Jesus says no man comes to father except through me

Jesus says no man comes to father except through me

Jesus says "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except through me.
An exchange of thoughts between David Campbell and Mike Ghouse
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David,

I am glad you say this " I thank you very much as your questions have helped solidify in my mind that Jesus is who He says He is. He truly is God. My prayer and hope for you is that He would reveal Himself to you and that through Him you would find peace in His name. May God bless you with abundant life in Jesus."

David, Jesus is truly a God to "you" and those "who believe". Please follow the teachings of Jesus, as it brings peace to you as an individual, brings comfort in the moments of difficulty, joy in the moments of happiness.

I honor your belief and hope you would honor fifty other ways of believing or not believing in the creator.

Like wise, Hindus, Muslims, Jews and other have their own set of beliefs and each is legitimate to the believer. Jesus is part of my life in my own way, his teachings of forgiveness, love thy neighbor and turning the other cheek are part of me, as the teachings of Mohammad, Krishna, Buddha and others are. They all loved us and wanted us to lead a life of peace within and with others. Each belief is valid.

Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, and I would add, faith is in the heart of the believer. No one needs to change their faith, it is not needed, unless it is a want.

God bless you.

Mike Ghouse


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DAVID CAMPBELL WRITES:

Thank you so much for being willing to discuss this matter with me. I see that you are a very educated and intelligent man. I cannot say that I am either. I have not finished college and really have been fairly limited in my exposure to the world around me. I hope you will bear with me in my questions and do not perceive me as too much the buffoon.

I would agree with you 100% that one should do good to others, regardless of race, creed, religion, nationality, etc. As a Christian I believe that all people were created in the image of God and therefore are entitled to the dignity that lies inherent in that state. I would also agree with you that clergy very much twist to sustain their position(s). There has been much harm done in the world because of this.

I can see your point as to why one would follow your heart. It would seem that because you can't trust fallen people there must be something that we can trust. However, if we make it one's heart or feelings that we follow are we not placing ourselves in the place of God? I cannot act on every feeling I have or else I could potentially infringe on someone else. Take a child for instance who feels that they want a toy that another is playing with and tries to take it and is denied and then takes a block and clubs the other kid in the head. In this instance following ones heart in the purest of form cannot be right. The child has not been taught by clergy or anyone. It is that our nature is ultimately fallen and is in need of a redeemer. Someone who will make us new from the inside.

If Jesus says "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except through me." In pluralism, can that be true while another believes there is another way to heaven?


Again thank you so much for your willingness to discuss this with me.

David Campbell


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David

You asked "If Jesus says "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except through me." In pluralism, can that be true while another believes there is another way to heaven? "

We cannot reduce Jesus to be a clansman, we cannot reduce him to be the shepherd of a specific tribe, he was indeed, the man and the teacher to the whole universe and that message "through me" was meant for all people on the earth. And it meant following his teachings and not the utterance of the words, a parrot can do that without knowing what it means.

1) turn the other cheek, meaning when some one eggs you to fight, you do not aggravate the situation further by falling prey and retaliate, instead you find means to mitigate the conflict.

2) Forgive - by forgiving one becomes free or else one is bonded in eternal slavery... if you don't forgive, each time the name of that person comes up, or every time you see that man, your blood boils, by forgiving, you have freed yourselves.

3) Love thy neighbor... means accept the other person with his own uniqueness, as long as that person is not robbing you, not hurting you, you can accept him for who he is. God created you both, and you have to appreciate and respect his will.

When Jesus says "through me", we have a choice to reduce his message to the words it is contained in and understand that "through his physical person or his word" alone, one gets access to God.

Those who want to monopolize the business of religion, will bottle up Jesus in words, those who are spiritualists, will understand the message rather than blindly follow the words.

Jesus is one of my spiritual Masters and there are several great masters, every one of them loved us, they loved us and wanted us to at peace within and with others. As a Muslim I love the teachings of Jesus, and as a human, I value this teachings and every masters teachings.

They did not intend to brand us into a different breed of cattle, they intended us to be good beings.

Mike Ghouse


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In a message dated 9/8/2008 1:38:32 P.M. Central Daylight Time, David B Campbell writes:
Mike,
Thank you so much for being willing to discuss this matter with me. I see that you are a very educated and intelligent man. I cannot say that I am either. I have not finished college and really have been fairly limited in my exposure to the world around me. I hope you will bear with me in my questions and do not perceive me as too much the buffoon.

I would agree with you 100% that one should do good to others, regardless of race, creed, religion, nationality, etc. As a Christian I believe that all people were created in the image of God and therefore are entitled to the dignity that lies inherent in that state. I would also agree with you that clergy very much twist to sustain their position's). There has been much harm done in the world because of this.

I can see your point as to why one would follow your heart. It would seem that because you can't trust fallen people there must be something that we can trust. However, if we make it one's heart or feelings that we follow are we not placing ourselves in the place of God? I cannot act on every feeling I have or else I could potentially infringe on someone else. Take a child for instance who feels that they want a toy that another is playing with and tries to take it and is denied and then takes a block and clubs the other kid in the head. In this instance following ones heart in the purest of form cannot be right. The child has not been taught by clergy or anyone. It is that our nature is ultimately fallen and is in need of a redeemer. Someone who will make us new from the inside.

If Jesus says "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except through me." In pluralism, can that be true while another believes there is another way to heaven?

