How Can There Be Only One Way To God?

In this presentation Robin Schumacher explains how there can be only one way to God.

In this presentation Robin Schumacher makes the following points:

• A look at exclusivity
  • All religions are exclusive
  • Exclusivity is common
    • in relationships
    • in government (democracy versus communism)
    • in economic policy (capitalism versus Marxism)
• Teachings on life and death
  • Atheism
    • Seek self-fulfillment
    • No life after death
  • Hinduism
    • Seek way of knowledge, devotion, good works
    • Cycles of reincarnation
  • Buddhism
    • Seek four noble truths and eightfold path
    • Cycles of rebirths
  • Judasim
    • Follow the Law of Moses
    • Heaven/Hell not well developed concepts
  • Islam
    • Follow Laws of Quran
    • Heaven/Hell based on decision of Allah and deeds of person
  • Christianity
    • Accept sacrifice of Jesus Christ for personal sin and follow guidance of Holy Spirit and Christ’s example
    • Heaven/Hell based on acceptance of Jesus Christ
• Main answers to objections
  • Place of birth
    • Culture is not determinant of truth
  • Exclusion of billions
    • Truth is not determined by how many people believe it
  • Intolerance
    • Every religion believes it has the truth

Only Christianity has a it right:

• Man is sinful
• God is holy
• Christ is holy and pays the price for Man’s sin
• Christ bridges the gap between man and God  

Why Jesus is the only way to God

Author Lee Strobel explains why Jesus is the only way to God.

Here are the points that Lee Strobel makes:

Jesus did a very unpopular thing revealed in John 14:6 where he said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Anybody can make a claim like that but only Jesus can back it up because he rose from the dead. This gives Jesus special credibility.

Does this make Christians narrow minded? Absolutely not. When a pilot lands a plane, he can choose to land it in a lake, or a street, or a runway. Is this narrow minded? No, he is choosing a path to life. So does the Christian when he responds to the reality that Jesus is the only way to eternal life.

Someone must pay the penalty for our sin that keeps us away from God. Jesus, by virtue of his sinlessness, is the only one qualified to be our substitute.

Does this make Christians arrogant for believing that? Actually the opposite is true. Consider two clubs. One only allows people in who have earned their membership, through superior wisdom or works. Many people are excluded. This is what most religions teach. The other club allows anybody admission because Jesus has paid for the membership. However, you must accept his gift first. The matter is entirely up to you.

Are All Religions Equally Wrong?

Do all religions only contain part of the truth, not the whole truth? Is Christianity narrow-minded if it claims the whole truth? Dr. Timothy Keller, pastor of Redeemer Church in Manhattan, addresses The Veritas Forum at UC Berkeley.

Dr. Timothy Keller makes the following points in his video:

Some people say, “You can’t say that Jesus is the only way,” because they think that all religions are equally wrong. Each may provide little bits of wisdom, but none see the whole picture. They say that all religions only see a little bit of the whole.

They often use the following illustration of the “Blind Man and the Elephant.” Five blind men come upon an elephant and each grabs the elephant in a different place. One grabs the trunk and concludes the elephant is long and flexible. Another grabs a leg and concludes the elephant is short and stumpy. Each blind man generalizes what the elephant is like from his narrow experience.

However, the underlying basis to the story is never told. Only a person with sight, who can see the whole elephant, can inform the blind men what they can’t fully grasp. The story is told by one who claims to see and know the whole truth.

You can only say that these men are blind if you are not blind. You can only say that all religions only see part of the truth if you see more of the truth than they do. You are claiming to see all of the truth and are claiming to possess superior knowledge. Your claim to possess knowledge that no one has is in fact an arrogant claim itself.

If you say that nobody should make exclusive truth claims, that in itself is a exclusive truth claim. Everybody makes exclusive truth claims. The narrow minded person is one who sneers at and belittles people who have different exclusive truth.

Are All Religions Equally Right?

Which religion is better: one in which God approaches us or one in which prophets help us approach God? Dr. Timothy Keller, pastor of Redeemer Church in Manhattan, addresses The Veritas Forum at UC Berkeley.

Are all religions equally right? Is there more than one way to heaven?

