# Is Jesus the only way, one of the ways, not the way?



## Sunshine009 (Sep 21, 2008)

Curious.


----------



## Sunshine009 (Sep 21, 2008)

no one?


----------



## Canadian Brotha (Jan 23, 2009)

I voted that I'm not Christian but that he's one of the ways with the assumption that your meaning is of a way to contentment in life. If you mean he is a way to contentment in life then yes he is one way I think, just as other people find other religions to be ways of doing the same thing. If you mean access to an afterlife then that I don't have an answer for that as there's only one way to find out


----------



## pollster (Oct 4, 2009)

Yeah, I voted that Jesus is one of the ways (ways to what?), and I'm not a Christian. 

I don't practice any religion. But whatever floats someone's boat and allows them to get through life, I'm all for that. So if that's Jesus/Christianity for some people, I've got no problem with that. As long as those people respect the rights of others to disagree with their religion and don't try to shove Jesus or their religion down my throat.


----------



## shyvr6 (Feb 18, 2008)

Is the way for what exactly?


----------



## Neptunus (Oct 29, 2007)

I voted "Jesus is one of the ways - I'm not Christian." And by "way" -- I mean to spiritual enlightenment. I believe there are many, MANY ways to get there, divine aid or not.


----------



## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

shyvr6 said:


> Is the way for what exactly?


The way to salvation, I would presume.

Or perhaps to spiritual enlightenment, as Neptunus suggested.


----------



## hickorysmoked (Mar 7, 2010)

He may well be. It is always good to always have something positive to look to in really bleek times.


----------



## nubly (Nov 2, 2006)

i'm assuming this is for religious people only


----------



## Sunshine009 (Sep 21, 2008)

^no, the last two options are for nonchristians and the 3rd may be too.


----------



## matty (Nov 2, 2009)

I only believe in angels. I believe in a great being. but that is the extent of my beliefs.


----------



## andy1984 (Aug 18, 2006)

jesus is dead. your own way is the way.

ps are catholic and protestant (and confused) the only ways to be x-ian?


----------



## Sunshine009 (Sep 21, 2008)

well protestant could mean mormons and JW's too. I really aren't all that good at making polls up I admit.


----------



## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

As an Atheist, I couldn't care less about Jesus.


----------



## tlgibson97 (Sep 24, 2009)

I vote: Whatever floats your boat.

If you have to have something to keep you in line and make you behave then go for it. I know how to be a big boy all by myself.


----------



## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

Sunshine009 said:


> well protestant could mean mormons and JW's too.


JWs perhaps; Mormons definitely not--holding the Book of Mormon as a sacred text goes against _sola scriptura_. But otherwise, yeah, "protestant" is a broad term and encompasses pretty much everything that's not either Roman Catholic or Eastern Orthodox.


----------



## Groundskeeper (Feb 6, 2010)

_I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. - John 14:6_


----------



## Sunshine009 (Sep 21, 2008)

This is pretty astounding. 4 Catholic Christians, 2 confused Christians, and 23 people that say Jesus isn't the way. No Protestant Christians! I was wondering what the Catholics vs. the Protestants believe about Jesus and who He is. I thought that Protestants would lead out, but they aren't and there are more people that do not believe in Jesus at all than anything on this site


----------



## Sunshine009 (Sep 21, 2008)

anyone else?


----------



## Sunshine009 (Sep 21, 2008)

I think Jesus is one of the ways or He is the way, but Christianity is not the only way because the spirit of Jesus is in many religions and nonchristians. I am honestly confused though.


----------



## TheVoid (Nov 2, 2008)

Depends on what way you are looking to go


----------



## Sunshine009 (Sep 21, 2008)

Yeah, but I thought more people would say he is one of the ways than not a way at all.


----------



## Sunshine009 (Sep 21, 2008)

The Spirit is like a song though with music and words. Christians may have technically some of the right words, but not all of them but doesn't mean they have the music, where as others do but maybe the wrong words. I think the music matters more though. I kind of trust those that have peace and love over those that don't. I don't care what religion they are, they have my respect. I really loved the movie The Razor's Edge. This man travels to India and meets a Holy man who tells him the secret of life is thankfulness and love and tells him to return to society and to not hide himself away. Isn't that what Jesus taught too? It gets very confusing to say whether Jesus is the way or not when others have the way also in some ways, but then again I am a mere mortal. :cry


----------



## Arisa1536 (Dec 8, 2009)

i wish one of the votes on the polls were "jesus is the way" without the denominations 
Protestant and catholic is not the only two
there are tons upon tons of denominations
you could just say "christian" for all instead

i do not attend a protestant church
I would say i am interdenominational or nondenominational i do not like labels


----------



## Sunshine009 (Sep 21, 2008)

oh is that what I did wrong?


