Tom Jackson: God Question for you...

[ode_to_spot]

Tom! So...Brooke definitely called me today and told me about the Oprah show. Basically Oprah said there are many ways to get to heaven, and the audience was like "No, only through Jesus you can get to heaven". What is the correct answer....can you get to heaven other ways besides Jesus; can you get to heaven without knowing Jesus. I used the whole

Comments

just a quick note:

[tjackson]

this post will require me to write quite a bit. i want you to know that i intend on responding ... just don't know what the evening's/weekend's plans are yet ... so i'm hesitant to start. but i definitely plan on getting back to ya.

Re: just a quick note:

[ode_to_spot]

thanks Tom! It's all appreciated!

Re: just a quick note:

[tjackson]

done ... and done

Oprah vs. Thought - (part 1 of 4)

[tjackson]

Oprah is no great theologian. If you need a disturbing example;

"'I call my home the Promised Land because I get to live Dr. King's dream,' Winfrey told her guests, a source inside recalled Winfrey saying. 'I haven't been actively engaged before because there hasn't been anything to be actively engaged in. But I am engaged now to make Barack Obama the next president of the United States.'" (src)As great a person as she presents herself to be, whether through charitable events or consolation of bereaved individuals on her show, she is still a television personality. It is in her best interests not to exclude people. She gets more viewers, more sponsorship, and more attention by keeping people included in the 'in group'. She is not a Bill O'Reilly who may gain more attention by exclusion and attack. Since her strategy is to attract middle-aged housewife 'flies with honey', she's likely to not make any exclusionary statements hinting to Muslims or Atheists burning in the fires of eternal damnation. Who'd want to hear that on the next

Oprah vs. Thought - (part 2 of 4)

[tjackson]

To that end... the main question is, a) 'Are there other ways to heaven besides Jesus?' We've got a latent question underneath this being b) 'What about infant deaths or others who may die in an 'unknowing' state?'

When it comes to how I regard the relationship between how, as a Christian, I regard the relationship between God and nonChristians, I tend to find myself rather disconnected. I shall go into this later, but for the most part it is hard for me to want to take the Campus Crusade approach and make disciples by endlessly spitting bible verses and charismatic phrases until I prove the existence of God/Christ/etc. Therefore, when I speak of how Christians regard the relationship between God and nonChristians I will, for the most part, not pull out bible verse upon bible verse ... hopefully you will realize why I take this stance as I continue.

A) Are there other ways to heaven besides Jesus?: It seems to me that there are two issues that lie behind this sort of question. When you or I ask "Are there other ways to heaven

Oprah vs. Thought - (part 3 of 4)

[tjackson]

The question behind this, at least for me, is how do we understand our own salvation? Is salvation about an eventual happening, whenever you are I may enter heaven? Is salvation about what happens for us in the here and now; how we experience life differently as Christians? Is salvation about boundaries; those who are included and those who are excluded? Much, if not most, of the Gospels attest to salvation and the Christian life as things which demand attention in our daily lives. They focus more on what it means to live as a Christian and less upon continuing to build/support walls of inclusion and exclusion. In Christ, the communal line between Jews and Gentiles becomes fuzzier and fuzzier

Oprah vs. Thought - (part 4 of 4)

[tjackson]

Paul Tillich once said that he believes there is such a thing as hell, but that no-one is there. While I am definitely reluctant to set my own theological interpretation up as being completely right, I am inclined to agree. It is hard for me to picture a God who throughout scripture makes efforts to relate and live in community with those who are completely 'other' than God's self, ceases doing so in case of those who reject Him/Her. Israel rejected God plenty of times, none of those rejections rescinded the covenant between God and Israel. Peter denies Christ and is still accepted by Christ and given the privilege of living and speaking the Gospel to the world. The forgiving nature of God does not, to me, seem to be something that God does occasionally ... but something that God is, that defines God's identity. People love to throw around the 'judge not' verse. I think that any amount of you, me, or whoever bantering on and on about those who are included and excluded from the kingdom of God is, at its core, an effort to associate

Re: Oprah vs. Thought - (part 4 of 4)

[ode_to_spot]

Tom...you are amazing. I dont have time right yet to read it all, cause I have to run to MFAC in like 2 secs. But holy buckets, thanks for the extensive answer!