Nothing is More "Basic" Than Salvation

In the class I teach for Pepperdine University, the first thing I want my students to understand is that religion is always a dimension that bears upon politics and statecraft. Contrary to secular theorists, who believed that humanity would evolve, and religion would wane. We see religion playing an increasingly prominent role in international and domestic politics. The attacks of September 11, 2001 were acts of religious aggression. The energized evangelical base of support for George W. Bush turned the tide of the election.

Niall Ferguson in the recent Atlantic (January/February 2005, pp.40-41), argues that America’s widening split with Europe is more about the religion vs. secularization, than about Bush’s Texas drawl. Niall points our that 95% of Americans believe in God, and that only about 50% of Europeans do (a number which is significantly less if Italy and Ireland are taken out of the mix). This leads Americans, and American foreign policy, he argues, to see moral absolutes where Europeans see none.

Sounds sensible to me.

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There was another article on religion in the same Atlantic, entitled “Beyond Belief” (pp117-120) by Hanna Rosin. In it she detailed that the religious divide in America is no longer between denominations, but between fundamentalists and modernists. She showed how it was no longer catholic against protestant, or high church against low church, but Baptists, Episcopalians, and Catholics who are conservative on moral issues versus members of those same groups who were not. These fault lines have been well documented in the media. Rosin tries to get to the heart of this realignment by interviewing some of the key players. The remarks of Richard Land, President of the Southern Baptist Commission on Ethics and Religious Liberty, were particularly notable.

“Beyond Belief” (pp117-120) by Hanna Rosin. In it she detailed that the religious divide in America is no longer between denominations, but between fundamentalists and modernists. She showed how it was no longer catholic against protestant, or high church against low church, but Baptists, Episcopalians, and Catholics who are conservative on moral issues versus members of those same groups who were not. These fault lines have been well documented in the media. Rosin tries to get to the heart of this realignment by interviewing some of the key players. The remarks of Richard Land, President of the Southern Baptist Commission on Ethics and Religious Liberty, were particularly notable. “I have more in common with Pope John Paul II than I do with (fellow Southern Baptists) Jimmy Carter, or Bill Clinton….of course we have theological differences, but these are in addition to the basics.” He continues, “We both say human life is sacred, that marriage is between a man and a woman, and that homosexual behavior is contrary to God’s will. All this is just more relevant than whether I am Catholic or Protestant.”

I couldn’t disagree more.

Let me restate that.

I COULDN’T DISAGREE MORE !!!!!

Theology IS basic. If you and I do not agree on foundational truth about the nature of God and salvation we have NO basis for unity (Ephesians 4. 3-6). Why didn’t Mr. Land include Osama Bin Laden when he mentioned his solidarity with the Pope, for Islam shares the same beliefs about abortion and homosexuality? Right relationship with God is not accomplished by being against abortion and gay marriage. Right relationship with God is accomplished by the blood of Jesus Christ.

No question is more basic than “What must I do to be saved?” Mr. Land and the Pope have different answers to that question. That matters.

I believe abortion to be a sinful act which can be forgiven, if repented of, by the blood of Jesus Christ. I believe homosexual acts are sinful acts which can be forgiven, if repented of, by the blood of Jesus Christ. I believe that apart from the blood of Jesus no one can be saved, and that that blood is met in baptism (Romans 6.3ff, Gal 3.27, I Peter 3.21). Thus, I have more in common with a baptized gay man, or a baptized abortionist than I do with either Mr. Land or the Pope.

It is so easy for us to assume that an ally in the culture wars is a brother in Christ simply by his assenting to Biblical morality. This is works salvation. We are saved by grace, through faith in the blood of Jesus, when we are exposed to that blood in baptism. Until you and I can agree about that, we have nothing else to talk about religiously, no grounds for religious solidarity. This is basic.