Deuteronomy 6:1-5
(4) Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.
John 14:1-6
(6) I am the way, the truth and the life
Acts 4:1-13
(12) Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.
Introduction
If I had one fault growing up it was my arrogance. Actually, that is a bit arrogant, if I had one fault, I had many. But this one was perhaps flung in my face by one particular guy in my High School, called Danny Shaw, who said he hated me because I was so arrogant. Perhaps it just the fact that if I disagreed with everyone else in the class, I thought I was right and they were wrong. Maybe it was the Maths classes were more often than not I was right but it was probably the RE lessons.
In those days RE was mostly a joke in my school, we had to have 40 minutes a week, but there were no RE teachers. Instead all the teachers took a hand, but they weren’t really interested apart from one or two who took the opportunity to push there atheistic anti-supernatural beliefs on the class. I had such a teacher and in my more aggressive days, yes for those of you who find it hard to believe I was more aggressive in pushing my opinions than I am now, it’s true I was far worse then. Well lets say I was more interested in being right than showing love, and those RE lessons turned into me vs. the teacher and most of the class. In fact my English oral grade was also gained through the many debates we had in English class. I was arrogant in the way I pursued those debates.
But the accusation is made that the very fact that Christianity makes the claim to be the only right religion is arrogant no matter how lovingly or humbly the case is made. Is it arrogant for Christians to say that Christianity is the only right religion and everyone who is not a Christian is going to hell? How can we possibly say that? Although Christianity is by far the biggest religion in the world, how can we just say that billions of people are wrong? In fact we take it even further not only do we condemn all non-Christians but we also take on the Christian world and rule on what Christians are in and which are out. How can we possibly do this?
It might be useful to define arrogance first. So I surfed the web to an online dictionary, mine is in Scotland where my Mum uses it to check scrabble words, to get the following definition. A feeling or an impression of superiority manifested in an overbearing manner or presumptuous claims. In my words an undeserved feeling of superiority making claims which cannot be substantiated.
Biblical Arrogance
Well lets start by recognising these extraordinary claims are not unique to modern Christianity but inherent in early Christianity. Both before the Jews who made similar claims about Judaism and the Greco-Roman world, which was even more pluralistic and accepting of all religions than today. As we read Peter in his speech to the Jewish elders claims that salvation is found in Jesus alone.
But it goes back further than that. We also read Jesus making exactly the same claims about himself. Talk about being arrogant, Jesus claimed he was the way, the truth and the life. Not only this but he also claimed that he was the only method of approach to God. Not only was this a very arrogant view for anyone to make, this was also a wandering teacher who owned nothing, came from a rural backwater, had only been at the teaching business for 3 years and even hung out with sinners. Very arrogant unless it was true.
Therefore we have it, the Bible claims these uniqueness and truth claims. However, it still doesn’t really explain why. At least not here. It just makes the statements and we are expected to believe them. Can we do a little better and at least understand why it is so and possibly revise some of the statements made in the introduction in light of this.
Theology
Uniqueness of God (Judaism) and Heaven
It all begins with Monotheism, the idea that there is only one God. God told Moses that he was the only God. We heard the Shema, the classic Jewish text from the Old Testament, which says “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.” There is only one God. Rather than there being many gods who each control one aspect of nature or rule over one part of the earth or one people, there is only one true God, who created and sustains the Universe.
There is the idea of different religions having different afterlives, where the Jews are judged by God the Father, the Christians by Jesus, the Muslims by Mohamed, the Hindus get reincarnated and there chance at Nivanah, while the atheists just cease to exist. But it just doesn’t work. Religions are about describing reality at its core level. They are also mutually exclusive, Allah and the Christian God could not both create the universe, there cannot be both a personal God and no personal God as Hinduism or Atheism says.
Or perhaps more commonly among those who say all religions are the same. By this they mean that, they might serve the same purposes of keeping the masses in line, establishing an ethical system for those too stupid to build their own and helping weak minded people through life. But religion is not just about establishing a system, which helps you feel good, or helping you establish a moral code, it is about the ultimate reality of our universe and is linked to our final destination after death.
