What if All Roads Lead to God?

I think it is very good practice to evaluate our beliefs. Sometimes we may find that they have been imposed on us by our parents or culture, and upon further examination we realize that they are illogical and just plain wrong! That can be scary, and I can say that it has been for me. Knowing that makes me more cautious to confront people about their deepest held beliefs. It's not that I will not confront others, but I realize it must be done, as much as possible, patiently, with consideration, and with friendship.

I've been thinking specifically about an idea that is very widespread, not only where I live in Denver, but throughout the western world. You can call the root of it post-modernism. According to this ideology, no one is wrong. Truth is dependent upon whether someone believes an idea, not whether this idea matches up with reality. What is reality, anyway? No one can really know.

Out of this ideology comes the idea that all roads lead to God, that is, if you believe in a God. This is what I've been trying to think through and evaluate lately. I came to realize six years ago that I had personally and knowingly rebelled against God and sought life, happiness and personal autonomy completely apart from him. I then realized that the death of Jesus was a substitute for people just like me, and I began to not only acknowledge the facts of Jesus' death and resurrection, but to cling to him as my only hope of being reconciled or brought back to God. It was probably about a year later when I was first confronted with the idea, from a Muslim friend, that both of our beliefs could be right. I knew that it didn't feel true, but had never thought it through critically so that I could articulate any reasons why I disagreed. However, now I have, and I would just like to share three reasons why I disagree with my Muslim friend. These reasons are primarily grounded in the Bible, but I will not focus much here on why I trust the Bible. I will simply say that it is incredibly credible, historically speaking.

Firstly, Jesus said, as recorded in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Therefore, if Jesus claims exclusive access to God the Father, and Person B claims Jesus among multiple other ways to access the Father, either Jesus is wrong, or Person B is wrong. The law of non-contradiction states that both "A" and "not A" cannot be true simultaneously. Furthermore, if Jesus is wrong, then Person B is also wrong, because he claims that Jesus is right!

Secondly, Jesus, in the hours leading up to his crucifixion, prayed, "Father, if there is no other way for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, let your will be done" (Matthew 26:42). The "cup" referred to here was written about hundreds of years prior by the prophets who called God's "cup of wrath" the justified anger that rose up in God because of man's rebellion. Jesus didn't deserve to "drink this cup," because he never rebelled against his Father but always perfectly and lovingly obeyed him. Nor did Jesus want to take on this responsibility if it weren't absolutely necessary. Jesus was not unlike us. Something in us longs for there to be some other way than Jesus dying on the cross to fix the world. Why? From our point of view, the exclusivity of the cross of Jesus means this: We are so broken, out-of-line with our created purpose and out-of-touch with God, that the only way we and God can be reunited is through the sacrifice of God's perfect son. The task is beyond us. There is no effective self-salvation plan. Spiritually, we are helpless because we are dead. That idea does not feel comfortable. Then, if we think about Jesus' point of view, he may have been thinking something like this at that crucial moment of prayer, "These people who I love are so helpless to save themselves that I am the only one who can do anything for them, yet to do so means absorbing in my own body all the anger of my Father, built up throughout all history as a result of sick, gross sins... murder, rape, idolatry, genocide, etc. All I have ever known from my Father has been love and acceptance throughout eternity. Now he will reject me personally, and it will hurt tremendously to fall into the hands of the Romans, but to fall into the hands of my Father as he crushes sin is too much. Could there be some other way? Isn't there any other way?" Jesus, God in the flesh, knew there was no other way, and he took the responsibility for our rebellion at "the place of the skull," Golgotha.

Thirdly, we all believe there is someone out there doing something we do not like. Even if we do intellectually buy into the ideology that morality is relative and all religions are equally valid, we do not feel that way, nor do we act that way. No one really feels like Hitler was right because he sincerely believed Jews were inferior. No one really feels like Jim Jones was right because he really thought God told him to kill hundreds with cyanide-laced kool-aid. We call these guys evil, or at least crazy or terribly wrong. We do not feel like they were in any way right, or that they found reconciliation with God through their actions.

In conclusion, and in answer to the question of this post, if all roads lead to God, then both Jesus and post-modernists are wrong, Jesus suffered unnecessarily, and Hitler and Jim Jones are in heaven. You don't want to believe that, nor should you.

The Worst Part about Getting Shot in the Buttocks

In case you haven't seen Forest Gump, the title of this post is an augmentation of my favorite of his quotes, "The best part about getting shot in the buttocks is THE ICE CREAM!" Any time I hear someone use the word "buttocks" I think of this quote. For example, read the following article from BBC News. WARNING: It's a serious article, though the Forest Gump quote is funny, at least to me.

Buttocks Injection Death

The main thing I wanted to think through is the question, "What does this say about our culture's world-view?" Obviously, something is skewed.

We all care about how we look, right? Is that bad? Well, I believe that depends on why we care. The book of Proverbs tells us that "as water reflects a face, so a man's heart reflects the man" - Proverbs 27:19. That's written by Solomon, the wisest man ever. He was saying that the most important aspect of a man, even the essence of who a man is, is what goes on in his heart. Then, someone greater than Solomon, Jesus, came and also taught about the heart as a consistent theme, as recorded throughout the gospels. Jesus compares men and women to trees, where the "root" determines the "fruit," meaning the heart determines the actions (Matthew 12). Of course when we talk about the heart in this sense we're not referring to the blood-pumping organ itself but about what we treasure with our deepest desires and passions. "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be, also" - Luke 12:34. Therefore, the most important part of who we are as humans, from God's eternal perspective, is what we treasure with our deepest desires and passions, our heart.

This being said, the question remains. Is it right for me to care about how I look? Absolutely. However, it is not right to be consumed with how I look. That can become idolatry, where I actually start worshiping myself instead of God alone. The next logical question is, how do I know if I care too much about my image? Personally, I have realized a few ways of discerning when I care too much. If I would be embarrassed to admit how much time I spend looking in the mirror, how much money I spend on my clothes/hair/body, how self-conscious I feel to take my shirt off at the pool, whether proud or ashamed, how much time I spend at the gym trying to get ripped, etc... those are all good indicators that I care too much about my physical image. If you travel to foreign countries to undergo life-threatening cosmetic surgeries organized through the black market, you, also, may care too much about your physical appearance.

Jobs

I would simply like to share how my job search is going, in case anyone is curious, and because I get bored applying for jobs all day and need to take breaks.

So, I have had two small signs of hope with regards to engineering jobs lately. First, I was told I would be scheduled for an interview with a construction company this week! Second, I made it past round one for a civil engineering opening with the Colorado Division of Wildlife, and I'm invited to come take a written exam.

In the meantime, I have been looking for part-time work. So far, the most exciting possibility I have applied for is a swimming instructor. I love swimming! I have taught swim lessons briefly in the past, and I would love to do it again for a season. We'll see what happens.