Chances are that at some point in your life you have heard someone say, “all roads lead to God” or “there are many paths to God.”  

By this they mean that there must be more than one way to find God, and that it is really narrow (even “mean” or “hateful” or “arrogant”) for anyone or any one religion to assert that they know the only way to God. 

You might say these “all roads” people are religious pluralists – those who may practice a particular religion but do not believe their own faith group is necessarily the sole and exclusive source of truth. The last thing they want is to be viewed as is narrow or intolerant. They believe religious diversity should be celebrated. They believe all religions should be treated equally because they believe we’re all going to eventually end up at the same place.

Many people like to use the “God on the mountaintop” illustration. They say God (our destination) is at the top of a mountain, and there are many paths (world religions or philosophies) on that mountain that lead to the top.

Now this all sounds well and good, even noble, but it’s actually rather naïve. The reason is because all religions don’t teach the same thing about the nature and character of God or what we have to do to reach Him.

Christians believe God is a Trinity, one God in three persons of the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Jews and Muslims are monotheistic, but Muslims believe Allah is God, and Jews believe Yahweh is God. Hindus believe there are 330 million gods. Some versions of Buddhism say there is no God. Mormons believe God started out a man (in contrast to Jesus, who claimed to be God who temporarily took on human flesh). Pantheism believes everything – rocks, trees, dogs and flees, etc. – are God. The list goes on and on.

So, you see, all religions can’t even agree on who God is. You’ve probably heard the analogy of a man asking five blind men to feel a different part of an elephant. One grabbed the trunk and said it’s a snake. Another the tail and said it’s a rope. Another the side and called it a wall. Another the leg and called it a tree. Another the tusk and called it a spear. But they were all wrong because they were blind to truth; only the man who had eyes to see knew it was indeed an elephant. Likewise, all religions don’t see God correctly. 

And religions differ widely on how one reaches God or heaven. Most religions say that we must do something to help earn our way into God’s presence – what one might call a “good works system” of religion. For many faith groups, the list of do’s and don’ts can be daunting, if not down right exhausting.

One day, a group of intellectuals named “The Inklings” who met regularly for drinks and conversation at the “Eagle and Child” pub near the University of Oxford in England were discussing the differences between world religions. In walks C.S. Lewis, one of members of the group (along with J.R.R. Tolkien and others). “Jack,” one shouted out, “what makes Christianity different from all other religions.” Without missing a beat while taking of his hat and coat, Lewis responded, “Oh, that’s easy… it’s grace.” For Christians, salvation is through grace — a gift we can’t earn or don’t deserve. Other religions believe it’s up to us to store up more good deeds than bad in order to make the cut.

Now back to that mountain.

One of my favorite authors (aside from Lewis) is another Oxford genius — Michael Green. He argued that the mountain path to God is the wrong analogy. “What if the real situation is like people trying to find their way through a maze? There are lots of routes that bring us to a dead end and fail to get us out of the maze. There is just one way through.”

I believe Green got it right. The path to God isn’t up a mountain, but through a maze. And only one way gets us to our destination. That’s why Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” He’s not showing us the way… He IS the way. Jesus doesn’t give us the options of many paths because the way is actually very narrow. He urges us, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14)

You might have noticed that this blog is titled, “All roads really do lead to God.” So haven’t I just spent the last 10 minutes arguing the opposite?

Here’s what I mean: no matter what religion or philosophy or belief we hold, every one of us is going to see God. Revelation 20:11-12 gives us a sneak preview into the future: “And I saw a great white throne and the one sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide. I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books.”

And all of us — even people who don’t believe in God now – will one day agree that Jesus really is God. Philippians 2:10-11 tells us “that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Friend, if you think you are on a mountain path towards God, please understand that without Jesus you are about to step off a cliff for a very great fall. When we stand before Him in heaven, the question will not be “do you believe in me now?” because it will be too late then. “Today is the day of salvation.” Put your faith in Jesus now and start living a truly mountaintop experience.

“No pagan god is like you, O Lord.
    None can do what you do!
All the nations you made
    will come and bow before you, Lord;
    they will praise your holy name.
For you are great and perform wonderful deeds.
    You alone are God.”

Psalm 86:8-10

For a great overview on “Do all roads lead to God?”, check out this video by my friend Sean McDowell.