptism is like a death and resurrection. Being immersed in water symbolizes death and then you are "resurrected" in being pulled back up. We are redeemed by Christ and baptism shows that we believe and understand that. Our job is not done though once we believe in God. We need to help bring others to know the truth and try to change the parts of our lives that are bringing us further away from the perfect peace of shalom. We do this by using the Bible as a guide to help us know what shalom looks like and what we can do to help.
You said that our job is not done once we believe in God and start to have a relationship with God. I think that our job is actually just starting once we become a Christian. Our job is to show the immense love that God has for us to others. Oftentimes actions speak louder than words, and like you said, we have the Bible, prayer, and the knowledge of God's redeeming grace to help us through.
ReplyDeleteI like your thoughts on gaining union with Christ by ourselves. Its a good point. Christ will do his work in us and bring us to him, and other people, like our family, friends and church family will just help. I agree with with you said and also think that it is possible to be united to Christ on our own. Just because I think it is possible though doesn't mean that we have to keep that feeling to ourselves, it is important to show others to Christ still. Good post!
ReplyDeleteYou are right: Christ's power is certainly strong enough that one can gain union with Him without other Christians, although it must be said that God has ordained that Christians should be in fellowship with one another. I don't remember where Plantinga wrote this, but maybe he was referring to the idea that no one can come to Christ without the power of God (i.e., no one can do it himself). But I don't remember the context, so it may not be the case.
ReplyDeleteI would agree with you,too, that the church isn't necessary to convert to Christianity. It certainly does help, though! I appreciate the courage you showed to disagree with Plantinga. It shows you are being an active learner, one I think Lewis would like.
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