Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Are most religions wrong?


It's hard to say that there is only one right religion and all others are wrong. It sounds arrogant. Something about it makes us feel uncomfortable. However, it is important to think about what is true even if it doesn't feel good. It may be hard for a doctor to tell a patient that they need surgery. But if it is true, it would be wrong to keep it a secret just because it might make the patient feel uncomfortable.

Many people believe that all religions have different versions of truth, but no one religion is right. They use the illustration of blind men feeling an elephant. To one, the elephant is like a rope, to another a trunk, and so on. They are all correct. In the same way, all religions experience some aspect of the divine.

The problem with this illustration is that it simply doesn't work. Different religions don't simply describe different aspects of God or the divine, they describe contradictory aspects. It would be one thing if one religion described God as all-powerful, while another described God as all-loving. Both could be true. Instead, different religions say contradictory things about God and truth. Christianity says that God became a man that we know from history and who is alive today- Jesus. All other religions deny that Jesus is God. If Christianity is right, then all other religions are wrong, and vice versa.

Or, take heaven and hell. Many religions don't even teach that there is a heaven and a hell. But take two that do, Christianity and Islam. According to Islam, if I worship Jesus as God, reject that Mohammad is God's prophet, and draw cartoons of Mohammad, and commit many other sins, I will go to hell. According to Christianity, no matter how great my sins I will go to heaven if I have repented and trusted in Jesus as my Lord and Savior. Now, both cannot be right. One person cannot go to both heaven and hell. It's not like there is a Muslim reality where I will go to hell and a different Christian reality where I go to heaven. There is only one of me!

The real problem with the elephant illustration is that not everyone in the illustration is blind. One person sees the whole elephant. That is supposedly the person who believes all religions are correct. They necessarily believe that they are the only ones who see the whole reality. To them, all the contradictions between religions are just the limitations and misunderstandings of the different religious perspectives. It is only the one who "supports" all religions that has a full grasp of truth. Sounds kind of arrogant, doesn't it? The truth is the one who claims to believe all religions are right basically believes that none of them are right, none of them except their own religious view.

I think there is a better illustration. Consider a corn maze with people going in different directions.

Everyone is trying to find the right path. Some make several right choices before getting off track. Others make a wrong turn at the very beginning. Only one path is correct and leads out of the maze.

The point is that we can respect other religions while recognizing that when contradictory claims are made, only one can be right. Many people are sincerely trying to find the right path and may make many of the right choices. Only one path is right.

Jesus claimed, "I am the way and the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me." -John 14:6. Jesus claimed to be the creator and the redeemer of his creation. He is like one who can see the maze from above and point people in the right direction. Really, only Christianity is like this. Other religions are the best attempts man can give. Or, they claim to have a divine message given through a man who must be trusted. Only Jesus claimed to be God himself and then proved it by rising from the dead, in a way that can be verified by history. He gives us the only hope of having a true and reliable picture of reality, a path to a real relationship with God. If you have not done so, I encourage you to find out for yourself. Read the Gospels - Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and decide for yourself who Jesus really is.

Trust the Bible's purpose is to grow your confidence that the Bible is true and the ultimate resource for life." You can join the Facebook group by clicking here. Trust the Bible is a weekday radio program that begins at about 8:10 each morning on WDOG 93.5 in Allendale, SC. Listen to previous programs online: www.fairfaxfbc.org/trust-the-bible.html