Previous | Next 

CURRENTLY IN BOOKS
Christian faith among others

V. George Shillington

Who Do You Say That I Am?: Christians Encounter Other Religions
Calvin E. Shenk. Scottdale, Pa./ Waterloo, Ont.: Herald Press, 1997. paper, 294 pp. $28.50.

Having spent considerable time (1961-1975) in cross-cultural education in Ethiopia, Shenk of Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Va., has a first-hand grasp of the subject of his book Christians Encounter Other Religions.

The book consistently emphasizes the uniqueness of Christ, the need for Christian witness and the appropriate means of communicating the gospel in a pluralistic environment. The scope of the discussion is broad, yet sufficiently incisive on debated issues to make the book a valuable complement to the many recent studies on the subject.

Shenk explores three historic responses of the church to religious pluralism: exclusivism, inclusivism and pluralism. He believes none of these adequately address the issue of Christian faith among other faiths.

He discusses the biblical and theological perspectives on religious plurality, concluding that a balanced biblical/theological understanding of religions will result in a respectful, tolerant dialogue while maintaining the unique revelation of God in Jesus Christ in Scripture. He then seeks to answer the question: “Who is Christ”?

Shenk believes that the church has failed to represent Christ by equating “his kingship with ruling ideologies, elitist power structures, wonder works, or when we make him a guarantor of success. But it is equally wrong to emphasize his suffering servant character without his kingship” (p. 158). Christ’s uniqueness is found in the doctrine of the incarnation as God’s revelation and in the resurrection and exaltation of Jesus. This uniqueness, however, does not restrict Christ to sectarian particularity. Jesus as incarnate Christ is also cosmic, as evidenced in the Logos doctrine in the Gospel of John and Hebrews. Similarly, Christ is present in the universal Spirit, the second Person of the Trinity.

The last 90 pages of the book lay out an acceptable strategy for witnessing. Christian witness should be winsome, not arrogant. It is not “against religion but for people.” Genuine witness occurs in the church as an embodiment of the gospel, in a Christian presence in society, in service to people, in dialogue with people of other faiths and in evangelism as announcing grace and salvation in Christ.

Clearly written, this book develops a wholesome approach to Christian mission in an increasingly pluralistic world. I was somewhat surprised to find a professor in a Mennonite institution writing for a Mennonite publisher mute the anabaptist tradition of Christian witness to the extent that this book does. Granted, the idea of service comes through together with the notion of a covenant community of faith in Christ, but the gospel of peace coupled with discipline is so toned down that the discussion is not more distinctly anabaptist than most other evangelical books on the subject.

Happily, Shenk did not present a narrow sectarian witness to Christ, as is sometimes found in presentations on Christian mission. The book exhibits a deep commitment to the welcoming, redeeming Christ of Scripture and to the good news Christ offers to all. This book is a worthy complement to any library.

V. George Shillington is Professor of Christian Studies (New Testament) at Concord College in Winnipeg, Man.

Previous | Next 

Last modified October 13, 1999.

© 1999 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
Masthead and usage information.