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CHRISTIANITY IS ONLY ONE PATH TO GOD. THERE ARE OTHERS.

“I have other sheep as well that are not of this fold. These I must also feed”. (John 10:16).

“In my Father’s house there are many mansions”. (John 14:2).

I believe that Jesus is God with the Father and the Spirit and that Jesus is the way to God.

I am also very content in my Christian and catholic ( small c ) home and have no desire to express my faith in any other way.

However, I do think it fascinating that Jesus spoke of other “folds” and a variety of “mansions”.

Men and woman have always made the fatal mistake of thinking that they can grasp, understand and corral God into their thinking, group or church.

But the truth is that, in this world, God is infinitely incomprehensible and incapable of human comprehension.

So the best we can do is to “attempt” to approach God.

We Christians believe that Jesus Christ is our way to God. I totally concur.

But of course God is infinitely free to do what he wants, go where he wants and approve of whoever he wants.

And God’s approval of a Mahatma Gandhi may be stronger than his approval of a pope.

And God’s approval of a Martin Luther King Jnr may be stronger than his approval of a Mother Teresa.

The late, great, Father Faber hit the nail on the head when he wrote:

“But we make His love too narrow
By false limits of our own;
And we magnify His strictness
With a zeal, He will not own”.

It would be nonsence to think or believe that God will only allow the 1.3 billion Roman Catholics into Heaven and point the other 5.7 billion to Hell.

On Heaven, as far as I am concerned there will be good Buddhists, good Hindu’s, good atheists and agnostics etc,.

I had the wonderful experience this week of presiding over the marriage of a lovely, loving, moral and impressive young couple from Nepal – one a Buddhist and one a Hindu.

We had a moving ceremony that involved some silence, some sharing and some prayer and meditation as well as the vows and a blessing.

As the psalmist proclaimed:

Psalm 133 A song of ascents. Of David.

“1. How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!

2. It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down upon the collar of his robes

3. It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion.

For there the LORD bestows his blessing, even life forevermore”.

God is like a beautiful massive, precious diamond.

And each little facet is glimpse into the diamond.

And those facets represent the variety of God’s “folds” and “mansions”.

73 replies on “CHRISTIANITY IS ONLY ONE PATH TO GOD. THERE ARE OTHERS.”

Christianity only path to God. Yes butt… God is truth Whoever touches real genuine truth from wherever connects with God. One God One Truth One Salvation. Whoever says I have the monopoly is a liar and making themselves into gods Naughty 👿 naughty

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There is no need to comprehend God any more than there is to understand one another. But there is a need to KNOW God to a degree where we can first be attracted to (like) him, and then, gradually, come to love him singularly and supremely, to a depth that fulfils the first of the two commandments into which Jesus distilled the entire Mosaic Law: first, love God above all else; and second, love neighbour as self.
The Protestant reformers got this right by stressing the requirement for a personal relationship with God, while the counter-reformationists emphasised absolute and unquestioning obedience to the Church’s ‘sacred magisterium’. In fact, the Jesuits expressed this obedience to an extreme and comical extent: if it is really a Wednesday, but the sacred magisterium declares it Saturday, then Saturday it is. This, or something like it. This was the Church ‘s answer to the common sense and the simplicity of the reformers: to tighten the reins of control over an already laboured clergy and laity.
The rigid authoritarianism extended even to ordinands for the priesthood: they were to profess loyalty to the institutional Church and its laws through a promise or vow to obey a bishop, and his successors.
Rome was now obsessed, even paranoid, about control and discipline over its priests and people. In such a theocracy, fear, suspicion, and punishment squeezed the capacity for love and peace.
What is being reaped today in the Church, in and through a multitude of sexual scandals, was sown in the Council of Trent.

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Nice heart warming blog today Pat. x Maybe add your inspired expansive meditations on The Creed, “My Creed.” x

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I have literally just read that Carlos Duarte Costa was canonised by the Brazilian Catholic Apostolic Church and under the title of São Carlos do Brasil is considered the patron of independent Catholicism.
São Carlos do Brasil ora pro nobis!

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What ??? You means “no salvation outside the Catholic Church” isn’t true ?! I’m shocked. I thought all those Prods and others were going to Hell. I’m shocked. You mean all that shite that I was brought up with is now not true ?!

