One Way to God or Many?

Let's heat things up a bit. I want us to wrestle with a tough or sensitive topic for many Christians.

Q: Is there one way to God or are there many?

Before you get too rattled that I'm even posing this question as a Christian, let me reassure you that my own faith has one main underlying bias or foundation:

I believe Christ was and is who he said he was and that he was not a liar nor a lunatic. (C.S.Lewis)

However, with that being said, let's ring the bell in this wrestling match and go for it. No, I'm not trying to win any debate. And I'm not out to wrestle with any real opponents. In fact, I respect all differing opinions and am not here to use this blog as a way to preach but as a method for me and other readers to simply better understand or find Truth on our own journeys. As I've stated before, I'm personally at a crossroads in my life where I find myself wrestling with life or perhaps with God. Don't get me wrong, I'm not disrespecting God or upset with Him nor making myself out to be equal with Him by any means. For me, wrestling with concepts and my faith is an extension of my prayer life. I find myself drawing closer to God the more I allow myself and others to challenge my faith and what I've found as Truth so far in my life. If it is Truth, I believe it will stand the test of time and debate.

Back to today's hot topic, let's start by exploring what Christ himself said and then let's hear what a few Christian leaders say as well.

Christ says in John 14:6, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me." And of course, there's John 3:16.

What did Christ mean? I believe these verses mean Jesus is the one and ONLY way to God. But if Jesus is the only way to God....then what is the path to Jesus? I grew up in evangelical Christians churches that preached we need to 'accept Jesus into our lives' or more simply do the A, B, C's to become a Christian. A-Admit you're a sinner. B- believe Jesus is God's son and died for my sins C-Commit my life to him.

But what about those who never hear Jesus' name?

I propose that before we're tempted to give an oversimplifed answer to such a big question, let's be okay 'wrestling' with it for awhile. Let's let it jostle around in our minds, let's be open minded to hear what others think, let's avoid trying to preach or convince....and instead let's have the courage to simply wrestle with it in our OWN hearts. That's the whole point of this sort of blog anyway....I don't want pat answers. I want more questions, ideas, concepts. It's a personal journey for each of us. Life is a mystery. I believe God is far bigger than we can imagine and that IT'S OKAY if we don't have every answer neatly packaged or we admit to other non-believers that we just DON'T KNOW. Instead, let's recognize we're ALL on an individual journey, let's learn from one another and let's respectfully debate the hard topics.

In a recent interview with Oprah, pastor Joel Osteen said he believes Jesus is the only way to God but he also believes there are many ways to Jesus. What do you think?

Hear Joel's explanation to Oprah


Let's look at what the Bible says in Romans 10:9, "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."

Does that mean confessing and believing are the ONLY way to Jesus?

Again, I'm not here to convince or persuade....I just think we should encourage more Christians to 'wrestle' with these sort of issues without assuming they are 'struggling' with their faith. In fact, the mentors in my life I respect the most admit they don't know everything and are on their own journey toward Truth.

I'm fully aware that the Bible also cautions "For false christs and false prophets will arise" (Matt 24:24). The following video is an interesting criticism of the Reverend Billy Graham that warns even he could be who the Bible is referring to when it says "Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves (Matt. 7:15). Watch the video because in it Rev Graham is asked:

Dr. Schuller: "What I hear you saying is that it's possible for Jesus Christ to come into a human heart and soul and life even if they've been born in darkness and have never had exposure to the Bible. Is that a correct interpretation of what you're saying?"

Dr. Graham: "Yes it is because I believe that. I've met people in various parts of the world in tribal situations that they have never seen a Bible or heard about a Bible, have never heard of Jesus but they've believed in their hearts that there is a God and they tried to live a life that was quite apart from the surrounding community in which they lived."

Are Joel Osteen or Billy Graham wolves in sheep's clothing who are steering us away from the Truth? Is Oprah on the right path or an antagonist of the Christian faith? Am I for posing these questions?

Let's lastly hear from Greg Koukl of Stand to Reason, an organzation aimed at building Christian thinkers for the public defense of the faith, who says you need to consider what Jesus said in its context. I agree, but for me this wrestling match is far from over.