Erwin W. Lutzer - Christ Among Other Gods: A Defense of Christ in an Age of Tolerance

ERWIN W. LUTZER

MOODY PRESS

CHICAGO

1994 by

Erwin W. Lutzer

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RSV are from theRevised Standard Version. Copyright 1946, 1952, 1971, Divisionof Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches ofChrist in the United States of America. Used by permission.

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ISBN:0-8024-1648-9

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To my parents,Gustav and Wanda Lutzer,

whose livesand words taught me early in life

that Christwas to be cherished

as the Son ofGod, the only Savior

Have you caught the grand vision?

How did we get here?

If its true for me, is it true for you?

What does it take to be a savior?

Who is the real Jesus?

If God has spoken, what has He said?

What happened on that middle cross?

Could the disciples have made up the story?

What is Christ doing today?

Which God reigns?

Is everyone else lost?

How can we best represent Him?

People with no ear for music say that it all sounds the same, butlovers of Bach, Handel, Beethoven, and Brahms know better. So, too,people who lack spiritual concern or factual knowledge or both tellus that the worlds religions are really all the same, and oneis as good as another, so that it does not matter which is yours.They also are wrong, however, as Christians clearly see.

The figure of Jesus Christ, as portrayed in thegospel history and shown forth in the rest of the New Testament, isunique. A Man who acted, as Jesus did, like God come in the flesh;who spoke of Himself as the Son of God; who identified Himself asfuture judge of the world and arbiter of everyones destiny;who, after being crucified, came alive from the dead, leaving Histomb and graveclothes empty, and met His disciples again; who, havingentered the world by a miraculous conception and birth, and fulfilledin it a miraculous ministry, even to raising the dead, was seen toleave it by a miraculous ascension; and whose disciples for twothousand years have been sure that He actually shares their life, asthey share His; why, no other religious leader, and no otherreligious experience, has ever been remotely like this! As a faithfounded on unique supernatural facts, and as a unique, life-changingrelationship with its unique divine Founder, Christianity is truly aunique religion. This fact ought to be beyond dispute.

In these days, however, the unique glory of Christ and His ministryto those who trust Him have to be constantly highlighted, for ourmulti-religious world is going through a bad patch of failing todistinguish things that differ. Erwin Lutzers forthrightrestatement of what everyone needs to know about Jesus in the contextof the worlds religions is therefore a book to be welcomed.God bless it!

J. I. PACKER

Vancouver, B. C.

At a time when interest in Christ is increasing, it is no secret thatthe worlds religions are growing at an unprecedented rate inthe United States. Although Christianity has historically insisted onits uniqueness, many religious leaders are predicting that theproblems of the world are becoming so formidable that religious unitywill be inevitable in the not so distant future.

Never before have I written a book with such a burden, a growingconviction that as we march toward the next century it is absolutelyessential that we as believers not only have Christ in our hearts butalso in our heads. We must be able to invite others to investigateChrists claims without embarrassment or fear that the evidencefor our faith will evaporate. We need answers for ourselves andothers in a day when religious truth has been reclassified as littlemore than personal opinions and private experiences.

I want to thank my friend Ravi Zacharias for allowingme to use the title Christ Among Other gods in the publication of this book. Several years ago Iheard a message of his entitled, Jesus Among Other gods,and it stuck in my mind. Although the content of this book is whollymine, I wrote to Ravi asking whether I could be given the option ofusing a version of his title and he graciously agreed. Imthankful for his friendship and rejoice in his effective andworldwide ministry.

Thanks to the members and friends of the Moody Church who heard theessential contents of this book delivered as a series of messages inthe fall of 1993. Though it has been my privilege to preach from thishistoric pulpit for fifteen years, I have never grown weary of thework nor taken this honor for granted. Thanks to the prayers of Godspeople, I have been blessed with the opportunity of serving Christbeyond the walls of Moody Church through speaking and writing.

A special word of thanks to my administrative assistant, PaulineEpps, who spent many hours formatting the manuscript and makinghelpful suggestions along the way. And most important, I give lovingappreciation to my wife Rebecca and our three daughters, Lori, Lynn,and Lisa, who were so understanding during the days when this bookwas uppermost on my mind and kept me in my study.

All praise goes to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ whom I love and inwhose defense this book has been written. My greatest reward would bethat those who read it would love Him more, worship Him morefervently, and defend Him with conviction and grace.

THE
GODSARE
ON THE MOVE

Have YouCaught the Grand Vision?

Unite or Perish!

That message seemed to dominate every session of the Parliament ofthe Worlds Religions that met in Chicago in 1993. And thegroup most often targeted for criticismthe folks who could notbe expected to buy into this united agendawere those whobelonged to the historic Christian faith. Im convinced that areligious tidal wave is sweeping America; the message I heard at theparliament was that we had better get on board or be left to swim (ordrown) on our own!

The gods are on a roll, and woe to those who stand in the way oftheir agenda! With lofty ideals and utopian plans to unify thereligions of the world for the common good, this parliament met tobreak down the barriers that exist in the accelerated march towardunity. Six thousand delegates came to learn from one another, exploreareas of agreement, and grasp a better understanding of one anothersreligious heritages. They also promoted a global ethic designed toalleviate the suffering and wars of the world. Their time, they say,has come.