What is Christian Apologetics?
Are all religions basically the same? Do they all lead to the same God?
Often, we hear it asked in this manner, "Why make such a big issue about Jesus Christ and Christianity? All religions ultimately teach the same thing. Was not Jesus basically saying the same thing as Buddha, Confucius, Mohammed, and the other founders of great religions? They all teach that God is love, we are to love our fellow man, and that we should give ourselves for others, don’t not? If this is the case, then why single out Christianity for special attention?"
There is a famous story in Indian religious texts (Rig Veda, some Buddhist and Jain texts) that is used by some to describe the relationship between different religions. The story describes a group of men who are blind. They come upon an elephant standing still, and each man goes to a different part. The first feels the large, thin ears and says, “An elephant is like a fan.” The second blind man grabs on to a leg and says, “you are wrong, an elephant is like a tree trunk.” The third blind man is up front and holds on to the elephant’s trunk. “You are both very mistaken, an elephant is like a thick snake.” The fourth blind man is way in the back and grabs that little, thin tail and says, “None of you know what you are talking about – an elephant is like a rope.” So off they go arguing about what an elephant is like, each sincerely convinced that they are right and each certain that the others are totally wrong. Now, a Prince comes along and asks them what the issue was. The Prince then goes on to tell them that neither of them were completely right in their description although they had partial truths about the nature of the elephant. Now, the reason that this story is told is to say that people who believe their faith is correct and other religions are wrong are themselves mistaken - because all religions are like the blind men describing the elephant - they have a piece of truth, but not the whole truth. So, all religions are just describing the same God in different ways. Thus, they conclude that all religions are basically the same despite their differences.
There is another way people think that religions are all basically the same. People describe this position by quoting the Hindu Bhagavad Gita (4:11), “Howsoever men may approach me, even so do I accept them; for, on all sides, whatever path they may choose is mine.” The illustration usually given for this is that there are many different paths to get to the top of a mountain. Some are quick, some seem to wander endlessly around. Some are easy and some are hard - but eventually all the paths reach the top of the mountain. The same is true, they say, of all the religions in the world. While they seem to do different things, the end result is all of them will get to God.
Both of these positions are very attractive to many people today because people think this kind of perspective would solve many problems. There is no basis for conflicts based on religions because we should all just say that all religions are right. That way people won’t feel bad when someone’s faith disagrees with theirs - they can just be comforted that all religions are basically the same. Peace, harmony, tolerance, brotherhood – what more could anyone want. Surely, it must be the case that all religions are basically the same or that all religions lead to the same God - because that’s what the world needs so that we can all be one.
Superficially speaking, yes, most religions have things in common. They all attempt to meet a deeply felt need of all human beings to worship something and to experience ultimate reality. Many have similar codes of ethics. It is generally believed that such things as murder and stealing are wrong and loving is right. Therefore, there is some common ground between most faiths. When this is established people often make the mistake of assuming that they are all the same. However, they are not. In addition, the pluralist’s argument is self-defeating. Let me explain why!
Firstly, let’s take a look at the first parable! Now, make sure to apply the principle we just learnt; “apply the claim to itself,” and check if it’s self-defeating by applying the law of non-contradiction. The moral of the story according to the parable teller is that all religions are like these blind men. They each touch a different part of ultimate reality and therefore any one of them is arrogant to say they have the whole truth. But take a step back and think about what is being said here. Do you see the breathtaking claim that is being made? Jesus, Buddha, Krishna, Moses, and Muhammad are all blind, but in fact, I can see! These leaders all had a small perspective, but I am the one who sees the full picture. Now who is being arrogant? It is just as arrogant to say that Buddha, Muhammad, and Jesus were all wrong in their exclusive claims as it is to say that Jesus is the only way. The issue is not about who is arrogant, but what is actually true and real. Did you just notice that the parable teller proved the exact opposite of what he wanted to say? He wanted to say that no one has the truth but clearly acknowledges that he has the truth, namely the truth that no one has the truth. Pluralism, hence, is self-refuting in addition to being arrogant.
Secondly, all religions cannot be true at the same time because they fundamentally contradict each other in their teaching. The Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Christians and other religious groups cannot all be experiencing the same God because the way they define God contradicts each other. They can all be wrong, but they cannot all be true. It is impossible for God to be personal and impersonal at the same time, for example. Hence, to say that all religions are ultimately the same shows a lack of understanding of these religions and what they are teaching. When carefully studied, all religions differ in their teaching about God, man, sin, salvation, hell, heaven, so on and so forth, which is more or less everything there is to know about a religion. Let’s consider the views of God of five major world religions, for example, and see how distinct they are to each other – Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and the New Age. In looking at these major belief systems and their views of God, we find tremendous diversity: Hindus acknowledge multitudes of gods and goddesses; Buddhists say there is no deity; New Age followers believe they are God; Muslims believe in a powerful but unknowable God; Christians believe in a God who is loving and approachable. Are all religions worshiping the same God? Let's consider that in a bit more detail. New Age teaches that everyone should come to the center of a cosmic consciousness, but it would require Islam to give up their one God, Hinduism to give up their numerous gods, and Buddhism to establish that there is a God. The world's major religions (Hinduism, New Age, Buddhism, Islam, Christianity) are each quite unique. And of these one affirms that there is a personal, loving God who can be known, now in this life. In Hinduism, a person is on their own trying to gain release from karma. In New Age, a person is working at their own divinity. In Buddhism, it is an individual quest at being free from desire. And in Islam, the individual follows religious laws for the sake of paradise after death.
The final reason we can give to the falseness of the idea that all religions lead to God is to answer the illustration of the paths up a mountain. The assumption of the parable teller is that he’s got God’s view of all the paths and knows that they all lead up to God. Now, the more critical issue here is, as we have discussed earlier, that the God to whom the respective path leads are not the same, and so obviously they don’t end up in the same place. The assumption of the pluralist here is that the ultimate reality is one, but as we have discussed before that it’s not the case since they fundamentally contradict each other in their view about God. All religions do not lead to God.
OUR PARTNERS
NEWSLETTER
© Copyright Credible Truth