Does that seem like a weird question? Or perhaps too close to heresy?
Let me explain, slightly, and then open it up to biting condemnation and heart-felt prayers for my wandering soul!
Christians are taught that Jesus is the only way. It's in the book of John, Jesus Himself said, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, and no one comes to the Father except through me." And we've built our apologetic defenses and exclusive theology firmly on that and other passages.
But have we read into that verse a doctrine that exists outside of it? Eisegesis, reading into the text what we already think it means, says that Christianity is the only way. Have you ever stopped to consider how we define "Christianity"? And have you ever considered the possibility that someone could be saved by and through the grace of God in Jesus Christ, without knowingly practicing Christianity or even ever hearing the name of Jesus Christ?
I heard that question recently, and it definitely sent the wheels spinning. The speaker was emphatic that this idea was not the good news of the gospel, perhaps merely a loophole.
Jesus Christ is the salvation and hope for the world. I never really considered if there was any biblical evidence for an understanding of God's love and redemption extending outside of our modern understanding of the nearly-impossible-to-define term Christianity. I could go on and elaborate on everything the seminar involved, which would probably make this whole thought seem more Christ-centered and biblical, but I think it's good for us to listen to questions that rattle what we already assume and feel confident is the truth, if for no other reason than to be a little more settled internally that what we think is true has less doubt-inducing questions surrounding it.
