I was recently asked some great questions by a very intelligent friend who has become involved in serious Bible study. Her questions pointed to such a pivotal issue that it seemed worth a post; I’ll bet there are a lot of people out there wondering the same things.

Her questions, in a nutshell: Why are there so many Christian denominations? Why do they seem to be attacking each other? Why can’t we all just get along?

I’d say that the answer boils down this: Professing Christians have different explanations for how one gets to heaven – and they consequently preach different gospels describing how to get there. What’s more, they claim different sources of authority, or different interpretations of those sources.  

For example, one major denomination says that being welcomed into heaven requires membership in its church, plus faith in Christ, plus works (such as baptism, confession to a cleric, saying specific prayers, and attending services), plus paying for at least some of your own sins in post-life suffering. Their source of authority is a combination of scripture, tradition, and church leaders.  

Another prominent denomination teaches that you get into heaven through repentance (i.e. turning from what God has defined as sin in the Bible), faith in Christ’s finished work on the cross, and baptism. Its source of authority is scripture alone.  

Other groups teach salvation through repentance and faith in Christ's finished work on the cross -- period. Their source of authority is also scripture alone; unlike the latter group, they don’t believe that the Bible teaches baptism as salvational, but as an act of obedience by the already saved.  

Some churches teach that it's all been predetermined in eternity past, that God already chose the minority who would be saved, and the majority who would spend eternity in hell, and that there's nothing we can do to change our destination. These groups also claim scripture as their authority.   

There are also churches out there today teaching a form of universalism: people are inherently good, they say, and most are going to heaven. Their source of authority: their personal takes on what is divinely inspired in the Bible, and what is not.  

There are many variations on these basic themes, and many differences among individual churches and preachers, and I’ll bet that representatives of each of the above groups will argue that I’ve got their gospel all wrong.  

That may be. But my point is that all this denominational chaos boils down to this: What is the true gospel? What should we be trusting in to assure ourselves of heaven? Faith in Christ alone? Faith plus works? Our inherent goodness as human beings? Or are we simply to hope for the best?  

Does it really matter which gospel a church teaches? Of course it does. It’s the one thing that you don’t want to get wrong in this life, because its impact is eternal. The apostle Paul certainly considered this truth critical; as he wrote in Galatians 1, “As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.” Do we want to risk being taught by someone who is accursed?

Today, there are a number of ecumenical movements calling for the uniting of all Christians into one church (and even uniting all religions into one “church”). It may sound good until you consider two things: 

• First, it's a highly tolerant, "lowest common denominator" sort of movement, one that mandates scuttling biblical commands on everything from sex to women’s role to caring for the poor. If anyone objects to a particular command, it’s gone, “because surely Mother God wouldn’t have ordered anything so mean.” 
  

• Second, the Bible warns about a one-world religion under the coming Antichrist – warns, in fact, that it will be the church of Antichrist. So although truth-based unity among biblically obedient Christians is a good thing, ecumenism for the sake of any other sort of unity is not. 
  

Bottom line: the gospel preached is by far the most important quality of a given church. All other differences, from musical formats to teaching styles, are minor. (And one could argue that, if a church gets the gospel right, it'll be on the right side of these issues as well.) 

I think this tells us that it’s a mistake to choose a church based on something like musical preference or location or what activities it allows or disallows – a mistake akin to choosing a university because you like its landscaping or a hospital because you’ve heard that the food is good.

The only wise choice is one that’s based on a careful study of the gospel, and which church is teaching the truth. 

If you’ve spent much time studying Bible commentaries, you’ve probably come across phrases such as “what this verse really means is…” Sometimes these explanations are designed to make a passage like “God so loved the world” fit some philosophy that says just the opposite. Other times, they’re meant to excuse Him for not getting something quite right.

I came across another example of the latter this week in the teacher’s edition of Wm. Smith, LLD’s Bible Dictionary. Published in 1884, its pages may be yellowed, but they reveal some very interesting things about the Bible and its people, places and messages.

Most of it seems to be just what we learn today, although of course many details have been filled in, especially in the field of archeology. But there has been one obvious and enormous change since 1884: the restoration of the nation of Israel, just as predicted in great detail in the Bible thousands of years ago.  

As we know now, that restoration has been astoundingly complete, encompassing everything from attacks and victories to language and currency. Astonishing, really!

But Mr. Smith and his editors did not foresee this amazing series of events. In fact, it seems that they had given up on these prophecies ever being literally fulfilled. Here in part is what they said on the subject: 

Even these [gleanings of the ten tribes of Israel] were gathered up by the conqueror and carried to Assyria, never again, as a distinct people, to occupy their portion of that goodly and pleasant land which their forefathers won under Joshua from the heathen. Schaff Bib. Dic. adds to this summary that “after the destruction of the kingdom of Israel, B.C. 721, the name ‘Israel’ began to be applied to the whole surviving people.” No doubt many of the kingdom of Israel joined the later kingdom of the Jews after the captivity, and became part of that kingdom.” (emphasis added)

In other words, no, of course the nation of Israel was never restored as a geopolitical entity, but hey, that’s not what God meant. He meant that the kingdom of Israel would morph into the kingdom of the Jews, that’s all.

