Isn’t it egotistical of the church to maintain that their way is the only way?

You are absolutely right. If the church had come up with this system on its own and was trying to say that the system they came up with was the only system, that would be egotistical and exclusive. But the idea of Jesus being the only way to God did not originate with the church. It originated with Jesus Himself. This is what Jesus said:
 
Jesus told him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. (John 14:6 CSB)
 
Jesus maintained that the only way a person could establish a relationship with God was through Him. That is because Jesus was uniquely qualified to fix the situation that we (humanity) broke. Jesus was 100 percent God and 100 percent human. Jesus was able to make every sin that was ever committed right. The punishment for every murder that was ever committed, every  child that was ever abused, every lie that was ever told, every piece of gossip that was ever shared was placed on Him. This is not an idea that began with the church. It came from the lips of Jesus 2000 years ago.

Comments

[julie kimball]

Looking back to the Old Testament times, what does the Bible tell us about what happened/will happen to the people who died before Christ was born? Does the Bible address the subject of salvation for those who never encountered Jesus?