Christianity Explored | Surely it's arrogant to say your religion is the only right one?

It was great to be able to build an understanding of what I believed – Jo's story Watch
Wasn't Jesus just a great teacher? – Kara Watch
I'm a decent person – surely I'll be fine? – Jon Watch
Doesn't Christianity just cause conflict? – Russ Watch

It was great to be able to build an understanding of what I believed – Jo's story Watch

	I think this is quite a popular view, and one that’s particularly popular in multi-faith, multi-cultural societies. There’s a story which is quite old, which I find quite helpful just to think through some of the issues. It’s about some blind men and an elephant. And each of the blind men encounters the elephant at different points, and then has a different idea about what the elephant is like. So the man who’s holding the trunk says: “The elephant’s like a snake.” And the guy holding the leg says: “No, the elephant’s not like a snake, elephants are like trees.” And the guy who’s holding the tusk says: “Well you’re both wrong, because an elephant is like a spear.” And so it goes on, everyone holding a different part, whether it’s the ear or the side or the tail— everyone’s coming up with a different view. And the idea is that this story shows us that no one can actually know the whole truth about God. When it comes to the question about the truth, we’re just like blind men touching an elephant. Now therefore anyone who says: “I know the truth about God, and you don’t” or: “I’ve got the right answer and you’ve got the worng answer,” well, we’d just call them arrogant. But imagine if someone said he wasn’t describing the elephant, he wasn’t touching the elephant, but actually he was the elephant. Imagine if someone said: “You don’t need to guess, you don’t need to grope around, I’ll tell you what I’m like—because I’m the elephant!” Well that’s what the Bible says about Jesus—not that Jesus was an elephant, I don’t think anyone actually believes that!—but that Jesus was God, that Jesus is God. And Jesus did some amazing things to back up that claim. He healed the sick, he controlled the weather, he raised the dead. Jesus wasn’t just a teacher or a philosopher or a religious guy trying to guess about God—the Bible says that Jesus was God. So Jesus was able to explain the truth about God. He was able to explain how to be in a relationship with God. He’s able to explain how to enjoy perfect life with God forever. When he says: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me,” if he’s God he’s not being arrogant—he’s telling the truth. Now if those blind men, having heard the elephant, had carried on arguing, they’d have been pretty arrogant. And anyone who said: “We still can’t know the whole truth about the elephant” would also be pretty arrogant. You see, the right thing to do in that situation would be to sit down, and listen to the elephant. That’s the way you’re going to get the truth. And I suppose when it comes to God, the way we’re going to find the truth is if we listen to him—and Jesus says that you do that by listening to him.

I think this is quite a popular view, and one that’s particularly popular in multi-faith, multi-cultural societies.

There’s a story which is quite old, which I find quite helpful just to think through some of the issues. It’s about some blind men and an elephant.

And each of the blind men encounters the elephant at different points, and then has a different idea about what the elephant is like. So the man who’s holding the trunk says: “The elephant’s like a snake.” And the guy holding the leg says: “No, the elephant’s not like a snake, elephants are like trees.” And the guy who’s holding the tusk says: “Well you’re both wrong, because an elephant is like a spear.”

And so it goes on, everyone holding a different part, whether it’s the ear or the side or the tail— everyone’s coming up with a different view.

And the idea is that this story shows us that no one can actually know the whole truth about God. When it comes to the question about the truth, we’re just like blind men touching an elephant.

Now therefore anyone who says: “I know the truth about God, and you don’t” or: “I’ve got the right answer and you’ve got the worng answer,” well, we’d just call them arrogant.

But imagine if someone said he wasn’t describing the elephant, he wasn’t touching the elephant, but actually he was the elephant. Imagine if someone said: “You don’t need to guess, you don’t need to grope around, I’ll tell you what I’m like—because I’m the elephant!”

Well that’s what the Bible says about Jesus—not that Jesus was an elephant, I don’t think anyone actually believes that!—but that Jesus was God, that Jesus is God.

And Jesus did some amazing things to back up that claim. He healed the sick, he controlled the weather, he raised the dead. Jesus wasn’t just a teacher or a philosopher or a religious guy trying to guess about God—the Bible says that Jesus was God.

So Jesus was able to explain the truth about God. He was able to explain how to be in a relationship with God. He’s able to explain how to enjoy perfect life with God forever.

When he says: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me,” if he’s God he’s not being arrogant—he’s telling the truth.

Now if those blind men, having heard the elephant, had carried on arguing, they’d have been pretty arrogant. And anyone who said: “We still can’t know the whole truth about the elephant” would also be pretty arrogant.

You see, the right thing to do in that situation would be to sit down, and listen to the elephant. That’s the way you’re going to get the truth.

And I suppose when it comes to God, the way we’re going to find the truth is if we listen to him—and Jesus says that you do that by listening to him.

