Central to the skeptic’s objection to Christianity is the audacity of Christians claiming not only that their own religion is true, but that all other religions are false.
Although I believe Christians should generally be gentle and humble when talking to unbelievers, I also feel it’s time for us to stop apologizing. After all, we were instructed by Jesus to share the gospel with every person. This doesn’t mean we want to impose on somebody else’s’ religious freedom. This doesn’t mean we don’t respect their right to disagree. This doesn’t mean we will force them to convert. It just means we would be hypocrites if we said we followed Jesus and disobeyed what Jesus went out of His way to specifically command us to do. This is the teaching of the New Testament. I know. I know. You occasionally hear some minister or priest say it isn’t the teaching of the New Testament. They aren’t speaking the truth. They may call themselves clergymen but they don’t know the Bible from Marvel Comic books.
There’s a movement within Christianity inspired by anti-intellectual disasters like The Jesus Seminar where liberal clergymen, men like Marcus Borg, shamelessly admit that they don’t like the teaching that Jesus is the only way. Well, that’s fine. If you don’t like His teachings, don’t follow His teachings. Nobody’s making you. The choice is yours. But at least be honest. Don’t try to pretend that He didn’t say what He said, just because you don’t like it.
And that’s what The Jesus Seminar did for us. They decided that the controversial statements from Jesus were not actually spoken by Jesus. They had nothing to base this on, mind you. They had nothing to base it on other than the fact that they didn’t like His comments. Jesus said “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me.”
That’s what He said, folks. And no mental gymnastics in the world can force those words to mean anything other than what they say.
And I have a flash for you: Jesus isn’t the only one who said that. Almost every major religion claims it’s the only way to God. What was the first commandment given to the Jews through Moses, the founder of Judaism, who claimed to have heard words directly from God on Mt. Sinai? “You will have no other gods before me.” One God. One religion.
Moses didn’t say “Ours is one of many beautiful paths. Buddha and Mohammad will show you other ways. Oh and Dagon, the god of the Philistines. You should respect him too.”
That’s not what Moses taught. Moses taught that the worship of any God other than the God of Israel was Idol worship.
As for Islam, do I even need to repeat it? The Koran makes it abundantly clear that those who do not believe in Allah and those who do not believe Mohammad is Allah’s prophet will end up in hell. What then is the difference between a Christian and a Muslim? The Muslim will kill you if you don’t repent. The Christian won’t.
Does this mean all Muslims are violent? Not at all. I have met many peaceful Muslims. But it does mean that all Muslims who take the Jihad verses of their own scriptures seriously are violent. Some Muslims look at the Koran the way the Jesus Seminar looks at the Bible.That’s bad news for effective literary criticism but good news for a world that wants to be safer.
It’s time to acquit Christianity from its bad rap.
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