Posted on 04/25/2006 8:04:00 AM PDT by churchillbuff
From time to time, some people will suggest that all the world’s religions are of equal value and accomplish the same end. “All roads lead to God,” these folks say. “Whatever name you call him (or her), it’s still the same God,” others proclaim.
I am not among these people. I do not believe that all religions are of equal value, though there is value in most forms of religion, and I do not believe they accomplish the same end. Neither do I believe that, whatever name is used, all names for God refer to the same God.
As an historic, orthodox Christian, I believe that Jesus Christ was telling the truth when he said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6 NIV).
This, of course, is a scandalous statement. Either Jesus was deluded and should be denounced as a madman or he was speaking the truth.
If he was deluded, then Christianity is a farce and 1.5 billion people are ensnared in false hope.
If he spoke the truth, however, then all religions are not of equal value.
Religious pluralism says that “there are many, many ways to God and all of these ways are good.”
But Jesus claimed that he was the way. Not just that his teachings were the way but that he himself was the way to the Father. Not only that, he claimed that, outside of him, there was no other way.
Further, he claimed not only that he taught truth but that he was the truth.
Certainly, all religious faiths contain truth, but Jesus claimed that all truth regarding spiritual matters was found in his own person. If he is the repository of truth and if truth cannot be found outside him, then other religions contain error. And, if one is seeking God, then error can lead one away from, rather than toward, God.
Jesus also declared that he was the life. Much of religion is a search for fullness of life on the earth and a quest for any life that may exist beyond this temporal plane.
In addressing this first consideration, Jesus said, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10 KJV). The reason he came at all was to bring a quality of life never before known or experienced. He also came to insure eternal life for those who would believe and put their trust in him.
As John 3:16-17 states: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (NKJV).
But the claim to exclusivity is found in his words, “No one comes to the Father except through me.” That means that the way, the only way, to God is in a relationship with Jesus Christ.
That is offensive and repugnant to some, but it is still what he claimed. If there is a “Plan B,” it is not found in the scriptures.
Christianity makes for itself the claim that the only true path to finding one’s destiny, one’s ultimate plan, in fact the only path to God the Father, is found in Christ.
“So,” someone will ask, “are you saying that Christianity is the only true faith and that all others are wrong?”
That is, in fact, the claim of historic, orthodox Christianity. Christians believe that all that God began in the Book of Genesis and continued in the books of the Old Testament was brought to consummation in the person of Jesus Christ.
Scandalous? Yes. Absurd? So it may seem. Outrageous? Many think so.
A number of years ago, I was looking for a small town in Colorado and became lost. I stopped and asked directions of a man who owned a filling station. The directions he gave described a curvy and treacherous trek over some mountains. I asked if there was a shorter or safer way to get there. “Nope,” he said, “there’s only one way to get there from here.”
The New Living Translation puts it this way: “For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved” (Romans 10:9-10).
It’s the only way to get there from here.
Are we saved by our own knowledge of Christ, or are we saved by the actions of God? Do you think the mentally retarded are sent to hell cause they lack the knowledge to call for Christ?
SD
Thank you for your post. It was very helpful in understanding your point of view.
caseinpoint: I am also convinced that those souls who do not learn of Jesus Christ in this life through no fault of their own will be given a chance to learn of Him and accept Him voluntarily in the hereafter before they face final judgment.
The need for preaching the Gospel to all nations and peoples seems to be diminished in your way of thinking. Where is the urgency in preaching the Gospel if all men are given an opportunity if one was not offered when on earth? Perhaps we do a disservice to those in far off lands by bringing the Gospel to them while on earth? Perhaps the tethers of this mortal life will be a barrier to choosing salvation in contrast to the calm, non-cluttered environment of the afterlife?
My reading of the Romans 10 text (v.13-18) seems to contradict your stance. This text emphasizes that all men must hear the Gospel - I assume this is said of those that are still on earth.
>>He'll know who is supposed to come to Him,<<
How very Reformed of you! ;-)
>>if they have not had the opportunity to learn about Jesus.<<
Amen - and He will certainly provide them the opportunity, regardless of where they are geographically. His Word does not return void, it accomplishes what He wills it to.
How are things with you and the fam? I haven't been on here as much as I'd like. The new job and new kiddo keep me pretty busy!
But it's a GOOD kind of busy, you know?
Reading comprehension 101. Duet 13 explains it quite well.
Been there and done that, though, so that doesn't bother us. We'll be closer to our families, so that's what's important! Your girls must be getting SO big!
I've read it, now explain what this has to do with your so-called point. Your argument is weak and you cannot explain in detail your reasoning...Oh well, it was worth a try.
