Is Christianity Arrogant?

It was you saying you think the only way you can really know gold dispute was in Jesus Christ is the correct possible, that would be correct and she said well I wouldn't want to be an immoral person like you. That's why I'm a Buddhist Christianity claims denied the one and only way to God begin to claim absolute tree. I will let my people think this week will hear from Ozzie.

I am president Michael Rampton Christian Welty believes that there is only one way to God is through a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Critics like to pick such a claim against alterable it will be to claim that we are right and all other wealth use of the home. The question makes very good soundbites but when you take a closer look at the accusation on the Christian while you find that it's incorrect is Michael with his message titled, is Christianity arrogant. I remember speaking a few years ago was an event like this sounds about the end I said look, any question you can also make you can all spend lady stood up and she's okay I have a question for you said you didn't say this in your talk, but you seem to assume it is true that you assume to be saying that you think the only way you can really know gold is through the person of Jesus Christ is not correct. Possible that would be correct and she said well I wouldn't want to be an immoral person like you.

That's why I'm a Buddhist.

So the end of the mission. I went up to her notice of this account to a question she said yes I said you're telling me that you don't want to look at what Christianity says because you think is immoral is morally wrong to go around saying other people wrong. She said that's right I said the Buddha say that Hindus were wrong in the Buddha say that the cost system was evil and that the Hindu scriptures. The betas were not actually divine revelation, and her mouth fell open and she said he say that I read it this morning. My devotional readings, sizable note, if you are prepared to believe in the Buddha even though he said other people were wrong. Why are you not prepared to listen or pay attention to what Jesus Christ said as he said other people wrong. She said I don't like where this is going. I can appreciate what you're saying as I understand the concern you have, but it seems to me that's the concern you have is going to somehow reflect back to you and actually we became friends through that particular encounter in them she was in a church the next morning, probably because she still wasn't quite sure what I said and so was deciding to come back and sit with me or going quite well. There was a very famous professor of political thought to the University of Oxford called Isaiah Berlin Isaiah Berlin wrote many many books and was that of a towering intellectual figure of the 1960s and two. He was a Plymouth hero's model kinds of subjects, history, philosophy, political theory, economics and song. But two things that he continually came back to Toluca to examine as a scholar and as an academic what to do with the issue of freedom. What is it mean to live in a free country and geyser of monism is only one form of truth and Isaiah Berlin lived in Seoul, communism, Fascism, Nazism, and so long all, and going these things bothered him. And so what Isaiah Berlin did this he began to say, look, he said the idea that if you have a free society have a libertarian society. You must have one what you have pluralism when you don't try to say the one that's just one type of truth.

There are many types which is not the way he defined pluralism is different to how many people define it today and I can be a long time just to explain the differences between those two things.

What is important to understand is not pluralism, as if we were if you know what postmodernism is in the way the postponement of capitalism something to him. It was something slightly different to what he basically was trying to argue was that we have to somehow create a free and loving unjust society and the essence of that was pluralism and the idea that there are multiple truths and Isaiah Berlin the way he put it, was this is the enemy of pluralism is monism. The ancient belief, there was a single how many of truth into which everything if it is genuine. In the end must fit. He said the consequence of this belief is that those who know should come on those who do not to cause pain to kill to torture our general rightly condemned.

But if these things are not done for my personal benefit but for an ism socialism, nationalism, Fascism, communism fanatically held religious belief or progress or the fulfillment of the laws of history, then they are in order and then a while later in the same essay he goes on to say, monism is one step away from despotism is really saying is, and if you have a group of people who believe they have the truth. They will then believe that they may employ any means necessary. No matter how brutal they may be to make everybody believe in that truth.

Monism is always a step away from despotism you believe you have the truth and you sure about it than you're always in danger of becoming a despotic.

The apostle Paul. For example, is very often accused of being arrogant. The apostle Paul was that even though the writer of the most part of the New Testament and it went like this.

He seemed social. He seemed so certain he seemed so selfish old.

Imagine when I walked into this auditorium. This evening I stood in front of you in my first line to you is this, ladies and gentlemen, my phone all the way over from Oxford tonight to tell you that I know for sure. I am going to heaven. How does that sound announcer as it seems the sound to many people as being very very presumptuous and certainly arrogant, because in effect what I seem to be saying this guys I'm better than you. I'm so much better than you, that God himself is eagerly awaiting my arrival in heaven and I just come here to tell you Americans really say why we're so superior and be whiny to get your act together and of course my perspective started to go wrong in 1776 go a long way back to put everything right but you know it can still be done to the Christian stool and remains and is particularly acute within the Christian faith with the idea of assurance of heaven being able to say I know undermines any idea that maybe truly data simply breeds arrogance. It's it is inherently arrogant woman to think about than everybody else. Another way out like to try and respond to that is by taking something that Jesus said, which I'm sure will be very familiar to many of you and trying to look at it with slightly fresh eyes and then drool the lessons out and apply them back in.

