Logically, Natasha knew she had only two choices: either Jesus was the Messiah or He wasn't. If he knew He wasn't, then He was a liar, not the good man or moral teacher she'd always described Him as. Then again, if Jesus wasn't the Messiah but thought He was, then He was crazy, a lunatic, a nut case, not worthy of a second thought.Jesus claimed "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." John 14:6.But she'd read the New Testament in college and the Christ whose life she'd read about didn't strike her as deceptive or delusional. To the contrary, she saw a man of love and compassion, someone who was kind to children and willing to take on the religious hypocrites of the day on behalf of the poor and the unloved and the widows. She saw someone humble and wise, someone with the ability to do miracles that astounded even His most bitter skeptics.
Steve Bainbridge, a TCS Daily Contributing Editor and a Professor of Law at UCLA, explains how C.S. Lewis put it of this claim: "A man who was merely a man and said the sort of thing Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to."If we take Him at his word, then it is true, No one comes to the Father except through Me. That was the message of Pope Benedict XVI and that's the conclusion I have come to.
Then from a comment to A Shot Across Many Bows at TCS by Robert Bennett:
Bennett says, "I noticed something in this passage that shocked me: The meek inherit the earth, but it's those who are persecuted because of righteousness who will inherit the kingdom of heaven.Beatitudes "Blessed are the poor in spirit,for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
Why the difference? Right & wrong versus meek, of course.I feel I have just discovered some very great truth here and it sends shivers up and down my spine.When one who is righteous defines what is right, he also defines what is not right and what is wrong. This is perilous, especially if one's community is on the wrong side of one's definition, which is just as true today of Christ's followers as it was in the early church. The prevailing reaction to Benedict's comments exhibit this truth perfectly.
In contrast, a meek person defines what is right as, "Whatever works for me is right, so whatever works for you and everyone else must be right as well". Accordingly, meek folk have inherited this earth, purchased with the coin of relativism which, because it attempts to store all values, is without value.
Pope Benedict XVI Christianity Joel Rosenberg The Copper Scroll Mover Mike
Update:
But don't forget the Spirit, either. Father, Son and Holy Spirit are three aspects of one God, and through the Spirit someone who has never even heard of Jesus' name can share in him and come to the kingdom through him.
I think you will find the Catholic catechism very useful. It is by far the best body of Christian teaching I have found,, because it is by far the most complete. It does not rely on throwing out bits of scripture or on blowing small bits of scripture out of proportion.
See also Cardinal Kasper's comments in the Spiegel interview.