From: adpgate!miked@urbana.mcd.mot.com ( ADP OPuS)
Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian
Subject: Re: Is Christianity really the ONLY way?
Date: 16 Dec 92 08:18:30 GMT
Organization: ADP Dealer Services R&D, Portland, OR

Stephen Tseng (st14@cornell.edu) wrote:
: I've been having difficulty trying to understand something. Doesn't Jesus
: say that belief in Him is the only way for salvation, and that we cannot
: be
: saved through our own efforts? However, this would seem to cut off
: millions
: of people who have never heard of Jesus, and millions more who died before
: Jesus even walked the face of the earth. One argument I heard was that God
: will have mercy on whomever he decides, and that belief in Jesus was the
: only SURE way. This however, leaves an opening in logic. If God saves even
: one person who didn't accept Christ, then Jesus really is not the one and
: only way. 


Stephen, I'd' like to respond to your question, if I might.


: 
: There seems to be four ways out of this logical trap.
: 
: 1)Jesus encompasses much more than just the Man who died on the Cross.
: Perhaps Jesus may be embodied in other philosophies and religions .......
>> (rest of paragraph deleted)

RESPONSE:  I think that this is not the answer that you seek.  In fact, 
many times throughout both the "old" and "new" testament this idea is
refuted.  I'd point out that Paul himself said that if *anyone* (even
including himself or an angel) came teaching about a "different Jesus"
that the new or different teaching was absolutely to be disregarded.  It 
is in fact this "broadening" of the concept of "the Christ spirit" that
is an earmark of many cults today.

>> (point #2 moved below)

: 3)Yet another way out is that God doesn't play by mankind's logic. In this
: case Jesus is the only way to salvation for some, but not to others, even
: if He did say that no one comes to the Father except through Him. If this
: is the real answer, then there's no point in even thinking about it,
: because it is beyond our comprehension, and mankind will never find out
: the
: answer.

RESPONSE:  No. The bible is extremely understandable.  There are no
"trick" thrown in by God.  There are scriptural proofs of this, I will
share via EMAIL if interested. My sense of this remark was that you
did not actually believe this trick-of-God to be true, so I'll leave it
at that...read on though.


: 2)Another way out of the (as i see it) logical dilemma is to proclaim
: everyone else who is not Christian, even if s/he never heard of Christ, to
: hell. In this case, God would appear to be unjust. Perhaps this is the
: correct answer, since I really am in no position to say what true justice
: is. But I don't think I could believe in a God who wouldn't give most of
: the people who ever lived a chance for salvation.

RESPONSE: There are several places in the Bible where we are given insights
into how God can fairly and justly deal with those who lived and died outside
both the covenants of the Law given to Israel and the gift of Grace brought
into fruition through Jesus.  I have included two of them below:


Romans Chapter 1, verse 19 - 20

For what can be known about God is plain
to them, because God has shown it to them.
Ever since the creation of the world his
invisible nature, namely his eternal power
and deity, has been clearly perceived in 
the things that have been made.  So they
are without excuse;

Romans Chapter 2, verse 14 - 16

When Gentiles who do not have the law do
by nature what the law requires, they
are a law to themselves, even though they 
do not have the law. They show that what
the law requires is written on their hearts,
while their conscience also bears witness
and their conflicting thoughts accuse or
perhaps excuse them on that day when, 
according to my gospel, God judges the
secrets of men by Christ Jesus.

There are lots of commentary on these verse and a few others that deal with 
this subject.  Suffice it to say that the Bible teaches that all men regardless
of their era, are without excuse because God gave them the faculty to 
know that there is a God and creator because of the world around us
and that their is within the human soul a conscience that can discern
right and wrong.

Note also that "God judges the secrets of men **by Jesus Christ**" 
even in this context, that of men without the knowledge of the Law
or of Grace.  There is  another verse I _want_ to share with you 
that is even more appropriate to your question, but I can not
recall it, and I am not near a reference book to help.

I believe (my opinion) that God will deal justly with the true
heathen because he (God) has given us a witness in our innermost
being to know Him and Right & Wrong.  I'd point to the two
verses above & suggest you might study this for yourself and *WITH*
a good bible-knowledgable believer.

But the *real* issue for you, Stephen, is covered on the next section:

: 4)Of course the final way out is to be an atheist so the whole point is
: moot.
: 
: I am not an atheist (so no#4). I also don't believe that God would not
: abide by the
: logical rules of the universe which He created. Doing so would totally
: prevent us from learning anything about His nature or His will for us.
: (so no
: #3) I already pointed out why I couldn't believe #2.
>> (rest of paragraph deleted)

RESPONSE: Stephan, you hit the nail on the head, so to speak.  God did not
do anything at odds with his own creation, and tha answer *is* knowable.
Remember, however, that there is a "mystery" here, that the Bible teaches
us that God *planned* for Jesus to be the "narrow gate" that is provided for 
the salvation of mankind *BEFORE* the creation of the universe! Wow! Now
that is amazing!

But---, It will be BECAUSE of the death and ressurection of Jesus the Messiah
that any and all of us who are saved get saved. *How* God accomplishes that
among the heathens of ages past is not my primary concern.  I *KNOW* God
will deal justly with all men because God is Righteous and Just, even if *I*
don't "get it" in my finite understanding.

What is *MUCH MORE IMPORTANT* is what you and I do with our knowledge of
God's work through Jesus.  *We* can *NOT* escape the unescapable fact that
we have lived in an age where the truth-of-all-truth has been made known
to us. That is that for you and I, because we have heard the gospel, Jesus
*is* the ONLY way, the Truth and the Life.

I hope this has helped.  I'd close by saying that the bible promises
that anyone can understand salvation in order to be saved if God allows
that understanding to occur ( I believe he's allowed you to understand that), BUT
also, that the deeper things of God can NOT be understood until AFTER a man
(or woman) has been re-born via accepting Jesus as Saviour.

God Bless...keep in touch.


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