----------



## bsd3355 (Nov 30, 2005)

Right now some think that Health Care is the only way (jk). Maybe Jesus can fix health care? hmmmm

Bet seriously, the way to WHAT? Happiness? If it makes you feel happy, there ya go.


----------



## zomgz (Aug 17, 2009)

i don't really consider myself a certain religion but I believe in God and the bible and that the only way to heaven is through Jesus. so I went with Jesus is the way - Protestant


----------



## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

Jesus isn't the only way. His brother, Jose, does fine carpentry work on the cheap too.:lol


----------



## Sunshine009 (Sep 21, 2008)

LOL! every once in a while, you are really funny!


----------



## rachelynn (Sep 12, 2008)

Jesus is the way, I am confused though. Im in the middle of catholic and protestant. For me personally I can't be protestant anymore, but I can't be exactly catholic. For a while I've felt disconnected and apathetic, not sure about religion or God. So I guess for now I am a lost monotheistic.


----------



## Aloysius (Jul 16, 2008)

Buddha is the way.


----------



## Procster (Nov 1, 2009)

Jesus ain't the way to anything, I'm afraid. Except possibly crazyness and division.


----------



## Neptunus (Oct 29, 2007)

Procster said:


> Jesus ain't the way to anything, I'm afraid. Except possibly crazyness and division.


Just because you disagree, doesn't give you the right to degrade another's faith. There are many paths to wisdom, and if some choose to follow Jesus, so be it. He was a very wise man, with much to offer. Hate begets hate. (As corny as that may sound to you.) A waste of energy, IMO.


----------



## Roscoe (Apr 21, 2009)

Neptunus said:


> Just because you disagree, doesn't give you the right to degrade another's faith. There are many paths to wisdom, and if some choose to follow Jesus, so be it. He was a very wise man, with much to offer. Hate begets hate. (As corny as that may sound to you.) A waste of energy, IMO.


X2


----------



## Roscoe (Apr 21, 2009)

I'm blown away that mormons call themselves Christian. The biblical Jesus and the mormon jesus are nothing alike... sheesh ive been in salt lake city for too long.


----------



## Neptunus (Oct 29, 2007)

Roscoe said:


> I'm blown away that mormons call themselves Christian. The biblical Jesus and the mormon jesus are nothing alike... sheesh ive been in salt lake city for too long.


^ In what way? I've known many Mormons in my time and they were all quite pious, so please do elaborate.


----------



## Procster (Nov 1, 2009)

Neptunus said:


> Just because you disagree, doesn't give you the right to degrade another's faith. There are many paths to wisdom, and if some choose to follow Jesus, so be it. He was a very wise man, with much to offer. Hate begets hate. (As corny as that may sound to you.) A waste of energy, IMO.


Apologies, possibly I shouldn't have said that.

Maybe he was a wise man, but there have been a good many more in the following 2000 years..!

Heh anyway I'll just say 'athiest' and leave it at that


----------



## Roscoe (Apr 21, 2009)

Neptunus said:


> ^ In what way? I've known many Mormons in my time and they were all quite pious, so please do elaborate.


http://mmoutreachinc.com/mormons/morchristjesus.html

btw they are being pious so they can BECOME gods...


----------



## Neptunus (Oct 29, 2007)

Procster said:


> Apologies, possibly I shouldn't have said that.
> 
> Maybe he was a wise man, but there have been a good many more in the following 2000 years..!
> 
> Heh anyway I'll just say 'athiest' and leave it at that


Hey man, whatever works for you. I have my own reasons for rejecting Christianity, but I still acknowledge it as a valid path. I'm not trying to be "holier than thou," but if you want to receive respect, you must first be willing to give it.


----------



## matt404 (Feb 8, 2006)

Aloysius said:


> Buddha is the way.


The middle way. (rimshot)

Sorry, I couldn't resist.


----------



## gandalfthegrey (Feb 14, 2010)

Jesus is one hell of a guy.


----------



## TheDaffodil (Jun 20, 2009)

I would have picked "Jesus is one of the ways, but I am not strict to any religion although Taoism closely fits what I believe." 

