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Five Questions:Jesus Story?Elephant Story?Why me?What about others?How is Jesus related to other religions?
From the Beginning, where is no time but The Divine Love overflowing from the Triune God!
Creation becomes an on going entrance into the world which finds
it climax in the incarnation of the
Word.
The Story has not ended yet.
It becomes a life-giving
memory with which the Holy
Spirit keeps renewing humanity.
It is the Story that touches the stories of
all human individuals!
He is “the way, the truth and
the life”.
Why does the elephant-story Why does the elephant-story weaken the Jesus Story?weaken the Jesus Story?
A King summoned some blind and asked them to
touch an elephant … for the best
description of it
Some touched the head, some its ear, … others the tail …They began to quarrel to the extent of striking one another … which delighted the king.
TThe elephant-story and Relativismhe elephant-story and Relativism
Human inability to claim the fullness Human inability to claim the fullness of truthof truth
If Catholics claim that Jesus is the Only Savior, they are intolerant for other religions.
If they deny it, they would overturn the permanence of Catholic faith.
The teaching of the Church in Redemptoris Missio (1990),
Fides et Ratio (1998), Ecclesia in Asia (1999), & Dominus Iesus (2000) provide the ground for rebutting the horns of this dilemma.
What God speaks of is the Story of Jesus, because In Jesus God
wants us to be free and loved
He who defines his conduct by a set of rules determined by religion
imprisons his songbird in a cage
The The best best song song
comes comes not not
through through bars and bars and
wireswires
The The best best song song
comes comes not not
through through bars and bars and
wireswires but from the utmost but from the utmost freedom and love. freedom and love.
but from the utmost but from the utmost freedom and love. freedom and love.
The Jesus-Story reveals the power between the darkness of the cross and the light of the Resurrection. Thence one finds not a mere solution to the riddles of life but the God-given wisdom and strength to embrace them
The Jesus-Story reveals the power between the darkness of the cross and the light of the Resurrection. Thence one finds not a mere solution to the riddles of life but the God-given wisdom and strength to embrace them
The Way God chooses to approach us is not unrelated to our human nature and destiny
Human nature is so formed that God has placed in the human heart a desire to know the truth - God.
Human destiny is to share God’s life Christ has gained for us.
JP II has two concerns in
FR. Right Reason is waning.
Relativism is growing.
The Conscience is the most secret core and sanctuary of a man. There he is alone with God, whose voice echoes in his depths.
In fidelity to conscience, Christians are joined with the rest of humankind in the search for truth, and for the genuine solutions to the numerous problems.
ThThrreee levels of truth: e levels of truth: Natural Sciences, Natural Sciences, Philosophy and Philosophy and Jesus received by Jesus received by Faith. Faith.
ThThrreee levels of truth: e levels of truth: Natural Sciences, Natural Sciences, Philosophy and Philosophy and Jesus received by Jesus received by Faith. Faith.
Two orders of Two orders of knowledge: Reason knowledge: Reason
and Faith. and Faith.
Indissoluble and Indissoluble and Profound unity Profound unity
between the thembetween the them
Two orders of Two orders of knowledge: Reason knowledge: Reason
and Faith. and Faith.
Indissoluble and Indissoluble and Profound unity Profound unity
between the thembetween the them
Faith and Reason Faith and Reason are like to wings on are like to wings on which the human which the human spirit rises to the spirit rises to the contemplation of contemplation of truth. truth.
Faith and Reason Faith and Reason are like to wings on are like to wings on which the human which the human spirit rises to the spirit rises to the contemplation of contemplation of truth. truth.
ThThe truth received in Faith is e truth received in Faith is not opposed to the truths not opposed to the truths which science and which science and Philosophy perceive. Philosophy perceive.
The unity of truth is a The unity of truth is a fundamental premise fundamental premise
of human reason. of human reason.
The unity of truth is a The unity of truth is a fundamental premise fundamental premise
of human reason. of human reason.
The Way God chooses to tell the Story of Jesus is intrinsically
related to human nature as such. This guarantees the objectivity.
The Mystery, like the elephant, is still huge and big. The blind cannot sense the Whole.
The Incarnate Word is likened to “eye-opener” all-important for anyone in search of God.
Can there be Ways of
Salvation by-passing the
Story of Jesus?
Can there be Ways of
Salvation by-passing the
Story of Jesus?
“None other than Christ” is the answer.When it applies to the non-hearers the Jesus Story, the statement needs to be nuanced. Their salvation is related in a mysteriously way to Christ and the Church.
“None other than Christ” is the answer.When it applies to the non-hearers the Jesus Story, the statement needs to be nuanced. Their salvation is related in a mysteriously way to Christ and the Church.
For such people Salvation in Christ
is accessible by virtue of grace.
This grace comes from Christ – His Sacrifice - and is communicated by the Holy Spirit.
This grace enables them to have a mysterious relationship to the Church, does not make them formally part of the Church.
The Church as sacramental sign is to make visible the Mystery, including that “mysterious relationship”, by inviting people to join the Church.
Human promotion and explicit proclamation are not to be separated.
The Story of Jesus is related to other religions
because of the fundamental solidarity
and universal unity between the Incarnate Word and every human
being.
The Church is invited to discover and respect the seeds of the Word
present in other religions
Those who do not know Christ may be in a state of darkness and spiritual hunger. The Church should help them.
The Church should remain opened to the new and surprising ways in which the face of Jesus might be presented in Asia – appealing to the Asian sensibilities.
As the Story told in the fourth Gospel presents Him as the logos with a certain Hellenistic flavor, so the same story can be re-told to present Jesus, for example, as a Holy Sage with a certain Confucian sensibility.
In re-telling the Story, one should insist upon the openness of cultures to the universality of the truth the Story bears and let the same Story break through all the cultural barriers which seek to contain it.
The Story of Jesus has its originality and power and is of crucial importance for the proclaiming Church.
Relativism tends to weaken its force. The Church defends the right reason so as to preserve the strength of the hearers.
The Mysterious relationship between Christ-Church and every human individual needs to be safeguarded.
For us to keep the Story of Jesus alive among so many religions is to strive for the unity of Faith and Life without losing sight of cultural sensibilities.
When Faith and life are joined together, there comes to the
worship in Spirit and in Truth. In
worship one cannot but fly
higher and higher.
Perhaps the Confucian moral path may help us to be more perceptive to the mysterious transcendence coming from above and manifesting itself from within.
Perhaps the Confucian moral path may help us to be more perceptive to the mysterious transcendence coming from above and manifesting itself from within.