‘All religions are true’ Religious Pluralism: A Christian Response
Various religions can superficially appear the same, but are fundamentally different. When each one is properly understood, it becomes evident that they cannot all be true, as they contradict one another. After careful examination, one would have to conclude that either one is true or none of them are true, but they cannot all be true. In this article, I am going to make the argument that Christianity is not only true, reliable, and rational… but most satisfying to the human soul.
To begin, Christianity is different from all other main religions based on:
(1) The problem of man is sin,
(2) Man is unable to mitigate the consequences of sin without the gift of forgiveness from God (grace), and
(3) God has come to us in the flesh through Jesus Christ.
All other religions (Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and the New Age) teach that we must work or self-will our way into spiritual liberation (Dr. Harris, n.d.).
In Eastern religions, God is often described as impersonal and without moral distinctions, being the life force that underlies nature (Halverson, 167). Christianity, on the other hand, views God as holy, personal, moral, just, creator, and distinct from His creation (Ibid).
Religious pluralism challenges the notion that any single religion is the only true one; therefore, claims in Christianity, such as the idea that salvation comes through Christ alone, are certainly challenged by those who believe in religious pluralism.
Religious pluralism: Religious pluralism is the acknowledgment and acceptance of the coexistence of multiple religious beliefs and practices within a society or the world.
It holds that:
No single religious tradition has a monopoly on truth.
Different religions can provide valid and meaningful paths to spiritual understanding or salvation.
Mutual respect and peaceful coexistence among diverse religious groups are possible and desirable.
People must tolerate pluralism, that we all have different ways of expressing and ‘knowing the divine’,
Religious pluralism challenges dogmatism, that no religion knows the ultimate truth about God, reality, and the divine.
These philosophical positions challenge what Christians believe about Jesus and what He claimed about Himself. This is a common belief in Western culture, and Christians must know how to respond effectively.
There are reasons why Christian’s believe that Christ is the only way to salvation and there are reasons why religious pluralism doesn’t logically work:
(1) Christ Himself claimed salvific singularity, and we must take His words seriously or dismiss them altogether,
(2) Religious relativism/pluralism is not as rational as it may seem, and
(3) Christianity fulfills the understanding of mercy, justice, love, and salvation in ways that no other religion can compare.
Are there any similarities? Yes.
It is fair to say that there are elements of truth within each one; a few examples:
(1) Islam rejects the idea of polytheism, which is true. However, their understanding of monotheism and the character and nature of God differ fundamentally from the Christian understanding. Islam and Christianity also believe there will be a day of Judgment for all mankind and also believe in objective truth claims, such as morality.
(2) Christianity and Buddhism have some similarities, such as: (1) desire can cause suffering, (2) personal peace will be found when we abide in that which is permanent, (3) it is good to live a moral life, (4) self-discipline has a spiritual value, (5) mediation and prayer are important, and (6) compassion is a virtue. Buddhism even has a set of five precepts for living that Christianity would agree with: (1) do not harm any living being, (2) always tell the truth, (3) do not engage in illicit sexual activity, (4) do not steal, and (5) do not take any intoxicants (Corduan, n.d.). However, the means to accomplish many of these similarities are different.
(3) There is also a similarity between religious systems in the presence of moral codes and laws, which is evidence that God gives us a conscience to distinguish between good and evil. Universal moral laws have historically governed ancient societies. C. S. Lewis argues that a common foundation of morality underlies all human cultures. “If anyone takes the trouble to compare the moral teaching of the ancient Egyptians, Babylonians, Hindus, Chinese, Greeks, and Romans, what will really strike him will be how very like they are to each other and to our own.”
For example (Lewis, 1943):
(1) ‘Never do to others what you would not like them to do to you.’ (Ancient Chinese. Analects of Confucius, trans. A. Waley, xv. 23; cf. xii. 2)
(2) ‘Speak kindness ... show goodwill.’ (Babylonian. Hymn to Samas. ERE v. 445)
(3) ‘Do to men what you wish men to do to you.’ (Christian. Matthew 7:12)
(4) ‘This first I rede thee: be blameless to thy kindred. Take no vengeance even though they do thee wrong.’ (Old Norse. Sigdrifumál, 22)
(5) ‘Your father is an image of the Lord of Creation, your mother an image of the Earth. For him who fails to honor them, every work of piety is in vain. This is the first duty.’ (Hindu. Janet, i. 9)
There is a universal understanding of good and evil that has been shared throughout ancient civilizations. Biblically, this would explain the universal understanding of right and wrong is evidence that we have been given a conscience by God. It is stated in Romans 1:18-20 that no one will have an excuse because God’s attributes are clearly evident in creation. We are all aware of God’s moral law, as revealed in creation and our God-given consciences.
