Jesus said I am the way.

Only if everyone standing in front of them gets the hell outta the way.

well, if jesus ever really said anything at all, he actually said

"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

so i'm guessing he's the only way

Buddha was/is not a god, and is not worshiped as one.

Krishnamurti said "truth is a pathless land". He explained that those who seek it through the teachings of others will never attain it.

Mrs Whiteside taught me the way.

"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Jesus mades a definitive statement. Jesus alone is the way to the Father.

yeah, i tried to point that out him as well

No way.

Way.

Jesus said, this is a waste of time.

Turn Off Your Mind, Relax and Float Downstream

Downsteam waste is a possibility.

flotsam and jetsam

"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Jesus mades a definitive statement. Jesus alone is the way to the Father.

How did all the souls who lived on this earth get to the Father before Jesus. Don't it kind of stink of nepotism, you know like those kids who start working in their parents business and start claiming liberties that their parents would not permit. Do you think that might be what's happening?

There is perhaps a subtle pantheistic interpretation of the Jesus phrase which gives an angle on this issue.

1. Jesus' claim to be "the Son of God" could be interpreted that we are all the offspring of "the deity". i.e. He was not claiming uniqueness.
2. "Through me" can then be interpreted as meditation on anybody's usage of the word "me" and a spiritual realization that "me" is a component of "the deity" rather than an independent (=alienated) being.

As an atheist with no theological background this argument is pure speculation about the thinking of "more sophisticated" theists.

Yes! That's what I've always thought fresco - but you're so good at articulating it succinctly. I was trying to remember the other thread where you outlined a theological premise that just struck me as what I believed so completely - but had never been able to explain as you had. And I remember I remarked upon that at the time - do you remember which thread that might have been on? I'd love to read it again...

Anyway: For those who look at the Bible as an allegorical teaching tool and Christ's life as an example of how one can and should live to achieve peace and harmony in one's own life and in the world at large - your argument makes perfect sense.
And in that sense, the 'son' or 'child' achieving the 'father' could be taken to mean that the unformed child must change his more base and intuitively selfish and self-centered views or behavior and adopt a more other centered philosophy in attempts to achieve spiritual maturity - the father or god- being fulfillment- in one's own life while at the same time contributing to the attainment of harmony or heaven (here on this earth).

Because anyone can say, 'I am the way, the truth and the life' and that is entirely correct - each individual is their own way, truth , and life - and they will only attain whatever mature entity they attain through whatever life they indeed live.

aidan,

I am pleased that made sense to you.

An understanding of the bible would tell you that nobody got to the father before Jesus and nobody has yet. It is yet to happen.

The keyword there is "an"....inevitably meaning"one" !

The deeper issue is that "meaning" never lies in the text alone. In requires a consideration of the social context in which it was produced, and that of the current reader. Despite that, "religious texts" seek to transcend this simple fact by claiming to be "eternal truths dictated or inspired by God".

Huh?