[N0help4u]

THEN tell me what you think

Do all religions lead to God?

Many people think this is the case, because they assume that all religions are essentially the same when you get right down to it. But this just isn't true. If you let each religion speak for itself, you find religions around the world differ greatly on the basic concepts-God, truth, reality, the basic human dilemma and the solution to that dilemma. They differ so much that many of their statements contradict one another. For example, God cannot be both personal, as Christians, Jews and Muslims believe, and impersonal, as Buddhists and Hindus believe. Those are contradictory statements. According to the rules of logic, contradictory statements cannot all be true. Therefore, all religions cannot possibly be true. It is a logical impossibility. And if they are not all true, then not all of them can lead to God.

Some people might question this, saying it is intolerant to think only one religion has things right. But this response shows a misunderstanding of what intolerance really is. Intolerance comes from the word "tolerate." To tolerate means to allow something, such as a belief, to exist even though we don't like it or agree with it. Tolerance does not mean never disagreeing with anybody. The word implies disagreement. True tolerance means allowing differing views to coexist without necessarily agreeing with them or claiming that all views are true. Therefore, we can hold that one view is true or better than other views without being intolerant. If we were truly intolerant, we would seek to silence other points of view. But merely engaging in persuasive conversation with someone you disagree with is not intolerance. We show more respect for each other when we take our religious claims seriously than when we clothe them in a patronizing cloak of relativism.

Another thing that often gets confused is whether Christians claim that salvation comes only through adherence to their religion or whether our Saviour, Jesus Christ, is the only way to salvation. In actuality, what we believe is that no religion-not even Christianity-can save us; only Christ can do this. Salvation is not about demographics. Membership in a certain group, such as the Christian church, does not automatically lead to salvation. Neither does having the right thoughts or feelings or holding the right theological beliefs. Christianity's claim to exclusivity is not for the religion but for Christ. It is a claim that Jesus is the only true Saviour.

On what evidence do Christians base this claim? Mainly on Jesus' own words. Jesus claimed to be the only Saviour "I am the way and the truth an dt he life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). From His own words, both Jesus' followers and his opponents recognized that He claimed to be God, the only one able to save us from sin and death (see also John 20:24-29; John 10:31-33).

When someone makes such claims we can react in one of three ways: we can believe him, disbelieve him or withhold belief. Withholding belief is a perfectly legitimate position. But it is only a transitional state. Sooner or later we have to make up our minds one way or the other. Disbelief is also legitimate, providing we have examined the evidence and have good arguments for why it is insufficient as a basis for belief. Finally, we have belief. There are many good reasons to believe that the claims of Christ are true, such as the reliability of the Bible; fulfilled prophecies; the teaching, character, and miracles of Christ; and testimonies from throughout the ages of how Christ has changed people's lives.

So, Christians believe that if anyone is saved, it is not by Christianity or any other religion but by Jesus alone. At the same time, they believe Christianity contains the clearest presentation of Jesus and His teachings to be found anywhere.

Does it sound like an intolerant Christian?

[savedsinner7]

I don't think its intolerant. Jesus said:
John 14:1
[ I Am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life ] "Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.
John 14:1-3 (in Context) John 14 (Whole Chapter)
John 14:6
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 14:5-7 (in Context) John 14 (Whole Chapter)

And in Acts
Acts 4:12
There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.”


I could go on forever telling about Jesus.

[Credendovidis]

Do all religions lead to God?

Religion resulted from the human need for explanation of actions that are observed. Individual gods were appointed for different observations (gods of the volcano, earthquake, fertility, rain, harvest, etc.) Much later mono-theistic religions developed with one god only, replacing multiple gods.
The answer to this question is NO. Besides that even today there are many religions that have multiple gods, there is even one without any gods (Buddhism). Not all religions lead to (one) god. And surely not to the Christian god.

Does it sound like an intolerant Christian?

Although there is a wide range of Christian views and of Christian attitudes in that respect, the Christian mission statement "Go forth and spread the word" has resulted in an rather high level of "I know better" and of "you are wrong and I am right".
My conclusion is therefore that Christianity as religion has a high level of build-in intolerance, luckily limited by the personal laziness of the individual believer.

