Posted: Sep 16, 2013 8:59 am
Quaker wrote:trubble76 wrote:Does that mean the carpenter chappy was wrong when he said something about him being the only way to god? Atheists can get there without a zombie carpenter? Whats the need of the RCC then?
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
There's more going on here than meets the eye. This is one of John's key "I am" phrases. These "ego eimi" phrases echo the Jewish name for God. Later on, John has people falling down as Jesus utters the words ego eimi, and John also has Jesus saying "before Abraham, ego eimi". So John is again pointing to the divinity and the timelessness of God present in Jesus (we have an "am" before a "was"). Elsewhere John uses the "I am" phrases to mirror descriptions of God in the Hebrew scriptures, such as being the good shepherd. John, it seems, when he used the "I am" phrases is pointing very strongly to the divinity of Jesus - which the Jews understood and they often reacted strongly to these ego eimi statements. Jesus is the way to God because Jesus is God. That, it seems, is what John is teaching. Some evangelicals use this verse "I am the way, the truth and the life, etc." to beat up non-Christians, but I think that is to miss the primary focus of what John is teaching, and that is that Jesus is God come in flesh. To John, Jesus was not just some intermediary who takes people to God, rather he, as God, embraces people. To approach Jesus is to approach God, in Johannine thought (again echoed in John's words of Jesus saying "I and the Father am one" and "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father").
As regards the OP, it seems to me that Pope Francis (who I have to say I'm very impressed with, so far) is reflecting Paul's teaching in Romans 2 that to follow one's conscience is to follow a law of God written on our hearts.
"When Gentiles, who do not possess the law, do instinctively what the law requires, these, though not having the law, are a law to themselves. They show that what the law requires is written on their hearts, to which their own conscience also bears witness; and their conflicting thoughts will accuse or perhaps excuse them on the day when, according to my gospel, God, through Jesus Christ, will judge the secret thoughts of all."
So atheists follow jesus when they follow their conscience? It matters not that atheists, to use a favourite term of christians, reject jesus and jehovah.
As you seem to have a familiarity with scripture, does any of it deal with the consequences of rejecting the triumvirate? If I unrepentantly called jesus a syphilitic crack whore and jehovah the sucker of satan's cock but still followed my conscience, I would still be welcomed into heaven along with all the humble god-botherers?
This is christianty claiming conscience the same way it claimed ethics, marriage and everything else it could get it's grubby little hands on, isn't it? It reminds me of a Family Guy episode where Peter is issuing commands to Brian, his dog. As Brian stops obeying him, Peter starts issuing commands that are what Brian is doing anyway to give the impression that Peter is still in control.