Cool stuff. =)

It’s fun to see you working this out. Incidentally, historical inclusivists have been C.S. Lewis, John Wesley, Ulrich Zwingli. Lewis explcitly touches on this view at the end of the final installment in the Narnia Chronicles, The Last Battle.

Guy - Thank for adding your thoughts.

I understand what you’re saying, and it is true in the way you’re using the word “knowledge” (that is, as synonymous with “information”). But it’s important to understand that Willard is using the term “knowledge” in a more technical way. He means genuine knowledge, in the sense that you would refer to, say, medical knowledge. Your conceptions about human anatomy are only “medical knowledge” in the sense that they are true. To use an example I used in an earlier blog post, your information about Phrenology could be an accurate representation of that field – and therefore, knowledge in the way you use the term – but it doesn’t qualify as medical knowledge because it isn’t true (Phrenology is a pseudo-science that his been debunked).

Willard is explicitly making the same claim about spiritual knowledge (not the general ability to know information): that it is a body of knowledge that represents something that is objectively, verifiably true.

And all of that is a very different thing entirely from the proposition that information about a subject makes that subject true. You are quite right to refute that, and I don’t think anything in my post suggests that idea.

Thanks again!

You see, I came to a similar conclusion as Willard, oh….ten years or so ago. But I have never heard anyone else say the same thing!

Specially, I am talking about the fact that it is only through the blood of Jesus Christ that one comes to the Father – yet, one came come in though the blood without knowing about the historical Jesus of Nazareth. For example, say that you don’t have access to the written Scriptures (a place billions of people throughout time has been in), but you know that there is a ONE, creator God who requires your full devotion. You might have even had a dream or a vision pointing the way to God the Father – which has happened countless times (just listen to some of the stories coming out of the Muslim world today).

If you want to Biblical, just think about Abraham. He didn’t know ANYTHING about Jesus of Nazareth. All he knew is that there was the phenomenal Creator God who comes to him and tells him to leave everything he knows (family, gods, land, everything) and follow Him. Abraham believed God and followed him. But – as we find out later through Paul and Hebrews – the reason Abraham was able to know God or to go to heaven was because of the sacrifice of the incarnate God, aka Jesus of Nazareth. In other words, the blood of Jesus went BACK into history just as much as it went FORWARD in history to us today (side not: science has prove that time can be slowed, speeded up or stopped – meaning that it must be a created “item” – i.e. created by God who is outside of time)

Going back to my first statement about not hearing this kind of talk from others…well, while that is technically true, I did get pushed this way by Don Richardson through his book “Eternity in Their Hearts.” In this book, Richardson shows how God has been working around the world in different cultures since the beginning of time. As missionaries for the Living God, we should be looking for these God clues (my words) in each culture that enter. In this way, Richardson stops just short of what Willard says.

Speaking of Willard – I love his statement about the ‘gospel’! Before today, I – like many others – limited the term ‘gospel’ to simply ‘salvation.’ Yet, as I reflex on Willard’s comments (and your, Jason – seeing how you actually wrote the post…), I agree totally with the view that the ‘gospel’ or ‘good news’ isn’t just salvation. It is the eschatology event of the Age to Come entering INTO this Present Evil Age!!!

That is good news! The Kingdom has come today through the person and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth! We can have victory over evil, sin and death. We do not just have to sit around hoping and watching for the Creator God to rescue His people – He has done it already! THIS is why we MUST go to the nations and tell them about the eschatology event of Christ!

Wow! This opens some new doors and makes some old thoughts fit into place. =) Much happiness!

Annnnnd…I better stop as I believe I have written a page long comment… sigh…my figures just don’t know when to stop. =D

1. Christ truly is unique. He is God-who-became-man to connect with us. The opposite of our human religions who try to reach God, and way more effective than anything we could do in our own power. The sad thing is that we Christians don’t understand how much we’ve been given, and how much the world needs what we don’t even realise we have…And I include myself in that.

2. Something in me is intuitively inclusive without being dogmatic about it, but this is the best way I’ve ever seen it put to words. I need more time to contemplate this, but I think he is onto something. I4ve been thinking a lot about the gospel, and I’m sure it’s about a lot more than a ticket to heaven after this life while all others are gonna burn forever just because that’s just since everybody shares in the original sin. I do believe that the good news of the gospel is indeed more centered on the Kingdom of God which has come to us (that’s what I like about vineyard theology…)
It just makes me realise that I’m still nowhere, and that I hardly know the gospel in depth… It makes me long for more…

peace

Bram