Postscript to a Life Well Lived

Reflections by Bishop James K. Mathews on E. Stanley Jones’ life following E. Stanley Jones' last book, The Divine Yes.

Bishop James K. Mathews

E. Stanley Jones found the Christian movement scattering its energies about marginal issues of doctrine and denominations. He left it centered on Jesus Christ as the one and central issue.

  • He found evangelism in America on the edges of the life of the churches and not too respectable. He left it a central issue in the life of all the churches and made it respectable and necessary
  • He found evangelism largely personal. He left it personal and social – a total way of life.
  • He found Christianity presented as alien to human nature. He left it as supernaturally natural and sin as unnatural and alien.
  • He found the Kingdom of God largely inward and mystical, or futuristic in heaven. He put it into life as the one issue now, supplanting all the alternatives of other “isms” communism, and fascism and the like….  The Kingdom of God on earth and on earth now is the issue.
  • He found the non-violent, non-cooperation movement Indian and Gandhian and shared it as the method of finding freedom for the African Americans in America.
  • He found the Christian movement largely alien and Western. He left it more naturalized through the Ashram movement.
  • He found the Ashram movement Indian and localized. He left it internationalized and universalized.

The Christian faith is not just a little better than other faiths – it is different in kind – Religions are our search for man.  The gospel is God’s search for us…. Religions are the word become word; the gospel is the Word become Flesh. . .