When People Ask Me...

[omimanordude]

I don't really know how to respond to unbelievers' questions...
They ask me about Hell. They ask me how an All Knowing GOD can create man full knowing how there will be more people there than in Heaven. Though I know we are finite in being and mind, how can I explain this to them? How often have you guys struggled with the Doctrine of Hell?

[Judah]

I don't really know how to respond to unbelievers' questions...
They ask me about Hell. They ask me how an All Knowing GOD can create man full knowing how there will be more people there than in Heaven. Though I know we are finite in being and mind, how can I explain this to them? How often have you guys struggled with the Doctrine of Hell?

This is one of the really hard questions. I don't think it can be answered adequately straight off without some groundwork laid first.
It makes no sense to me either until I consider two important things:

1. That a robot cannot love, cannot have a real relationship, and does not appreciate what life is all about. Where there is no choice, there can be no turning to God in love, and delight and enjoyment in Him. He is the source of all life and to be restored to Him is the ultimate gift offered us. We were not made as robots. We were made to love and be loved, and we can choose to accept or reject God - and reap the consequences.

2. That we are sinners and He is so holy that it would be intolerable to be fully in His presence if we were not restored in our relationship to Him, and so we must be transformed to make that possible. Accepting Christ begins that transformation, but to reject Him does not. Heaven can admit no evil because it is immiscible with the character of a holy righteous God.

I personally find that the whole issue of salvation and its necessity is not properly understood until one has a real appreciation of sin and one's own sinfulness, and how this is a total anathema to God. Today's rendition of God as mainly "Love" where the "holy and righteous" side of His character is mostly ignored does not set up anybody for such an appreciation. Of course, that is not very popular these days - which is why folk object to God providing such a place as hell in the first place. God is thought to be wicked for doing so - not that our unsaved selves are wicked and well suited for such a place. And if God is love, then He can't be so wicked... which, of course, He isn't (wicked) anyway! Yes, it is tricky.

If you have not read THE CRAIG-BRADLEY DEBATE: CAN A LOVING GOD SEND PEOPLE TO HELL? then I suggest that you do. I have found the arguments of William Lane Craig to be very helpful in understanding the issues and providing responses to people who object to the doctrine of hell.

The best you can do is answer as honestly and faithfully (to Scripture) as you can. The unbeliever is responsible for whatever decision is reached, and it is the Holy Spirit who convicts us of the Truth. When answering these kind of difficult questions, it is necessary to do so prayerfully. And do not be discouraged if the other does not accept your answer. The Holy Spirit does work in the hearts of men, and the seed you have sown may not germinate right away - but that is not to say that it never will. It is often a faith journey where much ground may need to be covered before the destination is reached.

I would be interested too in hearing how others answer this question.

[omimanordude]

Thank you Judah, I appreciate your response and the article on Dr. Craig and Bradley. I do have one thing to say, and anyone can answer to this...although this was not what I planned to put under this topic, here goes.
Have anyone ever doubted their faith over the doctrine of Hell? No, I really mean it; have anyone really given up on GOD and their church over this? Have anyone lost sleep, cried, felt lost and hurt, and all bad over this particular teaching in the Bible?
I don't know about you guys, but I am still young, and logic does not appeal to me; reasoning of the human mind does, and this means emotional for me. Sure, people can say all these things and prove GOD through evidence and logic and all these explanations, but if we looked at these responsive emotions that give feedback when we think of Hell, does it bother you guys? Does it tell you that perhaps everything taught and heard seems so insignificantly and how seemingly pointless this life is compared to how we picture Hell and the millions if not billions there?

[Michelle]

Excellent debate with good arguments from both sides Judah. As for the qustion regarding Hell from Omimanordude I think this is a situation whereby tact is needed. It is only logical that a non-believer cant comprehend Hell nor a loving God. Who likes to be told that there is a place such as Hell where people like themselves go to endure eternal torture of that level. Futhermore many people have never broken any of societies laws, give to charity are kind and loving but aren't Christian. They may be just as moral as the next Christian and even obey all the Commandments except keeping the Sabbath. Imagine how they might feel being told that they are going to burn in Hell for eternity. Most likely emotions such as anger and resentment will emerge.


