I agree that most of the Gospel gives us good directions, but some passages are far from clear. A colleague of mine (Prof. Eric Lien) turned away from Christianity because of two passages: Mark 16:16 and John 14: 6.
“Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”
"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
As a teenager in Taiwan, Eric got permission from his parents to attend a Christian missionary school. Either the missionaries were not trained to give a proper exegesis of these passages or did not think it necessary, but Eric logically concluded that it was Christian belief that his beloved parents and all his ancestors were condemned to hell. Some time ago Eric related this story to me, hoping that I, as a practicing Catholic, could explain this conundrum. I felt inadequate to do so, but Fate intervened in a way that seemed impossible to the four of us skeptical scientists who witnessed it. lt
I related this story in more detail to my adult Confirmation class, but the man in charge asked me to cease doing so, because it was contrary to the message he thought essential: “you must acknowledge Christ as your Savior to be saved.”
While I freely admit I am no expert on interpreting Scripture, I have a reasonable explanation of the John 14:6 passage. That author had a faulty remembrance of what Jesus said. The author that contributed the passage John 6:44 remembered it correctly: "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them" John 14:6 is quoted much more widely, and I had overlooked the much more reasonable 6:44 until after Eric put me on the spot.
Al Leo