When I see "Christian," I think of a person who believes Jesus Christ existed/exists. I think he lived. I think he did good things when he was alive. I think his life on Earth ended, but his life represents good things. So in a way I am Christian.
I think if people choose to follow what he tried to teach during his time, then that's great. I don't think that Jesus is the only way to anything. I don't think Jesus should be followed blindly, or that people should be excessive with their belief in Jesus. I don't think people who believe in Jesus are any better than people who don't believe in Jesus.


----------



## DeeperUnderstanding (May 19, 2007)

I believe in God, that's all I'm saying.


----------



## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

TheDaffodil said:


> When I see "Christian," I think of a person who believes Jesus Christ existed/exists. I think he lived. I think he did good things when he was alive. I think his life on Earth ended, but his life represents good things. So in a way I am Christian.


I think that's using "Christian" a little too broadly. Many atheists, agnostics, Jews, and others believe that Jesus existed; Muslims believe that he existed and revere him highly as one of God's greatest prophets. But that doesn't make any of them Christian in any way. I would only use "Christian" to describe someone who believes that Jesus is the son of God and that he died for the sins of mankind.


----------



## TheDaffodil (Jun 20, 2009)

anonymid said:


> I think that's using "Christian" a little too broadly. Many atheists, agnostics, Jews, and others believe that Jesus existed; Muslims believe that he existed and revere him highly as one of God's greatest prophets. But that doesn't make any of them Christian in any way. I would only use "Christian" to describe someone who believes that Jesus is the son of God and that he died for the sins of mankind.


I know I'm using it broadly. I'm doing it on purpose. I'm aware other people use it to specify this belief and that belief but I choose not to. Believing Jesus is the son of God and that he died for the sins of mankind shouldn't automatically make someone more Christian than someone who just believes he was a good person and did good things worth observing. But that's just how I look at it.


----------



## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

TheDaffodil said:


> Believing Jesus is the son of God and that he died for the sins of mankind shouldn't automatically make someone more Christian than someone who just believes he was a good person and did good things worth observing.


If you replaced "more Christian" with "better," I would agree with your statement. I just see "Christian" as a descriptive term. I don't believe in the divinity of Jesus myself, so someone who does absolutely is "more Christian" than I am (though I don't really think it's a matter of degree; either you are, or you aren't, and I'm not).


----------



## livinginfear (Jan 31, 2009)

I'm Catholic and voted that Jesus is one of the ways, though the question is a little hazy for me. I personally believe He is The Way, but Jesus to me is love, and there are many people that call that love by another name though they have the same basic beliefs that I do. A name isn't the way, it's the love, no matter what you choose to call it: Jesus, God, Buddha, mother earth, love, whatever. I guess I don't want to exclude the masses who believe in the power of love but call it by another name.


----------



## Roscoe (Apr 21, 2009)

anonymid said:


> I think that's using "Christian" a little too broadly. Many atheists, agnostics, Jews, and others believe that Jesus existed; Muslims believe that he existed and revere him highly as one of God's greatest prophets. But that doesn't make any of them Christian in any way. I would only use "Christian" to describe someone who believes that Jesus is the son of God and that he died for the sins of mankind.


and to accept him as your savior.


----------



## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

Roscoe said:


> and to accept him as your savior.


Correct. :yes


----------



## TheDaffodil (Jun 20, 2009)

anonymid said:


> If you replaced "more Christian" with "better," I would agree with your statement. I just see "Christian" as a descriptive term. I don't believe in the divinity of Jesus myself, so someone who does absolutely is "more Christian" than I am (though I don't really think it's a matter of degree; either you are, or you aren't, and I'm not).


Some Jews think Jesus was just a good person, and yet their religion is considered a branch of Christianity. I don't think a person has to say Jesus is part of a deity in order to be a Christian at all. People can be a certain kind of Christian. Since there are many kinds, I use the word as an umbrella.


----------



## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

TheDaffodil said:


> Some Jews think Jesus was just a good person, and yet their religion is considered a branch of Christianity.


Judaism is most definitely _not_ a branch of Christianity, and I'm not sure where you get the idea that it is. (The opposite is closer to the truth, as Christianity in its very early stages was considered to be a branch of Judaism.)


