Sd#351

[the iron horse]

Sunday Dispatch #351


Selected from Jesus Among Other Gods by Ravi Zacharias

He Himself made a statement that was very dramatic and daring when he said to the apostle Thomas, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comesto the father except through me" (John 14:16). Every word of that statement challenges the fundamental beliefs of the Indian culture fromwhich I come, and in reality, actually
stands against an entire world today.

Just look at the implicit claim in that statement. First and foremost, He asserted that there is only one way to God. That shocks postmodern moods and mind-sets.

Hinduism and Bahaism have long challenged the concept of a single way to God. The Hindu religion, with its multifaceted belief system, vociferously attacks such exclusivity.

Jesus also unequivocally stated that God is the Author of life and that meaning in life lies in coming to Him. This assertion would be categorically denied by Buddhism, which is a
nontheistic if not atheistic religion.

Jesus revealed Himself as the Son of God who led the way to the Father. Islam considers that claim to be blasphemous. How can God have a Son?

One can go down the line and see that every claim that Jesus made of Himself challenged my culture's most basic assumptions about life and meaning. (It is important to remember, of course, that these basic religions within the Indian framework are also not in concert with each other. Buddha was a Hindu before he rejected some of Hinduism's fundamental doctrines and concieved in their place the Buddhist way. Islam is radically differs from Hinduism.)

Ironically, it was that same apostle, Thomas, to whom Jesus spoke these words, who took the exclusive claims of Christ to India and paid for the gospel message with his life.

Was Jesus who He claimed to be?

Is the Christian claim to uniqueness a myth?

Can one study the life of Christ and demonstrate conclusively that He was and is the way, the truth, and the life?

That is the question I propose to answer in this book. I believe there is overwhelming evidence to support Jesus' claim. I begin with my personal story only to put into context how my own journey began and how I arrived at the conclusion that Jesus is who He said He is.




first posted as SD#72 3.24.02