The Twelfth Step

Today’s entry could end up being the most controversial article I’ve written since I began this blog three and a half years ago, but it’s something I’ve thought about quite a bit since then and felt it was time to finally discuss it openly with all of you.

It’s widely known in the Christian faith that the only way into Heaven is by proclaiming Jesus Christ as one’s Lord and Savior. Yet at the same time, I’ve often wondered what that means for the billions of other people on this planet who either have never been exposed to the Christian faith, or have found some other Higher Path of living that works for them. Does that mean that each of them will never enter Heaven if they don’t find and accept Christ into their lives before they die?

I know in asking these questions that it may sound preposterous to some and even blasphemous to others, yet I’m truly bothered by this Christian principle. While I myself may accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior and wish to be more like Christ in this life, I’ve met plenty of individuals who are good people, who do their best to unconditionally love everyone, and have strong spiritual practices in their lives, yet they aren’t Christian. So what does that mean for them? Sadly, I know there are far too many on this planet who would probably say that they aren’t going to be able to enter Heaven and could possibly even go to Hell if they don’t find Christ before they die, and for that alone, I struggle with much of the Christian faith.

I love the Bible and I treasure the teachings of Christ, but I don’t hold the Bible as a perfect book. I believe much of it has been tainted over the years, being interpreted and reinterpreted over and over and over again. And what we have today is a watered down version of what originally transpired thousands of years ago. So is what we read as Jesus’s words in the Bible these days the exact and only truth, especially when it comes to how one enters Heaven? How can we really say we know when none of us where there when any of it was said?

Regardless, it’s my belief that God has had many different ways of helping people to communicate to Him throughout time. What if Jesus was just one way that God intended for people to connect to their Higher Selves? Maybe Jesus showed up in a time and spoke in a way that was specifically meant to help a sect of people grow closer to God. And maybe God used Muhammad for the Muslim faith and Siddhartha for the Buddhist faith in similar ways? Could it be that every major type of faith on this planet simply began because God led certain individuals to help others find Him in a way they would understand Him?

I wish I had the answers to these questions. Unfortunately, I don’t like none of us really do. Yet there are plenty of Christians who say they have the only answer and that’s through Christ and Christ only. This bothers me because in saying a statement such as that, it essentially says that God created tons of other people erroneously.

Frankly, I think the only thing that matters to God is that we do our best to unconditionally love each other. If that happens through the Buddhist faith, or in studying Judaism, or by practicing Wiccan, or by following Hinduism, or even in becoming a Christian, what does it matter? Why should any of us proclaim our way is the only way into Heaven?

I love Christ and I love the teachings of Christ, but I refuse to believe that someone like my friend Steve from Washington D.C., who once helped me long ago to practice Nichiren Buddhism, and who is an incredibly loving and caring individual, will simply die at the end of this life and either remain in a grave or go to Hell.

That’s why I don’t think it’s my place to ever try to convert anyone’s faith into following the teachings of Christ. Ultimately, I feel that if I’m living to my Highest Potential and acting as an extension of God’s love, that God will use me to bring those into the Christian faith who are meant to be a part of it. Just as much as I feel that my friend Steve is doing the same with Nichiren Buddhism.

Today, the walk of Christ is what beckons me the most and why I pursue the Christian faith as much as I do. But I don’t think I can ever believe that God will sacrifice the many billions of his other children who have found a different path to enlightenment.

Heaven to me is a place where everyone will be welcomed, whether they accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior or not. Whether that’s blasphemous for me to say or not, I don’t know, but I often believe it’s just our ego and fear that leads people to say the only path to Heaven is one specific way.

Are there many doors into Heaven? Who knows? I sure don’t. But to say there’s only one puts God in a box and while I may seek Christ with all my heart, mind, and soul, I truly believe that as long as one does their best to unconditionally love everyone else, that they too will one day enter the gates of Heaven.

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson