All religions...are they true, or are they false? What is the possibility that everyone's outcome (after death) relies only on their own views. Possibly, there is no right way or wrong way to worship 'God' (if you believe in him) or fear hell (if you believe in it).
A lot of people say: "Well what about murderers"? Well, who's to say they won't live peacefully as well? The important thing is not that we're punished for our mistakes, but rather that we learn from them and progress. Surely God (or whatever's out there) is willing to forgive them for learning a lesson. Weren't we all sent here to learn lessons?
Please answer this question with an open mind.
My Answer:
You're right...all religions are false. I say this as a Christian, for Christianity isn't a religion, but a RELATIONSHIP with God through Jesus Christ. So the possibility of all being right is several billions (of religions) to 1. And I am saying this with "an open mind".
Religions are all about "what I need to do" in order to be "happy", at peace, or obtain righteousness from God or a god, to be a "good person", or to change. But the Bible tells us that righteousness can only be obtained through faith (which is also entering into a relationship with God through Christ), not works. But religions are about works. So when faced with the Truth of God, anything else can only be false.
The Pastor at the church we're frequenting said it another way: "Religion tries to change you from the outside-in. But Christianity changes you from the inside-out."
In terms of punishment, the important thing isn't that we're punished for our mistakes, for often times we're punished even in our innocence. What about murderers? We can ask about their salvation, but to say that we're punished for our mistakes is to say that the people he murdered deserved it, and if so, then the murderer shouldn't be punished, right? But he/she is, right?
The Pastor at the church we're frequenting said it another way: "Religion tries to change you from the outside-in. But Christianity changes you from the inside-out."
In terms of punishment, the important thing isn't that we're punished for our mistakes, for often times we're punished even in our innocence. What about murderers? We can ask about their salvation, but to say that we're punished for our mistakes is to say that the people he murdered deserved it, and if so, then the murderer shouldn't be punished, right? But he/she is, right?
We learn and progress, yes, and there IS a God out there willing to forgive them, yes, but they have to repent and accept His forgiveness. Sounds pretty easy, right? Yet so many choose not to and instead follow a religion.
Finally, why were we sent here? To glorify God. If you choose not to glorify Him, then why would you want to spend all of eternity with Him? Because that's what Heaven is...God's home. Good vs. evil, right vs. wrong, left vs. right, yin vs. yang, yes vs. no, heaven vs. hell. God didn't create hell for us, but for Satan and his demons. But as a loving God, He's given us the freedom to choose where we wish to go when we die. We could go to be with Him, or not. Check out my blog for more on this topic.
Finally, why were we sent here? To glorify God. If you choose not to glorify Him, then why would you want to spend all of eternity with Him? Because that's what Heaven is...God's home. Good vs. evil, right vs. wrong, left vs. right, yin vs. yang, yes vs. no, heaven vs. hell. God didn't create hell for us, but for Satan and his demons. But as a loving God, He's given us the freedom to choose where we wish to go when we die. We could go to be with Him, or not. Check out my blog for more on this topic.
---Pastor Andy
3 comments:
Christianity is indeed a religion. A religion is a structured set of beliefs that point us in a particular direction towards a particular God. Relationship is certainly part of the Christian religion, but a relationship with God isn't the sum total of Christianity.
We believe in a very specific relationship with a very specific being in a very specific way for a very specific purpose. There are plenty of people who claim to have relationships with God or to know Jesus or to be led by the Holy Spirit who have no biblical foundation for anything they believe and no doctrinal understanding or orthodoxy.
Simply the fact that you point to a "RELATIONSHIP with God through Jesus Christ" shows that there are specifics to this relationship with God, ie it is only and specifically a relationship with God THROUGH Jesus Christ.
We believe, specifically, that we have a problem- sin. We believe, specifically, that there is a solution to the problem- the blood of Jesus Christ, shed on the cross for sinners. We believe, specifically, that we are granted forgiveness by God's grace, apart from our own doing, by the power of the Holy Spirit who calls us, not to relationship (not first anyway), but to repentance.
Yes, relationship is a significant part of being a Christian, but it is also what flows out of specifics of the faith in regards to repentance and forgiveness of sins, and it is a relationship that is always in accordance with the specifics God has laid out about himself and us in his Word.
The difference between Christianity and any other religion (all being religions), is that Christianity offers a solution for sin- Christ's death. And that solution is not based on our own attempts at pleasing God, but is given freely based on the very fact that we can't please God (as most religions that believe in God/a god teach that we can and must please him). Hell isn't our choice to not go to heaven, but is the punishment for our sin based on not accepting the free gift of forgiveness offered in Christ.
The primary belief in Christianity, going all the way back to Christ's day, has been that we are forgiven for our sins in Christ, not that we are given a relationship with Christ. This is evidenced in the fact that we see the apostles preaching repentance and forgiveness of sins in Christ throughout the New Testament, but never once here them telling us to enter into a personal relationship with him. This isn't to say that we can't/don't have a relationship with him. But I am speaking to what the central tenet of the faith is.
Christianity indeed includes "religion" in it, but Christianity at the core is not a religion for the sake of "doing", but for the sake of "being" and "knowing".
The basis I'm pointing to in this answer is that Religions are about what WE need do in order to make ourselves right with God. What can "I" do to inherit eternal life? What can "I" do to get right with God. What can "I" do to free MYSELF from sin. These are what religions promise solutions to, and they're all motivated by selfishness.
Christianity on the other hand is not about what WE can do, but about what Jesus Christ has already DONE. It's not about what WE can do to accomplish all this, for even as you mentioned, all is accomplished only in Christ Jesus, and what He did on the Cross was what we needed to do, but couldn't.
Also, many recognize their Christian faith as one where they need to DO works in order to get right with God. Yes, faith w/o works is dead, but works without the relationship with Jesus are selfish and result in the answer from Jesus, "Begone evil doer, for I never knew you." The Apostle Paul said that those who love God are known by God. There's a relationship with God (through Jesus Christ) at the core of what it means to be a Christian. This is something that Religions (Islam, Orthodox Judaism, Buddhism, Wicca, Scientology, Christian Scientist, Hinduism, etc.) don't have, for they're all about getting right with God through individual righteousness apart from the Son of God...and Christianity confirms that such is even impossible.
Again, Christianity is not ONLY about fire insurance, but also about living in communion with the Triune God throughout all eternity (starting A.S.A.P.), cleansed from sin which separated us from Him.
In the beginning, it says that God walked with Adam & Eve in the garden; all the Patriarchs also had relationships with God; the prophets of the Lord all knew Him personally; Jesus introduced God the Father as OUR Father in Heaven, also; and it needs to be pointed out that Jesus called His disciples His "Friends". Sin tainted this relationship, and we do need to repent and grasp to the grace & forgiveness of Jesus Christ, and be baptized in order to be reconciled to God. But when we do so, we also enter into a relationship with God through Jesus. And this relationship is what inspires us for religious works. But the main differences are that Christianity is faith-based, about what Jesus did (not about what we need to do) in order to make us righteous, and having a genuine relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
So in summary, what I'm pointing at is the fact that Christianity is a whole different animal from religions, for Christianity is communion and community based, with both the Church and with God Himself. Religions of the world can't claim this.
Christianity is also the only faith/"belief system" in which the removal of sin is possible. No (other) religion can claim this (or even does, now that I think of it). And again, this is only possible through repentance and by entering into a genuine, intimate relationship with Jesus Christ.
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