Download 09/30/07—Pentecost 18-C The God Questions #4

09/30/07—Pentecost 18-C The God Questions #4
Text: John 14:6
Theme: DO ALL ROADS LEAD TO HEAVEN?
Please read the text out loud with me: Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and
the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6 NIV). Our
question today is: DO ALL ROADS LEAD TO HEAVEN? From our text, the answer is obvious,
NO! Jesus is the only way. Amen. (Pastor goes and sits down briefly.)
Okay, you probably still have some questions, so let’s dig into this question more deeply,
but the answer is still no; Jesus is the only way.
In our text, which was spoken at the Last Supper, Jesus is reassuring his friends that
everything will ultimately be alright, that he’s going to make eternal provision for them and
for every other Christ follower that will come after them. But taken by themselves, the final
words of this passage have stirred up a lot of strong feelings from a lot of people over a lot
of years: No one comes to the Father except through me.
Did Jesus really mean that? Is he really saying what it seems like here, that he, and only
he is the one means by which human beings have any hope of reaching heaven? That’s
awfully narrow, even egotistical, isn’t it? I am the way, the truth and the life. No one
comes to the Father but by me.
To make matters worse, Jesus doesn’t just say it once; he says it several times, in several
different ways. In his most famous sermon, the message most widely acclaimed as the
single greatest speech in history, the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says it this way: “Enter
through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to
destruction, and many enter through it. 14But small is the gate and narrow the road
that leads to life, and only a few find it.” – Matthew 7:13-14
His followers understood clearly what he was saying. Soon after his death, you hear them
proclaiming publicly, in the streets of downtown Jerusalem: Salvation is found in no one
else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be
saved." – Acts 4:12 That is a bold and potentially offensive assertion. After all, how can
anyone or any religion be so arrogant as to believe that theirs is the only way?
That’s a question that every seriously spiritual person has to ask him or herself at some
time in their life. So this morning, I want to help you answer that question for yourself.
Over the next few minutes, I want to give you a worldwide tour of options. Together we are
going to explore the roads and potential roads that make up 98% of all options claimed and
believed by people on our planet. By the time we leave this morning, we’re all going to
have a clear roadmap and enough information not only to answer the question, “Is Jesus
really the only way to God?” But we’ll be able to answer, “Is Mohammed the way? Is
Buddha the way? Is Confucius or Lao-Tse or one of the Gurus or gods from India the
way?” So, with only a few minutes, we’d better begin.
Here’s the overview:
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Because our time is limited, and the first few religions we’ll cover have smaller numbers
than later ones, I’m going to move fairly quickly through these first few.
So here’s the 10th one: It’s called #10 = Juche (“Self-Reliance”)
Followers = 19 million North Koreans
Founder = Kim Il Sung, 1950’s
Another name for it is “kimilsungism.” Because it’s the system of belief invented and
mandated by Kim Il Sung, the first communist dictator in North Korea soon after he came to
power in the 1950’s. The reason there are 19 million adherents to it is because Juche is
the only government-authorized ideology in the country. “Juche” means “self-reliance” in
Korean. Jucheism makes no claims about heaven, has no description of how to get there,
and generates no belief that there is life after death. That’s Juche.
9th on the list is #9 = Sikhism
Followers = 23 million, chiefly in Punjab, India
Founder = Guru Nanak, 1469
View of God = Monotheism
Means to God = The Five “K’s”:
1. Kesa (“long hair”) 2. Kangha (“comb”)
3. Kacha (“short pants”) 4. Kachu (“metal bracelet”)
5. Kirpan (“weapon,” “sword”)
The Sikh religion is a hybrid of Hinduism and Islam. Its founder was a man named Nanak
who, after enduring years of violence between the Muslims and the Hindus in his area,
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disappeared while bathing in a stream and emerged from seclusion three days later to
proclaim a revelation he’d had. His revelation: “There is no Hindu, there is no Muslim.”
Nanak’s solution to the problem of the warring of the Hindus and Muslims was to adopt the
monotheism of the Muslims and concepts of karma and reincarnation from the Hindus. So
the Sikhs are monotheists, and they believe that, in order to escape the endless wandering
of the soul that happens as reincarnation follows reincarnation follows reincarnation, a
devout Sikh can practice “The Five K’s” as a means to God. There are 23 million Sikhs,
most of them living in the Indian state of Punjab, though some of them have immigrated to
the U.K., Canada, the U.S., Malaysia, and Singapore.
