Is Jesus the only way?

(Thoughts concerning the book by Katherine McGlaughlin, Confronting Christianity.)

A common indictment of Christianity is that it is intolerant because it claims that Jesus is the only way to God and heaven. But in reality, such a claim, if true, is both comforting and freeing. It is totally inclusive, with the only thing that is not included is doubt and uncertainty.

When I was an adolescent I began to think about all of the different denominations and even other religions. “How do I know which one is right?” was my first thought. “And since I am in a Christian environment, is it the right one? What if we, our family, chose the wrong one, only because of where we live?” 

I knew almost instinctively that they could not all be “right.” Even a 9 to 10 year-old could figure that out. Many of them contradicted each other with divergent and conflicting claims. Since they could not all be right, how could anyone know, short of dying, which one was the One that God intended for us to follow?

And, you know, there was an answer. It was almost intuitive. Did God tell us what was right? Then it only made sense that if there were any way to God, He would have told someone. And how would we know that it was Him?

And, again, the answer was there, and revealed. There is only one book that claims to come from God. There are some counterfeits, but it it pretty elementary to discern the frauds. One of the first things that occurred to me was that the Book would have to be without error. Second, it would have to have some way of verifying its claims. I did not have the internet to help answer that, but, in a way, that was a blessing. There are a lot of bogus claims on the internet. As Abraham Lincoln said, “You can’t trust everything you read on the internet.”

I was able to narrow my search field by default. I had the Bible, which claims to be God’s Word, so I began with that. If I discovered that it met the criteria of being without error and verifiable, I did not need to go further than comparing the truth claims of each alternative with it.

First, the Bible claims to be without error. This has been verified by archeology in matching literal maps with the descriptions in the Bible. Few other claimants even offer geographical reference points. Another point of verification is the identification of actual people and things that they did. History books, like geography texts, contain this information, so cross-referencing them with the Bible will lead us to the conclusion that the Bible is accurate.

The internal consistency of the Bible is a powerful and compelling argument for both of our criteria. There are no errors or contradictions, and it is verifiable from outside sources. Later, I discovered some study by other experts that buttressed my own study. I like this summation.

Using the acronym, RAMP, we find definitive proof of the reliability of the Scripture. (Another name for the Bible, as is Word of God.) R stands for resurrection. The key event in the Bible and indeed, all of history, is the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Bible unequivocally declares that Jesus was crucified, was buried, and rose again on the third day. There are extra biblical sources that also confirm this. In addition, the changed characters of the witnesses to this remarkable event attest that something real happened. And it was supernatural. More on that as we progress.

A is for archeology. I noted earlier that the Bible details places and events in the past. Archeology, beginning in the mid to late 19th century and continuing until the present, has confirmed accounts and locations from the Bible. In nearly 150 years of excavation and research, nothing listed in the Bible has been falsified.

M stands for miracles. Again, the Bible relates numerous miracles. And they are supernatural, not quirks of nature. They are sprinkled throughout the Old Testament and they explode in number in the first five books of the New Testament. None of these miracles have been denied by exterior evidence. Conversely, there are external accounts of miracles, as can be shown about the Resurrection. Miracles alone do not provide conclusive testimony to the veracity of the Bible, but coupled with the other three points, they complete a ramp that leads to heaven.

Finally, P stands for prophecy. Again we find specific prophecies about near future events that were verified. There were also longer term prophecies that were fulfilled hundreds and even thousands of years after the fact. And, as a cherry on top of a Steak N Shake treat, there are prophecies about the future that have not yet been fulfilled. But we can be sure that they will be. 

One very prominent prophecy is about Israel. God predicted, rather declared, that this nation would be settled in the land promised to Abraham, over four millennia ago. The nation would  be expelled from that land, returned home, then ejected again, followed by another repatriation. We witnessed the second “return” to the land in 1948 when the Nation of Israel was established for the third time. (Joshua led the first installation. The nation was captured and removed to captivity by the Babylonians. The second return occurred 70 years later, again prophesied by Isaiah and Jeremiah. Then the Romans banished most of them from the land in, and following, AD 70 when the City and Temple were destroyed. (Again, predicted and completed.)

