In the old parable, the blind men argue about the elephant — but in Jesus’ case, the elephant himself is speaking. The real question isn’t, “Are we more sincere than others?” — but “Who is telling the truth about reality?” Dr Timothy Keller puts it this way: “Every truth claim is exclusive. The only question is: which one makes the most sense of reality?”

1. The Blind Men and the Elephant

There’s an old Indian parable about the blind men and the elephant.

You may have heard it before.
Each blind man touches a different part of the animal — one feels the trunk and says, “It’s a snake.” Another feels the leg: “It’s a tree.” Another touches the side: “It’s a wall.” They argue, but of course, they’re all partly right.

What’s the moral of the story?

It’s supposed to tell us about the religions and God. Each one has a part of the truth. No one sees the whole picture. It would be arrogant of any of the blind men to claim the whole truth, because they can’t see the elephant.

That’s a story our culture loves — because it seems humble, it’s peaceful, it’s inclusive.

Everyone sincerely holds to their truth. And we should humbly recognise that others believe what they believe as passionately as we do.

And you have to have sympathy for the attempt to make peace in a divided world – especially given so many of our conflicts have a religious dimension. If we could only understand the passion others have for their part of the elephant, then we would be less hostile to them.

But Jesus says:

I am the way, the truth, and the life: no one comes to the Father except through me.

That sounds pretty exclusive, doesn’t it? We heard it in the book of Acts, too: There’s no other name in heaven and on earth by which we may be saved.

So what are we to think?

Is Jesus’ claim credible when everyone else believes what they believe with equal sincerity? What are we to do, for example, when the Bible says that Jesus is God and the Koran says that he is only a prophet?

I want to address the last of our questions: “What If They’re All Just as Sure as We Are?” How can we be confident in Jesus when good people with big brains are just as sincerely convinced of their worldviews?

Isn’t the only tolerant and respectable position to say that it doesn’t matter what you believe so long as you’re sincere, and so long as you are kind?

I am going to make four points:

• Every worldview makes exclusive claims
• Sincerity is not enough
• Jesus isn’t just another religious leader
• The arms of Jesus are open to all

2. Every Worldview Makes Exclusive Claims

So firstly: every worldview makes exclusive claims. Even the belief that ‘no one has the truth’ is a truth claim.

That’s the problem with the elephant story. The person telling the story says that everyone else but them is blind! They are making a very strong assertion about universal truth.

The elephant story seems tolerant and humble, but it is just as much a truth claim as any other. Saying ‘all religions are equally valid’ assumes that you see what others don’t see, which is not neutrality.

Which makes the elephant story fundamentally dishonest. It is blind to its own dogmatism.

So we shouldn’t be embarrassed about exclusive claims or statements of conviction – even as we admit that we don’t know everything and respect others who disagree. Respecting others doesn’t mean saying that all views are alike. I find it disrespectful when someone tells me that all religions are the same, and I know that people of other faiths think that too, because it presumes to tell me what I believe.

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