As a Christian and a preacher/teacher, I am frequently teaching people how different cults or world religions differ from Christianity and biblical teaching. In doing so, I have to point out what’s wrong with these other belief systems, how they contradict the Bible, how they go against the evidence, why they are untrue and even demonically inspired. I consider this to be part of my calling. You can’t just proclaim the truth; it’s also necessary to compare and contrast it with anything untrue.
One difficulty with this aspect of my calling is that most people don’t like this sort of thing. They don’t want us to point out what’s wrong with other religions. They feel it’s too negative and judgmental. It seems counter to most peoples’ belief that people are basically good, we all have more in common than we have against one another, and pointing out what’s wrong promotes division more than unity. These are all fair enough assertions. Believe me, I too sometimes feel bad that I’m always pointing out what’s wrong. I wish I could “just get along,” as Rodney King so famously said.
How interesting that, just this week I am reading a book for school which tells about the ancient Greco-Roman culture of the city of Corinth. The author points out that the Corinthians didn’t like people who said their religion was right and others were wrong. They didn’t like exclusivity, and thought everyone should agree with everyone else’s gods, no matter who or what they were. They’d go to this god’s festival, then to the other god’s festival next week, and they were all one big, happy family that way. I’m told it’s like that in India today. People go to Hindu weddings or parties, then to Muslim ones, Christian ones, or whatever. Everyone has friends from all sorts of religions, and they try to just get along the best they can.
Unfortunately for those who feel this way, all these religions and philosophies simply cannot all be right, because they contradict one another dramatically. They could all be wrong, but they certainly cannot all be right! 2 + 2 = 4, not 5, not 3, not 62! You may think it’s ok to drink Drano, but I can assure you, if you do, you will get a serious case of indigestion, and it very possibly might even be fatal!
All this being said, it might surprise you to know I actually believe there are some things the various world religions and cults all have in common, and there are things which I believe are positive about them. In a short essay like this, my list can’t be exhaustive by any means, but let me just mention a few such commonalities.
First, all world religions (except for atheistic naturalism, which is a world religion, though its followers won’t admit that), acknowledge a spiritual dimension to the world and to human existence. Atheists are in the minority and always have been. The vast majority of the world’s population believes in spirits, angels, gods, the human soul, and the influence of the spirit world upon material reality. They know there’s more to life than making a buck or being the prettiest woman, the strongest man, or having some great talent or other. They’re concerned not only with life in this world, but they think of what happens after it’s over.
The religions or philosophies of the world also believe it’s important how we live. Most world religions teach the importance of morality of some sort. They teach we reap what we sow, either with the concept of Karma and reincarnation or a concept of accountability to God or a god. Most believe in some sort of judgment after this life, which will determine how the afterlife or next life goes. It’s quite revealing to study what the various religions teach regarding this, because it’s possible to evaluate the religions based on the fruit their concept of morality produces. For example, Hindus and Buddhists believe in karma and reincarnation, so Buddhist monks practice asceticism and self-denial, which is good. But when you observe ordinary, run-of-the-mill believers of these religions, you’ll see they often don’t put much emphasis on moral character. Hindus near me seem quite devout, yet they sell alcohol, tobacco, and pornography without a second thought in their stores. We reap what we sow, but it will take millions of lives to reach nirvana, so what we are or what we do in this life probably doesn’t make that much difference. At best, we’ll probably only improve the slightest amount in one lifetime, so why really bother?
Of course, a major problem we have is that what constitutes good behavior differs widely from religion to religion. One religion may believe it admirable to blow up unbelievers and commit suicide doing so. Another may believe it admirable to set oneself on fire on a street corner, as Buddhist monks did during the Vietnam war. Another religion teaches that if you try to help beggars and other unfortunate people, you are interfering with their karma and will bring negative consequences to your own life as a result. Nevertheless, the idea that humans should behave themselves and do the best they can is a good one, common to all religions. Self-denial is a good idea, moral restraint is a good idea. Practicing humility is a good thing for any people group. Most religions teach these sorts of things in one form or another, and that’s a positive influence on society.