In the gospel of Luke, Jesus told a parable. He said the two men went to the temple to pray together and they both go to the temple on the birthright together. One of them was a very religious man and he was a Pharisee 90s. Be careful when you hear that word Pharisee.

Most of us we think we need to understand when Jesus use that word Pharisee means someone who is very morally upright. Someone who grew alive today would most certainly be in a religious setting like this very very regularly and the other guy was a tax collector. Now I'm sorry if you do work for the IRS but is universally true. The tax collectors are not normally considered to be very popular. People and if you are a tax collector and are suffering from rejection.

Then please do come to the talk I'm giving about how to live with suffering and the other one was a tax collector who certainly hated Jesus and they both went to the temple together to pray Pharisee is to someone in the front because his religious man and he stands there and he says God better than everybody else.

Now he tries to introduce a dose of humility into it because the type of Calvinistic humility want to be careful how I use that what some may not know what that means but what he basically does is he pays. He says God you made me better than everybody else.

You did a great job with me and I thank you that I'm not like all these other people adulterous cheats, flyers, motorists and especially tax collectors. Well done. God, by the way, just in case you're wondering, I'm typing plus a little bit extra. And that's basically what a price it is very selfish old and is very self-righteous. The tax collector however is standing at the back of the temple. He's looking down at the floor and he's beating his chest. Now I was raised as a child in the Middle East and in the Middle East. When people mourn. If you're very very upset if you're in a state of deep contrition well in those kinds of settings.

What happens is well mannered. Well, especially now that was a first intifada comes up into the air, but women will normally beat their chests.

Gay men will do other things. Anything from tearing the garments to shaving the head will that be at or what have you is very unusual for man to beat his chest. That's what women do this tax collector. So sad about the situation he finds himself, and he beats his chest Jesus a discussant in the back and is beating his chest and he looks down at the floor and he says God have mercy on me to send Jesus as I tell you that this man, the text click to. He went home, having been justified before God rather than the religious God. Whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

Whoever exalts himself will be humbled. Know what's going on in this little story. Now the difficulties that we can have to put ourselves back to try to imagine the setting that Jesus was talking in Aramaic, which is the language everyone spoke in Jesus's time in Hebrew when you say I'm going to the temple to pray, or sing one of two things either one and went to the church was empty and was it down somewhere quiet and display all I'm going to a big service means both you could become an event like this going to be coming by yourself in this context that coming to an event like this.

We know that for two reasons. Both men come up to the temple together. They both leave together. They both print the same time, but it's the prayer in particular that you realize tells you the context about what's going on because what the second man prays with the text click to praise is not ruled simply have mercy on me now and if there any visiting Episcopalians here today. I guess when the contract back in England and if you have a formal set of liturgy is a little thing called the key reales on that you may say revenue is compelling said who know what key relational is visiting now notice compelling solution. So I go to the Anglican church would like us it's link these Episcopal Angels over here because of the greenest is head of the church so my feelings about 1776. Morality seems a good idea. So I do like Baptist tuber. That's a whole other issue. So in the key relational people stand up as they say something in Greek.

They say Lord have mercy Christ, have mercy.

That's what it means, but that's not what's actually written down in this passage a tool. Although they would've spoken Aramaic the gospel of Luke is reporting it was written in Greek, what the second man prays is actually something very different. What he actually praises Lord Alaska toy morally, which in Greek basically means Lord to be propitious to me at the temple every morning and every evening there was a service people sign that ends whatever the reason some himself in front of them say something and then when it finished the beer sacrifice a lamb would be sacrificed for the forgiveness of sins after the sacrifice was made the priest to don the sacrifice would go through the back of the temple to burn incense at that point, no one could see anything will be like if I walked offstage, so this point will happen is everyone will bow their heads in the coalition to stop praying. So imagine if I left the stage will go to see me. There's no point dissing the do nothing without you had to stop praying the Lord by that man will come back again. So at this point. He would go and burn incense and eventually he would come out does everybody knew that. That's why if you read the Gospel of Luke. When you get into chapter 1 verse 10 it says when it came to Zechariah's time to go and burn incense all the people stood outside praying in Luke 110. Of course everyone knows that whenever the priest goes into burn incense every send outside offering press announced the setting here to Mendota religious service sacrifices made. The priest goes into burn incense. One man is very sure about his own righteousness stands there, says God I'm better than everybody else.