There are two possibilities to consider when looking at different religions which I will use two illustrations to illustrate. The first is by asking how many TOEs there are. No not the toes on your feet, rather the TOE as physicists think about it. It’s an anacronym for The Theory Of Everything. It is the ultimate goal of Physics. The one theory that explains everything in the universe. There may be more than one candidate for the TOE but they predict different things so they can be tested and found to right or wrong. There can’t be lots of different TOEs which are all right. It is like that when describing God, either he is like Christians describe him or he his like the Muslims describe him or another religion describes him or he doesn’t exist.
But there is another possibility. There were 3 blind men, who had never seen an elephant but they wanted to know what they were like. So one day they heard that there was an elephant in town so they decided to have a look. Each went up to the elephant and felt it. Then afterwards they tried to describe it to each other. The first felt a leg and said that an elephant was rather like a tree, the second felt the trunk thought it was like a snake, while the third felt the tail and described it as a limp vine. They each felt a different part of the elephant, so in one way they were all right and yet they were all wrong. Religions have been described that way, all gasping a bit of the truth and all missing the big picture.
So which is it like.
Uniqueness of Theology
While some people want to claim that all religions are the same, this is plainly not the case. While there are certain similarities between religions in terms of ethical systems there are also fundamental differences.
Christians depend on the mercy of God, for the forgiveness of sins and know that nothing they can go can earn salvation. They can also be sure that they are going to heaven, since God gives them this assurance.
Islam states that people, (forgive me if this is an oversimplification or incorrect but this is how I understand it) must live their lives as best they can, performing certain required tasks throughout their lifetime and then at the end place there fate in the hands of Allah who then makes the decision as he sees fit for whatever reasons he chooses.
Hinduism is based on the idea of strict justice, of reaping the results of one life in the next. There is no mercy or forgiveness, and salvation is to ascend to non-existence, at least an existence without an personality remaining.
These are not the same and they the requirements are different. You cannot fulfil the requirements of Christianity by living a good Muslim or Hindu life. It isn’t like the Elephant. The different religions have different ideas about salvation, the afterlife and the character of God. If the three blind men tried to describe the specifics of an elephant they would have to agree or some of them would be wrong. The leg of an elephant can’t be described like a snake or a tail.
But that’s not too say there is no truth in any other religion other than Christianity. That would be blatantly false. Muslims obviously believe in one God. However, they differ from Christians in what God is like and how we approach him. All religions have some sort of moral system. The Bible teaches that some partial knowledge of God can be gained from the universe. The heavens display the glory of God. I image truth to be like a great big target. The different Christian denominations all overlap the centre but not getting it all. Then come other religions further out not touching the centre but sometimes getting a bit on the target, there is a God for example, but big bits outside.
Uniqueness of Christ and the Cross
Perhaps the most important difference is Christ and his death on the Cross. While other religions revere or ignore Jesus, it is only Christianity that seems him as God, come to pay the ultimate sacrifice to reconcile humanity back to God, because humanity on its own could not succeed.
Christ’s death was necessary for us to be saved. We could not get to heaven or have a right relationship with God without the death of Christ on the cross. Hebrews 10:12 says “But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God.” Christ did this once for all time. Not only for those who followed but also for those who had preceded him, his sacrifice was for their sins too. And that is why we can claim Christ as the truth and the way to God. It is only through the sacrifice of Christ that humanity can approach God. It is only through the forgiveness of sins that humans can approach a holy God, and only Christ’s death offers this forgiveness. No matter how good a person is, they have still fallen short of God’s law of perfect love. They have not loved others as selflessly as Christ, nor have they loved God with all they possess. Thus, they need the forgiveness of Christ.
I hope I have shown how Christianity is unique. I haven’t attempted to prove it to be true, I don’t want to make incorrect assumptions but I am assuming most people here are Christians and therefore recognise that Christianity is true. I have just tried to begin to show you why other religions are incompatible with a Christianity that is true.
What about those who haven’t heard?
But this is just half the story. A lot of Christians and non-Christians are uncomfortable with one of the possible implications of this. Does the fact that only Christianity is true mean that all non-Christians are sentenced to hell? But what about all those who have never heard of Christianity? What of those who through an accident of birth were born in where they could never hear the gospel or who were prejudiced against it from birth. Why do I have the right to get to heaven due to the accident of my birth being in a Christian family? I don’t know if you have ever wondered how your life would have turned out if you hadn’t been born in the family you were. I have and I shudder. Doesn’t God love everyone?
