Christology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Christology - Essay Example Although all attempts to categorize the views of others risk oversimplification, it is nonetheless necessary to distinguish between and categorize different approaches if we are to evaluate them briefly and effectively. What does this say about Christian mission I do not mean to suggest that evangelization is incompatible with respectful dialogue -- quite the opposite. Although evangelizing calls at times for clarity about the faith that informs Christian action, evangelizing is not the same thing as proselytizing. To evangelize is to witness to the Gospel, and very often the witness that is required is decency, cooperation in pursuit of the common good, and willingness to profess one's own faith truthfully (Haight, 2000, 103-112). In the context of interfaith dialogue, witness to the Gospel should lie precisely in refusing to take advantage of the situation to make converts. But this is the nub of the problem, since it is precisely the content of the Gospel as it relates to dialogue that is in question. (Sobrino, 2002, 42-48) The refu Christology in Contemporary Christianity The refusal to proselytize can only be a witness to the Gospel if the Gospel itself warrants such a refusal. Christians have always understood the Good News as something which demands to be shared with everybody because the salvation it proclaims is addressed to everybody (Hill, 2004, 93-100). If there are times and situations when going out of one's way to make converts is to be avoided for the sake of the Gospel itself, this can only be because the Gospel vision places a high value on respectful dialogue, even on a dialogue that is prepared to continue interminably with no agreement in view. Thinking along these lines, we might say that in Christ the presence of the alien is welcomed and the fact of difference is embraced-this is the Good News that is proclaimed by Christians when they not only live peaceably with nonbelievers but seek fellowship and common cause with followers of any tradition that honors the stranger and says yes to difference. But if significance (or even the me re assumption of religious superiority) is the natural fruit of Christian faith, then the Gospel I have just described cannot be the Christian Gospel. (Snyder, 1988, 54-62) We can also turn this around and say that if philosophical significance does not belong to the essence of Christianity, what we are left with is a Christian Gospel that demands that the church forswear all claims to spiritual privilege, and rejoice as it does so. So, where does the Christian Gospel really stand with respect to philosophical significance As I have suggested, the New Testament itself is unable to decide the question, since it can be read both ways. This collection of mid-to-late first-century texts with widely varying and at times contradictory theological agendas is unified by its persistent claim that Jesus is the Messiah (Snyder, 1988, 54-62). Some would add that it is also unified by the importance implied in this claim about Jesus.