A couple of weeks ago, Pope Francis was speaking at an interreligious youth meeting in Singapore and made these comments: 

“Every religion is a way to arrive at God. Sort of a comparison or example would be there are different languages to arrive at God. But God is God for all, and if God is God for all then we’re all sons and daughters of God. ‘But my God is more important than your God!’ Is that true? There’s only one God and each of us is a language so to speak in order to arrive at God. Sikh, Muslim, Hindu, Christian, there are different paths.”  

While I have great respect for Pope Francis, I can’t help but respectfully disagree with him here. I find myself scratching my head and wondering just where in the Bible he is drawing from with these statements. As I have been pondering all this, I thought it might be helpful to share a few of my thoughts on the matter: 

1. All religions don’t teach the same thing.
Although these statements by Pope Francis are intended to be respectful and inclusive for all religions, they are actually offensive not just to Christians but also to Muslims, Jews, and others. Each religion has radically different views of God, and many claims of the different religions are exclusive of the others. Either Jesus is the Son of God or he’s not. Either the Koran is God’s Word or it’s not. Either there is one God or there’s not. Either Jesus died on the cross for our sins or not. They can’t all be right, and to say that it does not matter what one believes or which religion you adhere to because they are all essentially just different paths to the same God is demeaning to millions of faithful Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, as well as Christians. 

2. The Bible is clear that Jesus is the only way to the Father. 
Whether it’s John 14:6 where Jesus tells the disciples, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” 
   or Acts 4:10-12 where Peter preaches, “Let me clearly state to all of you and to all the people of Israel that he was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, the man you crucified but whom God raised from the dead. For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says, ‘The stone that you builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.’ There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved” 
   or John 17:3 where Jesus prays, “And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth” 
Scripture is clear that the only “path” to God is a relationship with his Son, Jesus Christ. There is no Biblical basis for an “Every religion gets you to God” statement. 

3. Jesus as the way to God may be seen as radically exclusive but it’s also radically inclusive.
The good news of the Gospel is that anyone can become a follower of Jesus! God loves every person in this world, regardless of gender or age or status or race or religion anything else, and his deepest desire is for all the world (John 3:16) to come to know him. Paul reminds us in Galatians 3:26-29, 
   
“For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you.”  

The exclusive nature of the Gospel is rooted in a deep love that God has for all people, and a clear understanding that sin has created a chasm and a brokenness between humanity and God that only the cross of Jesus Christ can make right. The result of the resurrection is right relationship with God for all who will say “Yes” to him! 

4. The “Scandal of Exclusivity” is worth having the conversation.
This is a term I heard from Pastor Jon Tyson. He used this term to say that whenever we talk about Jesus being the only way to God it can feel scandalous in the midst of those who disagree. It feels unfair, it creates anxiety, and it causes us to even question what we believe. The reality is there are wonderful people that we all know and love who are part of different faiths, some of whom are living out the values of Jesus better than many Christians! They are all sincere in their beliefs, and a part of us wants to shrug our shoulders and say, “Live and let live,” but we do a great disservice to them if we are not willing to at least start a conversation about who Jesus is, why we are followers of Jesus, and the difference he has made in our lives. 

5. How we actually live out our faith matters.
Jon Tyson points us to 1 Peter 3:15-16 here, and I think it’s a hugely important passage for us to remember: 

“You must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ.” 

So, how does this passage inform us on how to live out our faith among those who believe differently than we do? Let’s break it down… 

Make Christ Lord of our lives: Don’t shy away from living out your faith and putting Jesus first.
Be ready to explain your hope as a believer: Know that if you are living out your life with Christ as Lord, people will notice and want to know more!
Do this in a gentle and respectful way: Make your case but do so lovingly and respectfully, being kind and winsome and compassionate and empathetic.
If people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ: Be the kind of person who people speak well of, even when they disagree with you. Keep on loving, keep on walking alongside, keep on caring about and caring for, keep on being in relationship regardless of whether people ever come to know Jesus as Lord or not. It is not our job to judge people but to love people; it’s not our job to question people’s sincerity but to offer people grace and truth. 

Again, I have deep respect for Pope Francis, particularly his passion for protecting the lives of the unborn and caring for the lives of the forgotten and those on the margins. I also have deep respect for those living out faithful lives in other religions. This post should in no way be seen as a personal attack on the pope or the Catholic Church or any other world religion. I hope instead it causes you to think through what you believe and how you can better articulate why you believe the way you do. As Christians, God calls us to go out into the world and be witnesses to Jesus, telling people about him everywhere (Acts 1:8). May it be so for all of us!