In the last article we alluded to the fact that State governments of the world are pressing for religious Pluralism, seeking to destroy any religion of absoluteness. They believe that all religions are basically the same and lead to the same goal. Thus there is the pressure for all religions to come together with a common unity of purpose through Interfaithism and to relinquish their individual distinctives.
We must candidly ask the question, do all religions lead to the same goal? To answer this question, let us carefully observe the five major religions of the End Time: Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
The Distinctive Beliefs in Different Religions
Hinduism, the oldest continuing false religion of the world, is a polytheistic religion. Its god Brahma (not to be mistaken with Brahman) is a neuter, abstract god which cannot be known. At the same time, Hinduism believes in millions of gods (e.g., Krishna). This pantheistic religion believes that everything is identical with god. Even atman, their soul concept within man, is the same as Brahma. God is the universe and is to be found in the common man as well as in the rich man. God is in ignorance as well as in enlightenment. Was he god in ignorance in writing the Vedas, the sacred book of Hinduism? And was he the god of ignorance in Mohammed in the writing of the Koran, or was he the god of enlightenment? Hinduism believes that god is equally in evil and good, whereas in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam a distinction is made between good and evil.
Buddhism is not truly a religion, though it proposes to be. Because it does not believe in any particular god, it is more a philosophy. Buddhism is an embodiment of philosophical and psychological principles to lead one away from stress, desires, and fears. It also emphasizes the need of peaceful relationships with all men. Therefore, Buddhism is a more contemporarily accepted “religion” than that of Hinduism. Because it had its origins in Hinduism, popular Buddhism does mix in some polytheism through a variety of conceptual gods. In contrast, Islam, Christianity, and Judaism are monotheistic religions, adamantly opposed to polytheism and atheism.
The three monotheistic religions believe that the material world and the human body are good; it is what sin has produced in these materialistic things that brings about evil. These three religions believe that the material world was created by the supreme deity. Hinduism and Buddhism do not believe that the material world is a direct fiat of the Supreme Being, but rather an emanation of the Supreme Being as a creation of some lesser god. Therefore, matter is evil and should be avoided. In their belief man should do all he can to escape from the pull of the material body. To reach machsha there must be a rejection of rebirth (reincarnation), a continuous cycle of living and dying, and a final entrance into the state of nirvana. Through this, one comes forth with the pure world soul.
The three monotheistic religions believe that this is a devaluation of the created world and an attack on the Creator of the material world. When it comes to Christianity, such a belief is a direct attack upon the belief not only that God created the material world but also that God came down in a material world and He Himself entered into a material body. Christianity also declares the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ and the bodily ascension, and that God one day will restore the physical world to perfection. The power of Redemption is to change the heart within the body—this is the hope of Christianity.
Irreconcilable Worldviews
It must be seen with great clarity that religions are in existence with totally irreconcilable worldviews. Those who believe there are no unique differences between the religions have never taken their own religion very seriously.
Let us first note their various teachings concerning guilt. Most religions teach basically the same morality, in that we ought to be good. However, honestly, we will have to admit that religious man has not been good. We have sinned against God and broken His laws. We have sinned against neighbors and even against our own children. If we are to have peace, peace with our Creator and all mankind, we must be free objectively from our guilt. Does guilt matter? Suppose a drunk driver hits and kills a child. Are we to state that it does not matter? Does God declare that it does not matter? There must be a release from past guilt; somehow we must be delivered. And somehow we must be forgiven.
What do the religions do about guilt? Hinduism deals with guilt by Karma. The Hindu believes that enough suffering will eventually atone for the guilt. The law of Karma is like the law of gravity; it will come upon a person. Hinduism does not view sin as against a personal God who can relieve guilt. In Hinduism the only way for guilt to be relieved is through enough human suffering to pay for that sin. No outside help is to be expected. Certainly no one can purify another; there can be no substitute for this purifying. And if one has not suffered enough, he must come back reincarnated and suffer some more. This must continue until the suffering is resolved; reincar-nation allows for this continual suffering to be perfected. Hinduism suggests that a child born deformed had sinned severely in the previous life; this soul has not worked out his karma and must suffer more until he dies. But the child can never find out what he did in a previous incarnation; he must continue to suffer. The full karma must be endured. Someone who lives a very productive life filled with health and wealth must have lived a better life in the previous one, even if his wealth has come through crooked dealings.
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam would flatly deny reincarnation and the matter of sinning in a previous life. We read in John 9 of the man born blind. When the question was asked, “Who did sin, this man or His parents?” Christ denied such a possibility. A person may be physically affected by some disease transmitted by his father or mother, such as AIDS, but the child is not actually spiritually affected by the sin of his parents while in the womb.
Although denying reincarnation, the three monotheistic religions are profoundly different from each other. First of all, Islam’s authority is the Koran; Christianity’s authority is the Old and New Testaments; and Judaism’s is only the Old Testament. As for their view of Jesus, Islam and Judaism do not believe that Jesus is the Son of God as Christianity believes; but Islam does believe He is a true prophet and divine in His birth.
When it comes to salvation, Christianity believes in the principles presented in 1 Corinthians 15:1–4, that Christ’s death on the cross was a sacrifice for sin. His resurrection and ascension were the proof of it. The sufferings of Christ for our sins brought salvation for us instead of our own sufferings for our sins. It also declares that God does forgive in this life (Rom. 5:1, 2). The guilt of sin can be removed by Him, and this can be done because of the claim that He is the Son of God. Christ truly came to be the Saviour.
