Christian Intolerance.. When critics of Christianity claim it is intolerant and ethnocentric to state that Jesus is the only way to Heaven.. they completely overlook the fact that similar claims are made by other religions. Consider... “Whoso desireth any other religion than Islam, that religion shall never be accepted from him, and in the next world he shall be among the lost”. (Qu’ran 3:79) Hinduism... Contrary to popular belief one of the most widely misunderstood current concepts is the idea that Hinduism somehow teaches that all religions are equal. Hindus consider Hinduism to Be “the eternal way of Truth” See Details Is The God of the Bible Really God?
If you compare a bicycle, a car, a truck, a train, and an airplane. You might look at the number of wheels on each, the different navigational controls, the means of propulsion, the number of passengers each can carry, their maximum speed . . . In fact, as you continued to consider the similarities you might never get around to the fact that there is something that makes one of the vehicles completely different from all the others: the airplane flies. Isn't it Narrow-Minded for Christians to Think That They're Right and Everyone Else is Wrong?
Is it simply one human opinion versus another? (below) If You Were Born in Iraq You Be a Muslim
Consider two men, one a pediatrician in New York and another a pygmy in the Congo. Each describe the cause of sickness in different ways. The pediatrician faults germs, the pygmy, spirits. The doctor invokes medicine for healing, the pygmy, magic. Each believes exactly what his culture has taught him and lives as if it were so. Here is my question: Who is correct, the doctor or the pygmy? Religious Stew
When choosing ice cream, you choose what you like. When choosing medicine, you have to choose what heals. It Doesn’t Matter What You Believe
as long as you’re sincere’ (below) Do All Paths Lead to the Same Destination?
Is it possible that Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, etc. represent differing, yet valid, paths to the same destination? Were this the case, there would be no need to argue about which religion is the "true" religion. Such disputes would be pointless. Perhaps viewing religion in this way would eventually lead to less religious bigotry and greater cooperation among people of differing faiths. On the other hand, what if all paths do not lead to the same destination? Religious Pluralism
The new definition of pluralism is not only indefensible, but it also discourages critical thinking about the real issues. Three Kinds of Pluralism
Insisting that Jesus is the only way is an especially unpopular stance in a culture based on freedom of choice. If you can go to the school of your choice, root for the team of your choice, watch the cable channel of your choice, and eat the yogurt of your choice, why can't you pray to the god of your choice? Why can't religion be like the Mall of America? It is a fair question. If Christians are going to insist that their religion is true and that all other religions are false, they have some explaining to do.
Christian Exclusivism Explained and Defended
The Christian Church has always taught that Jesus is the only way to God. This doctrine is called Christian Exclusivism. Many people stumble over this doctrine, others think it is arrogant, and still others think it is unreasonable. Therefore, it will be profitable to examine more closely exactly what this doctrine is and what evidence there is to believe it. ALSO SEE SECTION ON Relativism
Objective relativism is the view that the beliefs of a person or group of persons are “true” for them, but not necessarily for others. Religious relativism maintains that one religion can be true for one person or culture but not for another. No religion, therefore, is universally or exclusively true. Religious beliefs are simply an accident of birth: Moral relativism maintains that there are no moral absolutes, no objective ethical right and wrong. Moral values are true—or “genuine”—for some, but not for others. Cultural relativism says that what is immoral in our culture is not necessarily immoral in another culture. No one, therefore, can judge another culture’s moral values. 
