No One Path to Salvation

Time magazine reported today, “Americans of every religious stripe are considerably more tolerant of the beliefs of others than most of us might have assumed, according to a new poll released Monday. The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life last year surveyed 35,000 American, and found that 70% of respondents agreed with the statement “Many religions can lead to eternal life.” Even more remarkable was the fact that 57% of Evangelical Christians were willing to accept that theirs might not be the only path to salvation, since most Christians historically have embraced the words of Jesus, in the Gospel of John, that “no one comes to the Father except through me.” Even as mainline churches had become more tolerant, the exclusivity of Christianity’s path to heaven has long been one of the Evangelicals’ fundamental tenets. The new poll suggests a major shift, at least in the pews.”

Why would Jesus lie about the uniqueness of His person and work? Either He was the “only” way to God, or He was not. And if He lied about it, meaning there are other ways, doesn’t that lie make him a sinner? And if He is a sinner, He cannot possibly be the “spotless Lamb of God” able to die in my place to satisfy the righteousness of God which demands my death. It would be clear then that He is not “the way to God.” And if not Him, who? Or did God lie about His righteousness and justice? He doesn’t really demand propitiation. So then, it’s a toss up?

I don’t know whether to say “good luck,” or “good grief.”