Islam and Judaism flatly deny this claim. Islam acknowledges that Christ is divine, but flatly denies that He is God. Islam does not believe that Jesus died on the cross, but that He was snatched up into heaven and that someone else was crucified on the cross (Barabbas or someone else). According to Islam, works are the saviour of man, but apart from that Islam has no saviour. Works are weighed in the scale of God’s justice. So none can know if his good works will outweigh the bad; only the future will reveal it.
Judaism does not deny that Jesus died on the cross, but it does deny that He died as a Saviour and that He was God. To the Jew salvation is based upon keeping the Law and being good with the hope that God will be generous in the future end. But Judaism has not always believed this. It at one time believed in the sacrifice for sins—an atonement. Judaism also believed that a Messiah would come. Isaiah 53 prophesied that He would come to atone. It believed that when Messiah would come He would take the place of the lambs. Christ declared Himself to be the Lamb of God. Yom Kippur today cannot be kept without the sacrifice of a lamb for the forgiveness of sin.
Christianity differs from all of the religions concerning atonement and guilt. There cannot be compatibility between it and other religions. One of the key elements of Christianity is the reconciliation of man to God, including the fall of man, the guilt of man, and the destiny of man. According to Christianity there is no hope for man‘s salvation outside of God.
The “Way” of Religions
Basically all religions speak about the way of their religion. There is usually a gate at the beginning in order to get on the way and a gate at the end, either heaven, nirvana, or something similar. The gate at the end depends on merit, on the progress you have made on the way to get to that final gate. It is like so many universities that have entrance exams as the initial gate; how you get through to the final gate will be a final exam of what you have learned throughout all the years. Final exams become the evidence of whether you get through the final gate of graduation; it is all based on your performance.
This “Merit Principle” appeals to many people in a religion because many things in life are achieved this way. What is the entrance gate? In Contemporary Christianity the entrance gate is the joining of the local church or water baptism. Then what the professing Christian does along the way, or the “merit of life,” to him is the final thing. However, the New Testament declares salvation is not based on merit or works; it is a free gift from God by grace alone (Eph. 2:8, 9). It cannot be achieved except through faith.
When does this salvation come to the life? To the Christian it is at the beginning, not at the end. Note clearly John 5:24:
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
Everlasting life comes at the gate. To whatever point that believing continues in the heart and life, and at whatever point one dies, salvation continues in the present tense. This truth is seen in marriage; when is the spouse accepted? Is it after years of work and circumstances in the marriage that a spouse is finally accepted? No, it is at the beginning. The wedding is an announcement that the spouse to be has been accepted, and that is the reason the wedding is taking place. Salvation must be like this: it is the acceptance of Christ at the beginning, and He accepts us at the beginning. But once the marriage is underway, the outworking of that acceptance is to be seen.
Salvation is based upon accepting Christ and living in the way till the end of our days. Christ and not our merits is what keeps us in the way. One receives this entrance through the New Birth. We are given in this eternal life a new way, new powers, and new desires which are pleasing to God. It is a free gift, and this grace is to be the source of our works and character. Works are a fruit of this gift rather than the condition. Now this does not mean we will never sin, but if we do, we can repent and find forgiveness. In all of this, one who has passed through the gate will give clear evidence of a changed life. As a body without life is dead, so faith without works (working out of that faith) is dead. There is no other religion that claims as Christ does the offering of full and complete salvation!
What Is Truth?
In the view of key religions of the world and the evidence that they are not the same, there must also be this matter of Truth. No matter how one defines his philosophy or religion, an allegiance to that belief is demanded. Truth is that which we are to accept; it must be accepted no matter what the context.
Suppose you were taken to court, accused of something you did not do. The prosecutor presents his case against you very cleverly, but it is false. You then present your case and prove that you did not do what you have been accused of. The judge then gives his verdict. If he says something like: “I don’t believe in objective truth, and I do not care what truth is given; each side has a right to his story and each side has a right to be believed. Therefore, I am going to accept the prosecutor’s presentation because it appeals to me in my cultural and personal liking and background.” We would never accept this judge’s pluralistic view about the case. We want the truth to be vindicated. Society may be pluralistic about values, but it should not be about facts. Values are what we individually choose; but facts of whether two plus two is four or that Raleigh is the capital of North Carolina, or facts that prove one right or wrong cannot be altered or changed. They are established facts of truth.
Pluralism believes that all religions belong to the category of values and not of facts. Most religions do not base their beliefs simply upon values; they base them upon facts. They claim to present the truth. Even secular humanism claims to have the truth: for example, they claim that because we did not come into existence by a fiat act of God we are not accountable to such a Being.
Pluralism asserts that religion only declares “value” and not “fact.” We must acknowledge that Christianity is not an announcement of values but of “fact.” It is the announcement that Christ invaded the history of the world and that through His death, burial, and resurrection, redemption is provided for whosoever will. While Islam claims that Christ Jesus did not die on the cross, Judaism claims He did not rise from the dead; Christianity claims both to be true! We believe absolutely that these “truths” are matters of historic fact.
All three religions cannot be true: only one can be true and the others false. The story of the empty tomb cannot be fitted into any contemporary worldview of which it is not the starting point. The Resurrection is not the product of belief; it is to be the ground of belief. We cannot give up the claim that Christ is “The Truth.” Truth is superior to falsehood. Political and religious correctness is a danger in that it is not based on truth. Therefore, we must find the truth and declare it, and it cannot share pluralistically with any other.