Okay gang, give me some feedback.  On several threads, I have seen professing Christians infer and even state as a fact that our Lord Jesus is the same as other religion's gods, they just call Him the name indigenous to their culture.  How have we allowed this politically correct, all-inclusive heresy to go unchecked?  As RP said, Jesus is not Allah nor is He any other god.  Scripture is loaded with examples of our God being very specific with His identify and each of those names and descriptions speak to His divine character and nature.  Paul wrote in his letter to the church in Philipi that each knee bows and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father...

What's in a name?  Everything!  Follow God's commandment to evangelize (with love)?  Yes.  At the cost of diluting the exclusivity of Christ's claim as the ONLY mediator between God and man?  Nyet!

-- Anonymous, April 18, 2002

Answers

The failure to adopt an uncompromising stand about the name of Jesus rests with some incredibly lazy church folks and closet enemies of the Faith. Our Judeo-Christian heritage speakes unmistakably about God's personal identity. We are taught from Exodus 3:14 about the Great I AM. In one of Paul's Epistles he admonishes us that at the name of Jesus EVERY knee shall bow and EVERY tongue shall confess. The name of Jesus is unique and should NOT be discussed in terms of theological equivalence or religious parity with other rival names. I do not nor will I pray in any name other than the name of Him who was curcified for my sins and rose again for my justification. I support religious tolerance as a basic right. I am not offended when competing faiths challenge or attempt to discredit my beliefs. However, I too, must draw a line in the sand like the 3 Hebrew Boys in Daniel and refuse to compromise my beliefs just for the sake of "everybody getting along". In one of the Gospels Jesus is quoted as saying "If you deny me on earth, I'll deny you in Heaven". That ought to be sufficient reason for every believer to affirm the uniqueness of the name of Jesus not only in church but outside of church. QED

-- Anonymous, April 18, 2002

Several months ago in my town there was an ecumenical service at one of our churches (Disciples of Christ) the pastor covered the crosses in his church because he said he did not want to "offend the rabbi who was participating in the service" It was heartbreaking to see the crosses covered. Jesus Christ is the messiah and is the center and breath of Christianity, we are the only A.M.E church in my town but I have let the ministerial association know that I and my church will not pretend that Jesus Christ is not the messiah. Evangelism means spreading the good news about Jesus Christ and the miracle of the resurrection. We will hold high the banner of Jesus Christ because it is spiritually correct to do so!

-- Anonymous, April 18, 2002

Perhaps I can shed some light on your question since I was raised COGIC and have studied elements of Buddhism and Taoism as well. Anyone that has studied the history of religion knows that there are many similarities and parallels between various faiths, including parallels and similarities between Christianty and non-Christian faiths. There are faiths older than modern Christianity that share similar origins with Christianity. Just as various languages share common origins and branched out into say Latin, Arabic, Chinese, English, etc., so too did various religious faiths share a common origin and branch out. Thus, where one man may call the central object of his faith 'Buddah', another man may call the central object or savior of his faith Christ. Actually, Jesus was very vague about his identity... it was others that speculated as to his origins, divinity, and identity, or were specific about it as you stated. I think that to live intertwined with the true essence of Christianity, a person should not so much focus on the frivolties of claims to authenticity of names, and instead focus on adhering to the authentic principles of ones particular faith. Meaning, to 'evangelize (with love)' as you stated is not to walk around in judgement of people that are genuinely serving God under a name foreign to you, but instead focus on being Christ-like. By focusing on being Christ-like people are attracted to your purity of intent, your exhibition of genuine servitude, the loving and accepting aspect of your nature, and the 'undiluted', unexclusive, doctrine of Jesus Christ. That is following God's commandment.

-- Anonymous, June 27, 2003