Isn't it Narrow-Minded for Christians to Think That They're Right and Everyone Else is Wrong? "Some of them probably are. We normally consider people 'narrow-minded' when they refuse to consider the pros and cons of their position (especially when being critiqued by people OUTSIDE their position). But, on the other hand, when a college professor spends 40 years studying all sides of an issue, and TAKES A POSITION on that issue, we rarely accuse her of being 'narrow-minded' even though the position may be the same one held by a narrow-minded type. So you see, just holding strongly to a belief that something is true is NOT necessarily being 'narrow minded'. But, beyond this, the REAL question is more an issue of "is this position TRUE?" than it is of "are they holding it in a narrow-minded fashion?" And, practically speaking, we KNOW that wisdom and experience teaches us to trust some options over others. For example, when our doctor prescribes a medication to help us get well, it is not narrow-minded to accept their advice, even though we know there are psychic healers and tribal witch doctors who would urge a different approach. The question is, who has credentials we can trust? And, looking at this from another angle, if it were simply one human opinion versus another, we might not be entitled to hold our viewpoints so strongly. But if we become convinced that God has broken into history with a factual message, then it's not narrow-minded to believe HIS statements--its a matter of trusting a credible source of information. (Presumably, He knows the REAL facts.) (http://www.christian-thinktank.com) {See Christian Exclusivism} It Doesn’t Matter What You Believe as Long as You’re Sincere What if you believe . . . All you need for skydiving is a good umbrella Plumbers have better cures for constipation than doctors Red traffic lights mean ‘go’.
In the physical world, what you believe is critical. And the same God made the spiritual realm. Try telling a victim of Hinduism that it doesn’t matter what you believe. Especially before Christian influence gained momentum in India, millions of Hindus sincerely believed that: Baby girls should be drowned in the Ganges so they can be reincarnated as boys Surviving widows should be cremated alive with their deceased husbands The gross discrimination and prejudice of the Hindu caste system should be enforced It is better not to relieve human suffering because that would be interfering with people’s karma.
‘It doesn’t matter what you believe,’ is the despairing cry of people whose beliefs have never brought them to spiritual reality. They are like people who have never won in their life, consoling themselves with the platitude that it doesn’t matter whether you win or lose. They are like people so out of touch that they answer multiple choice exams by guesswork and assume everyone else must do the same. Find people who claim that sincerity is all that matters and try applying that logic to something they are passionate about, such as racism, rape, cruelty to animals, environmental vandalism, nuclear warfare, banning abortion. Suddenly they get hot under the collar. Suddenly it matters very much what you believe. People apply this lack of logic only to things they could hardly care less about. Those who say all that matters is sincerity would like to include themselves among the sincere. Instead, they prove they have no sincere religious conviction. They are simply mouthing a lazy, potentially fatal excuse for avoiding life’s most important decision. The genuinely sincere, would make seeking God their top priority. Instead, we bury our head in a thousand other activities and lame excuses for not confronting life’s most critical issue. We are like little children who have run away from home - hungry, tired and in danger, yet still hiding for fear of what mummy might do if she found us. The reality is that God longs to take us up in his arms, forgive us, and give us a life of fulfillment and challenge beyond our wildest hopes. Grantley Morris MORE Suppose I was off-color and two eminent doctors examined me. Dr A’s diagnosis was that I had a life-threatening illness, but treatment X would cure me. Dr B said it was only a cold and treatment Y would cure me. Dr A’s more drastic diagnosis doesn’t in itself mean he is right, but it means I’d be a fool not to give higher priority to checking out his claims. Consider a worst-case scenario. Suppose another religion were right and instead of following that religion, I became a Christian. Many religions would say the Christian life is reasonably moral. So, according to them, although I would miss top spot, my life after death would be fairly comfortable. A few claim that if I ignored their religion, after death I’ll cease to exist. I can handle that. Some say I’d get another chance through reincarnation. That’s not too bad. But, relative to almost all religions, Jesus increased the stakes enormously. If he is right and I ignore him, the consequences are unthinkable. This man, renowned for his love, humility and honesty, warned that only by committing myself to him can I avoid an eternity of torment in hell. (Matthew 20:28, 25:32-34,41,46; John 3:16; 14:6) In addition, unlike most other religions, Jesus leaves his believers certain that they will enter heaven. Other religions typically place so many requirements on their adherents before they could be considered worthy of heaven that their followers endure a lifetime of uncertainty as to whether they have met those requirements. Grantley Morris | 
Index To Section 1.. 
