Is Society Growing Numb to Political Violence and Spiritual Truth?

We’re learning more about Sunday’s apparent assassination attempt against Donald Trump:

The suspected gunman hid near Mr. Trump’s golf course for roughly twelve hours before a Secret Service agent spotted him and opened fire.
He had a long history of criminal convictions that would have barred him from owning a gun.
His firearm’s serial number was wiped out, making it difficult for law enforcement to determine how he acquired the weapon.
The license plate on the SUV he was driving was registered to a truck that had been reported stolen.

Here’s reporting I haven’t seen in the news: the lack of reporting in the news when the event happened. I was watching football at the time and don’t remember on-screen alerts, much less reporters breaking into the telecast. When Dr. Mark Turman and I were discussing this fact, he wondered if we have become so hardened to political violence that such events don’t affect us as they once did.

I’m afraid he’s right.

As our broken culture turns down the moral “lights,” we must not allow our spiritual eyes to become adjusted to the dark. We must not allow falsehood to become normalized in our minds and hearts. If we do, we will no longer respond to it biblically and redemptively. Our “salt” will lose its “taste” and thus its transforming effect on our culture (Matthew 5:13).

Consider a case in point with eternal consequences.

“Different Languages in Order to Arrive at God”

Pope Francis was recently speaking to an interreligious group of young people in Singapore, where he left his prepared remarks to offer some general reflections about religion. In his extemporaneous comments, he stated: “[Religions] are like different languages in order to arrive at God, but God is God for all. Since God is God for all, then we are all children of God.”

He then added:

If you start to fight, “My religion is more important than yours; mine is true, and yours isn’t,” where will that lead us? There’s only one God, and each of us has a language to arrive at God. Some are Sikh, Muslim, Hindu, Christian, and they are different paths [to God].

There was a day when the pope’s statement would have made headlines as faith leaders voiced their disagreement. Jesus was very clear, stating of himself: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). He also said of himself, “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God” (John 3:18).

After teaching world religions for three decades with four seminaries, I can tell you that Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Orthodox Judaism are similarly convinced that theirs is the right path to salvation, however they understand it. Furthermore, the various religions do not teach the same truth.

For example, while the pope rightly claimed that “there’s only one God,” Hindus recognize millions of deities. While Jews, Muslims, and Christians believe humans live forever as individuals, Buddhists and Hindus believe we ultimately become one with reality. And none but Christians believe Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to atone for our sins.

Why, then, did the pope’s statement not receive more attention? Because it aligned with the “tolerance” ethic, our secularized society so fully embraces. His words were not at all counter-cultural; to the contrary, he would likely have drawn more scrutiny if he had restated the orthodox Christian doctrine that faith in Christ is essential for salvation.

“He Came to Make Dead People Live”

My purpose in addressing this issue is not to criticize the pope or Roman Catholicism; in fact, many Catholics have responded to the pope’s statement by affirming the biblical necessity of faith in Christ. Rather, it is to make a countercultural argument for this countercultural doctrine.

While it may seem tolerant to believe that there are “many roads up the same mountain to God,” those who believe the Bible to be God’s Word do not have this option. We know that Jesus is the only sinless person who has ever lived (Hebrews 4:15) and thus the only person who could die to pay for our sins since he had none of his own for which to atone (Romans 5:8). We know that the God who “is” love (1 John 4:8) needed to provide only one way of salvation since this way is open to everyone who chooses it (cf. Revelation 22:17). (For more, see my website article, Why Jesus?)

So, here’s my question:

If we choose tolerance over truth, are we helping or harming those we influence?

If your doctor discovers a malignancy in your body, which do you want her to choose? If your mechanic finds a defect that will cause your brakes to fail at high speed, which do you want him to choose?

Telling people that salvation requires faith in Jesus requires courage on our part. But compassion often does. So, let us pray for the lost people we know to experience the joy of eternal life in Christ. Let us ask the Holy Spirit to open doors to our witnesses and give us the words and courage we need to share with them.

And let us bear in mind that their eternal destiny is at stake. My friend, Dr. Duane Brooks, is right: “Jesus Christ did not come into the world, die on the cross, and rise again to make bad people good. He came to make dead people live. Praise God, he is still doing it.”

Whom do you know who needs his saving power today?

*Denison Forum does not necessarily endorse the views expressed in these stories.