:)

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[N0help4u]

Wow Cred that actually IS a very good reply!

[Alder]

Hi, NoHelp!

I only discovered this website a few days ago, and I have really been enjoying your answers to questions on many topics. Thoughtful and thought-provoking. Keep up the good work!

Matthew Ch. 25 makes it clear that we meet Jesus in every person in need whom we serve. Interestingly, it says nothing about the beliefs of those who did unto others. If they fed the hungry and clothed the naked, and so forth, they enter into connectedness with God.

While I was living in Utah, a friend of mine said to me, "I was raised Mormon, but now I'm an outspoken atheist. If I'm wrong, I'll go to hell." I assured him that he was certain to go to heaven, which surprised him. I explained, "I know you. If it were up to me to decide who gets to go to heaven, I'd let you in." He replied, "But it's not up to you." "Yes," I answered, "But I am certain that Jesus is far more loving and forgiving than I am."

The Gospels contain story after story of people second-guessing how far Jesus' love would extend, and he surprised them every time by going farther. Whenever someone says they know who will be saved and who will not, we can rest assured that Jesus will welcome to Himself more people than that.

You are certainly right that not all religions are the same (some are more respecting of women, for example). Just as every human is unique, every human relationship is unique, and every human relationship with the divine is unique. Is it not wonderful? I give praise to the great Muse, the Infinitely Creative, the Source of the Springs of Being!

When I'm in a group, I usually offer my prayers to "She who is great enough and deep enough to hold all human conceptions of Her, with lots of room left over." And, yeah, I pray to Jesus, too. I'm one of those weird Christian Pagans who confuses both my Christian friends and my Pagan friends. ;)

I'll be interested to see where this discussion thread leads.

Blessings to you and to all your readers!

Alder

[N0help4u]

Very interesting and I really question just who really 'gets to go to heaven' because I do not see any church having 'the formula' because I do read more deep than the pentecostal and non denomination churches 'you have to say the sinners prayer'. Yet I do not think it is as liberal as some seem to believe either. Then you have the ones in Matthew 7 where God tells the do-gooders of the church ''Depart from me. I NEVER knew you''. I see in the Bible that God says he knows your heart and it is up to him to have mercy on whom he will have mercy on so that is part of why I believe the 'church' formula's and doctrines are not adequate.
They condemn the homosexual yet counsel the adulterer. They esteem elders and certain people in the church higher when James and Peter and other places in the Bible say that is wrong.
Basically I believe most people that do not make it to heaven send themselves away with their unbelief or their hard-heartedness.

[smokedetector]

I think all religions lead to some form of God, even if it is not in a personal or impersonal form. To clarify, they all lead to some power, be it God or Allah or any of the different Gods, or even mother Earth. There is something that knows more than we do, or has experienced more than we have as humans, and that is the higher power. My opinion is that if God is everything, then he is all these things that everyone believes. I think everyone is right in their own right, and I think that God won't say "well you picked the wrong religion to believe in, so you don't get in."I don't think it's the luck of the draw as to who picked the right God to believe in. I think as long as you believe in something, it counts for something, even if it's just yourself. Being a good person is more important than picking the right name to call God. Again, all my own opinion. And no, I don't think you're intolerant. As long as you accept that others have different opinions, then you can have your own and still be called tolerant.

[N0help4u]

Personally I do not believe the all roads lead to God but do believe that God looks at the heart and spirit.

[0rphan]

Hello Nohelp... lots of pionts here but I'm just going to make a very small contribution to this discussion...

There is only one creator... I choose to call him... The Good Guy ( God)

All religions support the.. Good Guy, they just call him something different.

All religions have different teachings on the whole, those are man made for all kinds of reasons.

So basically, there is only one God who is worshiped in different ways.

All human beings know how to live their lives, you do not need a manual to do it, it's a built in survivor kit that the Good Guy has given us, to use for ourselves or against ourselves... we have a choice.. maybe occasionally referring to the manual for support.

That's it.. my opinion only