Some Christians believe that warning people about Hell is paramount to anything else. They often do more damage than good. Then there are others that I have met that actually gloat about how they are saved and other people are going to burn in Hell. Once again more damage than good is achieved.

I guess the best advice I can give to you (even though I am probably not the best person to advise) is to take each case on its own merit. Each person will have a different personality and react with different emotions. Ask yourself how that person sees their worldview.

When dealing about the question of a loving God sending people to Hell I myself have great difficulty. I cant see how he can do that using the example of the people above. With other people I can comprehend him doing this. I have had to be very honest with people about this when they talk about it. However at the same time I try and explain to them even though I have difficulty understanding how and why this is what the Bible says. And like I have said each case is different.

Some people ask just to trip you up and aren't even interested in knowing the answer. If at times that is the case be polite but firmly decline to get into an argument. Some people really do want to know, so like I said before, the key is being able to relate to their world view. Just remember though you do not have to be an expert on the subject. After all no-one has ever gone to Hell and returned to tell everybody about it. If they did we would have experts on what it is like.

One of the difficulties that I have is in trying to explain just how a person can burn for eternity. Logic tells me that eventually the fire will consume them till they cease to exist. This leads me to believe that sometimes the actual descriptions of Hell are 1/3 metaphor 1/3 assumption and 1/3 possible truth. After all when John spoke in the book of Revelation about Hell he was relating a vision that he had (a dream) and these are metaphors themselves. The assumption part is because no-one has returned to tell us and we are only going by what we have been taught to believe. Even though it is written in the Bible it is how we interpret what is written in the first place that makes it assumption. Possible truth because it can not be proven to be untrue at this point in time.

[Judah]

Jesus actually spoke quite a lot about eternal damnation and cautioned people about that consequence for those who did not accept the Truth. Do you believe He is a credible witness concerning these matters?

It is a hard truth claim of Christianity, but it is the only one consistent with the rest of the Christian narrative. Omimanordude, I find it especially difficult because I have lost both my parents and as far as I know, neither of them were believers. So according to my Christian faith, what am I to think about what may be happening to them now? I can understand your upset over this doctrine - it is terrifying and terrible. And that is why Jesus warned us so often about it. He does not want to lose any single one of us, but it is we who must want to avoid that consequence as well.

I personally did not become a Christian with that end in mind - just to avoid hell. I didn't really give it a lot of thought. I kind of got nabbed by Him, enticed by His perfect wonderful loving beautiful Self. I had a strong awareness of my own moral guilt before God - that He is perfect and holy and I am not - and the need there was in me to be right with Him. So I did not come to Him in fear of those terrible consequences so much as I was drawn to Him by everything that is wonderful and good about Him, and my need for Him. But because I have lost those whom I have loved, and who were not believers, I do appreciate the horror of the doctrine of hell and if anything, it serves as motivation for me to tell others about Christ. But I want them to know Him because I can think of nothing sweeter than knowing Him, rather more so than the consequences if they don't.

As far as the logic of it is concerned - those arguments laid out by William Lane Craig are sound and orthodox. I know we can kick against the idea of hell as much as we feel inclined, but that will not make it go away. One of the things about Heaven, and a very important thing about Heaven, is that it is a place of holiness and perfection, of total righteousness in the company of God, and so there is no place for evil. There is no way that any sinful desires must be allowed to act up there, to destroy the joy and beauty that makes it such a place. And no matter how good people are, Michelle, we are all sinners inside regardless - those sneaky little things by which we fall short of the mark. We are all that way, no matter how "good" we seem to be. It is simply not good enough because it is not perfect as God is perfect.

How to tell people about hell? I concentrate more on enticing them to Christ, the Person that He is, and it often happens that when in the company of such greatness, then it is that one notices how unholy one self is by comparison. The next step is to let Him wash us clean, take away our sins and transform our hearts to be like His own. Then hell moves further and further away as salvation leads to Heaven, not to Hell.

Omimanordude, move close to Jesus and let Him comfort you. If you speak with Him in prayer, tell Him all that is weighing so heavily on you, ask Him to cleanse you from all sin, then you have already moved a great way from Hell. If we confess our sins with a repentant heart, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and strengthen us with His spirit. Although He warned us frequently of Hell, it is a place we need never go near when we become devoted to Him.

[FFC]

How to tell people about hell? I concentrate more on enticing them to Christ, the Person that He is, and it often happens that when in the company of such greatness, then it is that one notices how unholy one self is by comparison.

