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Woodstock Mountain Bike Fellowship

Aren't All Religions Basically The Same?

November 2, 2006

It's interesting to see how the definition of tolerance has changed from one of my older dictionaries and from the one currently displayed by Dictionary.com:

Tolerance (1983 Dictionary): "Sympathy or indulgence for beliefs or practices differing from or conflicting with one's own."

Tolerance: (2004 Dictionary.com) "The capacity for or the practice of recognizing and respecting the beliefs or practices of others."

The old definition includes the notion that people will possess their own beliefs, and that a tolerant individual will indulge (or permit) others to have their own beliefs. The newer definition includes the word "respect", whose definition includes the notion of esteem and acceptance. You probably won't be surprised if I tend to agree more strongly with the older definition.

For many centuries, people in America have placed a high value on integrity and honesty. We respected someone who tells the truth, even when it might be a difficult thing to do or might get him into trouble. But as with many cultures of the past, the erosion of our framework of moral values has blurred the lines between good and bad. We ultimately erase the lines entirely and assume that right/wrong only exist in the eye of the beholder. You can tell that we are pretty far down this road in America, since the only usage of the word "sinful" anymore is on a poster for a rich, chocolate desert. Our ability to reason (to separate truth from error) is also a casualty of this drift (it happened long ago in China, where harmony is valued above integrity, easing the way for communist rule).

While this issue seems pretty elementary, I want to encourage you to be aware of the deceitfulness with which the "tolerance gospel" is being preached. We are now raising a generation of kids who are losing the ability to discern the difference between truth and error. In fact, they are falling prey to the notion that it's wrong to make that kind of judgment. Under the banner of tolerance, we are now being encouraged to accept all lifestyles and beliefs, even those that run contrary to conventional wisdom or those that contradict one another. Our culture now brands a person as "narrow minded" or "bigoted" if they disagree with this false definition of tolerance.

I urge you to avoid the trap of calling someone narrow minded, regardless of their belief system. The fact is that truth is exclusive, and if anyone claims to have a truth which embodies everyone's opinions and beliefs, it's highly likely that they're very wrong.

Aren't all religions basically the same?

While this philosophy has been around for a long time, the current "tolerance agenda" has selected this as the religious view of choice. It might surprise you to find out how many people have simply accepted this view without thinking about it. They often follow up with a statement like "it doesn't really matter what religious group you join up with, just so long as you are sincere."

Hopefully, you are wise enough to recognize that there is no amount of sincerity that can take a false belief and make it true. Regardless of whether you accept a religious system from another culture or inherit the one into which you were born, truth is truth and error is error. Yet in their ignorance, many people continue to accept and propagate this philosophy.

Being the old, tired rider that I am, it's not uncommon for me to stop for a break while riding at Blankets Creek at the point where Dwelling Loop joins the access trail to South Loop. New riders emerging from the trail will often stop and ask me which way will take them back to the parking area. There are only two options - one is true and one is false. How foolish would it be for me to say that both ways lead back to the parking area if you ride with enough sincerity? It is the same with spiritual paths: if they diverge, they are not headed to the same place.

Morality. What do some of the major religions have to say about right and wrong? Here's a sample:

  • Buddhism: do what you like, as long as it doesn't harm children (p.113)
  • Islam: have up to 4 wives (Mohammed had 16); p. 49
  • Taoism: Do nothing and say nothing (p.58)
  • Christianity: put sinful life to death, Colossians 3:5,6

God.

  • Islam: Allah is God and does not forgive (p.65)
  • Confucianism: You cannot serve God (p.107)
  • Buddhism: is an atheistic religion with a destiny of personal cessation
  • Hinduism: a polytheistic religion with a goal of self-deification
  • Christianity: We can know God (John 17:3) and He forgives (John 8:11)
  • Christianity: Jesus is God in the flesh, Matthew 1:23

Destiny / Heaven

  • Hinduism, break away from "me" and unite with the Lord (p.69)
  • Islam: a sexual paradise (p.406)
  • Buddhism: continual rebirths until cessation (p.127, 100)
  • Christianity: Heaven: God's holy abode, Revelation 21:1-3

Salvation

  • Buddhism: the laws of Karma govern destiny (p.105, 87)
  • Hinduism: Focus on entirely on Krishna at moment of death, (p. 126)
  • Islam: The Koran teaches that Jesus is the Messiah (p.35), but like many religions, it teaches salvation by actions (the five pillars):
    1. Declaring and believing the Shahada or Creed ("There is no god but Allah, and Mohammed is the messenger of Allah.")
    2. Observing daily prayers (Salat) and attending the Friday public services
    3. Fasting during Ramadan
    4. The giving of alms (Zakat)
    5. The pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj)
  • Christianity: Jesus sacrificed Himself for the sins of the world (1 John 2:2)
  • Christianity: Salvation does not come as a result of good deeds (Eph 2:8,9)
  • Christianity: People must repent of their sins (Luke 13:3) and transfer their trust to Jesus as Savior (Romans 10:9,10)

So, a very brief survey makes it pretty obvious that these religions are certainly not the same. Knowing what we said earlier, it becomes apparent that we've got to dig in a little deeper to find out where the truth is. Don't be deceived - finding the truth and acting upon it is absolutely essential.

It's interesting to consider Jesus' final command to his disciples: Mark 16:15,16 - "He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned."

Obviously, Jesus didn't think that all religions were the correct paths to heaven. But why should you accept what He has to say above any of these other books? Is there just cause to consider the Bible as unique and authoritative? Come next time and we'll examine evidence for the uniqueness of the Bible.

Waiting their turn Bike Limbo! Derailleur clinic