On a recent radio show, a question was put to me, a familiar question that Christian apologists hear quite often:

 

“Bob, I have a friend who insists that all religions are equally legitimate. He feels it’s wrong for Christians to claim that belief in Jesus is the only means of salvation. He points to other great religious founders such as Mohammad and ancient religions like Hinduism. What makes these religions wrong and Christianity right? Why can’t they all be true?”

 

This is a very popular idea. Yes, it’s quite fashionable to insist that all religions are more or less teaching the same thing and people can find their way to the same God regardless of which path they choose to follow. Not only is this a common idea, but it also comes across as kind, conciliatory, even profound, a wisdom that looks beneath quarrel and creed to find a few common principles of morality.

 

Unfortunately, sounding wise and being factual are not always the same thing. This seemingly perceptive idea a false one. As a matter of fact, the person repeating the talking point does not actually believe what is coming out of his own mouth. You may be interested to know that when people claim all religions are right, what they are really saying is that all religions are wrong. Naturally they are unaware of this subtle, subconscious affirmation, but the logical conclusion to their position can be tactfully pointed out.

 

Here’s the problem: Christians did not invent the idea of Jesus being the only way to God. These words come from Jesus himself.

 

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

 

He was not saying “I am a way, but rather I am THE way!

 

The apostle Peter taught the exact same thing based upon a special authority Jesus bestowed upon all of His disciples before going to the cross.

 

“And salvation is found in in no one else, for no other name under heaven has been given to mankind by which we can be saved” (Acts 4:12.)

 

Christianity is not the only religion to talk about a single route to God.

 

Islam makes identical claims, only in the case of Islam, access to God’s blessing is found in their so-called apostle/ prophet Mohammad.

“Mohammed is God’s apostle. Those who follow him are ruthless to unbelievers but merciful to one another” (Surah 48:29).

“He that disobeys the Apostle after our guidance has been revealed to him, and follows a path other than that of the faithful, shall be given what he has chosen. We will consign him to hell, a dismal end” (Surah 4:114).

 

Neither Jesus nor Mohammad portrayed themselves as alternative paths. Both claimed to be the only way to God. Yet, their concepts of God and their paths to heaven have absolutely nothing in common.

 

Meanwhile, there are many other major world religions which profess an “enlightened truth from above.”  Let us look at one more, Hinduism. Hindus use the word “God” but their concept of deity (with the title, Brahman) is pantheistic. I.E. Brahman and the universe are one and the same thing. God is not a creator who brought life into being and who holds us accountable. Instead, God is merely another word for “existence.”

 

The Christian and the Hindu could not possibly have a more opposite view of God.

 

Christians say, “God made the tree.”

 

Hindus say, “God is the tree.”

 

Back now to the conversation you are having with your skeptical friends. After you point out these contradictory teachings about God, they will tell you it doesn’t matter.

 

“Who cares if religions contradict?” they say with an emphatic smile. “The important thing is that those teachings bring happiness to a person’s life and make the world a better place.”

 

Why is religion the only subject where contradictions don’t matter? Would we grant that same  latitude with any other discussion?

 

If a student answers a history test in ways that contradict the textbook, he fails the test.

 

If a husband tells his wife he was working late and then shows up on somebody’s cell phone video walking on the beach with another woman during the time in question, there will be hell to pay.

 

If a politician says something contradictory, we jump all over it. The news media is abuzz with Speech One and Speech Two, campaign promise and explanation of new “evolved position.”

 

Not so with religion! While discussing religion, nobody seems to care about contradictory facts.

 

There’s a reason for this: The underlying assumption going into such dialogues is that religion doesn’t really have anything to do with the truth anyway.  It’s only a man-made belief system, created to give us a more comforting approach to life. Religion, in most people’s minds, is nothing more than a fantasy.  Telling someone to choose Christianity over Hinduism or Islam is like arguing over novels of C.S. Lewis or the Brothers Grimm stories.

 

“They’re both fantasies, so what difference does it make? Just pick the one you like.”

 

That would make a lot of sense if religions actually were fantasies. Sometimes, given a certain assumption, a natural conclusion will follow.

 

Only one problem: People are failing to challenge this assumption.  Jesus did not claim to be teaching fantasy or a personal belief to get us through life!  Neither did Mohammad! Neither do any other popular religious figures! They claim revelation from above and yet this revelation contradicts the revelation offered by others.

 

How could the one true God be revealing Himself in so many contradictory ways unless He Himself was schizophrenic?

 

Aristotle the philosopher taught an obvious but basic truth, foundational to any philosophy class. It’s called the Law of Non-Contradiction:  If two truth claims contradict, they cannot both be true. Both may possibly be false, but only one of them can be true.

 

Pointing out the need for consistency does not in and of itself prove that the claims of Jesus are the accurate ones. For this, we must study history, archaeology, fulfilled prophecy, etc. In doing so, we discover that Jesus’ resurrection is a fact of history and that the Bible truly is the word of God. This same Bible teaches that we can meet and encounter God through His Spirit. Such a personal meta-physical experience is the final cement to our conclusion.

 

^“This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit” (1 John 4:13).

 

 

Conclusion

 

How much studying, praying, and seeking a person is willing to do is their own business. In the meantime, even prior to examining the claims of Jesus Christ, it can be shown that all religions are NOT right. They cannot be if they contradict. If the contradiction does not matter, it is only because people are assuming that religion need not have anything to do with actual facts.

 

 

 

For more detail on this subject, see Bob’s book:

I’d Like to Believe in Jesus But…

 

 

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