THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, December 2, 1995 TAG: 9512020055
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E5 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Issues of Faith
SOURCE: Betsy Mathews Wright
LENGTH: Medium: 91 lines
MAYBE YOU SAW it last weekend. It was a reader response to the column I'd written about ``authentic humility'' using Colin Powell as an example.
``Betsy, Betsy, Betsy. Satan uses you so easily,'' said the anonymous caller. ``You've gotten politics and the Tao in your `Issues of Faith' and you would crucify Christ afresh. I think that you blaspheme the Holy Spirit, because Christ came to die for you and this is how you represent him with your life. Tsk, Tsk. Shame, shame, shame. Smell the coffee, honey. God bless you.''
Hey buddy, who died and left you God?
Oh, I know, in that column on humility I said that ``having authentic humility is laughing when others belittle you . . . You refuse to retaliate. You simply turn the other cheek.''
Well, I've got the first part down pat, but I readily admit to a humility deficit on the rest. I want to retaliate.
I want to set the record straight.
(If remaining parts of this column seem familiar, it's because I've said much of it before. There seem to be a certain number of people who don't get it when it comes to this column, so about once a year I have to answer the same old questions.)
What is the purpose of this column? It's really threefold. First, I want to get people to seriously think about their faith and to incorporate that faith into their everyday lives, whatever that faith may be. Second, I want to encourage discussion about faith. This is why the ``Reader Response'' week is offered. It's your opportunity to express your beliefs. Third, I want to educate. I like learning about my own faith and that of others. I believe the majority of readers do too.
Why isn't this a Christian column? Quite frankly, it was never intended as one. This column has always been written for all people of all faiths. That is why I often quote Scripture other than that of the Christian Testament.
Though I happen to be a Christian, and though I may sometimes express a Christian viewpoint or deal with a Christian issue, this is not a Christian column.
Why don't I push a certain faith? One of the things that bugs some readers is my refusal to tell people which faith to follow. I'll never do that. God has given us a heart, a mind and a free will to choose. I respect God's wisdom in doing so and try to model that wisdom by not badgering others to join my faith. Besides, I've learned from experience that the most convincing witness of Christian faith (or any faith for that matter), is pure loving kindness backed by a life of integrity. Preaching love isn't enough. You've got to do it.
What do I personally believe? I believe that Jesus was and is the Christ, God incarnate, fully human and fully divine. I cherish the Apostles' Creed.
I believe Jesus is the Savior of humanity, but don't believe the salvation issue is as cut-and-dried as many Christians make it. I don't make calls on who's saved and who isn't. That's God's job. Like the great Christian apologist, C.S. Lewis, I believe that while ``we do know that no human can be saved except through Christ, we do not know that only those who know Him can be saved through him.''
I believe the Bible is the human reflection of God's inspiration. I don't believe it is the verbatim, infallible, always literal word of God. I also believe that God divinely inspires humans through other means: our ability to reason, our experiences, our creativity, our traditions, our relationships and our natural world. All are divinely given, each one as important as the other.
What do I believe about non-Christian faiths and their scriptures? Some Christians believe anything non-Christian is false. I believe it's not always a matter of Truth versus Falsehood. It's often a matter of Truth or Truth. And, surprise, the Truths are most often the same.
Some Christians fear this concept. So let me ask them: Is your faith in Jesus so fragile you can lose it just by acknowledging that other faiths might also have goodness and truth in them?
My faith in Jesus is unshakable and simply because I admire something of another faith, does not mean I am going to embrace that faith. That's nuts.
It all boils down to this: I don't know all the answers and I don't know that what I believe is absolutely right, but I wish some Christians would understand that I've also asked the Holy Spirit of God to guide me in my faith walk, and so far, this is where I've been lead.
If I'm wrong, I'll gladly leave the consequences to Jesus Christ and God Almighty.
I wish some of you would do the same. MEMO: Every other week, Betsy Mathews Wright publishes responses to her
opinion column. Send responses to Issues of Faith, The Virginian-Pilot,
150 W. Brambleton Ave., Norfolk, Va. 23510; call (804) 446-2273; FAX
(804) 436-2798; or send computer message via bmw(AT)infi.net. Deadline
is Tuesday prior to publication. Must include name, city and phone
number. by CNB