Vatican News reported, “During an interreligious meeting at
Singapore's Catholic Junior College, Pope Francis urged young people to work
toward unity, become responsible citizens, and pass down what they have learned
to future generations.” He continued, “God is God for all, and if God is God
for all, then we are all sons and daughters of God.” Pope Francis also said,
“All religions are paths to reach God. They are, to make a comparison, like
different languages or dialects to get there. But God is God for everyone.”1
Is every religion a way to arrive at God? Are all religions
the same? Do all religions lead to heaven?
No.
In an earlier blog of mine, I explained why all religions
cannot lead to God & heaven:2
“Three reasons could be
posited to explain why all religions cannot lead us to God and heaven:
1. Every major religion contradicts
the other.
2. There can be only one God.
3. There can be only one means of
salvation.
Every Major Religion
Contradicts The Other
Every major religion
claims exclusivity. I provided a glimpse of the exclusivity claims of the major
world religions in an earlier article of mine, entitled Exclusivity Claims of
Major World Religions. While discussing the exclusivity claims of Hinduism, I
wrote, “Hinduism excludes other religions based on its core doctrines. Consider
the doctrine of God in Hinduism. Brahman, the absolute God of Hinduism, is a
mysterious being.
Although Brahman is one
God, he manifests in innumerable forms, “Hinduism is unique because it is
essentially a monotheistic faith which acknowledges polytheism as reflective of
the diversity in God’s creation. God is one, but also many. He manifests Himself
in innumerable forms and shapes.” But the God of Christianity does not manifest
Himself in innumerable forms. Hence, Hinduism should exclude Christianity or
Islam on the basis of the Godhead. The same holds true for doctrines such as
karma and reincarnation, which absolutely contradict Christianity and other
religions.”
Even Islam, Buddhism and
Judaism claim exclusivity. So if every religion contradicts the other, then all
religions are not teaching the truth. Only one religion would teach the truth,
whereas the others do not.
Historic Christianity also
claims exclusivity. Conservative Christians believe that Jesus is the only way
to heaven. This belief renders every non-Christian as an eternal inhabitant of
hell. But the conclusion that Jesus is the only way to heaven is predicated on
the premise that Christianity is the only religion that makes valid truth
claims.
Since every religion
contradicts the other, all religions cannot lead man to God and heaven.
One God
God is the ‘maximally
great being’ or the ‘greatest conceivable being’ or the ‘greatest being
possible.’ The maximally great being should be omnipotent (infinitely
powerful), omniscient (possessing unlimited knowledge), and morally perfect, to
say the least.
Such a maximally great
being ought to be singular. In other words, there cannot be two maximally great
beings. They cannot be maximally great if they are equal. Maximal greatness
signifies that one of the two would essentially be greater than the other.
Therefore, there can only
be one God.
One Salvation
Salvation is the
deliverance from the power and penalty of sin. Sin is an assault on God. In
other words, sin is the transgression or violation of God’s commands.
If God is one, then the
sin of mankind is essentially against that God (because there are no other
Gods). Hence, there can be only one means of salvation, for it is that one
infinite God who offers the means of salvation to erring finite humans.
But what if God offers two
or more means of salvation to the erring humans? Is this possible? It is
possible as long as the means of salvation do not contradict each other.
There are two major means
of salvation offered by the major world religions. While Historic Christianity
offers salvation by the grace of God through faith in Christ, the other major
world religions teach salvation through good works.
Salvation by grace through
faith is a non-negotiable tenet of Historic Christianity. Historic Christianity
teaches that mankind cannot perform good works (i.e. be perfectly obedient to
God) to go to heaven because man is a perpetual sinner. Hence, God graciously
sent HIS Son, the Lord Jesus Christ to die on behalf of all (the sins) of
mankind, thereby paying the penalty for sin, which is death. Christ then
overcame death through HIS resurrection and ascension. Thereby, those who
believe in Christ are saved by virtue of Christ’s one-time perfect sacrifice
and their belief in HIM.
Contrarily, the other
major world religions teach that mankind would have to perform good works i.e.
being obedient to God, to go to heaven. For instance, Islam teaches that
worship of God and obedience to his commands are the prerequisites for
salvation.
Hence, salvation by grace
through faith contradicts salvation through good works. Since the means of
salvation in other religions and Christianity contradict each other, there
could only be one way to be saved.
Conclusion
There is only one way to
God. All religions cannot lead us to God. Those believing that all religions
lead to God are treading dangerously. They are risking their eternity.
If you are in that boat,
think this through and make sense of your life. If you pray to God to lead you
to the right path, HE will. May the truth set you free.
Endnotes:
2https://rajkumarrichard.blogspot.com/2019/01/three-reasons-why-all-religions-do-not.html
Websites last accessed on 15th September, 2024.
