More than 90% of the people in the USA claim they are Christians. Yet, if you ask the majority of them what they truly believe, they'll tell you they believe there is a God and there are many pathways that lead to Him, and that you must live a good life in order to get to heaven. I cannot tell you the countless times I have heard people spout off variations of this dogma. And dogma it is. They may say they are not religious, but these statements are doctrinal statements about their faith and what they believe about God, so they are just as religious as evangelicals are. Yet, in order for them to make such claims about the universe and God, they are essentially claiming that they know all truth. You cannot say there are many pathways to God unless you have received some divine revelation from Him in which He told you so. Or unless you have somehow risen above all of mankind's human intelligence and have studied universal truths from outside your own human limitations.
On the other hand, we fundamental Christians make the same claim. We believe there is only one pathway to God through the sacrifice of Jesus, His Son. By proclaiming this, we also are saying that we have received divine revelation and are privileged to know absolute truth.
Then why are we called narrow-minded and arrogant when essentially they are making the same claim to know and understand all universal truth just like we are, even though the specifics are different. It baffles me.
What about the people who say there is no truth and you can't know God. (Relativism) This philosophy falls apart by it's simple claim that there is no universal truth. Just by saying that, you are stating what you believe to be a universal truth.
Anyway, sorry for the side trip into philosophy. This is one of those things I like to toss around in my head now and then. And maybe it will give you some clue how to respond to those who call you narrow-minded for believing in Jesus.
I believe in Jesus. I believe that all who are saved are saved thru Jesus. But I think that all who love God are saved even though they may not realize in this life that it is Jesus who saves them.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment, Ceejai. Perhaps God makes some provision for those people in remote locations who never hear about Jesus. I don't know the answer to that. But it takes more than just loving God to get to heaven. If that were true, then Jesus' death on the cross would not have been needed. Someone had to pay the price for our wicked hearts, someone had to pay the huge debt we owed for all of our sins. If we don't accept that gift from Jesus, it won't matter in the end how much we love God. But, truthfully, if we really do love God, then we will accept the sacrifice His Son made for us anyway.
ReplyDeleteGod Bless