Saturday, December 19, 1998

Christian denominations have diverse views on creeds, acceptable behavior, salvation

By Victor Greto

The Gazette

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Don't bother to look up Christianity in the dictionary. Whatever it says, it won't be enough.

There are at least 25,000 different ways to define it -- that's how many denominations around the world call themselves Christian.

"The word Christian is very abstract," said Lawrence Cunningham, a Catholic theologian from the University of Notre Dame. "There is no platonic ideal of what a Christian is. Some people say they are a Christian as opposed to Jewish or Muslim."

Still, most people define Christianity by the congregation they belong to.

Within these denominations -- such as Catholic, evangelical, Unitarian, Mormon, Methodist -- hot-button issues like abortion, politics and the death penalty divide Christianity.

And that old bone of contention -- theology -- divides Christian congregations along issues of creeds, acceptable behavior and what may be the ultimate test: who will go to heaven.

For example, being a Catholic means something specific, Cunningham said: "You need to profess the faith that the church has historically professed, participate in the sacramental life of the church; and the church you attend must be in union with all other Catholic churches and the pope."

But, this doesn't mean that those who do not follow these rules aren't Christian or are going to hell, Cunningham said.

"The Catholic church teaches that people are saved that are not professedly Christian. All those who attempt to lead a life according to the grace of God (are accepted)."

Cunningham, however, resents that "the word Christian has been hijacked by fundamentalists. If I'm ever on a plane, and someone asks me if I'm Christian, they're thinking of a spectrum of Protestantism."

The Rev. Ted Haggard of New Life Church sees the different denominations as "streams in the body of Christ. The Lord designed it that way to attract a broader variety of people."

For Haggard, "genuine Christianity" must be sought through a personal relationship with God: "The personal relationship with God has to be according to Scriptures. You've got to have the relationship. Then the relationship produces fruit and evidence -- love, joy, peace, patience, kindness and self-control."

That personal relationship may be strengthened by communal or group worship, which is why, Haggard said, different congregations exist.

But a Christian's entrance into heaven, Haggard said, is independent of his or her congregation and whether or not one performs good works.

"We believe all people sin," Haggard explained. "(We believe) that Jesus died on the cross to cover that sin. If we believe what Jesus did for us, that causes what he did for us to apply in our lives. It causes it to be effective in our lives.

"It's not good works, it's believing in Jesus that gets us to heaven."

But not all Christian denominations are equal, Haggard said. Some, including the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Haggard classifies as cults.

His labeling of Mormons as a cult speaks to a divisive issue in some Christian denominations: Who has the right to claim revelation, exclusive or not?

Haggard said he calls the Mormons a cult because they fit his definition for one: "A cult is a group that claims exclusive revelation and is difficult to exit."

The Mormons disagree.

Unlike most Christian faiths that believe the New Testament was God's last revelation on earth, Mormons believe God has continued to speak.

"Some faiths believe the Bible is all the word of God, exclusively," said Ray Hendershot, southern Colorado director of public affairs for the Mormon church.

"We believe God will reveal and continue to reveal, just as he spoke to Moses and other prophets. In today's world, we need a prophet to give us guidance. We believe God speaks to our prophet, Gordon B. Hinckley."

Hendershot bristled at his church being called a cult.

People who label his church that way, he said, "clearly don't understand us or don't want to understand us."

"The pope (claims infallibility)," he said. "So, what's the difference with our claiming our prophet receives revelation?"

As for it being difficult to leave the Mormon church, he said: "We believe in free agency. If you want to leave the church, you're more than welcome to leave. We're no different (in that) than the Catholics or Methodists."

Hendershot said Mormons are open-minded in terms of other Christian faiths: "We don't want to take away any other Christian's beliefs. We recognize there are some faiths that have difficulty accepting these additional Scriptures (which include the Book of Mormon that Mormons understand to be the teaching of God to the pre-Aztecs in America). Points of doctrine we disagree, but there's a lot in common we agree on. We all want to live in a place where we can practice our beliefs.

"But don't attack me because I want to worship my God," Hendershot finished.

The Mormon concept of the afterlife is complex, but anyone can accept Christian revelation after death when one enters a spirit world.

If you have not heard Christ's Gospel, you will exist in a "spirit prison."

"We believe that a spirit prison is where you're waiting to hear the gospel. It's not a heaven and hell as traditionally thought," Hendershot said.

If you accept the gospel in the spirit prison, you must still also be baptized. Because you're dead, baptism must be done by proxy; that is, Mormons on earth ritually immerse themselves for the sake of a person who did not receive baptism while alive.

After this condition is met, you're also accountable for your life on earth. And that is up to Christ to judge, Hendershot said.

The Mormons' complex beliefs stand in stark contrast to the simplicity of Unitarianism.

The Rev. Mike Morran of the Unitarian Church describes his faith as "a bit of an anomaly. We have no creed. We are covenantal rather than creedal. We covenant to be together, a set of principles and purposes, which are much more about how we're going to be together.

"On the continuum from salvation by faith or works, (Unitarians) are way over on the works end," he said. "Unitarianism is what I sometimes call a living faith. The creation of the kingdom of God that Jesus refers to is something he is calling us to create right here on earth."

For Morran, the afterlife is an afterthought. He confesses he hasn't a clue whether there's one or not.

"My reading of Christian Scripture," he said, "is that the essential message that Jesus is getting across, the kingdom of God on earth, is available to us right now, but we have to do it. The heaven is here; it's up to us to create it. The same is true with hell. Both of those are within us. It depends on the choices you make."

The Rev. Gerald Trigg, pastor of First United Methodist Church in Colorado Springs, echoes Morran's emphasis.

"Belief is important, but behavior is the indicator of the true belief," Trigg said. "Life in the kingdom is a quality issue. It's not a creedal belief; it's the creeds that separate us. ... I don't want to discount belief, but Jesus said, by your works you shall know them."

Trigg sees death as leading "to a schoolroom, not a courtroom. What I see happening is that all of us are in for some discovery after death.

"If hell is separation from God, which I believe it is, and if heaven is association with God, which I believe it is, then heaven begins now and death will not end it," Trigg said. "If that be true, then the most important thing in the world is to make the kingdom a reality now. God desires wholeness, an inclusive community, and heaven is going to be that ultimately."

If these Christian groups show as much difference as similarity, Jesus' remarks in the New Testament's Gospel of Mark (9:38-40) seem pertinent.

A disciple said to Jesus, "Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us."

Jesus replied, "Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us is for us."

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(c) 1998, The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.).

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