Jesus causes sparks to fly
Eyes light up when we talk about God as this impersonal force out there with no feelings, an abstract concept to whom we are not accountable. But as soon as you mention Jesus, the temperature drops and the pupils start to dilate. With Jesus, there is no middle ground, “He that is not with me is against me …” (Matthew 12:30). If the claims Jesus made to be God are not true, then He cannot be a great moral teacher. He would be a liar. You must make your choice.
As nice as Gandhi’s statement sounds, it is still false. Error does not become truth, because it was stated by someone we consider to be a great moral teacher. But I suppose conventional thinking says that we all simply nod, smile at each other and go home none the wiser. How can the teachings of the great moral teachers, concerning the soul, contradict each other? Christ said that there is no hope for anyone apart from salvation through Him (John 14:6). All the others say, “Rubbish, all roads lead to Rome.” Someone has to be lying, who is it?
Of course any answer will sidestep Jesus’ truth claim in John 14:6, and we will get the usual discourse on the intolerant Christian bigots. Deep down, secular liberals know that all religions cannot be right. In fact they believe that none are right, but that is another story. Faced with this fact, we are left with three options: ignore the contradictions, combine all the views or distinguish right from wrong. The number of rival conceptions of God and philosophies on the marketplace seemingly tends towards infinity, so most people just choose option one or two. God forbid we have to think for ourselves.
As nice as Gandhi’s statement sounds, it is still false. Error does not become truth, because it was stated by someone we consider to be a great moral teacher. But I suppose conventional thinking says that we all simply nod, smile at each other and go home none the wiser. How can the teachings of the great moral teachers, concerning the soul, contradict each other? Christ said that there is no hope for anyone apart from salvation through Him (John 14:6). All the others say, “Rubbish, all roads lead to Rome.” Someone has to be lying, who is it?
Of course any answer will sidestep Jesus’ truth claim in John 14:6, and we will get the usual discourse on the intolerant Christian bigots. Deep down, secular liberals know that all religions cannot be right. In fact they believe that none are right, but that is another story. Faced with this fact, we are left with three options: ignore the contradictions, combine all the views or distinguish right from wrong. The number of rival conceptions of God and philosophies on the marketplace seemingly tends towards infinity, so most people just choose option one or two. God forbid we have to think for ourselves.
