Last week I posted an interview from 2008 where Tim Keller answered questions from Martin Bashir about Christianity and objections to the faith. Several people rightly found one of his answers in particular to be troubling. Mike Riccardi highlighted the transcription:
Bashir: So where does that leave the millions of Muslims, Sikhs, and Jews? Are they sadly and completely deluded?
Keller: People who never heard about Jesus, or never really got a hearing about Jesus . . .
Bashir: I’m not talking about them, because some of those people have heard (about Jesus). I’m talking about the millions of Muslims, Sikhs, and Jews who have heard about Jesus. Where does your thesis leave them?
Keller: Where they are right now, it means that if there’s never any change, they don’t get Jesus. If he is who he says he is, then, long term, they don’t have God. If on the other hand…all I can always say about this is God gives me, even as a minister with the Scripture, a lot of information on a need-to-know basis. And a need-to-know basis means, “Here’s all I can tell you: unless you get Jesus Christ who created you to start with, unless you are reunited with him sometime, there is no eternal future of thriving.” It just makes sense. Again, I’m trying to go back to this idea that, that, if he is who he says he is, you’ve got to have him. If right now a person doesn’t have him, he or she needs to get him. If they die and they’ve never, if they die and they don’t have Jesus Christ, I don’t know. In other words, I have a need-to-know basis, the only thing I know is you need Jesus. I certainly know that God is wiser than me, more merciful than me, and I do know that when I finally find out how God is dealing with every individual soul, I won’t have any questions about it. . . .
. . . People in other religions, unless they find Christ, I don’t know any other way; but I also get information on a need-to-know basis so if there’s some , if there’s some trapdoor or something like that, I haven’t been told about it.
Today at The Gospel Coalition blog Keller posts a brief response, explaining that he knew right away when he gave this answer that it was mistaken, misleading, and unhelpful, and he has since taken pains to clarify his view that salvation is found in Christ alone.
You can read his post here.
Update: Keller writes:
I believe there is only one way to God and that is through conscious faith in Jesus Christ and his work.
I’ve always been happy to say that loud and clear (when I was being recorded and when I was not) as well as happy to say it to you here and now.
I have never believed otherwise since I became a Christian or a minister. The reason I freely confessed my mistake that very night was because I could tell that I hadn’t communicated the conviction of my mind and my heart.
I hope that helps.