Again thank you so much for your willingness to discuss this with me.

David Campbell


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On Mon, Sep 8, 2008 at 12:54 PM, wrote:
Dear David,

If we can learn to accept and respect every which way one appreciates the causer and sustainer of our lives, calling that cause "God or whatever name one is taught", and respect those who do not give any special significance to that creator but accept that there is a cause for creation, then we can have a world of co-existence with least conflict.

The purpose of the religion is not to create God in our imaginations, but rather help each one of us understand the complexities of creation, destruction and sustenance and how to keep our balance, our equilibrium that we can survive for the amount of time written on our chip (sperm/egg) with least variations and how we can keep that balance with fellow beings and the environment.

I am setting up a few workshops in Pluralism, where every one is open to ask any question and also a few workshops on Islam... I will update you about it and will be happy to answer all your questions.

It is a requirement for a Muslim to acknowledge every master who existed to teach us learn the ropes of life and live a balanced life. An infinite number is given as 124,000 such teachers (prophets), and 25 of them have been mentioned by name - 24 are Biblical teachers. Mary is considered the woman of highest honor in Islam a model of purity to follow, Jesus is the star in Islam who brings the good news and foretells that message will be completed by Prophet Muhammad.

In the imaginary seven layers of heaven, one is managed by Jesus.

David, all religions are beautiful, it is the politics of gaining resources, influence and control that makes the guardians of religion (clergy) twist it to suit their unreligious desires. A good Christian is a good Muslims, is a good Jew, is a good Hindu and a good human being.

Don't go by what the clergy say, they have a vested interest in keeping religion as their business. It is the sources of their livelihood. Go by what your hearts say - the feeling a crying and hungry baby generates in you and the subsequent action is the essence of Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism and every religion. But if you think that baby is a Jew or a Muslim or a.... and you withdraw the action, then you are acting under the influence of religions run by the owners of that business side of their religion.

If you don't feel any emotions when a Palestinian is shot and stain God's name to justify your business of religion, then you are not a Christian as Jesus wanted you to be or when you rejoice when a Christian or an American is killed, you cannot be a Muslim, even though you wear the label on you.

Please visit the website www.worldmuslimcongress.com and read the mission statement, the very first item on the text area... that is Islam.

Mike Ghouse


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In a message dated 9/8/2008 10:25:13 A.M. Central Daylight Time, David Campbell writes:
Mike,

I came across your email address by your Dallas Muslim Blog. I am assuming by your blog that you are Muslim. I cannot say I know very much about Islam except perhaps what I see and read in the news which I fear is either inaccurate or at least somewhat biased. I am assuming that if that happens in my faith as a follower of Jesus it probably happens to those who are Muslim.

I have many questions about Islam but really do not know where to begin. Many of my questions revolve around how Muslim's regard Jesus (Issa). I am not sure if you would be open to me asking you questions and perhaps engaging in a discussion. I am not interested in an argument or to ridicule anyone (or be ridiculed) but I would like to know more of what you believe, share what I believe, and that should I find that I am holding onto faulty notions I can let go of those and only follow what is True.

I understand that Muslim's believe in the unity or Oneness of God. I, too believe that God is One. Yet I believe that God is made of 3 yet one. For instance we all believe in the concept of Time. Time is made of Past, Present, and Future. Each element fully considered time and each element fulfills a certain role within Time. Space also is an example made up of height, width, and depth. Matter is yet another example made of solid, liquid, and gas. All elements of a trinity are complete and yet distinct. God is a Trinity being God the Father, God The Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

I understand that God is completely Holy and unknowable. I believe that as well, unless God has chosen, in His sovereignty to reveal Himself to His creation. I also believe that God is SO HOLY that people, who are sinners by nature cannot approach Him unless there is something to make atonement for the sin that has been committed. In old days there was a sacrificial lamb that was presented as a continuing offering for the sin of people. That lamb was a picture of what God was painting for His ultimate Lamb who would take away the sins of the world, namely Jesus. Because God took on flesh and lived as a man, He lives a perfect life and lived the life that we could not live and died the death that we should have died. God poured out His wrath on Jesus (on Himself) and thereby kept His word that sin requires death but paid a sufficient price to reconcile us to Him. The wrath of God was satisfied on the body of Jesus.

You see at the end of the day I would be happy to work to earn God's favor but also deep down when I am by myself and there is no one left to pretend to, I know how wicked I really am. I know that I do not worship God like He deserves to be worshipped. For instance if my goal is Heaven then that means I desire Heaven more than God and therefore I am worshipping something more than I am worshipping God. If I desire to escape punishment then my goal is really comfort and I am really worshipped comfort. I know that no matter how good I may try to be that at the end of the day I cannot be good enough to satisfy this Holy God. I want to. But thanks be to God through Christ Jesus that He has paid the price and I can rest on His sufficiency and His sacrifice know that God looks at me and sees the price that Jesus paid. Because the ultimate questions is 'how can a holy God let any corrupted people into His presence?' Ultimately I believe that my faith answers how a sinful fallen person can be reconciled to God and have God still remain Holy and Just.

I freely admit that there have been horrible atrocities committed by those who call themselves Christians and followers of Jesus. I also freely admit that much of what the West terms as Christianity is probably at best an aberration. I was just wondering if you would not mind sharing with me a little about your faith and correct me where you feel I have misunderstood.


In Much Respect,
David Campbell

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