Inter-Faith Dialogue

(Nov2012: Religion & Cults: Examination Question: Inter- faith dialogue 'Jesus is the only Way to Salvation)

1.      You are invited to explain your Christian faith in an inter-faith dialogue that included the following religious participation, namely Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam. The topic given to you is, ‘The concept of Salvation a common denominator in Religions’. How would you present this paper biblically? How would you appropriately present the Christian exclusive concept of salvation that is ‘Jesus is the only way to salvation’?

Answer:

Before looking into the Christianity concept of salvation, let’s have a brief understanding of how Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam look at salvation and the way to salvation, and I would like to base on some common grounds to present my points.

The followers of Hinduism do not believe that man is inherently a sinner. Instead they believe that man is born with a divine nature, and human soul is good in nature. A man starts his journey of searching of his inner soul once he is born, and will reach his full divinity that leads him to the Supreme Reality, i.e. God. Therefore for Hinduism, there is neither concept of hell nor eternal condemnation. For them there is only God, soul and cosmos. Human beings are on their process of realizing their inner divinity. There are many ways that lead towards the Supreme Reality, and each soul is responsible to find his or her own way.

The followers of Buddhism believe that man is driven by his inner desires after this life, and is thus bounded up by suffering, anxiety and dissatisfaction. Buddhism seeks for a way out of the circle of birth, aging, sickness and death. They believe in the concept of karma and reincarnation. They believe that karma (one’s deeds and speech) will determine where he will go, and the man will be trapped in a circle of reincarnation until his ‘karma (fruits of his good deed) is full and that will lead him ultimately to the state of Nirvana. There are eightfold paths (right View (or Right Understanding), Right Intention (or Right Thought), Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration) that will lead one to Nirvana.

The followers of Islam believe that Allah is the Only God in the universe and He is sovereign and all men are called to submit to the will of Allah. Man has sins in this life and the only way for him to be kept away from sins is to obey the instructions given in the Quran and Hadith. He is to live up to the standard of Allah, observing the five pillars of faith, believing Allah is God and Muhammad is His prophet, fasting during the Ramadan month, pray five times a day, giving alms to the poor and fulfill the ritual of pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a lifetime. Muslims have no guarantee to be kept from hell as Allah has the absolute authority to decide who is to be rewarded and who is to be punished.

The followers of Christianity believe strongly and unanimously that ‘Jesus is the only way to salvation’. Jesus Christ has proclaimed in John 14:6 that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life, and no one will come to the Father except through Him. Christianity provides no alternative for salvation, other than salvation found by putting one’s faith in Jesus Christ. The salvation in Christ is proclaimed throughout centuries of biblical history, even before incarnation of Jesus, because OT has been speaking about the coming of the Messiah.

Unlike Hinduism followers who have to seek his or her own way to reach the Supreme Reality, and Buddhism followers who have to follow the eightfold paths without knowing how many good deeds they have to accumulate and how many rounds of incarnation they have to go through before they reach the Nirvana, and Muslims’ uncertainty about their destiny (whether to hell or heaven) by submitting to Allah’s will and instructions, Christianity expresses with a certain and definite voice that ‘Jesus is the only way to salvation’. There is no other way, and the salvation is sealed when one places his genuine faith in Christ Jesus.  

When Jesus talks about the Way, the Truth and the Life, he talks about His origin. He comes from where the Father is, and He is with the Father since the Beginning, even before the Creation of the world. He is the Creator and He knows His creation. All of the mankind are created beings and we do not exist when and where Jesus has existed before. Since Jesus comes from the Father, He knows exactly the way to be led to the heavenly Father. We do not come the way Jesus comes, and we are basically ignorant of where we will be heading to in eternity (John 8:14). For a blind cannot lead a blind, or both will fall into the pit. (Matthew 15:14)

How could a blind find his way to God? It is completely impossible to do so! All the prophets show the way to God when they are inspired by God and receive His revelation, and all the religions show their ways to eternity. But the prophets are not the way and they are only those means through which the way is pointed. Yet Jesus says uncompromisingly that He is the Way. He is the Only Way! In order to show the way, He was incarnated as a common man, living among us, suffering pains and rejection as we do suffer, and dying on the Cross for our sin, so that we could be redeemed through His blood. He comes to reveal God, to reveal the Way, to reveal that there is a possibility to overcome sin and death with the work He has done on the Cross! Only He is able to redeem, to be the Way to the Father.

Jesus is not an unknown ‘Supreme Being’ which is yet to be discovered and defined through individual experience. He is the promised Messiah, and possessing the very nature of God that is described in the Bible. He is transcendent and immanent, not as permeating forces or all materials in cosmos, but as in the person of Jesus who walks on earth as man like us. He lives and overcomes sin and death, and points us to the Father and eternity.

Christianity does not promote salvation by work, though we are saved to do good work. Good works do not contribute or give merits to our salvation. Salvation is purely and fully by the grace of God, when God gives His One and Only begotten Son, who dies for our sin, and restores our relationship with God that was once marred and broken due to our rebellion towards God, once we have confess our faith in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8). No amount of prayers, alms-giving will be able to save us from eternal fire, but calling on the name of Jesus and put our faith in Him.

Jesus is incarnated once, and He now lives forever. He dies and redeems us once and for all. There is no need for repetitive act of salvation from Him on us as individual, though we have to repeatedly rely on Him to overcome weaknesses in our lives so that we could lead a victorious living.

From the above analysis of Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam and Christianity faith, we can conclude that ‘The concept of Salvation a common denominator in Religions’, for all men are looking for a way or many ways to be saved from this sinful world or our own sinful nature. But how can one find way in the sinful world or with our sinful nature? It is completely impossible! The help must be from God. It is not a process that we try to be saved, but it is a process that He offers and shows the Way!