But Aren't All Religions the Same?

“BUT
AREN’T
ALL
RELIGIONS
THE SAME?
By Dr. Peter Hammond

“BUT AREN’T ALL
RELIGIONS THE SAME?”

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CHRISTIANITY
AND ALL OTHER RELIGIONS?

“Jesus said :
‘I am the Way,
the Truth,
and the Life.
No one comes to
the Father except
through Me.’” John 14:6

Time and again
we hear people
say:
“All religions are
the same!
Why do you
insist that yours
is the only
right one?”

“How can you be so narrow minded, bigoted and
intolerant to believe that
Jesus is the only way to God?”

The New Tolerance

In this decadent and immoral society the main virtue
seems to be tolerance. And the worst vice is
intolerance. However, what they mean
by tolerance is something very different
to what tolerance used to mean.

Today tolerance has gone beyond what any previous
generation would have understood to acceptance
and approval of deception and depravity.

Intolerance and Hypocrisy

The New Age tolerance seems to come to a screeching halt when
confronted with Biblical Christianity. Any Christian who dares to
stand up for basic Biblical beliefs are accused of intolerance !

It seems a bit hypocritical of those who claim that all religions are right
that they spend so much time declaring that Christianity is wrong.
And they do seem to be very intolerant of Biblical doctrine.

Baha’i Syncretism

The Baha’i religion has formalised the New Age spirit
into a religion which incorporates all other religions.

The Baha’i claim that all religions are the same and they claim to
follow Jesus Christ, along with Buddha, Lao-Tzu, Confucius, Muhammad,
Zoroaster and whole hosts of other gurus, ‘prophets’ and ‘holy men’.!

Research Religions
Yet, to those who claim
that all religions are
the same and
all religious teachers
basically teach the
same principles, we
need to point out to
them what these
religions actually do
teach:

Contrasts and Contradictions

Islam stands for a strict monotheism.
They are adamant that there is only one God.
However, Hinduism is polytheistic,
recognising at least 330 million gods.

How can monotheism and
polytheism be the same?

Life vs Nirvana

Jesus Christ said that He came that we may have life
and have it more abundantly (John 10:10). However,
Hinduism and Buddhism teach that life is a great evil.
These religions teach that we should be seeking for an end
to all personal life through Nirvana.

As a drop of water
falls back into the
ocean and loses
all individuality,
so, through
successive
reincarnations
and meditation,
we should seek
the cessation of
personal
consciousness.

As Buddhism and Hinduism regard life as miserable
(that is something of a self-fulfilling prophecy
as paganism always tends to make life quite miserable)
their goal is the extinguishing of life.

How can Christ’s teaching about Spiritual Life,
Eternal Life and Abundant Life be
the same thing as Buddhism’s Nirvana?

Incompatible Ethics

Then there are the issues of ethics. Most religions
teach polygamy – that a man may have numerous
wives. Islam teaches “marriage” with minors.

Christianity has always stood for monogamy:
one man married to one woman for life.

Christ condemned divorce.
Muhammad allowed for easy and quick verbal divorces.
These two positions are incompatible.

Fellowship with Demons

The Apostle Paul taught: “Rather, that the things
which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons
and not to God, and I do not want you to have
fellowship with demons.” 1 Corinthians 10:20

Idolatry

The Scriptures are clear that God is not pleased with
all types of religious activity. The most condemned
sin throughout the Scripture is that of idolatry.

Most of the religions of the world are steeped in
idolatry. “Professing to be wise, they became fools
and changed the Glory of the Incorruptible God into
an image made like corruptible man.” Romans 1:22

Are You a Good Person?

Most religions teach that people are basically good.
The Bible is clear that people are basically evil.

“As it is written: There is none righteousness, no,
not one; there is none who understands; there is
none who seeks after God. … For all have sinned and
fall short of the Glory of God.” Romans 3:10-23.

Beware of Religious Deception

Jesus warned us of false prophets (Matthew 7:15),
false teachers and false shepherds (Matthew 23).
“Take heed that no one deceives you.”
Matthew 24:4.

Deceiving Nations

In the book of Revelation we are told that at the end God will
send an Angel to bind satan “So that he should
deceive the nations no more …” Revelation 20:3.

Plainly satan is deceiving nations today.

Nations ARE BEING DECIEVED.
We are involved in a colossal conflict,
a world war of world views:

A World War of Worldviews
Atheism vs Theism,
Polytheism vs Monotheism,
Communism vs Christianity,
Sharia law vs God’s Law,
Polygamy vs Monogamy,
Slavery vs Freedom,

Abortion vs Pro-Life,
Pornography vs Morality,
Homosexuality vs Family Values,
Disease vs Health,
Lies vs Truth,
Poison vs Purity,
Death vs Life

Religion Vs Relationship

Religions are man trying to reach up to God,

Christ is
God
reaching
down to
man,

Freedom of Conscience

We, as Protestants, believe in
freedom of conscience,

The Protestant Reformation gave birth to the very
concept of religious toleration.

However by tolerating
the practice of other
religions we are not
saying that they are
equally valid or true.

That modern, New Age
concept of tolerance is
not what the word has
historically meant.

