Another reinterpretation of the concept of Jesus as the only way
of salvation is suggested by Iones Rakhmat, a minister of the Indone-
sian Christian Church and former lecturer in New Testament at
Jakarta Theological Seminary.^5 Rakhmat suggests an ‘interrelation
approach’ which joins the uniqueness claim with the Christian belief
that the One God works with God’s grace and speaks in all areas of
human religions. Underlining the Christian belief in the uniqueness
of Jesus as a true confession based on the Word of God, he calls Chris-
tians to realise the fact that God allows non Christian beliefs to exist.
According to Rakhmat, this means that the uniqueness of Jesus does
not imply any idea of negating other beliefs but that Jesus Christ, the
unique revelation of the Word of God, is basically the same Word who
reveals himself as the Creator God, ‘the light of humans who enlight-
ens every human being’ (John 1 :4,9).
Rakhmat goes on to argue that the Word’s revelation in the human
flesh of Jesus does not at all reduce his status as the universal God.
Indeed, after the events of the cross, resurrection and ascension, he
returns to his status as the Word with ‘the glory he had owned before
the world existed’ (John 17 :5), and with ‘all power in him both in
heaven and on earth’ (John 17 :2; Matt 28 :18). The Christian belief in
Jesus as the only saviour, Rakhmat suggests, does not reduce the
inclusive work of the Word in the universe before and after the age of
the New Testament.
- Muslim Reinterpretation of Uniqueness
From the Muslim side, a group of theologians have produced an
extensive theological reinterpretation in a collaborative work, Fiqih
Lintas Agama (‘Interreligious Dogma’), published by Paramadina
Foundation in cooperation with the Asia Foundation.^6 Paramadina is
a scholarly Islamic organisation led by a prominent Muslim figure,
Nurcholis Madjid. Fiqih Lintas Agama(FLA) challenges uncritical
uses of traditional Islamic dogmas that overlook their relatedness to
particular social and cultural contexts. According to the authors, such
non contextual dogmas lead to narrow-minded social and political
concepts. The attempt to return to the Jakarta Charter (which
requires Indonesian Muslims to practice Shariah as positive law) is an
example of such narrow-mindedness.
According to FLA, Islam assumes that the core of all religions is
the same, and all prophets are like children of one father but different
mothers. The differences between religions are part of the nature of
God’s creative work, which dislikes total sameness. The authors
argue that the Koran celebrates plurality as an opportunity to compete
in doing goodness, living peaceful coexistence, struggling for justice
120 Responsible Leadership : Global Perspectives