Beyond these generalizations, there are specific things in all of the religions which are commonly held by most people and can therefore be accepted as true. Buddhism, for example, teaches that suffering is a universal and that most suffering is caused by human desires; some dictator’s desire for power, for example, or a greedy man’s desire to get as much as he can for himself at everyone else’s expense. Likewise, I found myself agreeing with a Hindu priest’s thoughts on “seeing.” He told me the most important purpose of his religion was helping people to “see” spiritual realities, and to see the world from that perspective. He said none of us sees perfectly. We’re all affected by our past experiences, our capacities, our prejudices, etc. I could certainly agree with that.
I also liked the Buddhist and Hindu concern for living things, and their belief that all is interconnected. I like their emphasis on self-denial and humility. Likewise, I see many positives in the way Muslims tend to take their religion more seriously than many nominal Christians. I like what I read about Sufi Muslims, how they believe God loves us and the way in which they tend to really devote themselves to seeking Him. Of course, as a Christian, I see a lot that’s good in Judaism, especially in its earlier forms. Modern Judaism, with its emphasis on education, devotion to God, morality, and respect for all people, also has much to commend it. In the tribal religions of indigenous peoples, especially in Africa, there is a respect for ancestors, and a belief, which I agree with, that the world is a place where spiritual forces battle one another. They attribute much that happens in day-to-day life to the work of either good or evil spirits, something my Bible also teaches.
Now some might take these positives and say to me, “You see, your religion isn’t the only true one! You admit there’s good in all of them!” Some would say my words here prove no one religion is right, and no one can say they have the truth while others don’t. Doesn’t the fact that there is good in all religions make this plain?
That’s where I have to disagree! I believe the fact of good in most religions serves to prove the truth of Christianity rather than refute it. After all, the Bible doesn’t teach that Christians are the best people, the only good people, and everyone else is darkened and evil. No, the Bible teaches that we were all created in the image of God, and we all come from common ancestors, Adam and Eve. Therefore, it’s only logical that we would find good and evil in all people and truth and falsehood in all religions. It’s only logical that certain beliefs would turn up in all religions. Sure, these beliefs don’t completely concur. Instead, they contradict each other and present very different perspectives. Doesn’t that refute Christianity? Not at all!
If mankind experienced what Judaism and Christianity term “the Fall,” in which our ancestors were deceived by a malicious spirit, and were subsequently driven from their paradise home, wouldn’t it make sense that they would gradually forget or distort what they originally all knew? Isn’t it logical to believe our stories would gradually morph into completely different versions of what originally happened, while retaining certain commonalities? Especially if that same malicious spirit, along with hosts of his “minions,” were still around, continuing to deceive and influence human beliefs and behaviors, wouldn’t that explain the differences and distortions?
Yes, we have some things we commonly believe. Yes, there are good people who follow all of the different world religions. Yes, there is some truth and goodness in practically all religions. This can be explained by the fact we all descend from common ancestors, and we were all created by the same Good God.
No, all religions are not equally true, leading us to the same final destination. The God we worship came to this planet as a human being, to make sure we would understand the truth. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to God but by Him. His coming is historically documented. His miracles demonstrated His “credentials” as the only true Representative of the Ultimate. The “fruit” or results of His teaching and example, with all the failures of human expressions of it notwithstanding (the Christian Church falls short of Jesus’ example and fails to completely live according to His Spirit and ways), is still far superior and in line with reality than any other belief system. It better “fits” what we intuitively know, and it motivates us to a better lifestyle than other beliefs.
Yes, there is actually some good in most of the world’s religions. But there is still only one Savior and one Way to experience God’s salvation, one way that leads to life. I have become convinced of this reality, and hope to spend what time I have left in this world proclaiming it. What about you? Do you believe you’ve found absolute truth?