Debate erupts over salvation By John H. Adams The Presbyterian Layman Volume 33, Number 5 Posted September 29, 2000 A theological brush fire that began at a Presbyterian Peacemaking Conference in Orange, Calif., on August 2 has flared into a national debate over whether salvation is through faith in Jesus Christ alone. The debate began with news accounts of an address by Dirk Ficca of Chicago, a Presbyterian minister who leads an interfaith organization. John Filiatreau, a reporter for the Presbyterian News Service, wrote that Ficca “espoused a radical brand of ecumenism, calling into question the common Christian assumption that Jesus is the only way to salvation.” Filiatreau’s account included a number of Ficca’s quotes. According to the news service, Ficca said the challenge Christians face today is to find “a way to maintain the integrity of our own Christian faith, yet not feel that we have to convert others. God’s ability to work in our lives is not determined by becoming a Christian … So what’s the big deal about Jesus?” While Filiatreau called salvation through Christ alone a “basic assumption of the Christian faith,” it has been far more than that in the confessional history of the Presbyterian Church (USA). What the Confessions say Scots Confession, chapter 16: “… For since there is neither life nor salvation without Christ Jesus; so shall none have part therein but those whom the Father has given unto his Son Christ Jesus, and those who in time come to him, avow his doctrine, and believe in him. …” The Heidelberg Catechism, answer to question 29: “…salvation is not to be sought or found in anyone else.” The Second Helvitic Confession, chapter 11: “ … For however many seek salvation in any other than in Christ alone, have fallen from the grace of God and have rendered Christ null and void for themselves. …” The Larger Catechism (Westminster), response to question 60, “… They who, having never heard the gospel, know not Jesus Christ, and believe not in him, cannot be saved. … ” Theological Declaration of Barmen, chapter 8: “… Jesus Christ, as he is attested for us in Holy Scripture, is the one Word of God which we have to hear and which we have to trust and obey in life and in death. We reject the false doctrine, as though the church could and would have to acknowledge as a source of its proclamation, apart from and besides this one Word of God, still other events and powers, figures and truths, as God’s revelation.” Confession of ’67, chapter I: “The risen Christ is the savior for all men … To receive life from the risen Lord is to have life eternal; to refuse life from him is to choose the death which is separation from God. …” Damage control After criticism of Ficca and the Peacemaking Conference erupted on Presbyterian web sites and forums, leaders of the conference were quick to defend their speaker. In a news release, they said, “The 2000 Peacemaking Conference reflected the Reformed understanding of salvation, which is that God alone is the author and source of salvation which we experience through Jesus Christ.” But that statement itself did not extinguish the fire. Critics noted that affirming “God alone is the author and source of salvation which we experience through Jesus Christ” leaves open the possibility that others might experience God’s salvation through another source. Peter Pizor, chair of the General Assembly Council, and John Detterick, the council’s executive director, also issued a damage-control statement. They included the assertion that “We believe that God’s love and grace for us was revealed through the life, death, and resurrection of Christ Jesus and that through Christ, with Christ, in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor belong to Almighty God.” But like the Peacemaking Conference leaders’ statement, the Pizor-Detterick “for us” qualifier fell short of the confessions’ consistent assertion that salvation is through Jesus Christ alone. The criticism of the Peacemaking Conference has financial implications. The PCUSA asks local congregations to collect a special offering once a year for peacemaking programs. This year’s offering is to be collected on Oct. 1. Several congregations have already indicated that they will not raise money for the denomination’s peacemaking programs. Also, according to the Presbyterian News Service, a number of people who have complained to officials in Louisville consider challenging the doctrine that salvation lies in Christ alone on par with the ReImagining theology that the 1994 General Assembly declared beyond the bounds of the Christian faith. The full text of Ficca’s address did not change the essence of his message that there is salvation outside Jesus Christ. Ficca said, “That Christians through Jesus of Nazareth have access to God in an intimate, parent-child way … does not rule out that other people do not have other kinds of relationships with God …” Ficca did not say anything radically different from what a majority of Presbyterians believes, according to the most recent Presbyterian Panel survey to determine the “characteristics” of PCUSA members. The survey asked respondents whether they agreed with the statement that “only followers of Jesus Christ can be saved.” Only 46 percent of the members, 48 percent of the pastors and 22 percent of the specialized clergy agreed with that statement.

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