In CS Lewis story The Last Battle, there is a scene at the end when all the world is judged by Aslan. Believers/Followers join him in paradise, those who didn’t go....somewhere else. At one point, a soldier who actively worked to kill Narnians approaches Aslan to be judged...

This solider has served Tash, the false God, faithfully and believed that by serving Tash he was adding some good to the world. He expects Aslan to send him to the bad place. Instead Aslan welcomes him into paradise. The solider is shocked and asked how why this is

Aslan says “I take to me the services which thou hast done to Tash...if any man swear by by him and keep his oath for the oath’s sake, it is by me he has truly sworn, though he know it not, and it is I who reward him.”

This was, as you can imagine, a little controversial in Christian circles. CS Lewis later commented on issues raised by this plot point:

“I think that every prayer sincerely made to a false god or to a very imperfectly conceived true God is accepted by the true God and that Christ saves many who do not think they know him. For He is dimly present in the good side of the inferior teachers they follow....

...in the parable of the sheep and the goats, those who are saved do not seem to know that they have served Christ.”

I say all this to say....I don’t know who is getting into heaven. Idk if Christianity is “exclusive” as in you must have a verbalized and “pure” belief in the person of Jesus Christ, or if CS Lewis understanding of judgment and the sheep goats parable will hold

But I think Christians could learn a lot from Lewis conception of judgment, especially in light of today’s twitter conversation about Beyoncé and traditional African religions.

I want Christians to understand that they can be gracious and empathetic towards those of other religions, (looking really hard at us Black folk and how we demonize traditional Black religions).

I want us to understand that the folk we demonize for worshipping a false God may get the same reward we are purportedly getting. And the fact that they get the same reward is itself within Christianity. Study the sheep and goats parable and see the requirements for salvation.

Like I understand why some of us believe in the exclusiveness part of Christianity. It’s definitely hinted at in the Bible. But there are ALSO hints of a much broader conception of believer which are also in the Bible. Sheep and goats, “I have sheep or other folds” etc

So you aren’t any less Biblical for having a wide conception of what it means to be a believer. That stance isn’t any less inherently Christian. It’s right there in the text, along with the statements of exclusivity.

Both traditions have Biblical roots. So I choose to believe the one which gives grace to my Black ancestors who may not have had the chance to know Jesus like I do, did not feel the need bc their own religion satisfied them, or bc they rejected him as a pawn of white colonizers.

Btw, to those who disagree, I hope your disagreement is “I choose to believe the exclusivity tradition,” and not a “there is no biblical evidence for a wide conception of salvation.” The first is fine and meh. The second is, ironically, the only true unbiblical stance here.

But also, if you choose to believe exclusivity, I think you should really sit with why. I have a hunch that *some* of the folk who believe that do so to...validate the work they’ve put in. Think the parable of the vineyard workers or the older brother to the prodigal son.

It’s like a...very selfish conception of salvation. A hoarding. With flavors of superiority.

Now if the shoe don’t fit don’t get mad. But if it does fit, don’t run from that. Don’t panic. Acknowledge, interrogate, and adjust. Growth is always possible.

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