All Roads?

Do all roads lead to God?

Jesus and Mack discuss this very question in The Shack.

“‘Does that mean’, asked Mack, ‘that all roads will lead to you?’ ‘Not at all’, smiled Jesus as he reached for the door handle to the shop. ‘Most roads don’t lead anywhere. What it does mean is that I will travel any road to find you.’”

Or as my daughter, Emily, wrote in a poem:

Some roads don't lead to me, but I'd go down any to set you free.

So much of what I read these days speaks from a very inclusive perspective. Must be the crowd I’m hanging out with :) Even friends who formerly struggled with the inclusion of CHRISTIAN universalism now see things from a much broader perspective. There has been an expansion in their views about the depth and breadth and all inclusive nature of our Father. It seems to me that this spirit of inclusion is hard to miss in the life and teachings of Jesus. The inclusive nature of Jesus totally ticked off the Pharisees who were determined that they had the corner on the God market. It seems that many Christians today are not far from that same mindset. We know the harshest words Jesus spoke were directed at the Pharisees.

In a Beliefnet interview a few years ago, Carlton Pearson said:

Christians are hung up on "You need to believe in Jesus." Christians forget that it's not about somebody believing in Christianity, it's about Christ believing in humanity. He created humanity and understands the diversity of humanity. He accepts us as we are.

God is] so inclusive, it's hard to believe. He put the versions of Himself back together in Christ. There's a version of God that's Hindu. There's a version of God that's Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Baha'i. It's so beautiful.

And from an essay on the Godquest site called How Then Shall We Live:

God has provided for every person, in every culture and religion the means whereby that person can authentically “connect” with the “divine nature”—a connecting with God within and a connecting with others without. God in his goodness has provided authentic vehicles for connecting with the divine personality and these are used by every spiritual tradition. Through these, God eventually woos and wins us all.

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The Spirit of God is simply not limited to any one custom or spiritual way. The Spirit of God reveals within all spiritual traditions a single priority: The things…the deep things of God have to do with God’s true character. This wonderful truth about God’s good nature and personality, though scarce and precious, simply cannot be contained within any single organized religious group and breaks forth as light throughout the world.

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St Paul also wrote that there is but “one Spirit, one Lord and one baptism…one God and Father over all” That one spirit finds expression within the various world spiritual traditions and presents from within the hearts of all called now to know the divine nature as mercy, justice and humility…summed up by Love.

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For God has his saints attuned to his voice sprinkled throughout the world and within every religion and spiritual path.

I will be exploring and musing about this over the next few posts…..