In my opinion it’s not “loving” God that is the key but knowing God. Once we know God and have a relationship with the real God, not an abstract idea, then we in a sense can’t help but love Him. God gets us to love Him by having a relationship with us. I suppose people worshiping false idols “loved” those idols (a golden calf, etc.), so loving is not enough — because you could be loving the wrong thing.

There is a difference between saying a historic event was necessary for people to be saved (the life of Jesus), and saying that it is the only way for people to be saved. I see God’s revealing Himself to the human race as a process: if the God of the Old Testament is too abstract, or too stern, then it is as if God reveals another aspect of Himself to us in the New Testament. Because it’s important that that message (or aspect) of God be heard, then certainly people must believe in its vital importance. Thus jews who may have comprehended only a limited aspect of God (the Old Testament) would have been the focus of early efforts in conversion that you mention.

But to say that means that Moses and Abraham, who obviously had an interaction with the real God, could not find their way to eternal life without first being “Christians,” makes no sense to me. They know God’s real voice, so God can lead them to the next life. How do we know God’s real voice? For many His incarnation and suffering as Jesus is needed, because without it we are looking for God in the clouds, or as an object glittering like gold, or a Being unaware of our suffering. But in truth this is something each of us can only tell for ourselves. We know if we have a relationship with the real thing and if not, we can pray that our faith be strengthened and God will do so.

“[T]here is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” To which I ask — for all people everywhere, for all time? Or for those to whom that particular message of Jesus was meant? In my opinion God is not limited in this way.

If one can be saved by loving God apart from a knowledge of Christ, why did the disciples focus their earliest preaching efforts toward converting Jews, who would have claimed that they had a very strong love for God?

“This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” – Acts 4:11-12

How do you interpret this passage? Do you have any textual evidence besides your own opinion?

So would it have “worked,” for lack of a better word, if Jesus had said “I’m not the only way”? No, it would have made no sense, because he was in fact God. How could He say otherwise? That, in fact, would have been a lie and not possible.

But that does not mean that God Himself is limited to that one way of saving people: that there are not other means by which the great shepherd can guide people to eternal life. It was a misunderstanding of the message, after-all, that let to horrible atrocities of forcing, with violence, people to convert to Christianity.

Mohammed’s body is still in his grave, yes, but his spirit is not. If you believe otherwise then yes we disagree. This is because there was no doubt in Mohammed’s mind of the existence of a real and loving God, with whom Mohammed had a real relationship. And if we believe the accounts of Mohammed’s life, God clearly blessed his life. He did not require Mohammed to be a sacrifice, because that price had already been paid — by God. So in a sense God can now bless Mohammed, like he can bless you and me, because of His sacrifice already made. But for that to happen we have to believe in Him, and how loving He is!

So can one have a relationship with God, where God knows them and has saved them, without them being specifically Christian? In my opinion — yes. This is my reading of the bible. This is what God calls us to do when he says “love your neighbor.” In fact, I think a full understanding of the bible does not limit God’s ability to only save Christians. However, it only goes to reason that probably the best way to understand God is by understanding Jesus — because it’s the most dramatic example of God interacting with this world. Some people very much need the human incarnation. God understands this. But it is not the only way. Great are those who have not seen and yet still believe.

So would it have “worked,” for lack of a better word, if Jesus had said “I’m not the only way”? No, it would have made no sense, because he was in fact God. How could He say otherwise? That, in fact, would have been a lie and not possible.

But that does not mean that God Himself is limited to that one way of saving people: that there are not other means by which the great shepherd can guide people to eternal life. It was a misunderstanding of the message, after-all, that let to horrible atrocities of forcing, with violence, people to convert to Christianity.

Mohammed’s body is still in his grave, yes, but his spirit is not. If you believe otherwise then yes we disagree. This is because there was no doubt in Mohammed’s mind of the existence of a real and loving God, with whom Mohammed had a real relationship. And if we believe the accounts of Mohammed’s life, God clearly blessed his life. He did not require Mohammed to be a sacrifice, because that price had already been paid — by God. So in a sense God can now bless Mohammed, like he can bless you and me, because of His sacrifice already made. But for that to happen we have to believe in Him, and how loving He is!

So can one have a relationship with God, where God knows them and has saved them, without them being specifically Christian? In my opinion — yes. This is my reading of the bible. This is what God calls us to do when he says “love your neighbor.” In fact, I think a full understanding of the bible does not limit God’s ability to only save Christians. However, it only goes to reason that probably the best way to understand God is by understanding Jesus — because it’s the most dramatic example of God interacting with this world. Some people very much need the human incarnation. God understands this. But it is not the only way. Great are those who have not seen and yet still believe.

There is no other name given under heaven by which we must be saved. Acts 4:12

Jesus is God’s ONLY begotten Son, whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

He who does not believe in Him, is condemned already, because he has NOT believed in the name of the ONLY BEGOTTEN SON OF GOD. (John 3:18)

So, yes, “No man can come unto the Father, but THROUGH ME” means exactly what it says.

There is NONE OTHER who has been sent by God, laid down His life and ROSE AGAIN FROM THE DEAD. NONE.

Mohammed is still in his grave, Buddah is still in his grave, all that have come and gone before and after them are all still in their graves. Jesus on the other hand IS ALIVE. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last, the One who was, and is and is to come, He is Almighty God, He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords and He is coming back soon! Revelation 1:8, 22:13, 19:11-16

He who believes on Him, though He dies, yet shall he live! John 11:25

Can you explain from the text how that verse means what you just asserted it means (#98)? I’m struggling to see how that explaination makes sense of the words themselves.

that’s what’s known as a shameless plug. In my opinion you should be above it. I think Jesus would. Don’t you?

I think if you understood my comment you would realize that I have not.