THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, April 13, 1996 TAG: 9604120093
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E5 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Betsy Wright
LENGTH: Medium: 99 lines
Last week's Issue of Faith: What is the meaning of the cross?
This week's Reader Responses:
From Gayle M. Timmins of Zuni: ``It is in fact true that only those who believe in Jesus Christ are saved. God gave us free will and freedom of choice to believe and accept Jesus as Saviour or not. So, non-Christians are that by choice, unless they live in a cave and have not heard the message of salvation through Jesus Christ. As for those who lived and died before Jesus walked on the Earth, they, too, had a chance for salvation. In I Peter 3:19-20, it states: ` . . . He (Jesus) was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison (hell) who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built.' ''
From Rabbi Israel Zoberman of Congregation Beth Chaverim, Virginia Beach: ``Tragically, the Jewish people are counted among those for whom the cross is a symbol of past persecution and not just a representation of another great religion that ironically was born within us. We endured much suffering in a sacrificial as well as inspiring determination to remain faithful to our faith.
``Let us not underestimate the urgency for Jews and Christians to continue erecting bridges of shalom, rising together against the threatening resurrection of history's shadows by dispelling them. In this holy process, we shall create with all of God's children on Earth a world community reflective of the best yearnings and moorings with which we have been commonly blessed.''
From George H. Harvey of Virginia Beach: ``Thank you for asking the question, `Is belief in Jesus Christ of the cross the only means of salvation?' We're not left to wander in the dark and to wonder about the answer, for Scripture tells us clearly. The Apostle Paul in Romans 6:23 affirms: `For the wages of sin is death. The gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.' Again in response to the Phillipian jailer's question in Acts, chapter 16, `What must I do to be saved?' Paul and Silas replied, `Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved.' The Apostle Peter in Acts 4:12 stated clearly, `Salvation is found in no one else for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.'
``And Jesus himself, in John 14:6, says, `I am the way, and the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me.'
``(Jesus) is the only way and this way is open to all who truly believe in him and receive him. That is the good news of the Gospel.''
From Richard Stockton, minister at Universal Life Church, Virginia Beach: ``Why did Jesus die on the cross? It was to show people that everybody has access, whether you are Christian, Jew, Hindu, whatever. Everybody has access. The only requirement is, and of course this is true in every religion, that we must `do unto others as you would have them do unto you.'
``And that is the way, the only true way, for everybody to get through. (They need) to live the life of Christ.''
From Shirley Burton of Chesapeake: ``The Holy Bible says, `Except for the shedding of blood, there is no salvation.' The only perfect wonder was the Lord Jesus Christ, and he shed his blood for the redemption of sins. In the Old Testament they had sacrifice. They had a lamb that they would sacrifice, and that blood covered those people that lived before Christ and they are also saved. . . . Without the shedding of (Jesus') blood there is no salvation at all.''
From Skip Horton-Parker of Norfolk: ``God's hesed, or covenant-creating loving-kindness (Psalm 118) is the motive force behind both creation and redemption. Thus, God's action in the atonement should be understood as an extension of his will to create. . . . (T)he cross does not make forgiveness possible in some juristic way; it is rather an expression of divine forgiveness and acceptance. Could God forgive and save before A.D. 33? Of course. Does this mean that the crucifixion of Christ is superfluous? Of course not, unless we say that revelation itself is superfluous. And this we dare not do, for revelation is the process through which the divine life imparts itself.
`` `Salvation history,' is the one `story' that the Bible narrates. Just as each of us partakes of the original blessing of creation by dint of our very existence, each of our individual histories is a fragment of God's larger scheme of salvation history. We can see the trans-historical reality of the cross shining through the lens of human experience whenever and wherever God performs the interior work of salvation by infusing the human spirit with divine grace.''
From Pat Stultz of Norfolk: ``To me, Jesus is the unconditional love of God for all mankind. He was, became and is the condition that Christians need to approach God. Jesus' blood on the cross washed us free of sin separating us from sharing the love of God. I believe that Jesus' cross redeemed his hard-headed children to allow us access to pursue the meaning of God's love. . all life in it about who is saved and who is not'' ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
COLUMNIST'S NOTE
Over the next several weeks, this column will explore varied
Issues of Faith, all through the prism of the concept of salvation.
This is not an attempt to turn this column into a purely Christian
column. This is instead an attempt to get at the heart of that thing
which influences Christians to treat non-Christians with either love
and understanding or with hate and vengeance. by CNB