A great article from Peter Sellick discussing how the exclusivity of Jesus in misconstrued.

The exclusivity of Jesus
Peter Sellick, May 25th 2011

"A short time ago my two daughters were in town and the three of us found ourselves discussing my pieces for Online Opinion. The one thing they strongly objected to was my insistence on the singular nature of Christ to the exclusion of all others. Being broadminded liberal moderns they objected to my exclusion of other ways to God or enlightenment. They are supported by the current ideology that sees inclusiveness as the highest virtue.

The problem arose again in a theology class I was tutoring at Notre Dame University in Fremantle with the same result. I must have been seen as narrowly sectarian and ignorant of other cultures and religions.

The following Sunday I was down to preach at St Andrew’s Subiaco on the John 14 (1-14), the beginning of the farewell discourse to his disciples that John places after the last supper and before the arrest in the garden of Gethsemane. In it we find the words: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” This would seem to support my insistence on the exclusivity of Christ as the way to God. There are many examples of such exclusivity in John’s gospel.

The problem is that such exclusivity is felt by unbelievers as judgment and my students have continued to ask whether one can live a good life without Christ. The answer is obviously yes, one can. But does this reduce the pre-eminence of Christ to just another influence on life that one can muddle along without? Does this blunt the sharp edge of the gospel and make it just another resource among many for equipping ourselves for the world?...."

Click here to read the full article.