The leaders of all the non-Christian religions basically say, “I am a prophet to help you find God.” In contrast, the leader of the Christian religion, Jesus, is the only one who says “I am God come to find you.”

If what Jesus said was a fact and true, then he is the only way to God. If what Jesus said was not a fact and true, then he was deranged. Not all religions are the same. A fact is not narrow. It is either right or wrong.

Three Reasons That Jesus Is the Only Way to Heaven

This week’s lesson explains why Jesus is the only way to heaven. To start out, go to the Three Reasons section, where I provide three short videos on the following topics:

1. Exclusivity is common in life.
2. The Law of Non-Contradiction shows that all religions are not the same.
3. The Bible says that Jesus is the only way.

Is Heaven Real? The Reality of Being in God’s Presence

Lee Strobel interviews author Randy Alcorn, who explains the reality of being in God’s presence. Watch the following video to learn more…

In the video Randy Alcorn makes the following points:

Revelation 22 speaks about seeing God face to face. We will see Him in all of His greatness. People who say it will be boring in heaven don’t know God. They don’t know how fascinating God is. Everything we love and enjoy is derived from who He is.

³No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. ⁴ They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. ⁵ There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.

We don’t become angels. We are people, and when we die, we remain people. However, we do not remain married. The only marriage in heaven is Christ to His bride, the Church. In Matthew 22:30 it says, “ At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.”

John 14:6 “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” Either Jesus was wrong, lying, or He was right. Clearly the Christian faith is exclusive. No one comes to the Father except through the belief and acceptance of Jesus Christ.

Heaven Is for Real

Watch this video about 4-year-old Colton Burpo’s near-death experience and visit to heaven.

As described in the book Heaven is for Real, four-year-old Colton Burpo required emergency surgery in 2003 for a misdiagnosed appendix that had ruptured three days earlier and was spreading infection. As they were taking him away, Colton kept saying, “Daddy don’t let them take me; Daddy don’t let them take me.” His father Todd, pastor of Crossroads Wesleyan Church in Imperial, Nebraska, was angry with God and screamed, “Is this how you treat your pastors?”

After the operation, Colton told his dad that he had almost died. Four months later he began providing details. Colton said he visited Heaven. He described Jesus as wearing white robes with a purple sash. He described the “markers” Jesus had in the middle of His hands and feet, referring to the nail marks.

Later, Colton described meeting Todd’s grandfather, Pop, confirming that Todd was very close to Pop, who was killed in a car accident before Todd turned 7 years old. Colton told his mother that he had two sisters. He said. “You had a baby die in your tummy, didn’t you?” Sonja, asked, “Who told you I had a baby die in my tummy?” “She did, Mommy,” Colton replied. “She said she died in your tummy.” Colton said she came up to him in heaven and wouldn’t stop hugging him. Nobody had previously told Colton that his mother had a miscarriage before Colton was born.

Jesus told Colton that Colton needed to return and that Jesus was answering Todd’s prayer. Todd relates how humbled he was that God would answer his accusatory, bitter prayer. Today, Colton is a healthy boy.

Heaven: One Minute After You Die

We all wonder what lies beyond death’s door. Is there another world, another place? See what Dr. Irwin Lutzer, Senior Pastor of The Moody Church, has to say.

How long is eternity? It’s not comprehensible. “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.” (2 Peter 3:8 NIV).

Some people think that heaven will be one long church service. But, the Bible teaches that heaven is a place of activity. Pastor Lutzer thinks that we will continue to learn in heaven and continue to do research.

A great American theologian, Jonathan Edwards (1703 – 1758) said, “In heaven we are going to continue to study God because the ideas of God go on for all of eternity.”

In heaven we will communicate with one another, providing the opportunity to speak with famous believers, such as Abraham, Jacob, and others. We can spend as much time as we like with them.

We will be given assignments and responsibility. We will rule with Christ, perhaps over areas as large as galaxies. In (Luke 19:11-27 NIV) it states, “‘Well done, my good servant!’ his master replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.’ (Luke 19:17)

Heaven will be an exciting place and not boring. So much so, that we will continually sing praises to God.