Good point, Judah. I like this verse:

John 12:32 And I (Jesus), if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all [men] unto me.

Though this lifting up is obviously has to do with the crucifixion, I think it should also be applied to our gospel presentation. It is Jesus and His work on the cross for us that is of the utmost importance. The doctrine of repentance, or hell, or eternal security, or whatever is not the gospel. Jesus dying on the cross for us, being buried and rising again is.

It is Jesus who first and foremost should be lifted up.

I like your statement that it was not the avoidance of hell that brought you to Christ, but as you put it you were "enticed by His perfect wonderful loving beautiful Self". Amen!

Too many Christians have been scared into believing (I being one of them) and the effects that this fear based belief has on many of them is very evident. Insecurity probably coming in at number one. These are the Christians that have received Christ dozens of times because they weren't sure they did enough or said the right words to keep them out of hell.

If a person knew more about the incomprehensible unconditional love of God right from the start, and less about how God would just as soon send them to hell to burn for eternity, their God image may be much more healthy.

I'm not saying we shouldn't proclaim the whole counsel of God, just the most important things first, that God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.

That's my feeling on the issue anyway.

[Turgonian]

Have anyone ever doubted their faith over the doctrine of Hell? No, I really mean it; have anyone really given up on GOD and their church over this? Have anyone lost sleep, cried, felt lost and hurt, and all bad over this particular teaching in the Bible?
I don't know about you guys, but I am still young, and logic does not appeal to me; reasoning of the human mind does, and this means emotional for me.

I'm young too, but although reasoning is often impassioned in some way, reasoning is not emotional in itself.

The first thing there is to understand is that people freely choose Hell and (as some claim) choose to stay there. C.S. Lewis said those people would, in a sense, be successful: rebels to the end. 'The doors of Hell will be locked on the inside.'

A very good site to look at is Preaching Hell in a Tolerant Age: Brimstone for the Broad-minded.

Modern people struggle with the idea of God thinking up punishments to inflict on disobedient people. When sin is seen as slavery, and hell as the freely chosen, eternal skid row of the universe, hell becomes much more comprehensible.

The second thing is that Hell is likely not a place of flames with pitchforked demons dancing around. See Torture in Hell? A Refocus on the Atonement and Eternal Punishment. Quote:

C. S. Lewis wrote a book titled The Great Divorce in which Hell is depicted as a microscopic world that is smaller than a piece of dirt in heaven (though inhabitants do not realize this except by a special "bus trip" to heaven). Within that microscopic world, people constantly get tired of the company of others and move themselves farther and farther out into the "boondocks" away from others. Napoleon is presented as having done this, and two modern travellers who go to his house arrive to find him pacing back and forth muttering over his failures, for which he blames everyone else. Lewis, we think, was on to something here, even though he did not mention an honor-shame dialectic. The person who is ashamed cannot come into the presence of God, but would indeed be driven away from it by the very nature of the dialectic, seeking to get as far away from the presence of the greatest glory and honor as possible. Literally speaking, "Hell" would be a life on the lam -- always trying to get yourself further and further from God's holiness, but because God is omnipresent, and because in Him all things move and have their being, never being able to succeed.

An analogy I once used for my Skeptical friend Kyle Gerkin may help: God is like a magnet, and the "polarity" of sinners is all wrong.

[FFC]

Have anyone ever doubted their faith over the doctrine of Hell? No, I really mean it; have anyone really given up on GOD and their church over this? Have anyone lost sleep, cried, felt lost and hurt, and all bad over this particular teaching in the Bible?
I don't know about you guys, but I am still young, and logic does not appeal to me; reasoning of the human mind does, and this means emotional for me.

I'm young too, but although reasoning is often impassioned in some way, reasoning is not emotional in itself.

The first thing there is to understand is that people freely choose Hell and (as some claim) choose to stay there. C.S. Lewis said those people would, in a sense, be successful: rebels to the end. 'The doors of Hell will be locked on the inside.'

A very good site to look at is Preaching Hell in a Tolerant Age: Brimstone for the Broad-minded.

Modern people struggle with the idea of God thinking up punishments to inflict on disobedient people. When sin is seen as slavery, and hell as the freely chosen, eternal skid row of the universe, hell becomes much more comprehensible.

