Logic

 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)

 

I’ll admit it. This morning - possibly because I’m listening to Sherlock Holmes stories, and partly as a result of some recent events, I’m feeling logically argumentative. I hope it’s of use to you at some point when you encounter the same idea.

          Let us suppose that I have put these two mugs on the table before you:

          I grant that one has the handle pointing left, the other has the handle pointing right, and that one has flowers nearer it, but those are not real differences. If I asked you to describe them, you might say that they are usable, identical white, 12 oz mugs and ask that I pour us both cups of coffee. I might tell you that you’re wrong. They’re not identical: one has a tiny hole in the bottom, and they are light gray.

          The biggest point is that we cannot both be right and honest. We may both be honest if one or both of us is wrong. But if one of us is right, the other must be mistaken or dishonest. If we are correct that they are both 12 oz mugs, that does not make us correct about any of the rest.

          Yes, this is all a restatement of C.S. Lewis’ trilemma. Scripture states that Jesus said the words above. He either said them, or He didn’t. At this point, while there are those who say that He didn’t say them, they present no documentary evidence to that effect. They have theories, but no evidence. So, they may be right, they may be wrong, or they may be lying. But if we are going to reject the notion that Jesus said it without solid evidence, we must also reject all other statements by all people unless we have heard it from them ourselves. Even audio recordings must be suspect in this day of AI.

          If He did say them, He told the truth, was mistaken, or lied. And this is where we come back to the coffee mug idea. Some claim that all gods are the same, and all religions are the same. The first problem I have with this is that if all gods and religions are the same, then why should the person seeking to convince others to join their religion not be the one to join the one they hope the others will leave? If both cups are identical, why try to get me to drink out of the one you’re holding? Ultimately, every leader of every religion - even the ones that claim all religions are the same - maintain that their own religion is somehow superior. If they weren’t superior, they would have left their religions for something that was superior to theirs and there would be no reason to suggest to anyone that they should change.

          But let’s make it even tougher. Jesus said that no one comes to the Father but by Him.  In II Corinthains 6:15, Paul said it well, “What harmony is there between Christ and Belial?” If someone’s religion rejects the notion that Jesus is the only way to God, then there are two choices:  Both parties are wrong, and neither Jesus nor the other is true and good or one party is deceived or deceptive (or both) and should be rejected.  They cannot both be correct and good, and there cannot be harmony or peace between them.