Question: "No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6. I can't believe that the Jesus I accept as the hope for all humanity would even entertain such a thought. What are your thoughts on the matter?
In the pastor's response, he outright claims that the words of Jesus recorded for us in John's Gospel were not Jesus' actual words. He states that John and others scribed Christian words to Jesus. He even stated that John and others did this to ensure that people saw Christianity as the only way to God.
He concluded with:
"I agree with you that the Jesus through whom I found the way to God and the Jesus you see as the hope for all humanity would not exclude Jews or Muslims, Buddhists or Hindus who have found their way to God and seek to lead a life of love and justice. My salvation as a Christian does not depend on the damnation of others."
Although He is an ecumenical protestant minister, I was surprised that his answer went beyond ecumenicism to universalism (or at least a multiple religion stance).
Secondly, he seemed to take the Holy Spirit's preservation of Scripture out of the equation. In calling into question parts of the Bible like this, one could then reason that perhaps the verses we base our salvation on may not be accurate. I hope for our sake, they cannot.
Thirdly, he concluded that Christianity may not be the only way one can get to God and that the other religions can also lead one to God. His stance seems to be that Christians shouldn't be closed minded in regards to how one can get to God. However, the Jews believe that their way is the only way to get to God. Likewise, the Muslims and Hindus. Oh, and last I checked, Buddhists don't believe in God.
Unfortunately, each religion seems to want to conclude that their way is the only way or that all roads get us to God. However, from my study of the Scriptures, the only way is through a love for God and a relationship with Him (by believing in Jesus), thus the Judeo-Christian way.