Christianity is true and God is as Christians describe him but could different religions offer different ways of getting to heaven. When I was a bit younger I went to a young adult weekend in the Border regions of Scotland. I went with my youth leader, David Findlay, in his car. He delegated the task of map reading to me, so I had a look at the map and there seemed to two possible ways of going, both were A roads, one went directly there while the other was longer and seemed to go out of the way. So I choose the direct route. Now this was before I could drive and I wasn’t really aware that there are A roads and A roads. The route I chose was lots of country roads meandering through the Borders while the other route was an almost motorway quality dual carriage way. It took around 5 or 6 hours for what should have taken no more than 2 – 2½. Even now I shudder to remember the words Peebles is close honestly. One route was better, more correct if you like but they both got there. Is this a better picture, there is one God and Christianity is the best way of getting to heaven but there are many ways of getting there eventually.
Have many of you read CS Lewis Chronicles of Narnia. I remember the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe being read to my primary 3 class at school, I haven’t a clue of the modern English equivalent, but I was 8. I was then delighted a couple of years later when I discovered it wasn’t just a one off there were other books as well. It was only years later that I discover the fact that they were teaching Christian truths. The one that is relevant here takes place in the Last Battle, the end of time. One of the characters, Emeth has grown up in the land of Calormen worshipping Tash, who is shown to be a demon. When Emeth tells Aslan, the Narnian Jesus, that he’d served Tash all his life and was taught to hate the name of Aslan, Aslan tells him that, since he is good and Tash is bad, all truly good service is really done to Aslan, while all bad service is service of Tash. Thus, all “good” people get to heaven while all “bad” people don’t, regardless of whether they are “Christian” or not.
It would be nice to hold to this view. But it has a problem; it is not based on faith or grace but on merit. On people earning their way into heaven. We know this is not possible, no one is good enough. We can only be saved by Christ’s death. But what about the Old Testament
Old Testament
We accept that the Jews in the Old Testament, and the faithful before Abraham, were saved by Christ’s death. I read the verse from Hebrew’s earlier which says Christ’s death was for all time, before and after. In some mysterious way those who died before Christ were still saved by his death. But how if they had never heard of Christ. Hebrews tells us that they were saved by faith but what was the nature of that faith? They had faith but obviously not in Jesus, they had never heard of him. I believe I have mentioned it here before about the content of Abraham’s faith. Genesis 15:6 says “Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.” Then we look at what Abram believed and it was that he was going to have a son. Nothing to do with living a right life, or statements about God, just that he was going to have a son. What made it faith was that he believed God when he told him something.
It’s common, at least I started out doing it, when looking at other branches of Christianity, cults or other religions to look at their theology and see what they believe about Jesus, God and salvation to work out whether they’re adherents are “saved” or not. And yet we look at Abraham’s faith content, believing he will have a son, it’s not on our list. He just believed what God told him.
What it comes down to is “what is the minimum amount of knowledge needed?” However I don’t think there is a minimum amount of knowledge, I think it is a minimum attitude. It’s an attitude of dependence on God, that what we do is a thanksgiving to God not an effort to earn salvation. It is that attitude towards God, trusting him, that gains salvation, not memorising facts or theology. This view of salvation at least allows for the possibility of people who have never heard of Christ to saved. Not through other religions but through a correct attitude towards God, through faith.
You might ask, so why evangelise. Because I believe it will result in more getting salvation, more knowing about Christ, giving more people the security that they can know they are saved, establishing the Kingdom of God on earth now and because Christ commanded it.
Conclusions
So what have we said? Are we being arrogant by claiming that Christianity is the only true religion? Not if we mean claiming things we shouldn’t. There is only one God, and we believe that the Bible contains the truth about him. Also recognising that it is not us who are superior for being Christians rather the bedrock of Christianity is that we are not worthy.
Are we right to say that there is only salvation in Christianity. Yes, Jesus’ death is necessary for the salvation of everyone. But is that death only applicable to Christians or is it possible for those who have never heard to benefit from that death as well.
I want to suggest that there is at least that possibility. There is no minimum set of doctrines to memorise, just an attitude of humility, dependence and repentance grounded in faith in God.
Yet doctrine is important so that we can grow. We can mature in our relationship with God, we can avoid error, and we can be secure in the knowledge of our salvation.