	Thanks for clicking on “Go Deeper” after watching or reading Nate’s answer. This section gives you some more points to think about, in a slightly deeper way, and points you to some other online resources you might find helpful if you want to take this issue further. What did Jesus say about getting to God? As Nate mentioned, Jesus was crystal clear on this question: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John chapter 14 verse 6). This was Jesus’ claim: that he is THE way to get to heaven. He is THE way to have life beyond death. And he is THE way to know the truth about who God is, what he expects, and how we can approach him. The word “truth” is quite important here. A popular view today, as Nate said, is to say that since we’re only humans, we can’t know what’s true and what isn’t about God. Maybe all religions lead to God; maybe some of them do; maybe none of them do. But we can’t know the truth. But of course, there is one person who can tell us which, if any, religions will get us into relationship with God and lead us to perfect eternal life. God knows the truth. After all, it’s up to God to decide who gets to his heaven, and how. Jesus claimed to be God: and as Nate mentioned, he backed up his claim by what he did. If Jesus is God, then he knows far better than any other teacher, thinker, philosopher or religious leader how we can get to God. And the truth he tells us is this: no one gets to life with God except through him. There’s only one door into God’s house: and it’s Jesus. God to us, not us to God. This is actually one of the major differences between Christianity and the other religions of the world. Other religions are about us thinking about God, us working out what God/heaven/spiritual stuff is all about, us getting ourselves to God. It’s about humans reaching out to God. Christianity doesn’t start with us: it starts with God, with God showing us what he, and life beyond what we can see, is all about. It’s about God coming to us: about God reaching down to humans. So one of Jesus’ closest friends said about him: “The Word [a name he used for Jesus] was God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory: the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father [God]” (John 1:1, 14). This is actually really helpful if you’re thinking through what Christianity is all about, and what it means for your life. It means that the Christian faith isn’t about feelings, it’s about facts: it’s not about some strange secret knowledge, it’s about a time in real history when (according to the Bible) God stepped into this world as a man. But there’s one more huge difference between Christianity and all other religions: and it’s this difference which explains why Jesus is the only way to heaven… Why is Jesus THE way? All other religions are about doing things to get right with God, or to access perfection in nirvana, or to enter the spirit world. Each religion offers its own set of guidelines, or rules: and if you follow them well enough, you’re in! It’s about what you do. But Jesus came along and said there’s nothing you can do to get to God. Once, when talking about being “saved” (getting to eternal life with God), Jesus said: “With man, this is impossible” (Mark 10:27). Why? Because heaven is perfect, and we’re not. And even if we were perfect from now till we die (which is impossible), it wouldn’t make up for our less-than-perfect thoughts, words and actions in the past. It’s like having a car which runs on petrol. If you put one drop of diesel in it, the engine will seize up and die. And once you’ve put just a small amount of diesel in, it doesn’t matter how much petrol you put in afterwards, you can’t get rid of the diesel. Your engine will die. Other religions offer a set of instructions about how to be “good”. But they can’t make up for our imperfections. Nothing we can do can. If you put diesel into your petrol tank, you need to drain the engine of diesel. And we need to have our imperfections taken away. That’s what Jesus came to do. He came to take our imperfections, the way we’ve rejected God, what the Bible calls “sin”. The Bible says “Christ Jesus died for sins… to bring us to God (1 Peter 3 v 18). When he died, Jesus did what we can’t do: he took our sin away. He took it upon himself, and he took the punishment from God of separation from him and his kingdom. That’s why Jesus said he is THE way to the Father. No one else can take our sins away. No one else can make us perfect. So Christianity isn’t about what we do: it’s about what Jesus has done. Christianity says there’s nothing you can do to get yourself to heaven: but it also says that Jesus has done everything necessary to give you a place in heaven anyway. The writer C S Lewis once put it this way: all other religions are about “do, do”; Christianity is about “done”—what Jesus has done. So if you talk to a Christian, you’ll find them telling you that they’re no better than you. They’re no more deserving of a place in heaven than you. The only reason they’re headed for eternal life is not because of anything they’ve done, but because of what Jesus has done. And there’s no reason why you can’t ask Jesus to take your imperfections, and give you his perfection, too: no reason why he can’t be the way that you come to the Father and live with him eternally beyond death. These are big and controversial issues, and this is a short bit of writing! It may well be that you have more questions, and objections. Great things to do next would be to: COME ON a Christianity Explored course, where you can listen to more of what Jesus said about who he was and why he came: and you can ask any and every question (go to Find a Course to get info on courses being held near you). LISTEN to a really helpful Bible talk on this issue by a New York pastor, Tim Keller— http://www.bethinking.org/other-religions/intermediate/exclusivity-how-can-there-be-just-one-true-religion.htm (be warned, it’s 40 minutes long, but if you’ve got the time, it’s well worth it).

