Which Deception to Use?

September 6, 2000

I have a friend who accepts New Age philosophy as valid. She frequently will engage me in conversation about what I believe. She believes that there are more ways to heaven than through Jesus. I have explained to her that Jesus repeatedly claimed that He was the only way to heaven. She responds by saying that she doesn't believe the Bible is accurate—that it was written by a bunch of zealots and contains their impressions, not historical accuracy.

I think the apostle Paul said it best when he said that if the resurrection of Jesus is not true, then this whole idea of Christianity is silly. If, as New Agers assert, all roads lead to heaven, then why would God send one prophet to claim exclusivity? Or, if the stories of Jesus are greatly exaggerated, then why would an omnipotent God allow such confusion to arise among the peoples?

But of greatest perplexity is this: If, indeed, the Bible is entirely true and accurate, then what would be the best deception against it? The best deception against the Bible would be to convince people that Jesus may, in fact, be a way to heaven, but certainly not the only way to heaven. Once people believe that one lie, then getting them to ignore their need for salvation is trivial.

As I examine the world’s religions, I find only three that claim exclusivity: Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. All three of these claim to worship the God of Abraham, but only Christianity recognizes Jesus as Savior. All other religions allow for alternate paths to heaven. In looking at all of these, I find that only Christianity makes sense. For, if God is supreme, then He would not let His message become so confusing (as the New Agers claim has happened with Christianity).