The similarities between the moral codes of each culture are not evidence that they are all the same, but that God has written it in the heart of man.
The Only Way: Christ Himself Made Serious Claims
C.S. Lewis said it this way in Mere Christianity, “I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to (Lewis, 1952).”
The argument that Jesus was just another great teacher, alongside Gandhi, Buddha, and Muhammad, reveals a lack of understanding. None of these religious leaders made the claims that Christ did.
Christ said verbatim, according to the scriptures,
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6).”
“Before Abraham was, I am.” (John 8:58)
His followers also worshipped Him as God, “Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’” (John 20:28).
The claims made by Christ and about Christ are among many other claims of His divinity and the assertion that He is the only way to God. If we are going to accept anything Jesus Christ said, we must accept that everything He said came from this understanding of His identity. When we consider Christ’s claims, people are either going to accept everything He says or reject it all.
Jesus does not leave Himself as an ‘option’ among the rest.
Christianity Best Illustrates Love
For the religious pluralist, objective beliefs about God often mean ‘dogmatism.’ However, these terms are often unfairly conflated, causing people to dismiss truth claims as ‘religious dogma’ instead of carefully considering each one.
Christianity withstands the test in spades when compared to other religions in terms of historical reliability, scientific understanding of the physical world, and human behavior. However, Christianity is particularly distinguished by the way love is expressed by God Himself.
The Christian understanding of God is that He has come to us and has subjected Himself to suffering and death to pay for our sins.
The Bible says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23)”, and that even when we try to obey the laws of God, we fail. Paul attests to this struggle, “For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing (Romans 7:19).”
Christianity teaches that no person can earn their right standing with God through their own efforts. In Christ, it is grace through faith that we are saved, not by works.
All other religious systems provide a means for individuals to behave rightly in order to obtain forgiveness for their sins or be delivered from ignorance and attain spiritual liberation.
Christianity fulfills the understanding of mercy, justice, love, and salvation in ways that no other religion can. Christianity is also not a mystical religion, primarily based on tradition, myth, and legend. Unlike other religions, such as Hinduism and Buddhism, Christianity is based on eyewitness testimony, reliable ancient documents, prophetic fulfillments, and historical events.
Example (1) Islam
Here is an example of how a very similar religion (Islam) is fundamentally different in the understanding of mercy, love, and salvation:
1. The Muslim relationship between man and God is “servant/master” since Islam literally means “submission.” Even though Muslims view God as personal, this is not the same understanding of God as Christians, which is “Father/Son/Adoption.”
2. Allah would never dwell with sinners, as Yahweh has done through Christ.
3. A Muslim would agree that God (Allah) is merciful and loving, but their understanding of love and mercy is greatly diminished from the Christian understanding of love and mercy. Since Christians believe that God is a God who dwelt with us, died for us, and rose again, our understanding of God’s love for us is significantly greater. Since Muslims deny the incarnation and crucifixion, they do not believe Allah to be as merciful as Yahweh; which means they must work harder to earn spiritual liberation, since salvation was not accomplished for them through God’s sacrifice.
4. Islam denies the historical crucifixion of Jesus Christ, his death, and resurrection. According to Christ and the teachings of Christianity, if anyone denies the sacrifice that has been accomplished on their behalf by Christ, they are still in bondage to sin.
5. Even though Muslims hold Jesus in high regard and even believe he will return, they also believe Jesus will return as a radical Muslim to tell the world that Christians were wrong to worship him. To a Christian, this is blasphemous, since Jesus claimed divinity, and his disciples also worshipped Him as God.
6. While Muslims would say, “Allah forgives sins when we repent.” This is only if their good deeds outweigh the bad. It is a works-based salvation, where the Muslim is working to get to Allah vs. Christ, who came to us and forgave us by His grace to all who believe.