The 8th largest religion is actually a large group of religions. Sociologists today call it #8 =
African Tradition Religion
Followers = 100 million, in Africa (and places where Africans were enslaved)
View of God = Animism/Polytheism Means to God = Sacrifices
Between its various tribe and offshoots and Western hemisphere adaptations, there are
approx. 95 million people who practice this form of animism. Animism is the spiritual belief
that all creation is animated, that all of creation—plants and animals, and even rocks and
rivers and sand and soil—has animation or life within it. So its view of God is that there are
many gods—there are gods inhabiting every rock and tree, the sky, the moon, the sun god.
If you’ve read the stories of ancient Mexico, or Northern Europe, you know that animistic
religions believe that the means to gain favor with the gods is to make sacrifices to them.
More ancient cultures often used human sacrifices. Their more modern versions use other
animals. Animists in our country talked about “The Celestial Hunting Grounds.” Most
animists hope to ascend somehow to the spirit world after death. The key is living a life that
pleases the gods.
Similar to this constellation of religions is the next group on our list, called, #7 = Primal-
Indigenous
Followers = 300 million, including shamans (Siberia) and
pagans (in Asia and India) and smaller, pre-literate tribal belief systems
Views = Similar to #8
This group of religions is mostly animists who still live on the fringes of literate society.
Their beliefs are fairly similar to African Traditional Religionists.
Another large group that sociologists lump together because of their similar backgrounds
and beliefs are the Buddhists. #6 = Buddhism
Followers = 376 million
Founder = Siddhartha Guatama (563-483 BC)
View of God = Not stressed
At a certain point in his life, Siddhartha became convinced that Hinduism did not hold the
secrets to a satisfying life, so he secluded himself under a fig tree for 40 days and nights
and meditated on the nature of life. While Siddhartha meditated, he became enlightened.
Buddha means “The Enlightened One.” What Buddha realized under the fig tree became
known as
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Means to God = The Four Noble Truths (these are the keys to enlightenment)
1. Life is about suffering.
2. Craving is the root cause of suffering.
3. The cure for suffering is to eliminate craving.
4. To eliminate craving, follow eightfold path. Which consists of
(1) Right views (chiefly, embracing the 4 noble truths)
(2) Right resolve (being committed to renouncing all the pleasures of the
senses so that you can detach yourself from the world and learn to crave
less and less)
(3) Right speech (No lying, slandering, or cruel words)
(4) Right behavior (No killing any living creatures, no stealing, no sexual
misconduct)
(5) Right occupation (seek gainful employment)
(6) Right effort (strive to rid yourself of all bad qualities and seek human
perfection)
(7) Right contemplation (be alert and observant)
(8) Right meditation (think deeply and regularly about detaching yourself
from the world and its desires and temptations and entanglements)
There really isn’t a description or a focus on the afterlife. God and eternity aren’t discussed
much.
#5 is #5 = Chinese Traditional Religion
Followers = 394 million (mostly in China)
Founders = Lao-Tse (604-531 BC) and Confucius (551-479 BC)
View of God = No particular deity/ impersonal force
(though Lao-Tse did become venerated generations later)
Means to God = Not stressed, more of an ethical system than a
religious one.
Most of these folks obviously, live in China. Lao-Tse was the founder of Taoism, and
Confucius founded Confucianism. Both are mostly concerned with how to live an honorable
life by treating people well and venerating ones’ ancestors, so none of the major branches
of this group really concerns itself much with God or the afterlife. It’s more a here-and-now
focus.
#4 = Hinduism
Followers = 900 million
Founded = 1800-1000 BC
View of God = Pantheism
Means to God = The Transmigration of Souls/Reincarnation
View of Afterlife = Nirvana (“Blown Away”)
Hinduism, with 900 million followers (mostly in India) holds 14% of the world’s population.
Hinduism doesn’t have a founder. Hindus believe that there is one uniform force in the
universe called, “The Brahman.” Luke Skywalker was taught to tap into this force. And that
is the ultimate aim of every Hindu—to meld into the inanimate force of the universe, to be
reabsorbed into the great cosmic unconsciousness.
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Hindus believe that this inanimate force, which is god, is in everything, and is everything, so
their religion holds a view of God that’s called, Pantheism. Pantheists believe that God is in
all things. So god is in this pulpit and this pulpit is part of god, as are we, and all living
things, and all dead things and all non-living things.