Three Proofs of Heaven

This week’s lesson is about the existence of heaven. To start out, go to the Three Reasons section, where I provide three short videos on the following topics:

1. Jesus said there was a heaven and rose from the dead..
2. The Old Testament said there was a heaven.
3. People who had near-death experiences said there was a heaven.

Both Don Piper, a Baptist minister, and Colton Burpo, four-year-old son of a Wesleyan minister, visit heaven and return to tell about it. Read on to find out more.

Before I reveal more about the experiences of Don Piper and Colton Burpo, let me first address the subject of near-death experiences and their validity. Then, I will recount the accounts of the Piper and Burpo experiences in Heaven.

• Validity of Near-Death Experiences
• Don Piper Near-Death Experience
• Colton Burpo Near-Death Experience

Validity of Near-Death Experiences

Some question the validity of near-death experiences, saying they are 1) the result of oxygen deprivation, 2) hallucinations caused by emergency room drugs, 3) lack of certain biochemicals during resuscitation, or 4) a psychological defense mechanism for coping during trauma. However James Garlow in his book Heaven and the Afterlife ₁ says that researchers have found no correlation between physical factors and near-death experiences. First of all, not everybody revived from death reports a near-death experience. Plus, some accounts can only be explained supernaturally, as the following example will illustrate.

Gary Habermas and J.P. Moreland in their book Beyond Death Exploring the Evidence for Immortality ₂ tell the story of a woman named Maria. Maria had just arrived in Seattle and was unfamiliar with the locality, when she had a heart attack. As she was rushed to Harborview Hospital, she floated from her body and saw a tennis shoe on the hospital roof ledge, which was around the corner of the building. The shoe was not visible from the ground or from her room. Afterwards when researchers went looking for it, they had difficulty finding it. When the researchers did find the shoe, they confirmed Maria’s description of the shoe: its color, size, material, a worn little toe, and the position of the lace, which was located under the heel. Maria’s description of the shoe could not be attributable to oxygen or chemical deprivation or to hallucinations.

Don Piper Near-Death Experience

On his way home from a church conference Don Piper, a Baptist minister, was “killed” at 11:45 AM January 18, 1989 after an 18 wheeler ran head-on into his Ford Escort on Texas Highway 19 as he crossed a bridge over the Trinity River, about 90 miles north of Houston. Four sets of paramedics soon reached the scene, did not find a pulse and declared that he died on impact. They were unable to extract him from his crushed vehicle and covered it with a tarp.

Piper did not travel through a tunnel or feel himself leaving his body. A brilliant light enveloped him, and he was standing in Heaven. He said that “Joy pulsated through me as I looked around, and at that moment I became aware of a large crowd of people. They stood in front of a brilliant ornate gate.”₃

He saw a crowd of people rush toward him, people he had known and had died during his lifetime. Every person was smiling and praising God, and he was aware that they were his welcoming committee assembled outside Heaven’s Gate waiting for him. He recognized his grandfather and Barry Wilson, a classmate in high school, who had drowned in a lake. He recognized two teachers who had often talked about Jesus Christ to him. He realized that all the people had contributed to his becoming a Christian and had spiritually impacted him in some way.

Piper says, “I had never felt such powerful embraces or feasted my eyes on such beauty. Heaven’s light and texture defy earthly eyes or explanation. Warm, radiant light engulfed me. As I looked around, I could hardly grasp the vivid, dazzling colors. Every hue and tone surpassed anything I had ever seen.”₄

They began moving toward the gate and an intense light. Piper says, “I expected to see some darkness behind the gate but as far ahead as I could see, there was absolutely nothing but intense, radiant light”₅ Each step increased the intensity of the light, but it wasn’t blinding and could be viewed with ease.” Each step he took he had the sense that he was being ushered into the presence of God.

Piper says, “I was home; I was where I belonged. I wanted to be there more than I had ever wanted to be anywhere on earth. Time had slipped away, and I was simply present in Heaven. All worries, anxieties, and concerns vanished. I had no needs, and I felt perfect.”₆

After about an hour, another Baptist preacher, Dick Onerecker, whom Don had met at the conference, saw the wreckage, stopped and asked if he could pray for anybody. The police officer said that the man in the red car was dead. However, Dick felt that God instructed him to pray for the dead victim. Over the officer’s objection, Dick crawled into the wrecked car and began to pray. He prayed for 20-30 minutes, and God brought Don back to the living. Since the release of his bestselling book, 90 Minutes in Heaven – a True Story of Death and Life, Don has traveled across the country and around the world sharing his amazing story. His message is simple … We can have a better life now and an eternal life someday through faith in Jesus Christ!