This is an example of how two very similar religions may superficially appear the same, but are fundamentally different. Even in their great similarities, without receiving Christ as Lord and believing in His resurrection, an unbelieving Muslim will go to hell after death. According to the Bible, there is no other way to be saved except through Jesus Christ.
There is no room for pluralism here. Jesus did not leave room for pluralism in all His “I am” statements found in the gospel accounts. Not only that, the understanding of spiritual liberation (forgiveness of sins) and salvation (peace with God) is much more satisfying through Christianity, because the understanding of love and mercy is significantly greater in Christ. No other God has come to earth to dwell with us; let alone suffer for us and die for us.
If God were to make a way to Himself, by definition, ‘a way’ is singular and absolute. There cannot be many ways to God that contradict one another. If one way says, “You must be good to reach God and spiritual liberation,” and the other says, “You cannot be good enough to reach God; you must simply trust in Jesus,” this would be a contradiction.
Someone may say, ‘Why can’t they both be true?’ Well, you would have to deny some laws of logic there to squeeze that puzzle piece together. Please Google, “the law of non-contradiction“
Both cannot be true. Further, religious pluralists are making an objective truth claim by saying there is ‘no absolute true religion.’ There is no difference between making the objective claim that “there are many pathways that lead to God, not just Jesus,” and making the objective claim that “salvation is found in Christ alone.” Both are objective truth statements. One is just intellectually honest in that they make objective truth claims. :)
Example (2) Buddhism
To Buddhists, the main issue is to be delivered from attachment, which causes suffering. Spiritual deliverance is based on human effort (the 8-fold path), and humans are the ones to strive to reach the ‘top of the mountain.’ God is considered to be an impersonal void that is not relational to mankind, if he exists at all, which is not important to a Buddhist. Buddha never claimed to be divine as a god, nor did he claim to have a special relationship with God. The Buddha claimed to point to the way to eliminate desire.
Christ, on the other hand, claimed to be the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6), to have a special relationship with God (John 3:16), and even claimed to be God (John 8:58). Jesus Christ also taught that we are not going to be spiritually free by eliminating all desire but by having the right desires.
This is actually a key difference between the teachings of Buddha and Christ: that spiritual liberation comes from either (1) not existing anymore, where the ego completely dies and is absorbed into the great void (Nirvana) or (2) existing correctly in relationship with God, who is personal (not a void) and gives us a a new idenity (not having our personhood annihilated as with Buddhism).
Example (3) Hinduism
The similarities between Christianity and Hinduism are few: (1) both believe in having moral issues to solve, and (2) both believe in the existence of a cause-and-effect relationship between our actions and the results (consequences) (Halverson, 90). Hindus call this cause-and-effect relationship “karma,” but Christians simply consider it a principle of reaping and sowing:
“Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap (Galatians 6:7).”
However, Christians believe we live once and then are judged. We can also be assured of being relieved of the eternal consequences of sin in the next life through the accomplished work of Jesus Christ. Hindus believe there are inevitable consequences in the next life that cannot be forgiven; it just is, and whatever ‘bad karma’ you have will have to be burned off through suffering in the next life.
Christians also believe that God is personal and distinct from His creation, whereas Hindus believe God is ‘all’ (Brahman), which is not distinct from creation. Brahman is an impersonal force that we will all be absorbed into once we obtain samsara (deliverance from the karmic cycle of reincarnation).
Again, both cannot be true. God is either personal or impersonal; we either live once or several times; we can either be forgiven for our sins or have to pay for them ourselves. Either one is true or neither is true… but according to the law of non-contradiction, both cannot be true.
The Good News
Yes, we have always been taught to think of the Gospel (Good News) as being ‘Jesus died on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins.’ This is true! But there is another aspect of the Gospel I do not think is spoken clearly enough. Another big part of the Gospel (the Good News) is realizing who God is through Christ.
He is Good, Personal, Intimate, Wise, Loving, Patient, Kind, Holy, Just, Powerful, Compassionate, and True! This is our God! Our Creator! You know, the One who MADE YOU and knows every hair on your head! Yes, HE is GOOD and HE has COME TO THE EARTH! He is Jesus!
Praise God.