If there is only one true
God, why are
there so many different religions?
"If God is willing to speak with everyone, why are there so many
different religions? Do they each present the same truth in a different
fashion? If so, Jesus would not be the only way.""
We are moving now into the question of consistency. It would help to
start with a teaching of the ancient philosopher, Aristotle. I am
referring to his Law of Non-Contradiction.1 This law (foundational to
philosophy) states that two given truth claims must not contradict. If
they do, at least one of them is wrong, and possibly they are both
wrong. In other words, I can’t call my wife on the phone and
say,
"I’m coming home for dinner and yet, I am not coming home for
dinner." Sound simple? It should. We accept this idea without
hesitation in every facet of life, every facet of life except religion,
that is.
People are usually afraid to test religions out of fear that they will
be showing intolerance. It should be noted that one can respect freedom
of religion without assuming that all religions are equally valid, for
such a conclusion is intellectually dishonest.
While lecturing at the University of Minnesota, the noted apologist,
Cliffe Knechtle was confronted by a student who claimed that all
religions were basically the same. Cliff responded with a piercing
analogy:
"If I were to assume that all Chinese people were the same," he said,
"it would mean one of two things; either I’m a bigot, or I
have
not taken the time to get to know Chinese people. The same is true of
religious assumptions." 2
Even when admitting that religions do in fact teach opposite
theologies, many stubbornly grasp the idea that somehow every one of
them came from the same God. Why is it so easy to envision a creator
who unveils contradictory information? Why must a belief in God be
divorced from our God given ability to think?
Paradoxically, people are not afraid to put Christianity through the
ringer. Its claims are confronted all the time. Once, while doing an
open forum at Fresno City College, I was asked about Mormonism. I
mentioned that Mormonism claimed to go by the Bible, yet taught
polytheism, 3 which completely contradicts the Bible (Isa. 43:10).
A young lady raised her hand and said, "What right do you have to stand
here and scrutinize somebody else’s religion?"
"Hold on," I replied. "For the last two hours you and your friends have
been doing nothing but scrutinizing my religion.
‘Doesn’t
the Bible contradict itself ?’ ‘How do we know
Jesus rose
from the dead?’ ‘Why would a loving God send people
to
Hell?’ etc. And this has not bothered me. It has been very
appropriate. You should challenge anyone who makes a truth claim, but
it works both ways. I will ask these same questions of other religions."
She nodded as her double standard became obvious. Her earlier skeptical
questions confirmed an honest, inward conviction that all beliefs, even
religious ones, must be examined. We must test whether they contradict
themselves and we must test whether they contradict each other. There
isn’t space right now to give every major religion its
rightful
day in court, but some brief examples will at least illustrate the
process.
Some Hindu’s believe that God and creation are one and the
same.4
The Bible, on the other hand, paints a major distinction between the
creation and the creator. If one person says, "God made the tree,"
while another says, "Actually, God is the tree," we cannot possibly
conclude that they are both correct, even though they each use a
similar word, God. Of course this leads us to no conclusion at all
about the accuracy of Hinduism or Christianity. It is instead a
conclusion about the fallacy of Universalism (the belief that all
religions are true). On the other hand, Hinduism makes no claims to
historical verification, and this is a significant thing to note.
There are also contradictions between religions which accept the Bible.
Islam claims that in addition to the Koran, both the Old and New
Testament are the word of God.5 Jesus is described in the Koran as a
holy prophet but not an incarnation of God Himself.6 The test for a
prophet in the Old Testament is that he must be accurate in everything
he teaches (Deut. 18:22). Jesus taught that He was God (John 14). If
Jesus was lying, He was not a prophet, but Islam claims He was a
prophet. If Jesus was telling the truth, then He is God. But Islam
claims He wasn’t God. Either way, we have a rather serious
contradiction.
Judaism teaches that the Old Covenant will be changed after the Messiah
comes (Jer. 31:31-34). Daniel 9 actually computes that time by
measuring the amount in Hebrew years of thirty days each. He starts
with the return of the Jews from Persian exile when King Artaxerxes
freed the Jewish slaves, and ends with Messiah’s arrival.
This
day occurred on Nisan 10 according to the Persian Calendar or March 30,
33AD according to the Julian calendar.7 Only one potential Messiah rode
into Jerusalem that day, Jesus of Nazareth. If He was the Messiah, then
Judaism’s New Covenant, (Christianity) is now in force. If He
wasn’t the Messiah, then Daniel was a false prophet. But
Judaism
considers Daniel to be a true prophet. We have found a contradiction
with Judaism as well.
I must be making myself very unpopular right now. Please understand, I
do respect the many Muslims, Hindus, Jews, Mormons,Universalists and
others I have met as honest and dedicated people. This does not keep me
from examining their claims, however.
"If there is only one God who reveals Himself, how then, do we account
for the differences in people’s beliefs?"
A loving God would be a gentleman. He would not force Himself upon
those who don’t want Him but would instead speak to those who
are
seeking. Most people accept the religion they were brought up in
without question. Others, when choosing a religion, choose the one that
they like or the one that is convenient. Sometimes, like sheep, they
are mesmerized by talented orators who speak with charisma and
authority. We have only to recall the 900 unfortunate individuals who
followed Jim Jones into the wilderness, to remember that most become
religious simply to have their needs and feelings satiated. Seldom do
they say, "I will examine the evidence to see which (if any) of these
religions is actually true."
Footnotes:
1) Aristotle, Metaphysics 1.v3.100 5b8-34.
2) I witnessed this conversation myself.
3) See King Follet Discourse published in the Mormon newspaper, Times
and Seasons (Aug. 15, 1844, pp. 613-14).
4) See the Bhagavad-Gita, The Vision of God, p. 75, translation by
Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood, published by Barnes and
Noble, 1995.
5) See Koran 2:174-77, 5:44-7, 65-70, 10:35-9.
6) See Koran, 5:70-74, 4:171-73.
7) For a full and scholarly treatment of this subject, see H.W.
Hoehner, Chronological Aspects in the Life of Christ (Zondervan
Publishing House, Grand Rapids Michigan, 1977).
More Questions
|
Have your own question?
questions@bobsiegel.net
This is a brief
excerpt from a larger book.
For a fuller treatment of this subject as well as a better context, see:
I’d Like To
Believe In Jesus, But…
(The harder, less frequently discussed questions)
By Bob Siegel
Published by CSN Books
Copyright © 2007 by Bob Siegel
All Rights Reserved
Published by
Campus Ambassador Press
Copyright © 1999 by Bob Siegel
All Rights Reserved
This article is not to be reproduced without written permission from
the author. |
