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Article:How Exclusive is the Gospel? "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, no one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). It is quite clear that this statement of Jesus has troubled men and women across the centuries, and it is especially troubling to many Christians today. What are we to make of these words except that Jesus is claiming exclusive ownership of religious or spiritual truth? Is not Jesus saying that only through him can people come to God; outside of him no one can? On first reading this may appear to be the case, and it is certainly used that way by many Christians to deny truth-claims outside of Christianity or that there is any other way to God outside of Christ. But this is not the case. It is a too simple and too fast reading of the text. It is not fair either to the Gospel, to Jesus, or to Christian generosity. How else can it be read? First, we must ask who is the "me" in this text referring to? Is it the exclusive "me" of Jesus of Nazareth in which case only someone who knew about or knew personally Jesus of Nazareth would have access to God? In the context of the Gospel this cannot be the "me" used in this speaking. St. John's Gospel is different from the others, and you must read this passage within the context of the whole Gospel and not take it "out of context." This is a rule for correct interpretation. So what is the true context of the passage? The "me" of the Gospel of John is much, much larger than the ego or personality of Jesus of Nazareth. St. John begins the Gospel by saying that, "In the beginning was the Word (in Greek the Word is Logos, which means the manifestation or expression of all things) and the Logos (before Jesus was ever born into existence) was with God, and was God (John 1:1-3). This Logos (Word or Expression of God) brought the world into being, and has enlightened every creature, acting through the ages (John 1:10-11). Finally, he says this Logos took on flesh and spoke as the I AM presence of God, the same I AM which had been speaking throughout the centuries before Jesus (John 1: 14-16). Throughout the Gospel, whenever Jesus speaks, he speaks as this eternal I AM and not simply as the Jewish Jesus. Both, of course, in the history of Jesus of Nazareth, become one, but the emphasis in this Gospel is upon something much larger, more universal, and more vast. So you see, when the speaker of St. John's Gospel speaks, it is an I AM statement, the Logos (the Expressive manifestation of God) who is speaking, and that manifestation has obviously acted before Jesus and will continue to act throughout history and time. So it is perfectly true, when God manifests to us, it is always as Logos. To get to God, the Origin and Source (the Father), one has to pass through the Logos. There is no other way through. Now the second question is, is the Logos exclusive to Christianity? Demonstrably not. The Logos was acting as the I AM presence throughout history prior to Christianity, even among non-Jews (as is clear in the Hebrew Scrptures to Melchizedek, to Nathan the leper, to Darius the Persian, etc.). Furthermore, in the same Gospel, the I AM (the Logos) speaks and says, "I have other sheep that you know nothing about, I must go to these as well and bring them in" (John 10:16). This certainly hints at other possibilities beyond the specific Christian followers of Jesus. Early Christianity demonstrated a much larger generosity toward other peoples (even pagans) than many Christians do today. St. Paul preached to Athenians and said that their "unknown god" was the Christ (Acts 17:23). St. Peter preaches and makes this amazing statement: "Then Peter began to speak to them: I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears God and does what is right is acceptable to him" (Acts 10:34). So is this statement in St. John's Gospel an exclusive statement? Clearly not. In fact it would be far better to read it as one of great inclusion. Lynn C. Bauman |
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