The Christian Post reported on September 15th 2024 what the Pope (Pope Francis at that time) had said during a visit to Singapore. It read as follows:
“During a three-day visit to Singapore, Pope Francis declared that ‘all religions are a path to God,’ sparking backlash among religious leaders in the U.S. The statement was made at an interreligious meeting with young people at a Catholic junior college shortly before his departure back to Rome. Departing from his prepared remarks, Francis spoke off the cuff, stating that different religions are like ‘different languages to reach God. During his 2022 trip to Kazakhstan, he made similar statements. Auxiliary Bishop Athanasius Schneider of Astana, a frequent critic, had then commented on the risk of creating a ‘supermarket of religions.’”
The chaplain and Theology Department Chair at St. John XXIII College Preparatory in Katy, Texas, stated that: “Unsurprisingly, the pope’s remarks have drawn criticism, but what he said is not substantially different from things said by his immediate predecessors. Pope St. John Paul II was often criticized for his participation in interfaith prayer and dialogue. He said at a general audience in 1998 that other religions are ‘different routes’ that attempt to answer the same human desire for communion with God.”
The headline in the publication Christian Today in May 2018 was “Why Jesus is no longer the one way to heaven for many American Christians,” and this remark was made by a minister from the First Corinthian Baptist Church: “People take many paths to God, he argued, noting that he personally celebrates the paths others take in finding Him — even if that path does not involve faith in Jesus. And so the key is you believe in God. And whatever your path is to God I celebrate that. Personally, I celebrate that.”
One writer, decrying the Pope’s comment, said: “Jesus is still the only way to heaven.” This was correctly decrying a wrong concept and, then, mentioning another wrong concept about going to heaven at death which we have disproved time and time again.
vaticanfiles.org stated that “On April 15th, 2018 Pope Francis claimed that atheists go to Heaven thus reinforcing the impression that his opinions on the afterlife are somewhat clumsy when compared to standard biblical views.”
In 2008, a Pew Research Center Study found that more than half of all American Christians believe that at least some non-Christian faiths can lead to salvation. Nearly a decade later, a new study has shown that even among the most traditional Christian groups, significant minorities are also rejecting God as described in the Bible.
We may recall that when the Israelites were in Egypt, that land had so many different gods. Wikipedia writes that “gods and goddesses appear in virtually every aspect of ancient civilization, and more than 1,500 of them are known by name. Taking the Pope’s recent remarks, would any of the ancient Egyptians find the true God by worshipping these fake gods?”
It was interesting to read the following comments in the Christian Post in October 2021 with the heading “Nearly 70% of born-again Christians say other religions can lead to Heaven: study”:
“Nearly 70% of born-again Christians disagree with the biblical position that Jesus is the only way to God, according to a new survey from Probe Ministries. The survey, which looked at religious beliefs and attitudes toward cultural behaviors, polled 3,106 Americans ages 18 to 55 from all religious groups, including 717 respondents who identified as born-again Christians.”
One other author wrote, “The very claim that there are many ways to God, assumes that some religions are wrong, because not all religions are trying to get to God. I would like to humbly suggest that there are good reasons to think that the Christian position is true and hence, I am not angry that God has only provided one way to Him in the person of Jesus. Rather, I am grateful that, although I didn’t deserve it, God lovingly provided the way for me (and, indeed, for everyone who believes—c.f. John 14:6.”
John 14:6 reads: “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’”
And that is correct! The Bible says that there is no other way other than through Christ! And yet the Catholic Church themselves state: “In its own authoritative text on the ‘unicity and universality of the salvific mystery of Jesus Christ,’ the Vatican cites the Acts of the Apostles: ‘There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved’ (Acts 4:12).” You have to wonder how the Popes reconcile their views that atheists get to heaven (a wrong concept anyway) when their church quotes Acts 4:12.
Perhaps the Popes ought to preach and teach according to the beliefs that the Catholic Church has; otherwise, it is hypocrisy!
Christianity is a unique and exclusive faith, the One True God as outlined in His Word, the Holy Bible. Along with John 14:6 and Acts 4:12 which clearly reveal this, we ought also to consider Matthew 7:13-14: “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
True Christianity, as we have written and said many times, is the narrow gate and involves much more than just “giving your heart to the Lord”.
In our booklet: “Many Are Called, But Few Are Chosen,” this shows that you cannot just join the Church of God. We read on page 6 the following:
“Jesus called His disciples a ‘little flock’ (Luke 12:32), and history has certainly proven that very few people have ever been a part of the Church of God. Paul explained to the brethren in Corinth about whom God has chosen to call:
“‘For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence’ (1 Corinthians 1:26–29).”
True Christianity is the only Way to God today, and very few people have been called by God at this point in time! The Conclusion in this booklet on page 65 reads as follows:
“What we have described and what you have learned in this booklet should prove the magnificent aspect of God’s incredible and awesome master plan for ALL of mankind. But it is YOU whom God might have predestined before time began to be called for salvation in this day and age.
“If you understand and act upon the information contained in this booklet, as revealed in the Bible, there is every reason to conclude that YOU are one of the few—the firstfruits—who are called today with the potential to inherit eternal life and enter the Kingdom and Family of God when Christ returns.
“This means, then, that you would have a responsibility, because today would be YOUR day of salvation. It is up to you, with God’s help, to make your calling and election sure, and not to neglect such a great salvation offered to you. God is confident and convinced that you, whom He knew and predestined long before your birth to be called now, will make it into His Kingdom. Please, share His conviction in you, and act accordingly.”
The Bible is clear and unequivocal. There is only one Way to the true God, and true Christianity is unique among all of the false religions of this world.
Lead Writer: Brian Gale (United Kingdom)