The second thing is that Hell is likely not a place of flames with pitchforked demons dancing around. See Torture in Hell? A Refocus on the Atonement and Eternal Punishment. Quote:

C. S. Lewis wrote a book titled The Great Divorce in which Hell is depicted as a microscopic world that is smaller than a piece of dirt in heaven (though inhabitants do not realize this except by a special "bus trip" to heaven). Within that microscopic world, people constantly get tired of the company of others and move themselves farther and farther out into the "boondocks" away from others. Napoleon is presented as having done this, and two modern travellers who go to his house arrive to find him pacing back and forth muttering over his failures, for which he blames everyone else. Lewis, we think, was on to something here, even though he did not mention an honor-shame dialectic. The person who is ashamed cannot come into the presence of God, but would indeed be driven away from it by the very nature of the dialectic, seeking to get as far away from the presence of the greatest glory and honor as possible. Literally speaking, "Hell" would be a life on the lam -- always trying to get yourself further and further from God's holiness, but because God is omnipresent, and because in Him all things move and have their being, never being able to succeed.

An analogy I once used for my Skeptical friend Kyle Gerkin may help: God is like a magnet, and the "polarity" of sinners is all wrong.

Very good articles, Turgy, I got a lot out of them. Thanks.

[ttoews]

omimanordude,....first things first.

a) welcome....nice to meet you

b) is it OK to simply call you "dude"?

next....

......Have anyone ever doubted their faith over the doctrine of Hell? No, I really mean it; have anyone really given up on GOD and their church over this? Have anyone lost sleep, cried, felt lost and hurt, and all bad over this particular teaching in the Bible?

of course the traditional doctrine of hell greatly bothers many Christians and also many Christians have noted that the traditional doctrine is questionable given the teachings on hell found in the Bible....and that is why it is a doctrine that is being re-examined by a good many evangelicals. This Website has a bit of a summary that can be found here. If hell is not eternal torment then you need not try to justify eternal torment to non-believers. If such a re-examination interests you, I recommend "Two views of Hell" by Fudge and Peterson.

I don't know about you guys, but I am still young, and logic does not appeal to me; ....

logic appeals to me, but I find the logic put forward by supporters of the traditional view to be seriously lacking. I often hear the phrase that "The damned will choose hell" ....which in the context often means that "The damned will choose to be eternally tormented". That (to me) is a ridiculous suggestion. I (with my limited intellect) can not imagine a fellow that will declare, "Oh please, I would like to suffer for eternity rather than bask in the presence of God....and, by all means, would you be so kind as to reserve for me the chair closest to the fire?" I can, however, imagine the fellow that concludes that the "Christian" God does not exist and therefore also concludes that hell does not exist. I ask, "How can a fellow be said to "choose hell" when that fellow doesn't believe that hell exists?"
Now to be fair, a guy like C S Lewis tells a tale where the characters actually choose hell (or is it that they are unable to choose heaven and are in hell by default?),... but then it is only a tale and a tale where one gets a chance to catch a bus out of hell. Not exactly biblically based. But I guess it makes the traditional view more palatable. ....and such a story makes me ask, "How can a fellow be said to "choose a hell of eternal torment" when that fellow doesn't believe that such a hell exists?"....and if we are going to re-examine the concept of eternal torment and down-grade it to eternal discomfort, why not then do a full fledged re-examination of the whole doctrine of "eternal torment"?

[Michelle]

Jesus actually spoke quite a lot about eternal damnation and cautioned people about that consequence for those who did not accept the Truth. Do you believe He is a credible witness concerning these matters?

It is a hard truth claim of Christianity, but it is the only one consistent with the rest of the Christian narrative. Omimanordude, I find it especially difficult because I have lost both my parents and as far as I know, neither of them were believers. So according to my Christian faith, what am I to think about what may be happening to them now? I can understand your upset over this doctrine - it is terrifying and terrible. And that is why Jesus warned us so often about it. He does not want to lose any single one of us, but it is we who must want to avoid that consequence as well.

