So did Ghandi, and so did the Samaritans concerning Judaism. Yet Christ stated flatly to them, "you know not what you pray to, or who you believe in..."
the answer is no.
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'" -- Matthew 7:21-23
Doing the
"will of [our] Father who is in heaven" is precisely what some of us think men like Gandhi were doing. I don't know if he was intended to be part of an emergent
Christian church, but I do think he was aware that Satyagraha was having a pretty noticeable impact, and I don't just mean on the religious climate of India. This was
world news, because whether we in West made the
obvious and undeniable connection, here was a man who was putting the philosophy of
forgiveness, and turn the other cheek literally into practice.
Gandhi did not hedge, either.
Strip modern Christianity of its superstitions and idolatry. Emphasize the living Truth which its ancient traditions, prayers and rituals have sought to preserve. And ever so gradually shift emphasis from the
glorification of the life of ONE MAN --
any man
-- back onto the living
memory of this man's Spirit, the PRESENCE He sought to bring into
every human, or even non-human encounter ... and I think we will be just fine if we hang up the God-question for awhile, worry less about
what happens AFTER we live our earthly lives, and get back to the
brass tacks of choosing, every single moment, what kind of people we
really are (and are thus becoming), and what kind of a world we are preparing for our future.
It is much, much easier to simply
worship someone, and hope that in the long run, everything will
turn out alright ... while meanwhile we can play the guessing game, and console ourselves, or bolster our
"faith" through mutual affirmation of what
has always been done, said, enacted or sung. But how about asking ourselves, moment by moment,
is this right? Is this what I really feel I ought to be doing? Hmm, a really novel concept, right? The real answer to the question,
WWJD, if we both asked and awaited an answer with reverence, patience and our very most earnest effort toward
attunement (or "tuning in," if we like) ... might come as such a shock to some of us, that the realization,
"Oh gee, that wasn't very `Christian' at all" would surely accompany it every bit as unavoidably as the painful
thud which usually accompanies a dropped brick on the head.
Too much Jethro Tull?
perhaps But John Lennon said it in a way that I hope we all remember, or at least
appreciate (he was before my time, though I was born a year after this song came out):
Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace...
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one
I think Jesus would have appreciated this song. Yeah, I really think he would. 
