There Are So Many Religions Today, Aren’t They All Just Like Christianity?

In a pluralistic society like America (one where many religious groups coexist together), it’s easy to see how a person might be confused into thinking that all religions are basically the same.

But they really are not.

How many of you know that just because an American Hindu or Buddhist or Christian Scientist or Mormon or Jehovah’s Witness ~ just because anyone of these people says that he worships “god,” doesn’t mean that he worships the same God as a Christian worships (though many of them would strive to get you to think they do)?

The god of Eastern and Mid-Eastern religion and the god of present-day cults is a different god than the God of the Bible.

And because this is true, all other religions are incompatible with Christianity.

Not just one.

Not just a few.

But all.

So what are the “proofs” that this indeed is true?

Well certainly there are many, but for the sake of writing tight (keeping this short) I’ll just offer you two. These two “proofs” center around the concepts of (1) how a person attains salvation and (2) how a person views the Lord Jesus Christ.

SALVATION THROUGH FAITH

Let’s consider first how a person attains salvation.

According to the Scriptures, salvation is granted to a man or woman by grace through faith. Therefore salvation can not be attained as a result of works (that is, by doing something, being good or nice or having the good things you do in life outweigh the bad).

Ephesians 2:8-9 reads…

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast.

2 Timothy 1:9 furthers the point when it says…

[God] who has saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus.

So we find that, according to the Bible, a person is granted salvation by grace through faith and it has nothing to do with his works (what he does).

SALVATION THROUGH PERFORMANCE

Now this isn’t the case when it comes to the other religions of the world. Every one of them is what I refer to as a “salvation through performance” system. A “salvation through performance” system is one where a person gains his salvation by the things he either does or doesn’t do.

Take for instance the Eastern religions as an example where the idea of reincarnation and karma is a major focus.

In his book, Answers to Tough Questions, Josh McDowell explains Eastern religious thinking in this way…

“Good karma or good works is the way a person will be delivered from the cycle of [reincarnation], while bad karma will result in a person being reborn in a lower form than the previous life. [In this system salvation is founded upon how one performs].”

So, according to the Eastern religions, if you perform well in this life as ~ let’s say ~ an employee, then in the next one you might find yourself born as the employer. And if you don’t perform well in this life, then in the next one you might find yourself born as maybe an aardvark? Are there any of those reading this blog post today?

All humor aside, do you see how there’s no room in this type of religious system for having one’s sins forgiven by the blood of Christ? Eastern religions don’t need a “Jesus” because their followers are achieving salvation on their own.

Now time doesn’t allow me to comment on other religions and cults. Suffice it to say that they’re pretty much like the Eastern ones on this point. They’re all really “salvation through performance” systems which makes them incompatible with Christianity.

JESUS IS GOD

Now the second “proof” that distinguishes other religions from Christianity has to do with how one views Jesus Christ.

The Bible declares Him to be God while other religions denigrate (“represent as lacking in value or importance”) Him to being someone less than that.

In John 1:1 the Scripture reads…

In the beginning was the Word (that’s Jesus), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

And in Titus 2:13 Paul can’t make it any clearer when it writes…

[Be] looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus.

So, according to the Bible, Jesus is God.

JESUS IS ANYTHING BUT GOD

But the Muslims view Him as just being a prophet inferior to their prophet Mohammad.

And the Christian Scientists view him as being two different entities: Jesus and Christ. To them only the “Christ” part is God, but Jesus Christ is not God.

On the other hand, the Mormons view Jesus as the brother of Lucifer. And they also view Jesus as being created rather than being the eternal Creator of all.

And lastly, the Watchtower Society / Jehovah’s Witnesses view Jesus as the Mormons do ~ as a created being. But to them Jesus was the archangel Michael before He was born of Mary. Therefore, He cannot be what they refer to as “Jehovah God.”

So you see other religions are incompatible with Christianity for they view Christ our Lord as someone other than who He really is while Christians view Him as the Scriptures reveal Him to be ~ Almighty God.

(Reincarnation in Hindu Art picture under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic license: click here.)