I personally did not become a Christian with that end in mind - just to avoid hell. I didn't really give it a lot of thought. I kind of got nabbed by Him, enticed by His perfect wonderful loving beautiful Self. I had a strong awareness of my own moral guilt before God - that He is perfect and holy and I am not - and the need there was in me to be right with Him. So I did not come to Him in fear of those terrible consequences so much as I was drawn to Him by everything that is wonderful and good about Him, and my need for Him. But because I have lost those whom I have loved, and who were not believers, I do appreciate the horror of the doctrine of hell and if anything, it serves as motivation for me to tell others about Christ. But I want them to know Him because I can think of nothing sweeter than knowing Him, rather more so than the consequences if they don't.

As far as the logic of it is concerned - those arguments laid out by William Lane Craig are sound and orthodox. I know we can kick against the idea of hell as much as we feel inclined, but that will not make it go away. One of the things about Heaven, and a very important thing about Heaven, is that it is a place of holiness and perfection, of total righteousness in the company of God, and so there is no place for evil. There is no way that any sinful desires must be allowed to act up there, to destroy the joy and beauty that makes it such a place. And no matter how good people are, Michelle, we are all sinners inside regardless - those sneaky little things by which we fall short of the mark. We are all that way, no matter how "good" we seem to be. It is simply not good enough because it is not perfect as God is perfect.

How to tell people about hell? I concentrate more on enticing them to Christ, the Person that He is, and it often happens that when in the company of such greatness, then it is that one notices how unholy one self is by comparison. The next step is to let Him wash us clean, take away our sins and transform our hearts to be like His own. Then hell moves further and further away as salvation leads to Heaven, not to Hell.

Omimanordude, move close to Jesus and let Him comfort you. If you speak with Him in prayer, tell Him all that is weighing so heavily on you, ask Him to cleanse you from all sin, then you have already moved a great way from Hell. If we confess our sins with a repentant heart, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and strengthen us with His spirit. Although He warned us frequently of Hell, it is a place we need never go near when we become devoted to Him.

Judah, just wondering could you please clarify what sin actually is. I have heard so many interpretations that I am confused. Some versions have it as immorality, while others describe it as being disobedience. So hopefully you will understand that I am very confused about the actual meaning. Furthermore I become even more confused when I read in various passages in the Bible about how God becomes angry with the Israelites. This is because some people have described anger as being sin too.

Also I totally agree with you on enticing people to Jesus. When people have tried that approach with me it works, but when they start preaching about going to Hell I start viewing it as a threat tactic to make me become part of what they themselves believe forcibly. It is something that goes back to when I was a child. My mother used to tell about Hell when I was small and about how non-believers went there. Lets just say it wasn't the wisest thing to say and only installed fear and resentment for many years.

I wonder what will happen to the type of people I mentioned that are loving and kind when they die. Will they be given the chance to follow Jesus after they die? At judgement time will they if asked if they believe and are willing to follow God receive eternal life if they firmly make the commitment to? I have been told that once a person dies there is no chance for repentance.

[Judah]

Judah, just wondering could you please clarify what sin actually is. I have heard so many interpretations that I am confused. Some versions have it as immorality, while others describe it as being disobedience. So hopefully you will understand that I am very confused about the actual meaning. Furthermore I become even more confused when I read in various passages in the Bible about how God becomes angry with the Israelites. This is because some people have described anger as being sin too.

Also I totally agree with you on enticing people to Jesus. When people have tried that approach with me it works, but when they start preaching about going to Hell I start viewing it as a threat tactic to make me become part of what they themselves believe forcibly. It is something that goes back to when I was a child. My mother used to tell about Hell when I was small and about how non-believers went there. Lets just say it wasn't the wisest thing to say and only installed fear and resentment for many years.

I wonder what will happen to the type of people I mentioned that are loving and kind when they die. Will they be given the chance to follow Jesus after they die? At judgement time will they if asked if they believe and are willing to follow God receive eternal life if they firmly make the commitment to? I have been told that once a person dies there is no chance for repentance.

I read it somewhere just recently but most frustratingly, cannot seem to find it again... a link to a paper that includes some good discussion of the definition of "sin". If I come across it again I will post it to this thread.