Facing Reality

What is the difference between the Christian
God and the gods of other religions?

Well, first and
foremost, the
God of the Bible
is real.

The others are
not.

God exists.

The others are figments of the imagination
and demonic deceptions.

Sin

However, the differences between Christianity and
all other religions is more than the way we look at
everything and everyone, reality and responsibility,
salvation and discipleship.

It is much more
than the truth
about God, man,
eternity and
salvation.

It is even more
than life, both life
here and now, and
life in the
hereafter.

The chief and
most critical
difference
between
Christianity and
other religions is
our understanding
of the Holiness of
God and the
seriousness of sin.

Atonement

What is absolutely unique about Christianity, among
all the religions of the world, is its central doctrine of
a once for all, never to be repeated, substitutionary
atonement.

Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God who
takes away the sins of the world.

His sacrificial death on the Cross made atonement for
our sins and made possible the Redemption of His
people.

Other religions either have a lower view of God’s
Holiness or a lower view of the seriousness of mans’
sin, or both. Only Christianity maintains the balance
of God’s perfect Holiness and merciful love.

Justice

The crucial question is: how can a Holy God
reconcile sinful and depraved people
and still maintain His justice?

Only someone who was sinless could
be an atoning sacrifice and only
God Himself, coming as a man,
could be that perfect sacrifice.

Other religions are based on the
teachings of their founders.

The Life of Christ

Christianity, however, is based on its founder’s life.
At the core of The Apostles Creed is Christ:

“Our Lord Jesus Christ, conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius
Pilate, was crucified, He died and was buried.
He descended into hell.

The third day He rose again from the dead. He
ascended into Heaven, and is seated at the right hand
of God, the Father Almighty; from there He shall come
to Judge the living and the dead.”

The Festivals of the Church

That is why the great festivals of the Christian Faith
are: Christmas, Good Friday, Easter
and Ascension Day.

Christmas celebrates the Incarnation of God in
human flesh, Immanuel, God with Us.

Good Friday, the atoning death
of the Son of God
for the sins of the world.

Easter the victory of
Christ over death,
hell and the grave
through the
Resurrection. “I am
He who lives, and
was dead, and
behold, I am alive
forevermore. Amen.
And I have the keys
of Hades and of
death”
Revelation 1:18

Above all Authorities

The Ascension proclaimed the Lordship of Christ over
all human institutions and authorities. Christ “has
gone into Heaven and is at God’s right hand - with
angels, authorities and powers in submission to Him”
1 Peter 3:22

“All authority in Heaven and on earth has been given
to Me, therefore go and make disciples of all nations
… teaching them to obey everything I have
commanded you. …” Matthew 28:18-20

“For He must reign until He has put all His
enemies under His feet.” 1 Corinthians 15:25

“Therefore, since we have a great High
Priest who has gone through the Heavens,
Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold firmly to
the Faith we profess.” Hebrews 4:14

At the Name of Jesus

“Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and
gave Him the Name that is above every name, that
at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow in
Heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every
tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the Glory
of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9-11

The Uniqueness of Christ
Jesus Christ didn’t
claim to know
the way,
He is the Way.
Jesus didn’t just
teach the truth,
He is the Truth.
He does not just
have life,
He is the Life.

Confucius did
not die for the
sins of
the world.
He did not even
believe in sin.

Buddha did not
rise from
the dead.

Only Jesus Christ lived a perfect life, died an
atoning death and rose from the dead.

Confucius, Buddha, Muhammad, and all
the rest, died, are buried and have never
been heard from since.

However the Resurrection of Jesus Christ
from the dead is a unique historical fact.

The Lifesaver

All humanity is drowning in an ocean of sin.

The religions of the world are throwing out
swimming manuals and seeking to give the
drowning some instructions on how to swim.

However, Jesus Christ is the Lifesaver who has
plunged into the ocean to rescue the perishing,
at the expense of His own life.

“Nor is there Salvation in any other, for there is no other
name under Heaven given among men by which
we must be saved.” Acts 4:12

Is Jesus Christ your Lord and Saviour?

Or will He be your eternal Judge?

The question
is not will you
bow, but
when will
you bow?

“Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and
given Him the Name which is above every name,
that at the Name of Jesus every knee shall bow, of
those in Heaven, and of those on earth, and of those
under the earth, and that every tongue should
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the Glory of God
the Father.” Philippians 2:9-11

The first time He
came as the
Lamb of God
who takes away
the sins of the
world.

The second time, when He comes again,
He will not come as a Saviour,

but as a
Judge, as
the King of
kings and
Lord of
lords, a
Conqueror,
the Eternal
Judge.

We either bow to Him today in the day of
Grace when Salvation is freely available,

or we will be
forced to bow
to Him on the
Day of
Judgement,
when the door
of grace will be
firmly closed,
when all hope
of forgiveness is
extinguished.

We either bow to Christ as Saviour and Lord
now, or we will bow to Him as our Judge in
condemnation on the Day of Judgement.

Is Jesus your Saviour, or your Judge?

Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth,
and the Life. No one comes to the Father
except through Him.

But Aren't All Religions the Same?

But Aren't All Religions the Same?

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But Aren't All Religions the Same?