Can God Accommodate to False Theology?
I have been having a discussion with someone about the wise men following the star in Matthew. The claim is that God would not have led the wise men by a star because astrology is forbidden in the Bible. The question is: Can God accommodate himself to false theology? Let me use this as a test case:
Then Naaman said, “If not, please let there be given to your servant two mules’ load of earth, for from now on your servant will not offer burnt offering or sacrifice to any god but the LORD. In this matter may the LORD pardon your servant: when my master goes into the house of Rimmon to worship there, leaning on my arm, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, when I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, the LORD pardon your servant in this matter.” He said to him, “Go in peace.” (2 Kings 5:17–19 ESV)
There are a couple of things of interest here. First of all, Naaman asks Elisha for dirt following his healing. Why dirt? Pagans understood gods as being tied to the land. Naaman desires to worship the God of Elisha once he returns to Syria. In order to do that, he feels he needs dirt from Israel. This is completely false, as God is God not just of Israelite territory but of the entire universe. Naaman did not need dirt to worship God. But Elisha does not disagree with him, he gives the dirt because he sees the man’s heart. Secondly, Naaman must go to the pagan temples as part of his government position. Naaman makes it clear that he will be worshiping the true God rather than the false idols. That is not exactly proper conduct, but again Elisha agrees to his request, seeing the heart of the man. What we must remember is that God is a God of grace and they he will not hesitate to meet us where we are at. God can reveal himself in a mosque, in a Buddhist meditation setting or anything else he wants. God is much bigger than any of our limitations.
Gregory of Nanzianus put the point quite nicely: “To be only slightly in error is to be orthodox.”
Thanks Jon. Nice quote.
You ask a profound question, Steve! Since first encountering them in my doctoral studies, I have struggled with just where the “Christian Connexion” fit into the larger picture. They were intensely revivalistic, probably the second most frequent users (behind the Methodists) of the “camp meeting” approach to evangelism. They were deeply involved in some of the larger revivals of the 19th century…except that they didn’t believe that Jesus was the Second Person of the Trinity! It appears that many folk came to saving knowledge of Jesus through their work…despite the heresy…but then later moved on to more orthodox denominations, like Methodists and Baptists.
In a similar vein, I knew a chap in university who came to Christ among a particular “cult” that has its own Bible translation. God led him to truth, even using the canted text. The guy now has a ministry to folk in that “cult”.
I wish I had a firm answer…but I don’t. I concentrate on teaching the truth, to the best of my ability and recognizing my limitations, while trying to inculcate among my students clear thinking skills, so they can avoid the more troublesome theological errors.
Thanks Mark. I think evangelicals are afraid to talk about this in case they are accused of being universalists or relativists. The truth is that salvation is in Christ alone, but God will work in any way and any form he chooses. Look at what the teachings of Plotinius did for Augustine!