Can there really be just one way to heaven?

Twenty years ago, if you were to ask the question "what is the greatest barrier to world peace?" the response would have been a resounding - "Political Idealism." In other words - communism vs. democracy/capitalism - this conflict was the most eminent threat to world peace, and to human life in general!

Today, if you ask the same question, most people will respond with "religion." They may not immediately boil it down to that; they may talk about terrorism, radical fundamentalism, middle eastern land conflict, or even (in America) social concerns (ecology, abortion.) But, at the heart all of these major national and world conflicts lies religion and beyond religion an exclusive claim to absolute truth. Every major religious organization and philosophical system has one (or two, or three, or four).

The problem with absolute truth claims is that they can create a spiral slide into some pretty bad places. If you accept a truth claim then you must reject all others. The statement goes: "My truth is the only and supreme truth, therefore your truth is inaccurate, inferior, or just plain wrong." This sets you up for feeling superior to other religions or belief systems. Superiority leads to a separation from community with other faiths. Separation leads to lack of knowledge (we cease to know them), and lack of knowledge leads to stereotypes and dehumanization. Once you have been able to see them as "enemies," "fundamentalists," or "dangerous" it is an easy step toward violence - whether passive or active.

But if this is true, how should we Christians live? We are not silly people who want the wars and terror attacks to continue. We really do "just want everyone to get along!" But, how can we all "just get along" as long as the major world religions continue to assert their own spiritual superiority to the exclusion of others?

At this point, many of you are saying, "wait a minute here - is he going to pull one of those inclusive, unitarian, 'I'm ok -your ok' arguments? Be at ease my friend!

I face the same problem that every Christ follower in our world today faces. Absolute truth claims which exclude people from salvation/heaven are the main cause of violence and injustice in our world- and yet I desperately believe that Jesus is the only way to salvation/heaven.

What do I do with this? How do I hold true to my beliefs without contributing to the problem?

I believe that there is a way, but I'm not going to post it here. Rather, I'd like to leave the problem as a topic for discussion.

What do you think?

Out of the Questions...

We have started a new school year, and a new season of plumbing the depths of faith, culture and experience; the depths of God! I am super excited about the new series we have started, "Out of the Questions and into the Mystery. I hope that this will be a good opportunity for you to think through your faith (nominal, absent, burned out, or passionate) and ask some tough questions that will lead you into deeper faith. I know that living through these questions has caused my faith to grow stronger, rather than falter - and I hope you will join me in the journey.

So, on to the questions. This week we will jump into a discussion that is foundational to all religious belief - "Does God Exist?"

This is obviously not a simple "yes or no" question; it invites us to expand and explain our thoughts. Most people will find that, when this questions is posed - the answer they have is never definitive, but actually subjective - subject to interpretation. And, that's ok.

Sunday I'll share some of the barriers to belief in God that I faced and how they were overcome and a few reasons for believing in God. I hope that it will intrigue those of you who are struggling with concept of a personal God, encourage those of you who are questioning, refresh those of you who are disillusioned, and empower those of you who are passionate.

So there it is: Our question is, "Does God Exist?" And, more importantly, "How do you Know?"

Post here and in Facebook - lets get the discussion going.