Is Jesus the only way?

For the Christian there is only one way to knowing God, and that is through Jesus. There is no other way. Most other people can't agree with this, as we live in a pluralistic culture. It's considered a narrow opinion (and just an opinion). "How do you know that Jesus is the only way to God?" is the question that's asked, and that's assuming there's a God in the first place. It's an important question that I'm going to take a crack at answering here. I won't be able to address all the objection here because I'm writing a blog post and not a book. If it's a book you want, read Timothy Keller's The Reason for God. I don't have all the answers but that's ok, because uncertainty is the place where I want to start anyways. When people ask a question like the one I'm writing on they're looking for a water-tight answer. You won't get one because we're finite beings, locked in time and space, who don't see the big picture. So instead of building a solid bridge we will, instead, be taking leaps of faith onto stepping stones taking us across the muddy waters of doubt.

We jump onto our first stepping stone when we answer the question, "Can we know anything?" The answer to that question is yes we can know things, but not perfectly. We use things like authority (those who are in the know), reason (what makes sense to us), experience (what our senses tell us), intuition (subjective knowledge) and pragmatism (what "works") as tools to help us know things. They all have their strengths and weaknesses, and sometimes they overlap each other, but we use them all the time to help us decide what's true or false. Authorities and experiences clash, reason is limited, subjective knowledge can't be tested and how things "work" don't always turn out for the best. Because these tools aren't perfect everyone ultimately make a leap of faith. And if we don't jump we are pushed, because the world is constantly pressing in on us and forcing us to take a stand - on a metaphorical stepping stone. And hopefully it's a solid one that won't get us wet.

We jump onto our second stepping stone when we answer the question, "Is there a God?" We can use most of the five tools to make that leap of faith. Reason tells us that there must be a first cause that preceded all things (Einstein grudgingly concluded this when he accepted the validity of the Big Bang Theory). Ironically, Richard Dawkins actually makes the case for a creator in his book The God Delusion, when he outlines all the conditions for life to exist. The odds of it all just happening are, mathematically, impossible. Our senses tell us there is beauty, purpose and order to the universe that randomness cannot produce. Deep down in our hearts we somehow know by intuition that God exists. And we have the Bible as an authority source to tell us that God created all things for His glory.

Or do we? I am making a circular argument here for the Bible's authority, but it is unavoidably the next stepping stone we land on when we answer the question, "Can we trust the Bible?" We can use our tools to say yes, we can trust the Bible. We can reasonably say the Bible has scholastic integrity as there are literally thousands of ancient copies, all of which are remarkably similar. The writers of the Hebrew scriptures regarded the words they were copying as sacred, so accuracy was paramount. The ancients also excelled at the art of memorization, allowing the writers of the Gospels to accurately record the events of Jesus' life decades after they took place. Those who practice the Bible's teachings experience the truth for it themselves, and their lives reflect a moral lifestyle that is noticeable by others. For example last July the CBC did a feature on how the Communist government in China is actually promoting Christianity because it recognizes the church's positive role in their society. By pragmatism Jesus' followers see that the Bible works to promote good in their own lives and in the world.

We can make a case that the "Good Book" can be good for us, cherry-pick what we like and discard the rest. Right? But what about the claims the Bible makes about Jesus Himself? Can we make that final leap of faith and stand on the rock that claims that Jesus is solidly the only way to God? Is it reasonable to say that the apostles and others who were martyred were willing to die to cover up a falsehood? Is it reasonable to say that Christ came back to life when all the enemies of the gospel needed to do was point to Jesus' tomb? Is it reasonable to dismiss Jesus as a fictional character, that He was not a historical figure? I think not. What about the endless ways that Jesus' followers have experienced Him? Anyone who's read my blog knows of my own faith journey. God has answered my prayers and the prayers of many, including the prayers for a young woman I know who came back from the dead. Jesus said that we would know intuitively whether He was telling the truth when we follow Him. When we change our minds about living for ourselves and live for Him we find that this Jesus stuff is pragmatic - it actually works. Those who follow Jesus find love, joy and peace, along with so many other blessings that come from trusting in Him alone.

So why put your trust in Jesus alone? It's because we've messed up and need to be saved, and there's no other name by which people can be saved (Acts 4:12). Now I know that if you didn't believe this before you likely don't believe it now. You have lots of questions and plenty more objections, and that's ok. I didn't set out here to argue with anyone, especially my more secular friends who I love dearly. But I do hope I wrote enough to get you thinking. And I do hope you think about it because whatever you and I believe in, we are literally betting our lives on it. The question is, did we put our money on the right horse? It's my hope and prayer that you come to the answer for yourself; that you will see by the tools to knowing things that all along God has been at work, revealing Himself to you and His unconditional love for you.