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Respect for and tolerance of people’s spuritual, religious beliefs and those of a humanist/atheist persuasion is essential for understanding our humanity in its fullness. We each choose which “spiritual” pathway to follow and each pathway has something to offer. I like the quote where Jesus says – “There are many rooms in my father’s house..” which I take to mean that God has a place for each one of us in his heart…All lives matter to him. If we accept this truth from Jesus, it is a great comfort…and is challenging for the way we live our lives. I belueve in the unbounded love and mercy of God to all. But, I never presume that I am always deserving of such against the shabbiness of my response to the gospel at times.

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You quote John 14:2 but what do you have to say about Jesus’ words in verse 6?
“‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”.

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8.59

And what is Jesus, but love. John says this, too. (1 John)

ALL can love, whether they be Christian or non-Christian. Therefore ALL can be redeemed.

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To the person or persons behind this “Magna Carta”, practice what you preach and spare us your cloying “homilies”.

Love doesn’t mix with your usual contempt and vitriol.

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10.27

It doesn’t come from me: it comes from the Holy Spirit through John.

Thought it was obvious, like. 😀

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It is clearly taught by the Church that God gives EVERYONE sufficient grace to be saved.
We do not believe that those who are not Catholics are “going to hell”. That is utter nonsense and a parody of what the Church actually teaches and believes.
However, the salvation of everyone is through Christ. No one comes to the Father except through Him as He says in John 14. Not through Mohammed or Buddha or any other god or religious system – only through Christ.
Those in Heaven will be there because Christ died for the salvation of many. Those who are damned will be lost through their own fault. Only God knows who they will be.

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@11:42 – Those who reject Him for whom His Blood will be of no avail. “To as many as did accept Him, He gave power to become children of God” (John 1:12). There those of whom He will say, “away from me, I never knew you” (Matthew 7:21-23). That is why we say “for many” and not “for all”.

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2.11
Pure unadulterated heresy. Not Catholic theology. Not Christian. Fundamentalist reception of isolated scriptural passages, stringing together several out-of-context sentences.

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+Pat: The gist of today’s blog is that there are additional paths “to God”, for others of non Christian faiths and even for atheists.
I see no proof for the existence of God. I have asked blog readers many times for such, yet nothing of any value has been offered other than others personal convictions or exhortations that I should “have faith.” Cathbots take note!
In respect of Christianity’s God, from what I see in the bible, there is a dichotomy between an allegedly loving New Testament style God and the wrathful punitive OT God.

From what I see around me every day there is massive humanity induced pain suffering and misery: rapacious greed, war and interpersonal violence. In addition and significantly, there is and always has been famine, disease and horrendous suffering from natural disasters, earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanism and the like: events once attributed to “gods” but now understood as to their entirely natural causes.

And despite all this, proponents of belief in a supreme Creator God who sustains all known activity ask that we “love and worship” this God so we can after death abide with Him forever and continue to “sing his praises.”
I would have great difficulty explaining all the inherent contradictions in these concepts to mothers of diseased and dying innocent babies let alone understanding or accepting them myself.
If this is the “God of Christianity ” I certainly don’t want to take any path in his direction even if I thought for one instant that there was any truth in his existence. If this is “God” then “no thanks”: you’re welcome to keep this vicious maniac.
And we’re only talking of Mothership Earth here! Do we have to ignore the known millions of other galaxies, stars and planets, and increasing scientific knowledge of the possibilities of the existence of life forms elsewhere to stick with the myths of Christianity?
👎
MMM

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Indeed +Pat! Exactly as in my third sentence: belief & faith, to which I add,….despite all the contrary evidence; is it reasonable, or just a Paschal’s wager fearful acquiescence?
MMM

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11.45
For most Christians, it is probably that wager, MMM. (Well, that’s my bet.) And most of this group are Roman Catholics, since they, unlike Protestants, are taught not to have a personal relationship with God (that 🎵 getting to know you, getting to know all about you🎵 encounter), but to lean principally on ‘Father’ instead, that is, on the institutional church.
It has been this way largely since the paranoia and kickback that was the Counter-reformation.
And thus it remains, except that ‘Father’ is now reeking quite a bit of moral corruption 😷 and Catholics, literally hundreds of thousands across the world, have now copped on and are looking for God in other, more fragranced places.
Down with ‘Father’, I say. What do you say?

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5.21

These councils, and that Law, make it plain indeed that to encounter God in relationship it absolutely must be founded on the teachings of the ‘sacred magisterium’, that is, on the words of bishops. Of mere men.

The institutional church speaks similarly of exercising personal conscience: this is the application of that teaching in any circumstance.

