in Christ. God operates in the world through both means simultaneously. Luther was unwilling to explore the hid- den work of God in creation because it would lead to a specula- tive theology, which he termed a “theology of glory.” He could only discern God in what is revealed, the “theology of the cross.”
SHUTTERSTOCK
prepare Christians in the event they were to live under Muslim rule. Luther’s evaluation of religions was drawn from the Bible, his read- ing of certain biblical prophesies concerning the anti-Christ, his apocalyptic view of history and, above all, his deep commitment to the principle of “justification by faith through Christ alone.” Seen from today’s viewpoint, his views were context and culture bound. He shared the prevailing cultural and religious prejudices of his time as a medieval theologian.
Should heirs of Luther continue to subscribe to his negative evalua- tion of other religions? The answer lies in Luther’s theology. One of his insights is the dis- tinction between “God hidden” and “God revealed.” The former represents God’s mysterious work in creation that no one can fully understand or fathom; the latter is the explicit self-revelation of God
The distinc- tion between the “left hand of God” and the
“right hand of God,” and the cor- responding distinction between law and gospel, Luther emphasized, should be distinguished but not sep- arated. They must be held together simultaneously. The strange work of the hidden God in creation through God’s law is not in any way negated by God’s revelatory work in the gos- pel of Jesus Christ. Like the gospel, God’s law is also a gift to humanity. The tension between the two can’t be fully understood or resolved by human minds, although Luther emphasized the work of the law driving us to the grace of Christ. All people on earth are the chil- dren of God, recipients of God’s love through the gift of the law. Thus God’s work among all people is real and valid, whether they acknowl- edge the name of Christ or not. In recognizing God’s work among all people, if we follow Luther’s logic, Christians have to acknowledge God’s presence and
gifts of love among non-Christians as well. Dialogue, therefore, is an invitation to discern how God’s “alien” and hidden work manifests itself in other religions. Luther’s unwillingness to engage in such explorations focused his attention primarily on the reformation of the church.
Given the profound religious diversity that we experience today, Luther’s heirs need not be inhibited from exploring God’s hidden work among others. We can’t just deny or devalue the claims of others because Christ isn’t named in other faiths or conclude that all other faiths practice only works-righteousness. It would be problematic to prejudge the oth- ers’ claims without first hearing and understanding what they actually believe and practice. It’s also prob- lematic if we frame others accord- ing to our preconceived doctrinal notions.
Perhaps, in an honest dialogue (not a disguised Christian mono- logue) we may discover the mysteri- ous work of Christ in the midst of other religions or even meet him there (Matthew 25), in so far as he is the medium of creation (John 1:1-15). Although we can never be certain of this, we can’t in good faith rule out that possibility either. Christians may not always agree with the religious claims of others (true even among Christians) nor can we be certain that there is salva- tion outside of Christ. Nonetheless, Christians today are presented with opportunities to engage in dialogue with others in openness and humil- ity and witness to our faith in Christ Jesus.
Luther could well have concurred with such an understanding and in any case would have encouraged us to tone down our self-glorifying theo- logical claims and engage in the prac- tice of a theology of the cross.
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