I am continuing my blog on the negative reaction by some to Christianity as an exclusive faith. People today bristle at the idea that Christians claim Jesus is the only way to God. In the past two blogs I mentioned every faith is exclusive, not just Christianity. In fact, it is disrespectful to all religions to say they teach the same thing as all the others do. The story of the blind men and the elephant does not prove pluralism when it comes to religions (that all religions are ways to God) because it assumes the narrator has special insight not granted to all the people of the world. In addition, we discussed the fact that there are only three families of religion (Eastern, secularist, and Jewish/Christian/Islam), so it’s not an impossible task to try to distinguish between the major religious beliefs. In this blog I want to focus on some of the reasons people raise an objection to the exclusive claims of Christianity. I don’t think it’s because of the claims by Christians. There are, instead, psychological factors at work in their lives.

For example, many people simply prefer there not to be a God. Consider the famous author Aldous Huxley, author of Brave New World, who said the following:

“I had motive for not wanting the world to have a meaning; consequently assumed that it had none, and was able without any difficulty to find satisfying reasons for this assumption. The philosopher who finds no meaning in the world is not concerned exclusively with a problem in pure metaphysics; he is also concerned to prove that there is no valid reason why he personally should not do as he wants to do, or why his friends should not seize political power and govern in the way that they find most advantageous to themselves. … For myself, the philosophy of meaninglessness was essentially an instrument of liberation, sexual and political.”

An interesting, honest comment here – Huxley started first with his desire that there be no God and then worked out reasons to support his desire. For him and his friends, it came down to sexual freedom and the pursuit of political power. So much for the idea that people rationally complain about the exclusivity of Christianity and the existence of God.

Then there’s Thomas Nagel, Professor of Philosophy and Law at New York University. He echoes Huxley’s sentiments:

“I want atheism to be true and am made uneasy by the fact that some of the most intelligent and well-informed people I know are religious believers. It isn’t just that I don’t believe in God and, naturally, hope that I’m right in my belief. It’s that I hope there is no God! I don’t want there to be a God; I don’t want the universe to be like that.”

Again, think about what he’s saying. He admits having a prejudice that colors his rational thoughts. Notice that it’s Christians who are charged with wishful thinking when it comes to the existence of God. But the atheist is the one who wants there to be a universe with no God for them to be accountable to.

So, those who comment about our exclusive faith as if that turns them off may have key motives for dismissing all religions. If there is no special way to God, maybe there’s no God at all. Then they can live however they like–no humbling of themselves, no surrender to a higher power, no submission to a superior being.