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In answer to your final question @ 3:36 Magna: I’m certainly in favour of abolishing “father” by which I mean getting rid of the whole apparatus of the corrupt, injurious and duplicitous RCC and all its clerical ” fathers”, and other hangers on.
Big question though is how to do it. Reasonable rational arguments and evidence have proven impervious against the vested interests of clericalism piggy backing and capitalising on indoctrinated insecurities
MMM

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Magna @ 3.36. When did you last go to Mass in a Catholic church? My priest is always preaching about us having a personal relationship with the Lord.

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4.06

But he does not mean what you seem to believe. If he did, he would be in conflict with the Council of Trent, with the Second Vatican Council, and with Canon Law.

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MMM. A genuine question. Why do you spend a lot of your time arguing about someone you don’t believe to exist?

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@11:31: on nearing 80yrs old the finale approaches so I’m interested in central realities and other’s views. When I ask others for “proof”, my ‘entirely normal’ apprehension for my finale maybe ‘wishfully thinks’ of a Damascene “possibility ?”
But also, it amuses me to consider the nature of my own former naive beliefs and remark on others still stuck in that fatuous groove.
An honest answer to your honest question. Thanks for asking.
MMM

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MMM, I don’t believe because of anything I was ever taught.

I believe because I have experienced contact with the divine being and energies around it.

Of course I have neither video or sound of my experiences.

One one occasion I had such an experience in my kitchen with two witnesses present who shared the experience.

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By Post Author

I think it is possible to be intellectually convinced by the traditional arguments for the existence of God, which you will be familiar with, if you are veering towards theism. However I would be interested in what you think about an idea I’ve been chewing over for a while – that once you veer away from theism those arguments become even less convincing.
I not that when you ask for proof nobody as far as I’m aware, has actually given any of those arguments and wonder whether they think you won’t be impressed!

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12.33

Hurry up with that book, man!

You’re a sensitive; I’m absolutely convinced of this. And you will have had many such experiences in your life, of which some, at the time, you might not have recognised as encounters with the supernatural.

I know what I’m talking about, believe me. There is a very serious side to me; I’m not all whimsy.

Now get back to writing that book. There is a great hunger on Earth to for the Divine. The priest’s have been feeding people mutton when they needed Lamb.

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12.33
Pat, I’ll put this bluntly: have you psychic ability?
Did your mum have it, too?

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I don’t have psychic I think.

I have a very deep faith and am very sensitive to spiritual and supernatural occurrences and energies.

I sometimes wake up “knowing” something I didn’t know before I went to sleep.

And I’ve had a small number of both positive and negative encounters with non-human people.

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Seamus, I take this to ask what happens after death, for I do not believe in an “afterlife.”
So my thoughts:—–
On death, (the absolute end, whenever that is, given many recoveries and near death recorded experiences), the brain, with its millions of ‘sparking’ neurones, synapses etc that generate consciousness, will have shut down and begin to decay along with the rest of the body. Consciousness, of self or others, will vanish. There is no after death consciousness.
So far as I’m concerned, the afterlife is a human generated wishful thinking concept derived from fear and regret at our mortality. The concept has been given false legitimacy through its historical endorsement by the priestly castes of all religions, mostly for their own benefit. Emotional, psychological and communal pressures perpetuates it’s continuation as a central concept and focus of religion’s followers. The concept is so widely and deeply embedded in our human psyche that most find it impossible to acknowledge as mythical.
MMM
PS. I don’t think, Anon @ 3:37, I’ll be able to return to say “I told you so,” 🤭

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Seamus I’m open to reading anything relevant to increasing my understanding. But I have to say that everything of this nature I’ve come across, ie in support of religion, afterlife, etc, has been a load of fatuous cobblers riddled with inconsistencies.
I’ve neither the knowledge nor intellectual faculties to debate all the finer points of religio-philosophical debates on the Gospels, RCC doctrinal pronunciations, magesterium and the like: I certainly don’t profess to have knowledge such as Magna possesses, so don’t get into debates on biblical interpretations. Given the dubious nature of the Bible’s provenance and relevance I see no point in it.
I’ve watched many YouTube videos of eminent religious believers in debates with highly intelligent informed educated atheists/humanists. Some religious believers, a few, display great humility, compassion and evidence of their integrity of conviction.But for most part, support of religious beliefs in intelligent debate is constantly shredded and exposed as completely unfounded by any evidential reality. As I’ve said here before, religious beliefs devolve into unfounded and insecure personal convictions: personal beliefs generated with no basis in reality.
In listening to such debates I follow with understanding the lucidity of non believers arguments. But I find the arguments for religion weak, inconsistent, and completely unbelievable.
I don’t believe I’ve anything comparable intelligent wise to intellectual giants like Hitchens or Dawkins. I just believe in what makes sense and reject leaps of faith for the sake of……..misguided comfort in false hope.
MMM

