Aren’t All Religions Really the Same?
Don Barkley –
“Don, I know you are big on Christianity, but aren’t all the religions really the same?"
“There certainly are some similarities. For example, all major religions of the world recognize that something isn’t right about our lives. They also provide a way to fix that shortcoming.”
“Really, what do you mean?”
“Buddhism recognizes that all suffering comes from our passions—like anger, hatred, love, affections, and fear—and that only by right thinking and living will we ever escape this life of suffering and attain Nirvana. Similarly, Hinduism says we aren’t perfect and that the path to perfection will take millions of lifetimes and can only be attained through things like meditation, devotion, and asceticism.”
“That’s interesting. What about the others?”
“Islam teaches that only by following the five pillars—commitment to Allah and his prophet Mohammed, giving to the poor, praying five times a day, fasting, and taking a trip to Mecca once in your life—can you hope to reach paradise. Judaism, on the other hand, emphasizes following the moral law of God, like those found in the Ten Commandments.”
Both Islam and Judaism recognize that we aren’t perfect relative to God’s standards, but if we are good enough, everything will end up all right.”
“But you didn’t mention Christianity. Don’t Christians also believe that they must do things—like believe the Bible, be good to others, and things like that?”
“You mean in order to get to God?”
“Yes.”
“No. I think Christianity is different in that respect. Like other religions, Christianity recognizes that we are not as we ought to be. But Christianity offers a different solution to the problem. While other religions teach that we must struggle upward to God, the Bible teaches that Christ came downward to us to do what we couldn’t do.”
“What do you mean that Christ came downward to do the work we couldn’t do?”
“According to the Bible, our failure to live up to God’s standard is worthy of God’s judgment, and our imperfect efforts can never fix the problem. So, Jesus came to earth as a human to fix it for us. He came to die in our place and take on himself the punishment we deserve. And because Jesus is God—that’s what he claimed—and of infinite worth, only his death was sufficient to cover our offense. So, while God does want us to be good, the only way we can be right with God and enjoy him forever is to personally trust that what Jesus did was good enough to cover our failures.”
“Oh, so that’s what Jesus’ death on the cross was all about?”
“Yes, Jesus did for us what we could never do for ourselves.”
Don Barkley is the Director of Staff Training at Search and over the last 40 years has led hundreds of discussions about God and life in homes, businesses, country clubs and colleges. With his wife Ann, Don enjoys visiting their kids and grandkids in all four time zones.