They teach that all of the universe’s force, matter, conscious and unconscious energy is
being constantly recycled in a great flow called, “The Transmigration of Souls”, or
“Reincarnation.” Through living well at various levels, you can eventually become
absorbed into the unconscious force of the universe that is Brahman. When you achieve
this, you enter Nirvana. So, the Hindu view of the ultimate afterlife destination is Nirvana,
which literally means “blown away.” This is where you lose all awareness and simply exist
as a portion of the universe. Estimates are it takes about 600,000 lifetimes to achieve this
state.
#3 = Secularism/Nonreligious/Agnostics/Atheists
Followers = 1.1 billion (nonreligious Westerns, agnostics and
atheists in current and formerly-communist countries)
Scholars lump these groups together, because they all purport not to be interested in
religion or spirituality. So, what do they believe? Well, for many, like Michael Newdow who
is presenting his case to the Supreme Court for the removal of “Under God” from our
pledge of allegiance, he doesn’t really know what he believes, he just doesn’t believe in
God, and doesn’t choose to explore his faith—at least not publicly—or the possibilities that
there is a spiritual realm and/or life after death.
Next in size comes Islam. #2 = Islam
Estimates are that Islam currently has about
Followers = 1.3 billion
Founder = Mohammed
View of God = Monotheism
Means to God = The Five Pillars of Islam. The five pillars consisted of:
(1) Shahada - Reciting the Shahada
(2) Salat –Praying five times a day
(3) Zakat –Giving to the poor
(4) Sawm – Fasting during the month of Ramadan (which is the month in which
Mohammed first received his revelation from God.)
(5) Hajj - Pilgrimaging to Mecca
View of Afterlife = Paradise
And because of high birth rates and aggressive proselytizing, it continues to grow rapidly.
Islam’s founder was a man named Mohammed who in 610 AD rebelled against the
polytheistic teachings of his local Arab tribesmen and received a revelation that there was
only One God, a god named “Allah.” Mohammed taught his tribesmen that they must be
lower and submissive to Allah. Islam means “submission,” and Muslim means, “Submitted
one.” Mohammed taught his followers that the true and only means to God was through
following the Five Pillars of Islam.
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By practicing these five actions devoutly and religiously, you might be granted entrance to
paradise (although there are no guarantees because Allah is all powerful and bows down to
no one.) Paradise, for a Muslim male, is the perfect place, full of lush gardens, with lots of
good food and beautiful, tantalizing women. You get the picture. It’s paradise—for sinful
men. For women, well, they are not mentioned, except the beautiful, bashful, tantalizing
ones.
Then comes Christianity. #1 = Christianity today has
Followers = 2 billion
Founder = Jesus Christ
View of God = Monotheism.
Means to God = Atonement/Substitution
View of Afterlife = Heaven
Its founder made a claim that no other major religious figure has ever made before or since:
He claimed to be God in the flesh. And he did some amazingly convincing things to
substantiate that claim. Jesus taught that God was one as well. One essence, expressing
itself in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. So that God was one, but three, which
Christians called “The Tri-Unity,” or “The Trinity.” Because mankind sinned against God
and could do nothing to repair the damage, God himself came to rescue us human beings
from our sin. The Bible says: “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for
the unrighteous, to bring you to God” (1 Peter 3:18). We are brought to God now
through the means of grace, the Gospel in the Word and Sacraments. When we die in
faith, we are brought to God in heaven. The Bible tells us that for the believers in heaven,
God “will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or
crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Revelation 21:4).
Well, now that you know something about every major religion, let’s cycle back to the
original question: Do all Roads Lead to Heaven? Let’s make some informed
Observations:
1. Every religion claims to be the only way to God.
2. Every religion has a different road.
3. Almost all the roads seem to lead to different places.
4. These religions represent 98% of all humanity, so probably the right choice is
among them. (Whether it’s heaven or paradise or nirvana, or no place.)
5. Some people ask, “Would a loving God let sincere people miss heaven?” (Or
whatever they would think of as the ideal afterlife condition.)
To which I would respond:
A. Would a loving God tell one region of the world that a certain way was
the only way, and then whisper to another region of the world that that
way was wrong, and that a different one was actually the right and only
way?
B. How much more loving could God be than to create the way by giving
His own life for us? Christianity is the only religion that says that God did
the work, not us. Christianity is the only “DONE” religion. All the other
religions are “DO” religions. And because God has done it all for us, he is
loving and kind to us by telling everyone in the world through his Word and us
sharing his Word with others that Jesus is … “the way and the truth and the
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life. No one comes to the Father except through [Jesus]” (John 14:6).
Amen, and this time I mean it.
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