Honest questions
What about other religions?
Christianity claims that Jesus is the decisive way God has made himself known and people are reconciled to him. That is an exclusive claim and it should be stated plainly rather than softened. It does not require saying that other faiths contain nothing true, that their followers are foolish, or that you know anyone's final standing before God.
The claim, stated plainly
Jesus says no one comes to the Father except through him, and Peter says there is no other name by which we must be saved. Christians who try to soften those sentences usually end up misrepresenting their own faith, which is not respectful to anyone. It is worth noticing that almost every serious worldview makes exclusive claims, including the view that all religions are equally valid, which is itself a strong claim about what religions are. The disagreement is real, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.
What Christians say about those who never heard
This is genuinely disputed. Exclusivists hold that explicit faith in Christ is required, and take the missionary task with corresponding seriousness. Inclusivists hold that Christ is the only ground of salvation but that God may apply it to people who never heard the name, pointing to figures in Scripture who clearly belong to God without knowing it. A third group declines to speculate, holding that judgment belongs to God and is not ours to allocate. All three have long histories and serious defenders.
Taking other faiths seriously
Disagreeing well requires knowing what you are disagreeing with. A Muslim does not believe what a caricature of Islam believes, and a Christian would object to the reverse being done to them. Learn the actual claims, read the primary texts rather than summaries written by opponents, and notice the real overlaps, since there are many. Where the differences are sharp, say so clearly. Accuracy is a form of respect, and a conversation built on a misdescription is not worth having in the first place.
How to have the conversation
Usually as a friend, over years, and more often listening than talking. Ask people what they actually believe rather than telling them. Be honest about what you do not know. Avoid the move of collecting someone's objections in order to defeat them; people notice it, and it converts nobody. If you cannot conceive of learning something from the person across the table, you are not having a conversation. The exclusive claim can be held firmly by someone who is entirely unthreatening to talk to.
In the text
Where this comes from
Quoted from the World English Bible, which is public domain. Read the surrounding chapter in whatever translation you own.
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me.”
There is salvation in none other, for neither is there any other name under heaven that is given among men, by which we must be saved!
that they should seek the Lord, if perhaps they might reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.
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