All Religions Are Not The Same Peter describes the exclusiveness of Christianity by claiming that the name of Jesus is the only one in all the world that can save anyone (Acts 4:12). That doesnt play well in our pluralistic society where tolerance is a chief virtue. Indeed, many people feel that an exclusive commitment to any one religious system is pointless, since they assume that all religions are basically the same. Most of us would never apply such reasoning to any other realm of life. Imagine a student saying, It doesnt matter what answer I give in algebra, Latin, history or geography. They all come to the same thing in the end. So why do so many people apply the same shaky reasoning to religion? Perhaps one motivation is the strong desire to see everyone getting along in our global village. Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddismall kinds of faiths drive the peoples of the world. If one system claims exclusivity, its bound to create hostility among the others. But the fact is, religion is already one of the greatest sources there is of national and international conflictswhich seems incredibly odd if all religions are basically the same. Obviously they are not. Another reason why people accept this myth is because they think that faith itself is what really matters. One can believe in anything, they reason, as long as one believes in something. But they misunderstand faith. Faith is only as good as the object in which it is placed. Like a rope, it matters enormously what one attaches it to. One can believe in anythingbut not just anything will reward ones commitment. Only what is true. A third reason why people adopt the all-religions-are-the-same line of thinking is that it helps them avoid a decision. If all religions are the same, they dont have to choose any one. In other words, they can avoid religion altogether. How convenient! But they are committing themselves to a deception. The assumption that we are all looking for God and will find him in the end is false both to the nature of people and to the nature of God. In the first place, we are not all looking for God. Some people today have absolutely no interest in God or religion. They are not atheists, just committed secularists. Moreover, there are far more motives behind the practice of religion than a search or desire for God. Political power, tradition, standing in the community, a desire for increased fertility or wealth, and even sexual gratification are among the forces driving countless people back to their centers of worship. Looking for God? Hardly. Nor is there any guarantee that people will find him in the end. If there is a God at all, he obviously lives in realms beyond us. Otherwise all of us would already know him from birth. But the religions of the world, including todays New Age systems, recognize that people do not naturally and instinctively know God, which is why they promise their followers access to him. The problem is, they offer competing and often conflicting versions of who God is and how we can know him. Christianity is unique in that it claims that instead of people gaining access to God, he has made himself known to people. Gods ultimate self-disclosure was in Jesus Christ. No longer is he the unknown God. Although no one has ever seen God, Jesus has shown us what God is like (John 1:18). So does Christianity claim that all other religions are totally wrong? Of course not. Most have some measure of truth in them. Islam and Judaism in particular have a great deal of truth in them. They are like candles that bring a bit of light into a very dark world. Nevertheless, all religions grow dark at the dawn that has come with Christ. He fulfills the hopes, the aspirations, the virtues, and the insights of whatever is true and good in all faiths.		:: Go For The Truth :: All Religions Are Not The Same :: Benefits of Knowing The Bible :: The Bible is Reliable :: Getting The Big Picture :: Content of the Gospel