In the light of the evidence for a fine tuned universe (see previous article) the
only logical and scientific explanation that we can reach is there is indeed a
God out there. The question then
becomes, which God? Out of the 4,200
different religions, how can we possibly pick the right one. Is there a right one, or are they all
different ways to worship the same god? Does it even matter which deity or
religion we choose or are they all essentially the same? Do all roads lead to heaven or is there only
one path worth following?
There is an ancient Indian parable often retold or alluded
to called “The Blind Men and the Elephant”.
In the story there are six blind men who wish to understand what an
elephant is like. Since they cannot see
the elephant they seek out their knowledge by touch. Each person stumbles upon one area of the
elephant and, without exploring further, argues adamantly for his point of
view. John Godfrey tells the story best
in his poem linked to below, but I shall summarize here:
A group of blind men heard that a strange animal, called an
elephant, had been brought to the town. Out of curiosity, they decided to
inspect the creature the best way they could, by touch. So,
they sought it out, and when they found it they groped about it. The first person, whose hand landed on the
trunk, said "This being is like a snake". For another one whose hand
reached its ear, it seemed like a kind of fan. As for another person, whose
hand was upon its leg, said, the elephant is a pillar like a tree-trunk. The
blind man who placed his hand upon its side said, "The elephant is a wall".
Another who felt its tail described it as a rope. The last felt its tusk,
stating the elephant is that which is hard, smooth and like a spear.
While each is correct about the area they have inspected
they all are wrong to assert that the entire animal is exactly like the small
area they experienced. An argument
erupts as each individual, instead of listening to his peers or personally
exploring the beast further, vehemently defends his point of view about the
beast and the opinions he has reached.
The argument is often made that mankind seeks after the
divine like blind men seeking to understand an elephant. God, being vastly superior to ourselves,
becomes misunderstood. Each religion is
said to be exploring one aspect of God and to truly understand the Supreme
Being we must all come together and join as one religion, setting aside our
differences to embrace our similarities in one compromised belief system.
All roads lead to heaven. All rivers flow to the sea. There
are many mountains and many paths on each mountain and all point to
heaven. All religions teach morality so
all religions must be good and worship the same being. Judaism, Christianity and Islam all claim
Abraham so all must be worshiping the same deity. It doesn’t matter what you believe as long as
you believe in something.
I have heard these attempts at religious compromise all my
life from different people outside of church.
Every time I do my conscious gnaws away at my gut, warning me not to
listening. Discernment tells me these
words are hollow.
Swami Vivekananda is a Hindu monk from India (1863 – 1902) who is famous for his quest
to unite all religions under Hinduism. The
Huffington Post quotes him saying the following:
“All religions conceive a Divine Creative Principle at the
root of things, although they call it by different names he said. They
unanimously testify that one can commune with this Divinity through prayer and
meditation. And the broad ethical principles to love and to forgive, to be
generous and kind are also shared by all faiths.”
So because all belief systems have a supreme something and
teach kindness they are all coming from the same source. If that is all it takes for two things to be
equal then you could also say that ice tea and vodka both are made from water,
they both enter the stomach by way of the mouth and they are both sought after
by humanity therefore both are essentially the same.
Just as vodka and ice tea are vastly different so too are
the various world religions. Profound contradictions between foundational
beliefs are not removed by pointing out shared moral standards. Once we begin
to look at even the basics of the different religions it becomes clear that
these belief systems are vastly different from each other. For example, Buddhists deny the existence of
a personal god, while Hindus believe in many gods. Mormonism is also a
polytheistic religion, though Mormons restrict their worship to only a few
gods. Hindus acknowledge multitudes of
gods and goddesses. Buddhists say there
is no deity. New Age Spirituality
followers believe they are God. Muslims
believe in a powerful but unknowable God.
Christians believe a loving God who created us to know him.
Each religion also offers a different path for
redemption. In Hinduism a person is on
their own trying to gain release from karma through countless cycles of
reincarnation. 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. With
Jesus Christ, you see God offering us a relationship with himself, not based on
our efforts, but based on what he did for us.
Even this very basic comparison reveals that the major world
religions contradict each other. It is
not logical or even respectful to the various religions to say that they are
all basically the same or worship the same deity. Football and soccer are not the same game and
their fans would not appreciate the confusion.
Mormonism and Christianity are not the same religion though they are
often grouped together.
There are, however, similarities among the various religions
that do make sense. In Hinduism, you seek release from karma through reincarnation. In new age philosophies, you work out your own divinity.
In Buddhism you seek release
from desire through meditation. In Islam
you must follow the five pillars (specific
prayers, pilgrimage to Mecca, etc). In Christianity
God forgives you.
In all religions you must do something to appease the Supreme
Being. Christianity teaches that you cannot do enough
good to appease God, but God forgives you anyway. In all other religions teachers and gurus and
prophets point to the way to heaven and we have to get there on our own. In Christianity God comes to earth. You are released from all grief, struggle and
failure. All you need to do is believe
in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ and even that God will help you with if
you ask for it. Just let go and let God.
"Jesus told him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me." {John 14:6 NLT}
"No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known." {John 1:18 NIV}
""But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven." {Matthew 16:15-17 NIV}
God, in the form of the man Jesus of Nazareth, has come down
to earth to reveal who God is. If we
were to return to our analogy of the elephant a few changes to the parable are
needed…
The blind men were
groping about the elephant, and then the elephant opened his mouth and spoke to
the blind men about himself. He then
chose one of the blind men and healed him so he could see for himself what the elephant
was like and then declare this truth to his fellow seekers. The elephant went about the people healing
all who believed the truth about himself, carrying them on his back into the
paradise he created.
Further reading:
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