Thanks for clicking on “Go Deeper” after watching or reading Nate’s answer. This section gives you some more points to think about, in a slightly deeper way, and points you to some other online resources you might find helpful if you want to take this issue further.

What did Jesus say about getting to God?

As Nate mentioned, Jesus was crystal clear on this question:

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John chapter 14 verse 6).

This was Jesus’ claim: that he is THE way to get to heaven. He is THE way to have life beyond death.

And he is THE way to know the truth about who God is, what he expects, and how we can approach him.

The word “truth” is quite important here. A popular view today, as Nate said, is to say that since we’re only humans, we can’t know what’s true and what isn’t about God. Maybe all religions lead to God; maybe some of them do; maybe none of them do. But we can’t know the truth.

But of course, there is one person who can tell us which, if any, religions will get us into relationship with God and lead us to perfect eternal life. God knows the truth. After all, it’s up to God to decide who gets to his heaven, and how.

Jesus claimed to be God: and as Nate mentioned, he backed up his claim by what he did. If Jesus is God, then he knows far better than any other teacher, thinker, philosopher or religious leader how we can get to God.

And the truth he tells us is this: no one gets to life with God except through him. There’s only one door into God’s house: and it’s Jesus.

God to us, not us to God.

This is actually one of the major differences between Christianity and the other religions of the world.

Other religions are about us thinking about God, us working out what God/heaven/spiritual stuff is all about, us getting ourselves to God. It’s about humans reaching out to God.

Christianity doesn’t start with us: it starts with God, with God showing us what he, and life beyond what we can see, is all about. It’s about God coming to us: about God reaching down to humans.

So one of Jesus’ closest friends said about him: “The Word [a name he used for Jesus] was God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory: the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father [God]” (John 1:1, 14).

This is actually really helpful if you’re thinking through what Christianity is all about, and what it means for your life. It means that the Christian faith isn’t about feelings, it’s about facts: it’s not about some strange secret knowledge, it’s about a time in real history when (according to the Bible) God stepped into this world as a man.

But there’s one more huge difference between Christianity and all other religions: and it’s this difference which explains why Jesus is the only way to heaven…

Why is Jesus THE way?

All other religions are about doing things to get right with God, or to access perfection in nirvana, or to enter the spirit world. Each religion offers its own set of guidelines, or rules: and if you follow them well enough, you’re in!

It’s about what you do.

But Jesus came along and said there’s nothing you can do to get to God.

Once, when talking about being “saved” (getting to eternal life with God), Jesus said: “With man, this is impossible” (Mark 10:27). Why? Because heaven is perfect, and we’re not. And even if we were perfect from now till we die (which is impossible), it wouldn’t make up for our less-than-perfect thoughts, words and actions in the past.

It’s like having a car which runs on petrol. If you put one drop of diesel in it, the engine will seize up and die. And once you’ve put just a small amount of diesel in, it doesn’t matter how much petrol you put in afterwards, you can’t get rid of the diesel. Your engine will die.

Other religions offer a set of instructions about how to be “good”. But they can’t make up for our imperfections. Nothing we can do can.

If you put diesel into your petrol tank, you need to drain the engine of diesel. And we need to have our imperfections taken away.

That’s what Jesus came to do. He came to take our imperfections, the way we’ve rejected God, what the Bible calls “sin”. The Bible says “Christ Jesus died for sins… to bring us to God (1 Peter 3 v 18).

When he died, Jesus did what we can’t do: he took our sin away. He took it upon himself, and he took the punishment from God of separation from him and his kingdom.

That’s why Jesus said he is THE way to the Father. No one else can take our sins away. No one else can make us perfect.

So Christianity isn’t about what we do: it’s about what Jesus has done.

Christianity says there’s nothing you can do to get yourself to heaven: but it also says that Jesus has done everything necessary to give you a place in heaven anyway.

The writer C S Lewis once put it this way: all other religions are about “do, do”; Christianity is about “done”—what Jesus has done.

So if you talk to a Christian, you’ll find them telling you that they’re no better than you. They’re no more deserving of a place in heaven than you. The only reason they’re headed for eternal life is not because of anything they’ve done, but because of what Jesus has done.

And there’s no reason why you can’t ask Jesus to take your imperfections, and give you his perfection, too: no reason why he can’t be the way that you come to the Father and live with him eternally beyond death.

These are big and controversial issues, and this is a short bit of writing! It may well be that you have more questions, and objections. Great things to do next would be to:

COME ON a Christianity Explored course, where you can listen to more of what Jesus said about who he was and why he came: and you can ask any and every question (go to Find a Course to get info on courses being held near you).

LISTEN to a really helpful Bible talk on this issue by a New York pastor, Tim Keller— http://www.bethinking.org/other-religions/intermediate/exclusivity-how-can-there-be-just-one-true-religion.htm (be warned, it’s 40 minutes long, but if you’ve got the time, it’s well worth it).