I have no idea if Mr. Smith and his editors were still alive in May of 1948, when Israel became a nation again and good ol’ Harry Truman kicked off the fulfilment of a slew of prophecies by recognizing her. But I’ll bet they would have been at least a little embarrassed to have doubted the inevitability of some of God’s most wonderful prophecies.

It’s a lesson we should all take to heart: If the Bible says it’s going to happen, it will! 

I came across this clue in a crossword puzzle recently: “It’s a ___ sort of memory that only works backwards.” The missing word, of course, is “poor,” and it was spoken by the White Queen in Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass.

Carroll really was brilliant, wasn’t he? Because that’s a great observation: in this natural world of ours, our memories only work backwards.

But how about in the supernatural world, the realm of the One who invented the universe and everything in it, including human beings with memories that often take us places we'd rather be -- or would rather not ever experience again?

Is it possible that in looking backwards, we’re glimpsing our futures?

I’ve long suspected that this might be the case, that, for the born-again believer in Jesus Christ, those joyful memories that fill us with such longing for the past may actually be glimpses of the joy awaiting us for all eternity. And maybe, just maybe, those who reject Christ until it’s too late experience the opposite phenomenon – recalling painful earthly memories that are warnings of the eternal anguish they face without the Savior.

I have no evidence that any of this is true. But if it is, then we really do have memories that work both backward and forward in the most profound and powerful way.  

The believer’s joy is truly wonderful. And it can be experienced at any time, simply by remembering the happiest of times.

My childhood chum Cathy reminded me recently of one such beloved memory. It was from the '60s, and the days that she and I rode horseback together -- days when we would occasionally grab our sleeping bags and our other little friends and sleep out in the apple orchard near our barn.

I can’t remember much of what we did during these adventures – told ghost stories, I suppose, and spied on the migrant workers' barracks and gossiped and snacked on whatever treats we had managed to lug along up the big hill and through the local Rifle Range and past the barbed wire fence encircling the orchard. But I do remember Cathy's battery-operated record player and the 45s we listened to, over and over, until the melodies and lyrics were indelibly imprinted on our lives.

There was one song in particular that to this day evokes in my heart silhouettes of stout trees and wild grass, the sound of crickets and the scent of apples and an irrepressible sense of crazy happiness and belonging – a song that now, instead of making me look back with longing, points my heart heavenward, to eternal joy.

Here's the song. I don’t suppose it’ll mean anything to most of you, but maybe it will to a few – especially one by the name of Cathy. 

Dear Atheist Mommy and Daddy,

I found fascinating your recent comment that you would never “force religion down” your children’s throats, that you were going to let them decide whether or not to follow such fables, and which ones to pursue. 

Congratulations. You are, it seems, true champions of religious tolerance.

I find this attitude especially interesting in light of how careful you are with your kids about all the little things of life. You’ve taught them, for instance, to wash their hands with Adrian Monk-like enthusiasm whenever they’ve encountered potential germs, and never to share their toothbrushes with their little friends. You make sure that they’re protected by all the right stuff, from vaccinations to bike helmets to the warmest winter duds.  You have instructed them, just as your folks once instructed you, not to take candy from strangers – not to mention never ever getting into cars with them. And of course you resort to serious time-outs when they flirt with danger by, for example, wandering into the street when you’re not there to shepherd them.

And yet, when it comes to the important things – the things that can give them peace and purpose on this earth and a heavenly eternity – they’re apparently on their own.

I just don’t get that. Why would you not investigate the big questions of life just as diligently as you do the latest thought on nutrition and child safety? Isn’t “forever” a little more important than the 70 or 80 or 90 years we spend on this earth?

Even if you don’t believe in an afterlife, or absolute truth, or a God, surely you understand that your subjective feelings on the subject have absolutely nothing to do with what’s true.

Don’t you think that maybe you owe it to your children to pursue the truth of this matter just a fervently as you investigate next year’s vacation destinations?

You may have given the subject passing consideration over the years. You may even have read a Mitch Albom novel or listened to Oprah expound on her version of universalism. But I know that you haven’t even begun to really research these questions. I know this because you could not possibly walk away from a sincere study of the Bible without being blown away by its content – especially by what its writers predicted, 2000+ years ago about the destruction and restoration of the nation of Israel, or what they said about scientific truths that are only now being discovered by modern scientists.

Won’t you invest a little time in researching this all-important topic, for your kids’ sake, if not your own?

You’ll find a starter list of suggested resources in my library, and what I hope is an entertaining presentation of eternal truth in my memoir. But there are scores of other resources out there. I pray that you’ll begin your own quest today. In the meantime, if you have any questions for me, fire away!

Sincerely,

Kitty Foth-Regner