----------



## Sunshine009 (Sep 21, 2008)

kpiper0101 said:


> I'm Catholic and voted that Jesus is one of the ways, though the question is a little hazy for me. I personally believe He is The Way, but Jesus to me is love, and there are many people that call that love by another name though they have the same basic beliefs that I do. A name isn't the way, it's the love, no matter what you choose to call it: Jesus, God, Buddha, mother earth, love, whatever. I guess I don't want to exclude the masses who believe in the power of love but call it by another name.


yes I believe that too.


----------



## TheDaffodil (Jun 20, 2009)

anonymid said:


> Judaism is most definitely _not_ a branch of Christianity, and I'm not sure where you get the idea that it is. (The opposite is closer to the truth, as Christianity in its very early stages was considered to be a branch of Judaism.)


I "get the idea" from going to school and talking about the many branches of what people consider Christianity (and to be clear, yes, I do realize what people think and what is technically correct doesn't match up - I choose to go by what people think because then I can be on the same page when talking to them). You might not consider it a branch of Christianity, but I do and there are others who do as well, just as there may be others who don't.
I'm not gonna argue with you about it when you're always going to disagree with me, though, haha. I'm comfortable with using the term as I've used it. I don't think it's wrong. It's just a matter of opinion.


----------



## Cerz (Jan 18, 2010)

Wheres the Jesus is not real?


----------



## Witan (Jun 13, 2009)

Jesus is not the way, because there is no "way" in the theological sense of salvation. In the moral sense, Jesus had some good ideas (and some bad ones, and some just plain odd ones, like the whole thing with the fig tree :lol).


----------



## Neptunus (Oct 29, 2007)

anonymid said:


> Judaism is most definitely _not_ a branch of Christianity, and I'm not sure where you get the idea that it is. (The opposite is closer to the truth, as Christianity in its very early stages was considered to be a branch of Judaism.)


I agree. Not to mention Jesus was Jewish.


----------



## Futures (Aug 27, 2005)

LOL @ the poll results.


----------



## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

TheDaffodil said:


> I "get the idea" from going to school and talking about the many branches of what people consider Christianity (and to be clear, yes, I do realize what people think and what is technically correct doesn't match up - I choose to go by what people think because then I can be on the same page when talking to them). You might not consider it a branch of Christianity, but I do and there are others who do as well, just as there may be others who don't.
> I'm not gonna argue with you about it when you're always going to disagree with me, though, haha. I'm comfortable with using the term as I've used it. I don't think it's wrong. It's just a matter of opinion.


Sorry, but with all due respect, it's not a matter of opinion. Judaism precedes Christianity, and therefore cannot in any sense be a "branch" of Christianity. If you choose to continue to hold your opinion simply to be "on the same page" as the people you talk to, that's your right--but be aware that you are _not_ on the same page with virtually every Jewish person on the planet. (Heck, even Jews for Jesus--who are universally rejected by Jewish groups as not really being Jewish--self-identify as Jewish, not Christian.)


----------



## caflme (Jun 7, 2009)

Jesus was Jewish... those that believe Jesus was/is the Savior, the Messiah, and that he died on the cross for all of our sins and to save us from Hell are Christians (Christ-Like/followers of Christ). Jew do not believe this and are not Christians (they will tell you this), they are ancestors of Christians and they are our foundation and we would not be Christians had it not been for that foundation. Just last night our Mass (in the Catholic Church) taught us about the Passover and how important it was to our Faith - how if we ever get invited to a Passover meal that we need to go because it is our past and without it we would not exist.


----------



## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

caflme said:


> Jesus was Jewish... those that believe Jesus was/is the Savior, the Messiah, and that he died on the cross for all of our sins and to save us from Hell are Christians (Christ-Like/followers of Christ). Jew do not believe this and are not Christians (they will tell you this), they are ancestors of Christians and they are our foundation and we would not be Christians had it not been for that foundation. Just last night our Mass (in the Catholic Church) taught us about the Passover and how important it was to our Faith - how if we ever get invited to a Passover meal that we need to go because it is our past and without it we would not exist.


Well said.


----------



## millenniumman75 (Feb 4, 2005)

I only said confused because of the denomination factor. I am Catholic, and can really go back at any time, but I am a member of a Christian/Missionary Alliance church. It almost like a regulated denomination. I wanted to go to a church where the Bible is used and not restricted by human issues. I can say that God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit can do miracles that leave even the strictest denominations confounded.


----------



## Toad Licker (Nov 2, 2007)

opcorn


----------



## Noir6 (Jan 19, 2010)

Toad Licker said:


> opcorn


me too...
I love that smiley!


----------

