Before we consider this burning question, “Are there many paths to God?” First, let’s consider this glorious machine…
Where I’m from, this is called a pop dispenser. Some call it a soda machine. When I was a kid, I approached this machine much differently than I do now. I’m trying to stay away from pop, so these days I’m generally looking for that elusive little white lever that pours out the water. But when I was a kid, my approach was much more exciting. I would step up and get a little bit of Coke, a little shot of Dr. Pepper, a little Root Beer, a little Orange, a little Ginger Ale, or whatever else was available, a little of each flavor all the way down the line. We called it a “Kamikaze” or a “Suicide.” I think both titles were officially acceptable, and looking back, both seem strangely appropriate.
Many people approach their beliefs about God in the same way I approached my pop selection. A little secular humanism, a little Buddhism, mix in some naturalism, that one TikTok video I saved, a little nihilism for good measure, don’t forget the Dali Llama, Joe Rogan, and Tony Robbins, a little bit of Jesus’ sermon on the mount, then top it off with some karma and viola, “my personal religion.” And if challenged on any point the response comes quickly, “It may not work for you, but it works for me.”
But, should we piece together our views about God the same way we created a kamikaze drink back in the day? Aren’t there countless paths to God anyway? Jesus made a claim in John 14:6 that addresses this very question. He shares these words in response to a question by a disciple who has lovingly come to be known as “Doubting Thomas.”
How Can We Really Know The True Path or Paths to God?
Jesus had just painted a spectacular picture of heaven, this place where he would soon be going, and he left a little pause and said to his disciples, “You all know how to get there, right?’ And Thomas broke the silence. He was the first brave one to admit that he didn’t get it. Thomas was never shy about his doubts and questions – I’ve always admired him for that. He says, how can we know the way? That’s the question, isn’t it? How can we know the way to God? What is the way? What path must we take? Whose directions must we accept? How can we find our way to God? How do we get to heaven? This question is as relevant today as it was 2000 years ago.
In response to this question, Jesus gives one of the most riveting statements he ever made. It sets Him apart from everyone else. This one line tells us that one way is right and the other paths are wrong. It’s Jesus or nothing. Jesus answered Thomas’ question this way
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. – John 14:6
The reason these words are so scandalous is because of their exclusivity. And it’s true; but while his claim was radically exclusive, his invitation is radically inclusive. He said things like WHOEVER believes in me will have eternal life. And ALL who call on the name of the Lord will be saved. So the invitation is wide open, anyone and everyone can come to God, but they have to come through Jesus. In this important statement…
Jesus Dispels 3 Common Myths about Many Paths to God
1. “I am The Way” means all religions are NOT the same.
Notice that Jesus doesn’t say I am ‘a’ way, He doesn’t say I am ‘one of many’ ways; He says I am THE way to the father. One of the very popular ideas in our culture is that all religions are essentially the same. People will say there may be minor differences between various world religions, but, if you really get down to it, all religions fundamentally teach the same thing, so it doesn’t matter which one you follow. This idea begs and important question, “have you ever studied any of the world religions?” Because even just a cursory glance at them would reveal that they are all claiming very different things.
Related Read: What Do Christians Really Believe?
There are significant differences between the world religions that cannot be glossed over. Take the difference between the view of God of varying religions. Some Eastern religions say that everything is god including you and me and the chair, while Christianity claims that there is only one God and He is separate and apart from His creation. Some religions claim that god is an impersonal force where Christianity claims that God is personal and involved. Some religions like Islam and Judaism claim that God is personal, but people must earn their way to acceptance by him while Christianity claims that our best attempts to earn salvation fall far short in God’s eyes.
There are also divergent ideas in the world religions about how man and God relate. Some religions say people have to use a Tibetan prayer wheel or they have to go on pilgrimages or they have to give alms to the poor or they have to avoid eating certain foods or they have to perform a certain unspecified number of good deeds or they have to pray in a certain way facing a certain direction, or they have to go through a cycle of reincarnations, and on and on. These are activities people need to perform in order to attain certain levels to reach up to God. But in the Christian worldview, Jesus Christ is God reaching down to us. Other religions are like throwing a set of swimming instructions to a drowning man, but Christianity is like throwing him a life preserver.
But the most important difference has to do with the central figure in each religion. The uniqueness of Christianity is rooted in the uniqueness of Jesus himself. While other religious leaders can offer wise sayings and helpful advice and insights, only Jesus Christ claimed and then proved to be the perfect Son of God and offered himself as the payment for our wrongdoing. No other religious leader even claimed or pretended to be able to do that. The biggest distinguishing feature lies in the fact that if you go to the gravesites of all other world religious leaders, you’ll find their decomposing remains, while in Jesus’ case you’ll find an empty tomb.
There is a basic law of logic called the law of non-contradiction. It says that it is not possible that something be both true and not true at the same time and in the same context. In other words, you can’t say, it’s raining on me right now and it’s not raining on me right now. Both of those things can’t be true at the same time. In the same way, it’s not possible for God to be both personal and non-personal at the same time, it’s not possible for us to get to God through good works and not through good works. All religions can’t be saying the same thing because what they say is contradictory. For our purposes, Jesus cannot be both the only way to God and not the only way to God. Jesus is either the infinite God or He is tragically lost. But those are our only options.