Please explain how the New Testament writers were "sincerely mistaken" and your evidence for such. And Deut 13 doesn't do this in any way shape or form.
I don't believe we are to relax on our efforts to preach the gospel to all the world. Would you want to go through life without the knowledge of the Savior you have? Without that peace and hope that comes from the gospel truths? The afterlife preaching is to make sure no one is punished for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. There are places where Christians cannot preach without endangering themselves and their churches in the eyes of the powers-that-be. Those should not be consigned to eternal punishment because of the acts of their leaders.
As to preaching, we who have the gospel are to be judged on our use of the gospel--its acceptance in our own lives and our efforts to preach to the world. But that is a judgment on us, not on those who can't hear the message through no fault of their own. So I don't believe the effort is to be lessened.
Further, as I understand the doctrine of afterlife repentance, it is easier to repent in this life than in the life to come. There is something about having a body with all its faults and weaknesses that helps us complete our repentance process. I will be open to say I don't understand that point but apparently it is harder to repent with the spirit separated from the body. So it won't be easier or more peaceful for those to repent in the hereafter. They will have their test every bit as difficult, if perhaps radically different, from ours.
I have enjoyed this discussion. This is an area in which scriptures are noticeably vague. Thank you for your intelligent and respectful posts. I have much to think about myself.
Soothing: Are we saved by our own knowledge of Christ, or are we saved by the actions of God?
Very interesting question, and one that I was hoping was raised.
Should I assume you believe that retarded or mentally incapabable people can be saved - or perhaps all people of this type are saved? And this is done by no volition or choice of their own? Does this mean the free will of these individuals is quashed?
And what about those who do have the mental savvy to choose or reject God? Are they saved by their own knowledge of Christ, or by the actions of God?
It does kind of get to the heart of the matter. Are we saved because we know something and can intellectually articulate it, or are we saved because God acts to save us.
Should I assume you believe that retarded or mentally incapabable people can be saved - or perhaps all people of this type are saved? And this is done by no volition or choice of their own? Does this mean the free will of these individuals is quashed?
By definition, those so metally deficient as to not understand the choice between right and wrong have no free will. They can not choose to sin; they can not choose to obey. It is my belief that it is entirely consistent with a loving and merciful God to save all those incapable of understanding sin and the need for salvation from it.
And it is certainly within God's purview to save some of those, if it pleases Him. There's no rule that says He can not.
And what about those who do have the mental savvy to choose or reject God? Are they saved by their own knowledge of Christ, or by the actions of God?
Those with the capacity to exercise the will are responsible for their own sins. Salvation is possible only through the action of God, working on the will of man, turning man towards Him.
SD
Plus, the other benefit is being back in a much more "Christian Friendly" area. No kidding about the snow, I'd leave it too if I could!
Autumn and Faith just had their birthday (they both were born April 10th, only 4 years apart!). Autumn turned 6 and is only a foot shorter than my wife. Little Faith is still under 20 lbs but is trying very hard to gain weight.
The bible has an answer for that question. The quick answer is that God gives everyone a chance to believe on his son. The person in India who never heard the gospel of Christ will hear it during a general resurrection, when everyone who never was called by God during their lifetime is called:
Rev 20:11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
"Judged" is a period of judgment, a trial, a period of time when the gospel is shared and taught from the "books"...the books of the bible. Their response, their works, to the books of the bible. They will believe and act accordingly or not.
That answer always seemed reasonable to me and I pondered it....long before I actually turned to God.
I remember as a young man I heard someone tell a story about an old Chinese man.....laying on his deathbed, asking that a missionary, some miles from where he lay, be summoned to his bedside. He had evidently always resisted this missionary's approaches to him over the years, but now, as he prepared to die he wanted to hear his message.
A runner was sent a long distance to the village where the missionary resided and upon hearing of his old adversary's plight immediately dropped everything and cranked up his old car for the trip to the man's village.
He had a flat tire......and the old man died before he could get there. He was about a half an hour late arriving. It had taken him a little over a half an hour to get the tire fixed and remounted.
This is when I made up my mind that God would see to it that somehow, someway, everyone would hear of "The Kingdom of God"......eventually.
And the long version? The entire NT or one of those long URL's from United? :-)
Neither. The passage in Revelation is a summary of Ezekiel chapter 37:
Eze 37:1 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones,
Eze 37:2 And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.
Eze 37:3 And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest.
Eze 37:4 Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.
Eze 37:5 Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:
Eze 37:6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
Eze 37:7 So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone.
Eze 37:8 And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them.
Eze 37:10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.
Eze 37:11 Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.
Eze 37:12 Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.
Eze 37:13 And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves,
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