exclusively inclusive
Was Jesus a nice guy? Consider this: He made some shockingly exclusive claims about Himself, and nice guys just don’t do that. When Peter told Him, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God,” Jesus blessed him (Matthew 16:16-17). To a Samaritan woman, Jesus plainly declared, “I AM the Messiah!” (John 4:26). And He announced to His followers, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).
pluralism and Jesus
My friend was telling me about her tour of historic churches in New England. These buildings housed congregations that once proclaimed the gospel but had long ago turned to unorthodox views. In one church, the tour guide explained that wooden shutters concealed a beautiful stained-glass window of Jesus. “We only open these shutters on Easter,” she explained, “because we don’t want to privilege any one religion over another.”