2. “I Am The Truth” means everyone CANNOT have his or her own truth.
When Jesus claims to be the truth, it means He is the authoritative representative and true revealer of God. He discloses God exhaustively like no one else has or ever will. He is the one true God. Jesus didn’t say ‘I know the truth’ or ‘I speak the truth,’ he said ‘I AM the truth.’
The idea of truth is under assault in today’s culture. Everyone has antennae raised for “fake news” and “misinformation.” It’s interesting that this has become a concern in a culture that has consistently trumpeted the idea that truth is relative, everyone gets to choose their own truth. Here’s the problem; when each individual becomes their own standard for truth, one can’t then turn around and accuse people who disagree of using ‘alternative facts,’ because alternative facts happen to be the only currency of this system where everyone gets to make their own truth.
Our current conundrum is simply the logical conclusion of a relativistic worldview. It’s a symptom of the problem and not the root. We need a source of objective truth outside of ourselves. You and I are not trustworthy sources of all truth; we need a far more trustworthy source. If you’ve ever been lost in the deep woods and you’re trying to trust your own instincts to get out, it rarely works. You’ll keep walking in circles. Everything starts looking the same. Unless you have a compass that can show you where ‘true north’ is or the sun to show you which way is East, you will stay lost.
In the same way, we need Jesus as our true north lest we remain lost and wandering aimlessly. Another common motto of our generation has become, “That might be true for you, but it’s not true for me.” This is an empty and misguided statement. Now, please don’t hear what I’m not saying. We must be respectful and tolerant of other faiths and belief systems. People DO have a right to believe what they wish. This is one of the principles that has made our country so strong. But here’s the subtle shift in a new definition of tolerance in our society. Just because beliefs are equally tolerated or protected by our nation’s laws does not mean they are equally true. One must be tolerant of other points of view and respect their right to be held and heard. But he cannot however be forced, in the name of tolerance, to agree that all points of view are equally valid.
This new definition of tolerance, for example, prevents me from saying, “I love you. I want to hang out with you. I want to be your friend. I enjoy you. I appreciate you, but I still don’t agree with your
lifestyle.” Because as soon as we get to that last part, the person who doesn’t agree is canceled. And not only can’t we be friends, we probably won’t be able to even have a conversation because the new definition of tolerance means the I have to accept everything is equally true. And frankly, the claim of Jesus just doesn’t allow for that.
3. “I AM the Life” does NOT mean it’s arrogant to believe that Jesus is the only way to heaven
I’m not saying that Christians aren’t arrogant; we’ve all met some who are. But the fact that Jesus says he is the source of true life and to find it, we must go through Him, is not in itself arrogant. He is the one path to true eternal life. How is that not arrogant?
We accept one-way claims all the time without calling them arrogant. If you’re having plumbing problems and you call your plumber, and he says, “There is only one way to fix your toilet.” You don’t look back at him and say, “You pompous pipe man!” No, you say, “How much will it cost and how soon can you get here?” If your mechanic says that there’s only one way to fix your car, or your surgeon says there’s one way to fix your heart, you don’t consider them arrogant. And if your plumber or mechanic or doctor does, in fact, find the one way to fix what’s broken, and you begin to recommend them to your friends, that’s also not arrogant. It’s actually compassionate.
It’s even more compassionate when it comes to a matter of life and death. Imagine a set of parents who took their daughter to see the leading specialist in the world for a rare disease. The doctor gives those parents a simple regimen to follow so that their daughter would get well. But he warns them, “This is the ONLY WAY that her life will be spared.” Would anybody accuse those parents of being arrogant or narrow-minded if they trusted that doctor, a doctor with credentials, and pursued the only course of treatment that was going to cure their little girl? Of course not. That is not being narrow-minded. That is acting rationally in accordance with the evidence.
In fact, how much more arrogant would it be if the parents with no medical training looked that doctor in the eye and said, “Thank you for your advice, but we think we have come up with a better way on our own.” It’s more arrogant to not follow the expert. Jesus was the expert on life. There are two things that uniquely qualified him as such. First, he was sinless. He lived a perfect life, and second, he is the only person in human history to defeat death.
So, are you going to bet your future, your eternal destiny, on a worldview that you concocted? Are any of us intelligent enough to pull that one off? Or should you trust an expert? I mean most of us consult an expert when we need a toilet fixed, or when we get a blue screen of death on our computer, or when our car makes a funny sound. When it comes to the eternal state of your soul, I urge you to look for the expert!
In John 14:6, Jesus didn’t say, “I know the way, I speak the truth, or I have the life.” He made this radical claim, “I AM the way, truth, and life, and no one comes to the Father except through me.” There is only one way to God, it’s through Jesus Christ.
Is there a difference between ‘Catholics’ and ‘Christians’?
Another big frequently asked question is, “Do Catholics and Christians believe the same things?” Download our free 30-minute video deep-dive into the historical and biblical explanations of the differences and similarities between the two. You’ll gain a complete understanding of what Catholics and Protestants believe.
