Word Count: 1165

Contact James Barringer

Why Must Jesus Be The Only Way?

by James Barringer  
7/21/2010 / Christian Apologetics

One of the most difficult things to accept about Christianity, for believers and unbelievers alike, is Christianity's exclusive claim to truth. This is most obviously established in the overquoted John 14:6, in which Jesus claims to be the only way, truth, and life. It's certainly not limited to that passage, though; the whole Old Testament contains affirmations that there is only one God (see Deuteronomy 6:4-6), and that he does not take kindly to people trying to find other ways to heaven (see Genesis 11). This leaves us with a pretty substantial conflict: behind the prevailing popular opinion of gentle pluralism on the one hand, and the inescapable teaching of Scripture on the other hand.

One problem with the gentle pluralism is that somebody has to be right. The movie "Avatar" tells me that everything is connected, that all religious beliefs are channels on the same television, so to speak. The Bible tells me that there is one God and one correct way to worship him. We cannot possibly both be right, because "Avatar" says that my Bible is wrong and my Bible says that the movie is wrong. The dumbest, most illogical conclusion to make is that we both possess equally valid beliefs. Yet if all beliefs are not equally valid, then pluralism is a failure, because we can begin talking about hierarchy (which beliefs are right, or closer to right) instead of tolerating all beliefs side by side. This is where Christianity really shines, because there's a huge amount of historical, archaeological, and scientific proof that the events of the Bible really took place and that the Bible presents an accurate record of God's interaction with humanity. There is no tangible proof whatsoever for the idea that all roads lead directly to God. It is a total leap of blind faith to believe such an idea; there is literally no logical reason to believe it.

However, the far bigger problem with the gentle pluralism is that it goes against everything we know about the nature of truth. Truth is, by its very nature, exclusionary. To say that two plus two equals four is to exclude every single other number in the universe as a possible right answer. Four is the right answer: not three, not pi, not the square root of negative one. In fact, if you made a list of all the wrong answers, it would literally be infinitely long. If you made a list of all the right answers to that problem, it would be extremely short: there would be one. Or examine the law of gravity. When asked what it does to us, there is only one answer: draws us to earth. There are billions of wrong answers: it does not make my hair brown; it does not make sugar rot my teeth; it does not pull me sideways along the earth; it does not make me left-handed.

Once again, we find that truth is exclusionary. The right answer automatically, and unstoppably, excludes every single other answer in the entire universe from being correct. This is why we should not be surprised that Jesus claims that his truth is right and every other religious answer is wrong. Simply by looking at creation, we can say that God himself created the rule of exclusion, and that he applies it to everything we can see with our eyes: math and science and everything else we can measure with our senses. So, when God comes along and says that this law of one truth applies to religion as well as to science and mathematics, we find that God is logically consistent. The burden of proof is not on Christians to explain why Jesus is the only way. It is on the pluralists to explain how everything else in the universe should be narrow and exclusionary, but religion should be the one and only area where God willy-nilly says that anything goes.

Of course, there is one greater problem for the pluralists, that of self-contradiction. They claim that all religious beliefs are equally valid - except for any belief that claims to be exclusively true. So, they say that Jesus' claim to sole truth is wrong, and that Christianity is wrong to hold it. However, criticizing and attempting to change a person's beliefs about religion is not pluralism. In fact, it's the exact same thing the pluralists criticize Christianity for: attempting to convert people to a particular way of thinking. It makes sense for us to evangelize since we believe that there is one truth and since Jesus commanded us to do so. It makes no sense for the pluralist to "evangelize," and it contradicts his own beliefs to do so. The moment anyone criticizes Jesus' claims to exclusive truth, that person is no longer pluralistic, nor even tolerant, because he is making his own claim that one belief (pluralism) is right and another way (Jesus' sole truth) is wrong.

So we see here three very strong reasons for believing that Jesus is the only way to be saved. The first is that either Jesus must be right or the pluralists must be right, and the bulk of the evidence is on Jesus' side. The second is that, as nearly as I can tell, everything in creation operates on the principle of exclusive truth. There is nothing else in the universe that operates on the principle of everything being equally valid; when it comes to every other kind of truth, there is one right answer which excludes billions or possibly an infinite number of wrong answers. The third is that the pluralistic mindset is one of self-contradiction. Anyone who argues that Jesus is not the only way is making his own exclusive truth claim, which he is attempting to impose on Christianity: he is claiming that our beliefs are invalid even as he claims that all beliefs are equally valid.

So how do we react to this gross heresy? The same way Jesus tells us to react to everything we encounter: with unstoppable, unconditional love. We shore ourselves up in truth, of course, reading articles like this one so we know how to counter the heresies of this age, and grounding ourselves in the Word of God so we can spot the errors in man's new philosophies. But more than anything, we must realize that the people who hold these beliefs are not our enemies. They are creations of God, bearing his image and beloved by him. He wants them to be saved, just as he wants all people to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9). Our arguments with them are not because we delight in being right, but because their eternal souls are on the line. We are not out to win an argument, but to win people to Christ. Even as we smash false beliefs, let us show honor to Christ by repaying the love that he showed to us while we were gleefully wallowing in our own sin.

Jim Barringer is a 38-year-old writer, musician, and teacher. More of his work can be found at facebook.com/jmbarringer. This work may be reprinted for any purpose so long as this bio and statement of copyright is included.

Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com-CHRISTIAN WRITERS

If you died today, are you absolutely certain that you would go to heaven? You can be! Click here and TRUST JESUS NOW

Read more articles by James Barringer

Like reading Christian Articles? Check out some more options. Read articles in Main Site Articles, Most Read Articles or our highly acclaimed Challenge Articles. Read Great New Release Christian Books for FREE in our Free Reads for Reviews Program. Or enter a keyword for a topic in the search box to search our articles.

Enter comments below. Due to spam, all hyperlinks posted in the comments are now immediately disabled by our system.

Please type the following word below:

Not readable? Change text.

The opinions expressed by authors do not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.

Hire a Christian Writer, Christian Writer Wanted, Christian Writer Needed, Christian Content Needed, Find a Christian Editor, Hire a Christian Editor, Christian Editor, Find a Christian Writer