August 22.
Michael J. R. Smith, in response to Stewart Lamont's opening words
regarding religious tolerance (August 8), displayed a narrowness of view
that must be challenged. To insist that John's Gospel ''precludes all
other routes to God except through Jesus'' is nonsense. The scriptures
must be interpreted in their historical context, not taken literally and
therefore misunderstood.
John's Gospel was written between AD60 and 80 to persuade Jews
expelled from their faith for belief in Jesus that he was the biblical
Messiah. In substantiation of this claim, John tapped into scriptural
references which called God the essence of all being, described as ''I
Am''.
The story in Exodus of Moses and the burning bush, among numerous
other passages, illustrates this point. John directly linked Jesus with
such passages in his gospel, attributing statements to Jesus like ''I am
the bread of life'', ''I am the living water'', and ''I am the way'',
etc. Close study makes it obvious that the historical Jesus did not make
these statements himself. They are found in none of the other gospels.
The true (not literal) spirit of this gospel, however, reveals a God
beyond human comprehension who in some mysterious way is all-inclusive.
This is a God who cannot exclude anyone regardless of what they do or
don't believe. John reveals that all human beings are created in God's
image and reflect God's holiness.
All human beings means all human beings, without exception.
William Docherty,
14 Ashvale Crescent,
Glasgow.
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