Calling Out the Called Out

Week 8…Everyone else is
wrong.
Part 1 of 2
1.
2.
3.
You have been called by God
through baptism to be His
child.
You are being called out by the
world.
You are being called out into
the world.
The
Castle
Is Jesus the only way? (take one)
Is Jesus the only way? (take two)
Many Paths
“I am absolutely against any religion
that says that one faith is superior to
another. I don’t see how that is
anything different than spiritual
racism. It’s a way of saying that we
are closer to God than you, and
that’s what leads to hatred.”
Rabbi Schmuly Boteach taken from The Case for Faith, Lee Stobel, pg. 145
“All I hear from Christians is that all
other world religions are wrong and
going to hell. I have tried to have an
intelligent conversation with them
about this and discuss the beauty in
other expressions of spirituality, but
they go into this religious rhetoric
and avoid the hard questions.”
*The Like Jesus but Not the Church page 164
 Marcus Tullius
Cicero (January 3, 106
BC – December 7, 43 BC) was a Roman
philosopher, statesman, lawyer,
political theorist, and Roman
constitutionalist. Cicero is widely
considered one of Rome's greatest
orators and prose stylists.
 Cicero is generally perceived to be
one of the most versatile minds of
ancient Rome.
“There is in fact no subject upon which
so much difference of opinion exists,
not only among the unlearned but also
among educated men; and the views
entertained are so various and so
discrepant, that, while it is no doubt a
possible alternative that none of them
is true, it is certainly impossible that
more than one should be so.” –Cicero
Deuteronomy
Isaiah
45:5
John 14:6
Acts 4:12
6:4
Christian’s
attitude
Their inability to see value in
other faiths
How easily they dismiss others
Their naïve and uneducated
view of other faiths
The
message of the cross is
already offensive (1 Cor. 1)
It doesn’t need our help.
Acts
17:16-32
Similarities
Differences
• The human condition (body/soul,
beginning/end)
• Evil (dualism, an illusion, attachment,
“we’re basically good”
• Salvation (rules, moderation, baptism,
man  God or God  man)
If
we saw different faiths as
competing truth claims…
• What objective criteria can you
offer for examining your religion?
• Is there the possibility of factual
verification or falsification?
 Anthony Flew Parable
Montgomery, John Warwick. Tractatus LogicoTheologicus
Montgomery, John Warwick. History and
Christianity
Parton, Craig. The Defense Never Rests
Strobel, Lee. The Case for Faith
Beckwith, Francis J. To Everyone an Answer
Garcia, Alberto L. The Theology of the Cross
for the 21st Century