"I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." -- Jesus (John 14:6)
Jesus' bold saying is a challenge to modern and post-modern minds. There is a tension between the ideal of truth and policy of tolerating all. Below are some notes on the more common objections I've heard to Jesus' claim, and ways to move the conversation forward.
Objection: There are lots of great teachers
There may be a lot of great teachers from a human point of view, but God raised only one of them from the dead. God made clear which of the great teachers is the way to resurrection and life. We aren't left guessing about it or trying to see who has a better argument (or arguer). Once God has weighed in on the question, human arguments are pointless.
Heaven is God's home. If someone hates God but thinks God owes them admission to his home, God may not think the same way about that. (This is in the context of the "atheists" who are intentionally spiteful about God and believers, the atheists of the "it's cool to be cruel" school.)
God raised Jesus from the dead, and probably every adult in the world has heard that by now. There's no barrier to hearing it: anyone who knows even the barest basics about the major religions knows that. God loves everyone, and desires to save everyone, and sent a savior for everyone.
4 comments:
" he hasn't abandoned us to pointless lives that are nasty, brutish, and short."
Hi Martin
Thank you for the encouragement!
Take care & God bless
Anne / WF
I get this probably isn't meant to be comprehensive, but the second objection seems to rely on lumping atheists into the 'those who hate God' category (or at least, seems very incomplete in only considering that category). But there is a sizeable population of atheists who would like it very much if Christianity were true but nevertheless do not think that it is in fact true (e.g. due to insufficient evidence, various counter-evidences, etc.). And those atheists often live virtuous lives as well (if not Christian virtue). Is it fair for them to be excluded?
Anyway, really enjoy stopping by your blog from time to time - I find it encouraging. God bless, Andrew.
Hi Andrew
Thanks for the notes.
Totally true that that are varieties of people who go by the description "atheists", ranging from people who just don't think it's true to bitter ex-fundamentalists to people who don't so much disbelieve in God so much as look down on him (often over the effects of evil). Absolutely a fair point there. I wish we had different names for the different groups.
Thanks for stopping by!
Take care & God bless
Anne / WF
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