Fantastic young guy beats his chest looks at the floor in the 20 prays made this propitiation made the sacrifice may be for me to sacrifice for forgiveness of sins may be for me literally by the forgiveness which is been made possible maybe for me Jesus I tell you that that man went home having been made right with God. Is he do something that we need to understand about when we talk about being sure of going to heaven to the two different ways of being sure about anything that supposes my wife and I have a disagreement and disposing. I'm definitely in the wrong which was never happens is hardly a perfect but this was without an argument. I'm in the wrong. Well, there are two ways I can get myself out of the hole number one is I can try and somehow make my self-righteous them a sense, do good things somehow do a whole host of services whole host of things that in the somehow make it up buying things they got even go to great extremes and even my dirty laundry in the laundry basket in her bedroom. Something like that. I normally never ever do. Just indicate the fact that you know I'm not being a good boy doing sense to earn the credit back the second self-righteous and stomach since I am not trying to make myself right with I'm not engaging in the course of actions.

When I think I've done enough, eventually guilt feelings pass away. I'm okay now I rescue the situation. That's how the first guy who prayed this thing go look at me enjoyment about things, but I'm doing really well. Noncumulative minimums giving 10% and he was giving one the strict 10% he needed to give it to them leave my life.

I'm a good guy. I'm okay. He's making himself right before God. The second guy who prays he prays very differently. This go back to the whole thing about with my wife. I remember hearing the guy John Piper use this illustration. Once it was very interesting. He said this, he said, look for supposing you have a fight with your wife says she stormed out of the room.

She goes and stands downstairs is you follow down into the kitchen and says you can almost cut the atmosphere with the knife you're talking about. He says this is what needs to happen here. The authors claim she needs to apologize owner. I need to apologize her and ask for forgiveness that will be the right thing to do, but his analogy why do I want to forgiveness so that you make my favorite breakfast. So my guilt feelings will go away. So the be good sex tonight, so the kids won't see us fighting it may well be the everyone of these desires comes true, but totally defective notice wanting forgiveness.

What's missing is this I want to be forgiven. So have the sweet fellowship my wife back. She is the reason I want to be forgiven. I want a relationship restored. Forgiveness is a way of getting obstacles out of the way that we can look each other again with joy to the second way to find yourself back in relationship in right relationship. Someone just say sorry at the heart of the Christian gospel is the concept of repentance that the only way to become a Christian you can't be born. One can't be raised one can't just simply achieve it by going to church and often having a constant.

You can't buy it, the continent, we can come before God and say sorry. Now there is a big difference between the way that I apologize to my wife on the kind of repentance that comes the one for me by God because there is a difference. Normally, if I've upset my wife. She's upset with me and angry with me and I go and find, so long as I'm contrite to some extent songs.

I am genuinely sorry and I genuinely say sorry Mikesell of sorry nurse owns her forgiveness stomach since most cultures of the world.

That's how we think about forgiveness right to supposing them opportunities. The passing of pasta so noted. Supposing you know we do the Q&A marcasite you like to ask a question and I look at him as a mark. That's a stupid question. You have the intellectual capacity will commonly associate reforms upon life invisible to the naked eye. Supposing that's my response and this opposed to some very bizarre reason, he takes that to be insulting and everyone is left he will come back to you because I'm not closely nestled slightly stunned I got from Pat on the back and say sorry about insulting you publicly like that if I insulted you publicly that everyone left us up in the backseat.

Sorry, would you forgive me know most of you know. You wouldn't forgive me but this supposing I insult you publicly from the spiteful and as soon as the words leave my mouth. I grew silent. My bottom lip begins to tremble. My eyes well up with tears I fall down on my hands and knees. I start wailing and sobbing uncontrollably.

I crawl over to where you are sitting. I hold on to your ankles and I thank you to forgive me. Now, would you forgive me some of your very hard to please. I can see that you will forgive me when you feel I have been contrite enough. Sorry enough Saturn that make sense when I suffered enough inside emotionally. I sense and then okay I will forgive you is in our coaches. Forgiveness is owns Mrs. but Shashi is not the kind of forgiveness is at the heart of the sounds and what it means to become a Christian Christian gospel isn't look messed up. You need to be sad about it. If you will Saturn often contrite and often you come in you counsel to God's ankles in the bag and you wailing you cry unusual abilities you meant to do that eventually God will forgive you that's not how it works the way it works is before we knew we needed to be forgiven because it offers a sacrifice to make forgiveness possible before we even knew we needed to be forgiven. God comes and finds us and offers us forgiveness is a gift. The nearest analogy will be me insulting Mark and me not being sorry about a little and him coming to me and making it clear to the most gracious and kindness possible to he was happy to forgive me and he offers me forgiveness is a gift in the way you accept that kind of offer of forgiveness is through repentance, say sorry sorry doesn't become the means by which you own forgiveness. Sorry, simply, now becomes the means by which you receive forgiveness and is inherently company.

