THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, April 27, 1996 TAG: 9604270059
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E5 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Issues of Faith
SOURCE: Betsy Wright
LENGTH: Medium: 85 lines
Last Week's Issue of Faith: What is ``The Way''?
This Week's Reader Responses:
From Shirley Burton of Chesapeake: ``Salvation comes from faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Add not, detract not. God has chosen all to become his children; the problem is all don't choose God . . . Healing doesn't save you alone. Conviction of your sins doesn't save you alone. Raising a man from the dead gave him life, but that alone doesn't save you. You must respond to Christ through your heart . . . ''
From Virginia of Norfolk: ``Something that has stood by me for many years is the Scripture from Luke 7:47. It's the story where a woman, who was a great sinner, had an alabaster vase (of oil) which she applied to Jesus' feet. Now at the end of that story, Jesus says to her: `Wherefore I say unto thee, her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much; but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.'
``This has withstood me for many years and I feel it summarizes why Jesus forgave the woman and why he loves us.''
From Rich Edwards of Virginia Beach: ``Guatama Buddha can't help you find the path to God. Neither can Hare Krishna nor Jim Jones nor Joseph Smith. And you won't find God in Waco with the Branch Davidians. It is a simple path to find, though a narrow and difficult one to follow. Let Jesus Christ be your guide. He will even carry you when you feel you can't go on.''
From Rabbi Israel Zoberman of Congregation Beth Chaverim of Virginia Beach: ``Judaism's concept of salvation is not restricted only to God and the world-to-come, nor to Jews alone. While eternal bliss is promised to its devoted followers in the form of studying Torah in the academy-on-high and led by God as supreme teacher, this heavenly opportunity is open to all righteous persons irrespective of their particular religion, as long as they practice high ethical standards.
``Salvation's focus, though, is this world which we know and have experienced to be imperfect; consequently, we are commanded to turn it into the Almighty's kingdom on earth by relieving humankind's suffering and providing for a progressive society. This divine mission becomes a sacred human task for all of God's children as together we become co-partners with the Creator in mending the broken fragments of life's realities.''
From Charles McCoy: ``. . . Again, you miss the mark on salvation and your examples are not given in the full light of Scripture. The doctrine of salvation is not defined by a few passages of Scripture but on the whole of what Scripture has to say on that subject. Also, you have chosen examples not placed in their context to prove your assumption, for example, you are awed by Jesus' response to the woman taken in adultery but ignore the passages that follow in John, chapter 8: 10-12:
`When Jesus raised up he said to her, `Woman, where are your accusers? Has no man condemned you?' She answered, `No one, Lord.' And Jesus said, `I do not condemn you either. Go on your way, and from now on sin no more.' Once more Jesus addressed the crowd. He said, `I am the way, the Light of the world. He who follows me will not be walking in the dark, but will have the Light which is Life.'
``Notice, three things in this passage. First the woman acknowledged Jesus as Lord. Second, Jesus clearly commanded her to `sin no more.' And finally, Jesus . . . asserts his deity and divinity with his power over darkness and the giving of life by the way the word Lord is used by the woman (since) it is capitalized (in the Bible), indicating deity. Clearly the woman was saved because she believed in Jesus, having acknowledged him as Lord and he clearly gives her a charge to live her life as a follower of him by no longer sinning.''
From Skip Horton-Parker of Norfolk: ``The apostle John, in the prologue to his gospel, spoke of Jesus as the Logos (Greek) or `Word' of God (1:1). He was writing to a Greek audience, and was well aware that the term Logos was perhaps the central term in Greek philosophy. It represented divine power, reason and conscience; the bridge that connected the transcendent God to creation. As such, the Logos was the cosmic `Way,' the `Light that enlightens every man that comes into the world,' (1:9).
``The claim and the scandal of Christianity is that the universal Logos became localized or particularized as the Christ. If this is true, it is surely of profound significance. Yet even if it is true, it does not mean that by becoming `local' the Logos ceased to be universal. Well-meaning fundamentalists critically distort the genius of Christianity by mistakenly asserting this view. More tragically, they malign the character of the God who `so loved the world,' (John 3:16). by CNB