Saturday, May 13, 2017

Is Jesus really the only way?

In our gospel reading on Sunday (14th May), we heard Jesus say, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:1–14).

Is Jesus really the only way? That sounds a bit exclusive! Surely there are multiple ways to come to God? Why can’t Jesus be more inclusive?

Again such thinking is ludicrous!

Most types of religion actually have very little to do with coming to God. For example:

• Occult religions are about appeasing and manipulating (evil) spirits.
• Imperial religions are about giving total allegiance to a king or queen that is seen as divine.
• Ascetic religions are about renouncing self (e.g. Buddhism, Hinduism).
• Prophetic religions are about a dynamic leader bringing a message (e.g. Islam and Mohammed).
• Revelatory religions are the only ones about personally knowing and coming to God (e.g. Judaism and Christianity).

Author Michael Green says it like this: “It really is ludicrous to suppose that all religions lead to God, when Buddhism does not believe there is any God at all, when Islam makes him so far removed, when Hinduism offers extinction after many reincarnations. … How can all religions lead to God when they have such different beliefs.” (Michael Green, 2002, ‘But don’t all religions lead to God?’ p. 22)

There may be lots of different pathways, but few actually lead to God. The others lead to a dead end, or don’t lead anywhere but loop around the maze in endless cycles. Jesus is the only way through the maze of life. This may sound arrogant and exclusive, but it is astounding and I for one believe it to be true.

If you are still seeking to test Jesus’ claims, the following books may help as you continue your search, or strengthen your faith further:

Michael Green, ‘But don’t all religions lead to God?’ — http://buff.ly/2rekcku
Geisler and Turek, ‘I don’t have enough faith to be an atheist’ — http://buff.ly/2reqkJo
Lee Strobel, ‘Case for faith’ — http://buff.ly/2rewLfN

No comments:

Post a Comment

Messiah Complex — you're not the messiah

On Sunday (23rd April) we heard that Jesus’ disciples are to have a ‘Messiah Complex’ — like Jesus, we have been chosen and sent to save...