do only christians go to heaven? part II

as children adorned themselves in costumes a gathering of people sang some songs, watched some videos and ate some candy together while discussing the fate of our eternal souls.

beth and iain led us in some beautiful music

there was a video about a man in a hole (see below)

we discussed john 14:6

"i am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the father except through me."

and asked...what does this mean? is jesus the only way to heaven? do you have to be a christian to go to heaven when you die?

well, that incited some interesting perspectives. people are not comfortable with the idea that something as simple as being a christian is the measuring stick of entrance into the pearly gates. it is hard to argue that saying a prayer and calling on a name can include you and exclude others. people argued that there are plenty of people out there who were not christian but who are great and noble people. what do we do with someone like ghandi? is ghandi in hell simply because he didn't use the name of jesus?

then the point was put forward that just because something makes us uncomfortable does not make it untrue. after all, god is not beholden to us, we are beholden to god.

we do not tell the bible what it says, it tells us. we do not interpret it, it interprets us. we do not clarify it, it clarifies us.

so, where are we left? who goes to heaven?

the problem i have always had with the whole idea that only christians go to heaven is simple: jesus was not a christian.

but we cannot throw this passage out, we cannot lose the theological baby in the bath water of our culture, so to speak. when we read this passage it points us to one and only one conclusion: jesus is the way to heaven...like it or lump it, that is what it says.

but is that the same as being a christian? i think not.

i think in order to be a follower you must be just that: a follower. we then read a story from c.s.lewis' chronicles of narnia the last battle. in this story a young soldier who has followed after another god and not aslan is confronted by the great and awesome lion. he falls to the ground knowing that his hour of death is at hand. still, he is thankful for being able to see the lion before he dies.

but aslan does not condemn the man for his service to another but affords him grace and welcomes him because the good service he had done could not be done to someone evil...evil and good are opposed. therefore, one cannot serve evil by doing good and one cannot serve good by doing evil.

christians can do the work of satan and still call themselves christian. when a christian kills an abortion doctor, or beats up (or discriminates against) a homosexual, or rejects a person based on religion it is quite possible that their 'christian duty' is actually service to the dark lord.

by that logic, can not a person who does not call on the name of jesus serve god? if a persons answers the call of the holy spirit deep within them can their service not be honourable to god, even if they do not know whom they serve (and it can be argued that none of us truly know)?

we left the conversation with this thought (it might seem like a bit of a cop out but i think it is a good place to start): we spend too much time worrying about who is 'in' when that was not the message of jesus. jesus came to this earth, and began his ministry, to show people not how to go to the kingdom of god but that the kingdom was present. what kind of a world would it be if we spent more time trying to bring the kingdom here instead of wondering about what will get us there?

so the answer to the question is simple: do only christians go to heaven? that's up to god.

but christians can also bring heaven here...that is much more profound.

we concluded by watching this video by author brian mclaren...hope you enjoy it. see ya next week.