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Hi MMM 11:55,
Thanks for your late night response.
I’ve neither the knowledge nor intellectual faculties to debate all the finer points of the afterlife. 7 Reasons to Believe in the Afterlife is a book that took a scientific approach. I wasn’t looking for the validation of a scientific approach but I found it an interesting read.
People have varying levels of emotional intelligence. People have varying levels of energy awareness. Someone with high emotional intelligence can be understanding of the limitation of someone who cannot see beyond a certain horizon. Someone with a high energy awareness likewise can be understanding of people who cannot see beyond a certain horizon.
Many people who have sadly lost a close loved one can sense that they have passed on to the Afterlife. These people are not taking leaps of faith. They are not misguided in false hope. They truly know.
You, as you said yourself, just believe in what makes sense. That is perfectly ok. I just want to share that to many people it is like you saying that the earth is flat when they know it is round. They can understand from your prism why you might say it is flat. They happen to be able to see beyond the horizon.
Consciousness does exist away from our body. It is difficult for some to comprehend. That is perfectly fine. People have to carry on with their lives. I carry on with my life. Awareness of the Afterlife coexists.
PAX

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5.29: Magna, this topic has been discussed many times before. Where are your supporters??? I guessed you would write such a comnent but then, you’re always waging for a cat fight, goading others to argue like bullies, as happened yesterday. Why the need to make your cynical put downs and judgments of priests? Thank God for priests – the majority – who seek to live prayerfully and spiritually.

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4.58
I shouldn’t thank God for priests, cos he never intended them; just EVERYONE, male and female, breaking bread and drinking wine in Jesus’ memory.
And this is how it was among Jesus’ earliest followers👍; none of the priestly elitism of ontological change and the baroque liturgical pretensions of counter-reformation Europe.
Just sincerity in abject simplicity. 😀

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6.26: Broken record, broken record, broken record – the musings of a recidivist hater…Cop on, little petty bully.

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MC 5:29; “A notable absence of comments from romanist priests”
Peace be with you Magna 5:29. It seems you cannot live without the good priests! Sometimes you have to go without to appreciate what you had! 😉
Anon 4:58 (RT 5:28); “Where are your supporters?”
Magna’s posse are like snakes in the grass. 🐍 If they were dogs you would say that they are all bark and no bite! 🐕

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Magna at 3.57: Many of us could write about amazing, “supernatural” experiences which we’ve had. I’m sure you’ve had one or two!! Perhaps we could all send our stories to Pat for publication. In an almost faithless and God-less world, we are considered dinosaurs of a bygone era. However, I value the “extraordinary” deeply spiritual moments which haplened unexpectedly. Some occurred 45/30/20 years ago…mostly at places of pilgrimage, monasteries, in forests, by the seas, rivers and lakeside…in those places of tranquillity, beauty, peace and quiet. All moments became revelations of “something” or “someone” greater, transcendent, beyond…For me – God moments which now are well springs of hope in difficult and dark times.

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5.20

I did share one such account with blog readers, and not too long ago either; but it was when I was still, kinda, persona non grata, so I posted it under ‘Anonymous’.

However, the good priests, their deep faith and their moral sensibilities resurrected, protested my absence. Their hue and cry brought me back, so it did. 😀

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A notable absence of comments from romanist priests today, except for the two who snidely sniped at me earlier.

I think this fact tends to prove your thesis, Pat: that the Romanists don’t believe in God at all. So why would they be in interested in today’s blog (except as an opportunity for having a go at li’l ole me 😳 ).

Tch It’s elementary. 🙃

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The other thing they’re not saying that I would have thought they would is to state the superiority of the RC church over others. I was expecting them to have a pop at the Anglicans and to keep telling Pat that he will go ‘home’.
Perhaps they have even stopped believing that, the cornerstone of their faith!

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5.29: The bully boy nature of Marge is surfacing again. Proving once more that he is an agitating, antagonistic, nasty person forever looking for personalised, nasty commentary..Grow up, Margie.