Colton Burpo Near-Death Experience

On March 3, 2003, four-year-old Colton Burpo had emergency surgery for a ruptured appendix and an abscess. The appendix ruptured 3 days earlier but was misdiagnosed. After seemingly to recover, Colton had to undergo a second surgery on March 13 to drain three abscesses. Colton’s condition deteriorated, and on March 17 the medical staff informed the parents, Todd and Sonja, that nothing more could be done, implying they should prepare for Colton’s imminent death. Todd, who is a pastor at Crossroads Wesleyan Church in Imperial Nebraska, asked for concentrated church prayer for Colton. The next morning, on March 18, Colton showed amazing signs of recovery, and on March 19, Colton returned home.

That in itself, was remarkable, but the account to follow is even more remarkable. About three months later, Colton began to tell his account of visiting Heaven. He described where his parents were during his operation, “I went up out of my body and I was looking down and I could see the doctor working on my body. And I saw you and Mommy. You were in a little room by yourself, praying, and Mommy was in a different room, and she was praying and talking on the phone.”₇

Colton said he met Jesus and “his cousin” (John the Baptist).₈ He said “he [Jesus] has brown hair and he has hair on his face,” not knowing the word for “beard.”₉  He described the “markers” Jesus had in the middle of His hands and feet, referring to the nail marks. Colton’s father, Todd, said that no one had previously described the crucifixion to Colton because of his tender age. Weeks later, Colton described meeting Todd’s grandfather, Pop, confirming that Todd was very close to Pop.

However, Colton revealed the most remarkable account weeks later. He informed his mother, Sonja, that he had two sisters. Confused, Sonja, thought that he was referring to his older sister Cassie and a cousin. Colton was adamant, “No. I have two sisters,” he said. “You had a baby die in your tummy, didn’t you?” Sonja, asked, “Who told you I had a baby die in my tummy?”₁₀   “She did, Mommy,” Colton replied. “She said she died in your tummy.”

A year before Colton was born, Sonja miscarried her two-month-old baby. They had never told Colton and did not even know that the baby was a girl. Colton told his mother, “She looked a lot like Cassie. She is just a little bit smaller, and she had dark hair.” He continued, “In heaven, this little girl ran up to me, and she wouldn’t stop hugging me.”₁₁  He also said she didn’t have a name, confirming that neither Todd or Sonja had named her.

Colton’s account to his mother provided her with healing for a heart seared with grief. His account and Don Piper’s account can confirm to us the Biblical reality of Heaven.  In the book about Colton’s journey, Heaven is for Real, Colton also reveals that the way to Heaven is through Jesus Christ. 

To Read More

James L. Garlow and Keith Wall, Heaven and the Afterlife (Minneapolis-Bethany House Publishers, 2009)

G. R. Habermas and J. P Moreland, Beyond Death: Exploring the Evidence for Immortality (Wheaton-Crossway Books, 1998)

Don Piper and Cecil Murphey, 90 Minutes in Heaven, A True Story of Death and Life (Grand Rapids-Revel, 2004)

Todd Burpo and Lynn Vincent, Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy’s Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back (Nashville-Thomas Nelson, 2010)

References

1. James L. Garlow and Keith Wall, Heaven and the Afterlife (Minneapolis-Bethany House Publishers, 2009)
2. G. R. Habermas and J. P Moreland, Beyond Death: Exploring the Evidence for Immortality (Wheaton-Crossway Books, 1998)
3. Don Piper and Cecil Murphey, 90 Minutes in Heaven, A True Story of Death and Life (Grand Rapids-Revel, 2004), 21-22.
4. Ibid, 25.
5. Ibid, 28.
6. Ibid, 33.
7. Todd Burpo and Lynn Vincent, Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy’s Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back (Nashville-Thomas Nelson, 2010), 61
8. Ibid, 63.
9. Ibid, 65.
10. Ibid, 94.
11. Ibid, 96.