Richard, the section of your quote that I have highlighted makes good sense to me. (Is it ‘universalism’?). My thought processes are more comfortable in a scientific vein than with theology, and so my analysis of how this “exclusivism” likely arose in early Christianity lies in how the authors of John’s gospel ‘remembered’ one of Jesus’ memorable teachings:
14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
6:44 “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day.
In my estimation, the first quotation, perhaps the most widely cited in the NT, supports the ‘exclusivity’ claim, while the latter can comfortably support ‘universalism’. On this forum, I have maintained the likelihood that the two passages are actually the different ways the two authors remembered the same message that Jesus actually voiced. (No one doubts that God relies on frail humans to spread his word.) No one on this Forum seems to have supported or excoriated my claim. Perhaps only I think it important.
Al Leo