Dialog between Larry King, John MacArthur, and Roman Catholic priest Father Michael Manning on last night's Larry King Live:


KING: John MacArthur, you believe that Muslim people, the Islamic people are wrong. Their beliefs are wrong.


MACARTHUR: That's right. And this is not some personal belief of mine. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life..."


KING: Yes, but if they don't believe that...


MACARTHUR: If they don't believe that, no man comes to the Father but by me.


KING: You must believe that, too, Father.


MANNING: I believe very much that the love of God is strong. Jesus -- Jesus loves all people. Jesus died for all people and I can't imagine...


KING: He died for the Islamic, too?


MANNING: Of course he did. Of course he did. And he loves them with a passion.


KING: You believe that, too, right?


MACARTHUR: Well, I believe God loves his creatures, his creations.


(CROSSTALK)


MACARTHUR: But in the end he's going to condemn to an eternal hell all those who reject his son Jesus Christ.


MANNING: And he rejoices, and Jesus rejoices...


KING: All of them?


MACARTHUR: All who reject his son Jesus Christ, the Bible says, are condemned to eternal punishment.


MANNING: Jesus rejoices when his father is glorified. And when a Muslim or Jew glorifies the father I can't imagine Jesus coming and saying, Oh, well. When are you going to look at me? The joy of Jesus is the glorification of God.



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When one drastically underestimates the sinfulness of man and believes that somehow God's favor can be earned, the kind of logic used by the priest makes perfect sense. Why can't a good, religious Muslim glorify God by doing something nice just as much as a good, religious Christian can? Of course, it's horrendously dangerous blarney, but par for the course.

I've asked those who believe this sort of nonsense (yet profess to be Bible-believing Christians) just where in Scripture I can find one of these God-glorifying Christ-rejecters, but so far none have been able to point me to one. But we just know that "No one comes to the Father except through me" can can't really mean "No one comes to the Father except through me," because we just can't imagine that God would turn away a really nice Christ-rejecter...