Anyway, "sin" is best defined as missing the mark, or falling short of the mark. The mark is that which God has set - His standard of how we are to be. That is nothing less than perfect, holy and righteous as He is perfect, holy and righteous. Yes, it is a very tall order and we simply cannot live up to it, thus His solution for our salvation if only we will accept it. However, God defines the standard. He tells it to us throughout Scripture but to some extent it is already written in our hearts. And therefore God (not you or me or the other person) defines sin - that being whatever misses the mark and falls short of His standard.
Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
Sin = to fall short of the glory (righteousness, holiness) of God

Anger... aha! There is such a thing as righteous anger, or anger that is appropriate in love. I see this kind of anger as the response to a violation, and it is a sign to the other that the violation has occurred and amends must be made to restore the situation. This is not the emotional lashing out to inflict harm willy-nilly without regard for the other. For instance, our sin can incur the wrath (anger) of God as it offends Him, and He will discipline us in His great love for us, teaching us the consequences of our violation and restoring us to Him by His forgiveness on our confession and repentance.
Does that make a little more sense?

There is a time and place for some discussion of Hell, but I think it is highly manipulative when people start preaching Hell as the only way to convince people to believe the Gospel of Christ, or more especially, to control their behaviour in some manner. It is a negative way to frighten them into believing, and as FFC has already mentioned, it may well have something to do with people not being assured of their salvation at all.
1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

In fact, all those things you have described in your earlier post that are used to force people to believe are manipulative and quite unnecessary. I shuddered when I read them.

Jesus is such an attractive person that to truly glimpse Him is enough to make the best parts of one's soul yearn for more of Him - so therefore it is better to present Jesus who draws to Himself those who want to know Him, rather than try frightening them instead.

With regard to the loving and kind people that you mention, you might like to read through the thread that Turgy started over here although it is relevant more to those folk who have never heard the Gospel.

If you want the honest orthodox Christian truth, Michelle, then the answer is possibly not one you will like too much - Christianity is an exclusive religion. Check out John 14:6 which is the verse on my signature banner. There is no other name given to us by which man can be saved. God is the Creator and we are His creatures. He is the Boss and says how it shall be done - not we tell Him or invent something else.

If you understand sin, if you understand that God is holy and sin has no part of Him, if you understand that we are sinful, and if you understand that Christ is the only one who could possibly make the sacrifice (pay on our behalf) by which we can be justified (which means to be imputed with His righteousness) by faith in Him (God's requirement of us in order to deal with our sin) - only then can you see the sense in what I am saying and know that any other way will not work.
That is the core Christian message. Christianity is unashamedly exclusive. God is exclusive - He excludes sin. There is no other easy way around this.

What are your thoughts on that?

[puritan lad]

Dude,

You may consider turning the tables and asking why a just and Holy God would ever allow anyone into heaven. That is the real mystery. Hell is an easy one to answer. God sends people there because we deserve it.

[ttoews]

Dude,

You may consider turning the tables and asking why a just and Holy God would ever allow anyone into heaven. That is the real mystery. Hell is an easy one to answer. God sends people there because we deserve it.

Actually, your "mystery" is an easy one to answer too. God allows people into heaven b/c it is no longer just to punish them. Once a person has his sins covered by Christ's blood it would be unjust to punish him for those sins as the debt has been paid in full. To punish such a fellow would indicate that Christ's work on the cross was insufficient. ...and Christ did what he did b/c of love.

[puritan lad]

Dude,

You may consider turning the tables and asking why a just and Holy God would ever allow anyone into heaven. That is the real mystery. Hell is an easy one to answer. God sends people there because we deserve it.

Actually, your "mystery" is an easy one to answer too. God allows people into heaven b/c it is no longer just to punish them. Once a person has his sins covered by Christ's blood it would be unjust to punish him for those sins as the debt has been paid in full. To punish such a fellow would indicate that Christ's work on the cross was insufficient. ...and Christ did what he did b/c of love.

:wink:

True. However, a non-Christian would probably not grasp that simple truth. They begin with the idea that man is good enough to deserve Heaven, not Hell, thus the original question.

[Turgonian]

If you want the honest orthodox Christian truth, Michelle, then the answer is possibly not one you will like too much - Christianity is an exclusive religion. Check out John 14:6 which is the verse on my signature banner. There is no other name given to us by which man can be saved.

A very good and thoughtful response, Judah, like we're accustomed to receive from you! A short PS -- 'name' in that text means 'authority'. Jesus's real name was Yeshua. What the text says is that Jesus is the only Way (and that a lot of people have walked on Him who didn't know His name, e.g. the OT Jews).