Two men went to the temple to pray, one sees the sacrifice that makes people for forgiveness possible stands in front of them boast about how wonderful he is before God, the other one because his eyes down beats his chest and cries and says May this be for me. I need this, Jesus said he told this parable to people who trusted in themselves and in their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else true Christian conversion is inherently humbling. Incidentally, humbling ability isn't something you do on the side. There is something inherently humbling about genuinely coming and receiving the kind of forgiveness, which is why Jesus said you should be able to tell to Christians by the fruit you see in the lives you should be up to look in their lives and see this and is on that basis. You may then be sure of your living situation when you you've offended someone, maybe even mean to you go to apologize.

The next day, so I'm so sorry about what happened was that it was nothing and is clearly something of your experience that is very annoying is you know you're in the wrong you know you shouldn't of done it will try to say, look, I shouldn't of done this I shouldn't of said it shouldn't of done that I was wrong when I going it's nothing to worry about it actually very clearly something very big simile. You may have the expense right you have to probably go to someone's I'm sorry to say I forgive you and the next time you see them is abundantly clear isn't it forgiven you only need about a second in the room with Dona you walking within a second. You can look at them and you know whether there has been genuine restoration of relationship Dona.

You know less what is right with God. We hold on things that we shouldn't of done to the cross of Jesus Christ.

He makes it possible for us to be forgiven.

He offers us forgiveness is a gift is called grace in the face of the offer that he makes. We then repent and we receive his forgiveness. Repentance is the means by which we receive the forgiveness he is offered.

We put our trust in him a faith in him.

We now have relationship with him and you know the next time you come into his presence, whether a sterile and is not presumptuous, because you either know him or you don't. Rather, in that relationship will not. But the reason you in that relationship is got nothing to do with you a one level because it's got everything to do with him. He was willing to forgive he was repetitive.

He made provision for forgiveness. He offered forgiveness. The question is have you accepted and if you have accepted it, then you know you are forgiven and you know with whom you will be when you die, not because anything is great about me or you because everything great about him to know that kind of forgiveness in your life. Becoming Christian is an inherently humbling process should work itself out in every aspect of our life sure about is ourselves sure about that is why Paul writes I know I have and I'm convinced he sure of the one in whom his trust. Certainty comes is not known relationship with youth anything to a message from Ozzie IN Presidents Michael Ramsden if you would like to purchase a complete copy of this message coolest at 1-800-448-6766 and request the title is Christianity arrogance if you perfect old online, you can visit our website@ancien.lyg all is that I am.ca for those listening in Canada. If you're not familiar with our ministry. Be sure to visit our website to learn more about the affects around the Glade they can see a list of upcoming conferences and events being held at the Zacharias Institute's sign up for an online class to Ozzie and Academy about the wet being done throughout humanitarian wellspring international website is a great place to learn more about Ozzie IN to find contents to help you grow in your Christian faith.

We see it everywhere for musicians and movie stars to neighbors and friends at work people are interested in having a schedule life but treat faith more like an à la carte menu at a restaurant choosing what they like and dismissing the rest Oprah Winfrey and Deepak Chopra. The cheerleaders calling on Western culture to embrace her spirituality to avoid Christ cutting through the-seduction is the clear voice of author and apologist Rob is in his book why Jesus rediscovering his truth in an age of massmarketed spirituality robbing answers.

The attraction known as the new spirituality they have sort of hijacked everything under the nomenclature of Eastern spirituality is valued this value in silence. This value and reflection is value in solitude and something that I win the West have forgotten. So I think they harnessed something of value and made it exclusively their own.

As of the Christian faith, never talks about it to her spirituality and in the Christian tradition due has had a lot of these ideas. The only differences they don't gaze in word they have to gaze outward towards God.

God is the ultimate vision, not yourself. Billy Graham calls why Jesus a powerful defense of how Jesus Christ brings meaning and hope to an individual control swindle says I am not acquainted with a brighter mind or a more relevant and devoted defendant's why Jesus available online at RG. I am.org suffering God silence the existence of truth. Those are just a few of the topics covered in RZ. I am just thinking magazine editor Danielle direct and often encouraged by letters we receive are you just thinking you never know what one Senate into the life of an individual number of letters from those who are outside of Christianity they found something intriguing and just thinking and sent Helena read more. Sign up for email delivery of just thinking RZ.

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