I would like to take this opportunity to respond to Kenneth Green's letter in the Nov. 8 issue of the Exponent. In his letter, he accused Matt (of "I Agree With Matt" fame) of trying to be an authority on who will and will not get into heaven. He continued by saying that it was disrespectful to other religions, particularly Islam and Judaism, to publicly state that Jesus was the only path to heaven.

The basis for this belief can be summarized by the Biblical passage John 14:6, in which Jesus says, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me." As Christians, we cannot (and should not try to) force others to believe this, but it is central to our faith and therefore must be included when we share our faith with others.

I am not a Muslim, so I do not agree with the fundamental Islamic belief that "There is no God but God, and Mohammed is his prophet." However, I respect the right of any Muslim to state that belief, or to publish it in the newspaper if they so desire.

With few exceptions, religions hold an exclusive set of beliefs. I expect that the Jews do not believe that Christians or Muslims are going to heaven. Muslims believe that Christians and Jews are following God the wrong way. That does not offend me. I accept that the Jews and Muslims have beliefs different from my own. I hope that they have the same respect for my beliefs and are not offended when Matt — or anyone else — states them publicly.