I Wonder Why

By: Fred Plumer

I have often wondered why it is so important for some people to insist that Jesus is the “only way.” As you might imagine, as President of TCPC, I get angry email from “concerned Christians” on a regular basis.  The vast majority of them start off by being pretty polite.

“I agree with much of what is on your website but are you saying that perhaps the beliefs that a Muslim holds, or a Hindu holds, or a Buddhist holds, is just as true as the beliefs a Christian holds?”

It is not unusual for these same people to quote the familiar passage from John 14: 6 that was put into the mouth of Jesus by the writer of John: “No one comes to the Father except through me.”

I used to spend a lot of time trying to explain the historical context of that passage of John-the fact that it was probably written over 80 years (two generations) after Jesus’ death, that it is the least historical document in the Gospels, that it is a reflection of a tumultuous period when the followers of Jesus were being rejected in the synagogues and were no longer considered Jews by the families and friends. And this was just the beginning of the recrimination that tore apart religious leaders, social settings and families at the deepest level. When this is understood, many of the Christological sayings of the writer of John take on new meaning and make a lot more sense, including the unfortunate translation of John’s condemnation of the “Jews” which should have been translated as the “Jews who rejected us or did not accept Jesus as the messiah.”   Jesus was born a Jew and he died a Jew according to the three Synoptic Gospels.

But in every case, my efforts to try and explain how this passages came to be, have met with everything from strong disapproval to outright rage, including a couple of death threats from these concerned Christians.

What is it that makes it so important that Jesus be the only way, the only one, the initiator of the one true religion when there is so much evidence that makes this a very illogical conclusion? Is it our competitive human nature? Is it our need to be right in spite of all evidence to the contrary? Is it fear?

Why can’t we simply allow Jesus to be a human being, OK a very special human being,  who had a profound experience (or experiences) of the divine that changed his understanding of reality. My guess is that when people noticed this change, Jesus was asked to spend the rest of his short life trying to teach others how they might have the same experience of the Oneness with God, how to experience the Oneness with all creation, how to live in Sacred Unity.

Is he the only one who has had this experience? Of course not!  Our books and our libraries are full of others who had such an experience and they were also changed by their new awareness. You may even know one of these people today. They also had or have new eyes to see and ears to hear. Many of them become teachers like Buddha, Lao Tzu, Mohammed, along with others who are alive today.  If you read carefully and get through the hyperbole their beloved followers wrote about them years later, their experiences were very similar and much of their teachings covered many of the same themes.  It all starts with becoming aware of who we really are-part of the divine Oneness. God is not out there but within.

So if there are many, how do we pick our teacher or teachers? We find one that we can relate to based on our own culture, social situation and willingness to commit. We do that naturally whether we realize it or not. But if I am going to try and climb Mount Everest for the first time, I will find someone who has been there, listen to what they have to teach about doing it and then try my best to follow the path they have already forged. But I want to follow someone who I sincerely believe has been there. I want to focus on the teachings, not the teacher. I want to commit to the path, not worship the one who made the path.

How do I know that I have the right teacher? Buddha is recorded as saying: “Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.” Jesus tried to sooth his disciples concerns that they would know if they were on the right path after he was gone: “…you will know by the fruit that it bears.”  In other words we have been given the tools to assess the truth if we are willing to use them.

New Testament scholar, Robert Funk once wrote that if Christianity was going to survive, we would need to “demote Jesus…who has been isolated as the divine son of God, co-eternal with the Father” from his true persona as a wisdom teacher. Although I do not disagree with Funk’s conclusion, I do not see it as a demotion but rather as a freeing. What an incredible thing it would be if we pulled Jesus off the cross as an icon to be worshiped, and let him be free to be the teacher again.

What empowering thing it would be if we actually became disciples of another human being who had experienced the Absolute Oneness of all Creation and then said, “follow me and you too can experience what I experienced.” What would our churches be like if that really happened? Then we might have to take Jesus’ egalitarian teachings on compassion, non-judgment, forgiveness, unity, love, and the “God-within,” seriously.

Maybe that is the problem.

Fred Plumer

Comments

[Adrian Gibb]

Hi Fred,
Been associated with TCPC for a while now but first direct contact with you I think, so this is a treat.
I am reading 'The Third Jesus' at the moment and a similar point is made as the one you make above. It posits the theory that Christianity has been distracted away from the central message and teaching of Christ, that is, a reaching of god-consiousness and truly loving others, by concentrating too much on the divinity and meta-physical aspects of the Jesus story. I find myself well and truly on the fence!
I absolutely agree that there needs to be a shift in how one lives a 'christian' life, what that entails, and the egalitarian principles you mentioned above is a perfect example of what that shift needs to be. As Tony Campolo often points out, there are over two thousand scriptures relating to caring for the poor, let's concentrate on what Jesus wanted us to do! I also strongly adhere to the notion that the great commandment and the golden rule should be the lens through which all other aspects of the NT are viewed, including the life of Jesus.
My issues arise over the notion of 'demoting', or 'freeing' Jesus so that he may be simply worshipped as a wisdom teacher.
The issue I have with this is an absolutely personal one, but perhaps others feels the same way. I respect and validate other wisdom traditions enough that, to be honest, if Jesus was 'just' another wisdom teacher, I doubt very much I would be a Christian. I have said this in another post, I would almost certainly be a Buddhist, maybe a Hindu, because I think the wisdom teaching and contemplative exploration of a relationship with the limitless divine is done far more beautifully and with less contradictions in these faiths than in the christian version. What makes the christian position viable for me is, yes, the wisdom teaching, yes the golden rule and the great commandment, but at a crucial level what makes it viable is that I truly believe that Jesus was, and I guess is, the fullest revelation of the limitless divine. In other words, the Divine showed itself in the form of Jesus, more than other teachers, before or since. Now I am a passionate pluralist, I do not believe that Jesus is the 'only' way, I believe strongly that other faiths can reach the divine. But, for me, Jesus needs to have that special place, that unique position.
As I often say, I believe there are many paths to the divine, but for me Jesus is the highway!
This is just my take on it and, yep, I guess I am on the fence.

[Berto]

How refreshing to read your blog. I live amongst a very narrow people and have to keep my thoughts to myself with almost no one to resonate with. Thanks!

[tarvid]

I have found myself in the same place many times.

[Tarvid's Bible] John 14:6
Love saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto Peace, but by me.

[Traces2757]

A beautiful post throughout...and the last line made me close my eyes, smile and nod. Thank you.

[Traces2757]

If I may, there is a Canadian Anglican progressive priest's blog that I follow faithfully, and it may be of interest to you.

http://www.reconnectingthespirit.com