The third return, in 1948, followed the Holocaust instigated by Adolph Shickelgruber, also known as Hitler. The nation was reinstated into the roll of nations even to the point of recapturing its historical capital, the City of Jerusalem.

RAMP provides irrefutable evidence of the Bible’s accuracy. (I didn’t say “indisputable” because someone will even dispute that the sun came up this morning. We cannot rule out totally imbecilic arguments, but neither do we need to expend intellectual energy contesting them.) Did I say that only an imbecile would dispute the veracity of the Bible? No, the argument speaks for and defines itself.

Back to our point. Is Jesus the only way, and is that exclusionary? He claimed to be the only way. (“I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father but by me.” John 14:6) And we can rely on that since He was the only leader ever to die and come back to life.  But is it exclusionary, not inclusive? 

If you want a map that shows every highway in the country, that is one approach to navigation, but if you want to get to a certain destination, you need a specific route map. “But, aren’t there a lot of ways, however circuitous, to go from point A to B?” But if the process of following the “alternative routes” leads to an absolute stop for some reason, then the number of options is reduced. In the case at hand, the “other routes” all, yes, all, have an absolute stop somewhere.

Remember the contradictions between beliefs we discussed earlier? Somewhere along the “wrong road,” a road block or dead end arises, and the destination is unreachable. The consequences are eternal damnation, and separation from the Father. This is just what Jesus declared. He not only knew the way, He was the Way.

“How exclusive. How restrictive and imprisoning.” Haven’t you heard the accusation? As to exclusive, the question is “Where do you want to go?” Just try dialing a phone number and only being one digit off. That should be close enough for the super smart phone company to determine who you want to call and complete the connection. Just try it.

“But that’s different!” Right, Missing a calling connection is not nearly as significant as missing out on heaven for all of eternity. Get it right.

How about restrictive and imprisoning? If you know the way to go to your destination do you feel restricted as you motor down the interstate? Rather, the feeling is like the one I experienced all those years ago when I was convinced that the Bible was, and still is, true, This is the Way. I was exhilarated, joyful, and relaxed. I was free! I knew, without a doubt that I was on the right way.

How about exclusive? To make it simple, listen to Jesus. “Whosoever will, may come.” How many are included in “whosoever?” Everybody. No one is excluded.

The fact that there is only one way is invigorating and totally inclusive. Why not believe?

Ginger

 My sister just went to heaven, having finally succumbed to the ravages of cancer. Here is a thought or two about her.

Ginger

Our family was blessed with a pair of “younger sisters,” and a pair of “older sisters.” We had two boys bracketing two girls. Ginger was the younger, younger sister, and the younger, older sister, depending upon which vantage point you take. They were all younger than me, and Coy got a set of older and younger, olders. Clear? Let’s go on. Sometimes it seemed like we were all mixed up.

Growing up on the farm we had a division of labor. Boys did outdoor chores, with the exception of gathering eggs, and the girls did the indoor chores. To our point of view, the girls had it easy. We believed that until we got married and got to help with what turned out to be house WORK. They didn’t tote five gallon buckets, roughly 40-45 pounds of slop to the pigs, feed the calves, and do the rest of the farm work, but “indoor labor” turned out to be just as strenuous and taxing as the boys’ jobs. (Who knew?)

I do not know if Ginger was ever bullied at school, but if someone had dared to offend her, that miscreant would have had a couple of hardened farm hands to deal with. (Well, maybe Big Richard and Drew would have caused us pause, but they were both gentle giants, and shirt-tail cousins. I never remember them doing anything, unless they were also defending the younger, less robust kids on the playground.)

I recall one trait of Ginger’s that drove me nuts. Both she and Pam were pianists, and practiced virtually every day. I liked music, and still do. The piano was just outside our bedroom door. (In a house that was 28 by 28, it didn’t matter much where you were, you could hear just about everything.) Ginger seemed to have a penchant for perfection.

