I think "Jesus' claim to be the one portal to salvation and righteousness" was a marketing ploy conceived by latter day Christians--a smart one which recognizes consumers' desire for exclusive affiliation (especially when the stakes are so high). Religion doesn't exist in a vacuum of our flawed humanity, and I suspect there were a number of motivations for attributing this claim to him, including: economics, self-defense, and politics. (No I don't have a single chart or graph to support this contention.)
This is a judgmental act, one which necessarily places Man the Worshipper in the position of the judge and partial executioner of God's Word (or more broadly the Religious Canon).
All religious canons, no matter how inspired, were wrought by the hand of man, and as such are fallible, even though they may contain some infallible truths. I rely on my cognitive filters to separate the wheat from the chaff, and over the years have found myself gravitating toward the intersections of all religions, rather than dogmatically cleaving to any one in particular. (I'm no dummy--add up all the Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, and Islamic religious holidays, and I may only work 1 or 2 days a week) |
