Autor: Little, Joyce

Buch: The Church and the Culture War

Titel: The Church and the Culture War

Stichwort: Theologie - Studenten: Frage über Jesus

Kurzinhalt: "If I were to meet Jesus Christ," she said, "we would have a chat... No theology teacher could ask for a better illustration of just where religion stands today in our society.

Textausschnitt: 11a I will never forget that day in my classroom, years ago, when I asked my students what they would do were they to meet Jesus Christ in the flesh, as people were able to two thousand years ago during his public ministry. The question was intended to be rhetorical, but one of the students immediately volunteered an answer. "If I were to meet Jesus Christ," she said, "we would have a chat. We would exchange points of view, and I would respect his point of view, just as he would respect mine." No theology teacher could ask for a better illustration of just where religion stands today in our society. First, one would "chat" with Jesus. Nothing too heavy, mind you. Since religion today is widely regarded as a purely private matter with no serious public implications, pivotal discussions about it are precluded. (Fs)

11b Second, this chat would, in today's parlance, take the form of a "dialogue". Since religion is regarded not just as private but also as subjective, it is deemed unlikely that any two people would share the same views, so any religious conversation today would necessarily involve the exchange of different points of view. (Fs)

11c And, third, this dialogue would be "inclusive", inasmuch as neither party would dream of trying to "impose" his or her view on the other. I am not sure whether this student thought it more generous of Jesus not to impose his or more generous of her not to impose hers. Each would respect and accept the view of the other without any uncomfortable questions about right or wrong, true or false, being raised by either of them. Indeed, both of them would presumably be enriched by the opportunity to hear another point of view. Tolerance, sensitivity and openmindedness would mark the exchange from beginning to end. (Fs)

11d The fact that it is impossible to find a single encounter between Jesus and anyone in the whole of Scripture which corresponds to this picture does not deter today's students from such fantasies. In fact, were they to discover that, in all likelihood, Jesus would not engage in such a chat, they would doubtless think much less well of him for it. (Fs)