The way

One of the verses in the Bible that I used to have difficulty in relating to is John 14:6, in which Jesus says “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”  Does it mean that being a Christian is a necessary condition for salvation?

While I have never had any serious intention of following any religion except Christianity, the ‘exclusivity that seemed to be implied by this statement made me uncomfortable as I have been brought up in an environment that respects other religions and also encourages learning from them (See Celebrating Onam in the Church). I have seen many very noble and pious people in other religions. Does this exclusivity mean that they are on the ‘wrong’ path? While I still haven’t fully resolved this (and maybe, I never will, thank God for that!), of late some ideas have started evolving in my mind.

The term ‘way’ means a path or a route. So, it becomes imperative to find out what is the way that is Jesus Christ. To me, 'the greatest miracle of Jesus is himself' (see Miracle) – the very act of being fully man and fully God. I think that God became human so that humans have a route to be one with God. So the life, love, rejection, acceptance, frustration, fellowship, loneliness, joy, sorrow, passion, death and resurrection of Jesus on earth is in a way a 'path-breaking' activity, establishing a new road, a new level of understanding and a new relationship between humans and God. 

The main goal of Christianity is to be more like Christ (being fully man and fully God at the same time) - by nurturing both our humanity and divinity. Maybe, it is that very act that enable to 'come to the Father'. 

I also think that ‘being in Christ’ is not necessarily the same as being a Christian (in the sense of being part of the Christian religion). Even the second council of Vatican said something like 'while salvation is through Christ, it is not limited only to Christians'. 

May be, it is an invitation to be more like Jesus (fully human and fully divine at the same time) and not meant to be an instruction to follow any particular belief system about Jesus Christ. As we have seen in 'From belief to experience and faith', a 'hand me down' belief system could be a big impediment to knowing Christ. For most of us (except those who have had a ‘direct experience’), the Christ we know is essentially the ‘Christ in the Bible’ (a picture that can capture only some aspects of Christ and that is also subject to the limitations of context, language and interpretation) and not the ‘real Christ’ or even the ‘historical Christ’!

Hence the highest understanding that I am capable of at this point on this matter is that by being fully man and fully God, Jesus has created the royal road to salvation for us! Now, I am not yet sure about all the different manners in which we can walk on this path though I have an inkling  that nurturing the both the humane and divine in us won't be a bad idea! Also, as Jesus himself said that 'God is love' that is probably the meeting point between the humane and the divine!

From belief to experience and faith

After practicing (albeit imperfectly) Christianity for more than four decades I have come to a realization - I really don't know what to believe! I do know that Jesus is my Lord and my God. Apart from that I am not sure if I really believe anything. May be, that is exactly the point. Any sort of belief limits your experience of God.

I have experienced Christ fleetingly though intensely. But I can't  make any generalization based on those experiences on 'how Christ really operates' - other than to say that He operates in mysterious ways (or ways that are best known to Himself).

Yes, there are parts of the Christian belief system that resonates with me - 'Christ being fully man and fully God at the same time' for example. Of course, I don't even begin to understand what that involved or even what that meant.

May be, knowing about Christ is the biggest impediment for knowing Christ (the same holds good in the case of mortals also). May be, God can only be experienced and not understood. Experience can lead to faith. If we keep the experience pure (un-corrupted by generalizations and belief), life can become a dance with God!

It is interesting to note that the 'direct experience' approach was much more mainstream in Christianity in earlier times that it is now. Direct experience is inherently personal and leads to personal (subjective) truth (MY GOD). Also it is quite unpredictable and difficult to describe using language. Hence it is a tricky proposition in the institutionalized forms of Christianity that often needs a common belief system, common rituals and common interpretation of the religious experience. At the same time direct experience is more authentic and 'scientific' (empirical) even with a degree of 'measurement error' (While the mystical doesn't need support from the analytical to be valid, any convergence is a definite plus). Yes, there is an individual  dependence of the experience. But observer dependence of phenomenon is a basic principle in quantum mechanics also!