We have this course going at the mo called ‘Big Buts.’ Tonight I’m speaking on “But what about all the other religions?” Jesus said, “I am the way the truth and the life, nobody comes to the Father but by me.” (John 14:6). Isn’t that very exclusive and intolerant? How can Christians believe that in a world where their adherents make up at best a third of the population (most of them nominal, see the pie up above? I’d slice it a lot thinner)? Some thoughts on that then. Firstly, Christianity is not the only religion that makes claims which are exclusive. 1.5 billion Muslims claim exclusivity, in a linguistic fashion for starters – the means of salvation is available through study of the Qur’an, for which you’d need a sophisticated understanding of Arabic. Buddhism was borne out of a rejection of the truth claims of Hinduism. Sikhism came as a challenge to both Hinduism and Buddhism. Of course there are atheists who believe (sic) there is no God, some of whom are keen to exclude the truth claims of […]
