Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
During the Christmas holidays of 1971 I saw my first "Hare Krishna". I was riding a Greyhound Bus from Key West to Marianna, Florida and enjoying the fellowship of a Christian sister when the man in strange garb got on board. He chose a seat next to another young man and soon began discussing "religion".
He said that religion was like a wagon wheel, each spoke coming from a different point but all leading to the same place. He said that there had been different incarnations of one particularly great spirit whose responsibility was to show mankind how to reach their spiritual potential. He mentioned several names, including Jesus. He said basically that each new incarnation revealed greater truth and, of course, Krishna was the greatest.
John 14:6 immediately came to mind as I listened to the Hare Krishna weave his web around the other man. Unfortunately, both men left the bus before I had the chance to talk with either.
The same lie, or a slight variation, is used by several cults today. Christians are criticized for proclaiming that there is no other name whereby a person can be saved. Some liberals have decided that we need to be more tolerant, more inclusive, more loving.
I make no apologies for my belief that Jesus is our only hope for salvation. First, it is not my place to do so. Second, it would be cruel to do so. Would you think me a loving person to tolerate the notion that a cup of pure mercury and a measure of arsenic should be taken daily? I think not! No amount of sincerity could change the reality of the deadly nature of those two elements. And nothing can change the reality of who Jesus is!
In numerous places both Jesus and His disciples tell us that eternal life cannot be bought or earned. That Jesus is the only way! If we believe this to be true, what a mean, despicable thing it would be to deny someone the chance to meet and know the Savior for who He is!
?000 Eutychus, The Webservant,