Everyone puts their faith in
something. Some people put their faith in scientific theories. Others put their
faith in family, politics, careers, or celebrities. We are all searching for something to
believe in. For me, that’s Jesus.
Many people think all religions are
all the same, but I would argue that Christianity is different from the rest. They assume that all
faiths are all talking about the same thing, but are putting it in a different
way. We all have faith in something. Why
not put
your faith in Jesus Christ today?
One man once gave this illustration. He said, “Suppose you take ten men and blindfold them, and lead them over to an elephant. You now let each of them touch a different part of the elephant (tail, trunk, etc) without telling them what they are touching.
“You lead them back inside, take off their blindfolds and tell them to describe what they touched.” The man then asked, “Would their descriptions agree?” The answer of course is no.
The man then made this observation: even though these ten men touched the same thing, they did not agree because each touched a different part or, if you please, experienced it from a different angle. He went on to conclude, “Isn’t it the same in the area of religion?
“Aren’t all the different religious groups ( Christians, Muslims, Mormons, Buddhists, etc.) experiencing the same God, yet explaining it in different ways? Thus can’t they all be true, but with each giving a different emphasis?”
The problem with this illustration is identifying the elephant with God. You are assuming that all these people are experiencing the same God, when in fact this is not true. Christianity and Islam cannot both be true at the same time. Neither can Mormonism and Buddhism both be correct simultaneously, nor can Christian Science and Hinduism.
All religions cannot be true at the same time, because they teach many things completely opposite from one another. They all may be wrong, but certainly they all cannot be right for the claims of one will exclude the other.
As to matters of salvation and the person of Jesus Christ, only historic Christianity recognizes Him as the eternal God becoming a man who died for the sins of the world, and arose again the third day. Salvation is obtained only by putting one’s trust in this Jesus.
The Jesus of Islam is not the Son of God who died for the sins of the world; neither is the Jesus of Mormonism- or Christian Science the same Jesus as revealed in the Bible.
Salvation is not by grace and through faith in these religions, but it is a matter of works. It can then be observed that we are dealing with different religious ideas that are not compatible with one another.
Even though many religions seem to be the same on the surface, the closer one gets to the central teachings the more apparent the differences become. It is totally incorrect to say that all religions are the same.
The God of the Christians is not the same God as that of the Mormons, Muslims, or Christian Scientists. If the God of the Bible is the only true God, then the other gods are nonexistent and should not be worshipped. I ask this then, “What separates Christianity from other religions?
1.
Every other
religion teaches us to earn our way to God: Christianity
is the only religion that teaches that God came to us. Romans 5:8 (VOICE)
says, “But think about
this: while we were wasting our lives in sin, God revealed His powerful love to
us in a tangible display—the Anointed One died for us.”
Jesus died for us before we did a thing for Him. God didn’t
wait for us to get things right before He sent His Son to die. In fact, God
sent his Son because He knew we could never get things right apart from Jesus.
2.
No
other religion has an empty tomb: We’re the only people who follow a leader who died and came
back to life. Every other major religious leader is dead. People have been
looking for Jesus’ body for thousands of years, and they still haven’t found
Him. With all of the advancements in
scientific technology, no one has been able to solve this “mystery” in the
world of science.
The tomb is empty, and the body is not hidden and will never
be found because Jesus rose from the dead. In Matthew 28:6
(VOICE) we are reminded of this truth: “But Jesus is not here. He was raised, just as He said
He would be. Come over to the grave, and see for yourself.”
3. Other religions have systems of rules to appease their god. Christianity
is a relationship with God: Other religions
give us a list of things to do and not do. Some religions call them laws. These
are things that you do in hopes of getting into Heaven. Psalm 145:18-19 (VOICE)
tells us, “The Eternal stays close to those who call on Him,
Those who pray sincerely; all of you who
revere Him. God
will satisfy your desires. He hears the cries for
help, and He brings salvation.”
We don’t have to appease God to receive His favor. He
already showed us His love for us by sending Jesus to die on a cross in our
place, for our sins. The separation between us and God was appeased, and we didn’t have to do a thing
except believe. Christians go to church, read the Bible and obey God’s commands, not because we have to but because
we want to.
We want to learn about this God who would go to such great
lengths for us. We want to show our thankfulness for His grace by representing
Him well with our lives. And we choose to follow His plan, knowing that a God
who loves us enough to sacrifice His Son for us has our best interest at heart.
“The difference between Christianity and all other systems of
religion consists largely in this that these other men are found seeking after
God. While Christianity is God seeking after man.” (Thomas Arnold)[i]
 |
| Harry Connick Jr. |
[i] Sources used:
·
“3 Ways Christianity Is Different from Other
Religions” by Chase Culbertson
·
“Don’t All Religions Basically
Teach the Same Thing?” by Josh McDowell Ministries
Inspired by a topic on Harry (Connick Jr.) TV
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