She would play a song until she hit a tricky, or difficult spot. Then she would stop, go back, play it again, and again, and again. I was “singing” (make of that what you will) singing along and half way through the phrase, she would stop, go back and do it again. My expected next note never occurred. It drove me nuts not to finish the line.

I even asked her, nicely of course, to finish the line, then go back. She didn’t. I think she was training me not to like contemporary music that has a penchant for stopping a musical phrase on the wrong, wrong to me, anyway, wrong note. A musical phrase, like a sentence has to have an ending and ending inflection. It is like leaving a sentence unfin.....

I remember an accordion, but not whether Ginger ever played it. She was also in the band. I think it was trumpet. Pam was clarinet, squeak, and I was trombone, a slide trombone and you could slide all over a note before finally, hopefully getting it right. Was Coy a trumpet too?

Mom and Dad would not let us quit band and I hated it all through high school, until I was a senior.  (Remember Mr. and Mrs. Houder? I think he taught math and she, music.)Then, in my senior year, the light came on and I looked forward to band. It was the same hour as chemistry, and you know the rest. (I’m a chemist, if you need a hint.)

We even had an organ. Pam tried to teach me to play piano, but couldn’t put up with me so we mutually agreed to terminate that training. I do not remember Ginger ever trying to instruct me. I didn’t care enough to get it right, I guess.

Covid came and I had the great idea of having a Zoom or google.meet conference. Well, somebody got the time wrong. (Alaska is a funny time zone, about 3 to 6 hours different, who knows, from the civilized world in the central time zone.) So I started the call and when Ginger got on, she was in a car, taking kids or grandkids somewhere. It was obviously not a propitious time. I do not know who was driving and who was holding the phone, but we did have a nice little, emphasis, short, visit.

But Covid was “johnny come lately” to Ginger’s health. We got a call, on Palm Sunday, I believe, that she was in surgery for bone cancer in her neck. The doctors did an amazing job, helping the Lord to get her through that. Well, not helping as much as being used by Him. Get it right, Jim. And, fighter that she always was, she was able to give us over eight more years.

Now, she has answered the upward call in Christ Jesus, that Paul mentioned. She heard,  “Well done, good and faithful servant.” We all have a call coming. If, as Ginger, our earth suit wears out, we get the call to our new one, we will be waiting with the Lord. Or, some, maybe some of us, will hear the Lord Himself, call from the heavens and we will all go to be with Him at the great reunion with Grandad and a Grandmother none of us have ever seen; Mom and Grandpa Williamson; and Dad and Mom; along with a whole host of friends and relatives waiting for that trumpet call. Maranatha!

Mom and Dad used to sing a song for funerals at the little church in Stratton, that said, “the land where we’ll never grow old.” The college quartet I was a part of had a song that went, “If you get to heaven before I do, tell all my friends that I’ma comin’ too!” Ginger can tell all those waiting that we are comin’ too.

Even so come, Lord Jesus. Amen.

I am not sure if this is Ginger’s favorite hymn or not, but I’m pretty sure it is at least one of them. This was written by a man who lost his family in a ship wreck and only his wife escaped. When he sailed over that spot in the Atlantic, he composed these words.

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll; Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, It is well, it is well with my soul.

Refrain: It is well with my soul, It is well, it is well with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come, Let this blest assurance control, That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate, And hath shed His own blood for my soul. Refrain.

My sin—oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!—My sin, not in part but the whole, Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more, Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul! Refrain.

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live: If Jordan above me shall roll, No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul. Refrain

But, Lord, ’tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait, The sky, not the grave, is our goal; Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord! Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul! Refrain.

And Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight, The clouds be rolled back as a scroll; The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend, Even so, it is well with my soul.

 It is well with my soul, It is well, it is well with my soul.

And the last thing we want to think about is another song.

Just think of stepping on shore, and finding it heaven, of touching a hand and finding it God’s, of breathing new air and finding it celestial, of waking up in heaven, and finding it home.

Ginger stepped on shore, touched a hand, breathed new air, and is home. All is well with her soul.

Amen.