Not the Only Way

People object constantly to Christian beliefs, especially the affirmation that Jesus is the only way to the Father. The fact that Jesus said so is not sufficient reason for a follower of said Jesus to hold to it. "No, it's offensive and if you are going to be a good follower of Christ ... you must ignore what He said. 'All roads lead to Rome.' You know that. There are lots of ways to get to heaven. Look at how crazy you people sound with all your 'saved by grace' and 'Christ in you' stuff! Nuts! That's what you are; insane!" And not just for our claim of exclusivity (which almost any religion claims), but for all of our beliefs. They're crazy, you see, and no sane person could believe them.

Strangely enough, the alternatives are perfectly acceptable. The other day I watched part of a PBS show on the predators of the West. While ostensibly the topic was about grizzlies and wolves and mountain lions, the real conversation taking place was about "the circle of life", the unity of spirit and animal world, the whole Mother Earth concept with a vengeance. Several native American Indians expressed their spirit views with reverence and confidence and no one batted an eye. Yeah, yeah, the world was formed on the back of a giant turtle, brought into existence by the imaginations of the Feathered Serpent. Yeah, that sounds right. Of course, it's only right for the native American Indians, but we're okay with that. There's no need to question this kind of stuff.

Or perhaps it's not some turtle and a snake. It's Purusa. He was the primal man. His body was the universe. His lower parts became the Earth. So if the Hindus want to believe that the universe is comprised of the body of a man and the Earth is his lower half, that's perfectly okay. Hindus can and should believe that. We won't, of course, but neither will we call into question their beliefs.

Certainly the Buddhists won't. I mean, anything is okay with them. They're not exclusive. The fact that "everything emanates from the Primordial expanse of Openness Clarity Sensitivity and is illusion-like -- never really coming into existence, but the illusion is created by infinite intricate connections that are not anywhere and not in time" -- now that's reality! Like the sound of one hand clapping, it makes perfect sense and we ought to leave it alone. Point out that Christians are crazy, but leave those Buddhists alone because we're fine with that.

Or how about the modern most popular religious view? "Two billion-odd years ago, one of the most important meals in history took place. One bacterium swallowed another one. But instead of being digested, the swallowee survived. And it kept doing what it had always done: using oxygen to rip apart food molecules, and then using the energy released to make ATP. So the bacteria that did the swallowing suddenly had this little lump inside it that leaked ATP, which the swallower could use to power its own cellular reactions." There you have it! Rational! Understandable! Provable! Well, maybe not provable. Even they admit, "There's no single piece of killer evidence that proves the case for the bacterial origins of mitochondria and chloroplasts." But, hey, it comes from science, so it's good. Easily as good as the American Indian or the Hindu or the Buddhist. Perfectly rational, unlike that stupid set of beliefs that those dirty, rotten, bigoted, narrow-minded Christians have. Now those views have to go!

Christianity is not the only way ... to think. Quite obviously. But when people claim that theirs is much more reasonable and understandable and rational and defensible, don't believe them just because they make the claim. "Everything that exists came from nothing at all" is no more rational than "the universe is a primal man". And the myths of American Indian lore are certainly as colorful and amusing as some of the stories told by modern science.