"I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the father except through me." Open and shut case, Jesus is the only way to God! Or is it? To get away from the "embarassment" of the exclusive claims of the historical Jesus, some Christians have found a way to read this passage in a way that would not have to call non-Christians to faith in the historical Jesus. I would like to call attention to this.

    What is this new way? It is to redefine the "I". The "I" has now become the cosmic Christ, a force/spirit that embodies certain human beings, a force/spirit that is moving in history. It is a spirit that human beings could tap into. It is a Spirit that embodies Jesus, a spirit that is the way, the truth, and the life. Some may cleverly equate this Spirit with the Holy Spirit that proceeds from God the Father and the Jesus of history, and also point out the the Logos, a universal principle, became flesh, giving credence to their view.  

     Most of you probably have your Spiritual antennas up and you want to say "Heresy!".  Yes it is, but why? Some of you may want to marshall your knowledge of scriptures. However, I just want to point out that there is a simpler way to declare this to be heresy. It is contained in an ancient document that many Christians give lip service to due to the anti-traditional fervor in some circles. It is a document that defines Christian faith, a document that should be studied and taken to heart by Christians. It is the Apostle's Creed. The creed is clear that there is no separation between Jesus and the "Christ". 

I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, his only son our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, he suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucidied, dead and was buried...(You know the rest)

     What makes orthodox Christian faith powerful? It is the declaration that God did really act in history. We are not just believing that "Love" burst forth from the grave (a nice sentiment), but that the man Jesus of Nazareth burst forth from the grave. Sure it may be unpalatable for the "sophisticated" person to believe that a man can actually rise from the dead, but nevertheless that is the orthodox Christian proclamation. To deny that is to depart from Chrisitan faith. It is an incredible proclamation that seem foolish to some. I challenge you to root your faith in history, just like the Apostle's Creed has attempted to do. "God loves you" is not just a sentimental statement. God showed his love in history, not just through giving us good things, which is something we could be grateful for, but through the objective history of Jesus of Nazareth. Remember that his Jewish man who lived more than 2000 years ago is the one that Christians worship, not a disemodied spirit that once embodied the man Jesus.