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Margie: Thanks!!! You might pray this hymn from the Divine Office: O Christ, the light of heaven and of the world true light: You come in all your radiance to cleave the web of night: may what is false within us before your truth give way, that we may live untroubled with quiet hearts this day: may steadfast sustain us and hope made firm in you; the love that we have wasted, O God of love renew..” A worthwhile prayer for the grace of inner renewal for each day…

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7.15: As the song says, Marge – “You say it best when you say nothing at all…”!!! Whow…

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If that’s in the breviary it obviously worked with all the duplicitous paedos reading it.
I’m just watching Dead Man Walking (1995) based on Sister Helen Prejean who still visits prisoners on death row. Right at the start the prison chaplain says, ‘I thought the holy father told sisters to wear the habit,’ and she replies, ‘My community haven’t worn the habit for 20 years and I think you’ll find he said “distinctive clothing”.’
Go it girl.

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Liverpool Echo's 🏅 Alastair Machray received an MBE in the Queen's Honour List for his "Services to local journalism" in October 2020 🏅says:

The movie, Spotlight (2015) – by Tom McCarthy, is on tonight at 11:20pm BBC 2
— If you haven’t seen it, then it is a definite must! I found it to be really informative; it sheds light on how the Roman institution cover up abuse and the tactics they use — like corruption at the very top — in the legal professions like Police, local government officials—it even highlights how the media were / are, swayed from even investigating… never remind reporting.
Incidentally… The Liverpool Echo’s very own Alastair Machray, Editor-in-Chief, received an MBE 🏅 for services to local journalism in the Queen’s Birthday honours, in October 2020 (Local Journalism? How So…? )
Very interesting… Liverpool Echo, in 2018, were provided with a massive dossier of evidence — received in person and via email… it will be interesting to see if they acted, at all? I certainly hope they did, that would be a good thing. Right?
Time will tell… 🏅

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+Pat. Please cut the nutter off from
Liverpool and stop his endless posts. He needs help and publishing his shit on here is not helping anyone.

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+Pat, Thankyou for continuing to give a voice to those “The World” would seek to silence!
Jardine, There are three things that do not remain long hidden. The Sun, The Moon & The Truth! ~ Buddha
(Reader from East Of England)

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I think there is a huge range of occurrences we humans experience beyond that which we understand or can explain in full or partially, as natural. The brain is an incredible “machine” and our senses generate a huge range of reactions, both conscious and unconscious, with our cognitive abilities and reasoning continually attempting to understand experiences within a framework of our reasoning abilities.
Against these realities, some of us have experiences “outside the normal”. Some comments above like +Pat’s refer to them. But surely it is questionable to attribute such events to an unseen “God?”
Does this God, whoever he is, involve himself in such matters on a whim, and why? What’s he playing at? If he wants to “show himself”, why doesn’t he stop “arsing about” and do something more useful, like stopping covid or ceasing cancer?
Attributing unusual inexplicable occurrences to some mythical “Sky Fairy ” as evidence for his existence: well it’s just laughable!
MMM

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“attempting to understand experiences within a framework of our reasoning abilities”
Our reasoning ability is what we have.
That does not equate that what is outside of our current framework of reasoning is not there.

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The inexplicable events aren’t half as bad as the times he doesn’t act. According to the bible he’s well capable of smiting whole nations of he feels like it but inexplicably didn’t do this during slavery (although he likes slavery doesn’t he), when his anointed were abusing children and not when abortions are going on. Remarkable lack of action.
Monotheism also has a difficulty with explaining evil.
For me the solution to this has been that there may well be a god or several gods, but they’re not actually interested in the world in the way monotheism implies. Certainly not to the point of intervening and not to the point of salvation either.

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Aha@10:22: Shure doesn’t He work in mysterious ways. And don’t we have to take into account that He might be busy somewhere else up there in the galaxies : walking on water; then changing water into wine; then changing wine into blood! …….He’s a busy fella this one!
And look at the way he even managed to keep the ball out of our net tonight! He was so knackered He just couldn’t manage to get it into thon Sassenachs net. That Pickford fella must have had Oul Nick guiding him!

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Anon 10:22; “but they’re not actually interested in the world”
Are humans interested in the world? Are humans causing harm to the world? Can humans take responsibility for their own actions?

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9.19: MMM – you are beginning to show signs of being 80!! A little drunk – yeah…and stop “arsin” about on your mountain bar stool. You’ll fall off uf you’re not careful and at your age – a fall can be leyhal!!🤣😊😁🤔😍🤣🤣..

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The ignorant rant riven nature of @ 10:10’s comment demonstrates his/her limitations to an admirable degree. Stick to something you’re good at: emojis seem your strong suit.

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For anyone interested: Spotlight, the film on journalists uncovering the RCC child sexual abuse scandal is on BBC2 @ 11:20 tonight.
MMM

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