(Salvatore Vuono - FreeDigitalPhotos.net)
One of the challenges that if often leveled at the Christian faith is that many Christians claim that Jesus is the only way to Heaven, or the only way to have a relationship with God in Heaven. There is something inside of us that reacts when we heard such a claim - we want to say, "That's not fair. How can there be just one way to God?" It is a legitimate question, and I believe that the question itself arises from a desire to allow the most people to have a relationship with God. Part of the thinking process might be described as, "If so many people follow some religious system other than Christianity, and if Christianity is the only way to God, then there are billions of people misled about this vital issue." Indeed, it can overwhelm the mind - the implications are massive.
But there are two issues that are often overlooked. First, we must understand that truth, by definition, is exclusive. While we can say in conversation, "Well, that's true for you, but not for me", we don't actually mean exactly that. What we usually mean is, "Well, that's your opinion and I won't really argue with you because it seems to work for you, but I have a different way of making it work for me." This is very different than dealing with the issue of truth. Truth is exclusive - that is not a religious statement, it is a logical and philosophical one. When we try to say that there are many truths, what we are often saying is that there are many opinions on things or that there are other assertions/factors that allow for us to nuance the statement. Here's an example:
Tim claims to be 6 feet 2 inches tall.
A friend says, "That's not true, he's just over 2 meters tall."
The comment from the friend has added a new factor into the discussion - we are now using a different measurement system. This, however, does not negate the fact that Tim is still 6 foot 2. Sometime people use the analogy of an elephant and say that one man is touching the tail, one the trunk, and so on. But this doesn't change the fact that ultimately, it is an elephant that they are touching. If A is true, then non-A cannot be true as well. Again a simple example: If I were to say that I live in New Hampshire to my friend, and then a moment later to that same friend I say I live in Utah, he would not think, "This makes complete sense." He would realize that there must be some other factor he hasn't considered (am I talking about a summer home for example), or he would conclude that I am not making sense.
Connecting this to the topic of religion - all world religions claim exclusivity at some point. We might like to think that they all are the same thing deep, down inside, but this is simply not true. On the surface, it may seem that all religions are rooted in love and compassion, but as we probe a little, we can see that there are very different definitions of what love and compassion are. For example, Heaven in the Christian faith is different than in Buddhism where there is no Heaven. God in the Christian faith is the Triune God - the Trinity. In Islam, the Trinity is non-existent. All religions claim to be "the way" at some point. Some followers may deny this or avoid it, but at the core, all religions (to some degree) claim "we have the way to God/eternal life/spiritual meaning."
Thus we conclude that the exclusive claims of Christ are not so much radical as they are rational, for all religions claim something of the sort. One can dismiss all religions as false, but one cannot logically claim that all religions are true. When Jesus says in John 14 the He is The Way, The Truth, and The Life - we can disagree, but we should not do so because it's an irrational claim - it is very rational.
There are many reasons we could discuss as to why the Christian faith is often pegged as THE religion that claims exclusivity, but with a little investigation, it is clear that all religions do the same.
Tomorrow, we will talk about 2 approaches to the exclusive claims of Christ.
-tC
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