No one comes to the father but through me

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the father but through me." (Jn 14:6)

What does John 14:6 mean? Does it contradict Romans 2:12-16?

For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law; for it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified. For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus. (Rom 2:12-16)


Maybe God will look at everyone (believers or non-believers) by what they do, because what they do reveal what they believe. In the end, it is still Jesus Christ who judges (no one comes to the Father but through Me). It might not mean to be saved we must become Christian, but it certainly is one of the surest way.

What is in the mind, is it real?

"Tell me one last thing," said Harry. "Is this real? Or has this been happening inside my head?"

Dumbledore beamed at him, and his voice sounded loud and strong in Harry's ears even though the bright mist was descending again, obscuring his figure.

"Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?"

- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (p.579)

What we seem to know

"The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world that he didn't exist."

- Verbal Kint, in The Usual Suspects

Prayer, Faith, Belief

God has set up prayer in such a way that, if you want to explain it away, you can. That's the human mind. God set it up like that for a reason, which is this: God ordained that people should be governed in the end by what they want.

- Dallas Willard, in The Case for Faith, Lee Strobel

Counter-Question:
Did God say that? Does the bible say that?

Faith vs Knowledge

[Faith] is a choice we must make without having all the complete information we'd like to have... otherwise, what we would have is knowledge, not faith.

- Lee Strobel, The Case for Faith (p.331)

Counter-Question:
Then why can't we have knowledge? Why must God do it this way? Is it more fun?

Find God if you want to

"The Bible says that if you seek God with all your heart, then you will surely find him. Surely find him. It's the person who wants to know God that God reveals himself to. And if a person doesn't want to know God - well, God has created the world and the human mind in such a way that he doesn't have to...

...In nearly every case imaginable, answered prayer can be explained away if you want to. And that's what people normally do. They say, 'Well, I'm very smart; I can't be fooled by all these things.'"

Dallas Willard, in The Case For Faith (p.352-353)

In response, Lee Strobel recounted an incident:

"My newborn daughter was rushed into intensive care because of a mysterious illness that was threatening her life. The doctors weren't able to diagnose it. Even though I was an atheist, I was so desperate that I actually prayed and implored God - if he existed - to heal her. A short time later, she astounded everyone by suddenly getting completely better. The doctors were left scratching their heads.

"My response was to explain it away. I said, 'What a coincidence! She must have had some bacteria or virus that spontaneously disappeared.' I wouldn't even consider the possibility that Go had acted. Instead, I stayed in my atheism."

I find that I also tend to do that. After the desperation of the moment, after the period of weakness has passed, and I found that I survived, I question. I wonder if I had survived the trial because I have created a mental state that enhanced the chances of psychologically surviving. And I created that mental state through forming a posture of prayer and trust. So as long as I put my mind in a state of calm, I would find the ability to survive any crisis. Can that be true?

Counter-Question:
What if we believe what we want to believe? In such a scenario, would we find God believable because we already wanted to believe in the first place? It would have been like a self-fulfilling prophecy.