Road Maps

The text says that there's "no other name" under heaven whereby a person can be saved. What does that mean?

"All roads lead to God."

If you're going to make that sort of a claim, it's best not to have a mouthy son-in-law. The "all-roads" statement was the frequent declaration of a highly educated woman -- let's call her Katherine -- who tended to spin out into new-age orbits and frequently dabbled in many religions.

Her wiseguy son-in-law -- let's call him Douglas -- is a Christian. One day he challenged her claim by pointing out that there were many ways to get to Chicago, where she lived. Some were better than others, but when Douglas and his wife came to visit her, they had to choose one of those routes.

"So which road to God are you on, Katherine?" he asked. "Buddhism? Fine. Shintoism? Taoism? Christianity? Fine. But choose one. You're making us dizzy."

Katherine intended to be cremated when she died, and on one visit, they discussed where her ashes would be dispersed. Douglas immediately volunteered to go to the Western Wall and the El Asqa Mosque in Jerusalem and sprinkle some of the...