by Katie Erickson We have often said on this blog that Jesus is the Truth; in fact, He said it Himself in John 14:6: Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. When I say this, I am referring to the religion founded on Jesus Christ - Christianity. But what about other religions - Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, etc? Do those religions have truth, or are they completely based on falsehood? It is truth that God made everything we see in this world, and it was good (Genesis 1:31). We do live in a fallen world, so creation is no longer perfect as it was originally. But what happens when we worship the creation that God made, rather than the Creator Himself? That distorts the truth. The truth is that creation is good and God made it; that truth is distorted when we worship the creation instead of God. This is one aspect of the religion of Wicca - worshipping nature as god, rather than worshipping God. It is truth that a Messiah, a Savior for the world, was foretold as early as Genesis 3:15, and numerous other places throughout the Old Testament. Jesus Christ was (and is) that Messiah, because He fulfilled every single one of those prophecies. For example, it was foretold in Micah 5:2 that the messiah would be born in Bethlehem. Even though Jesus’ earthly parents lived in Nazareth, they were in Bethlehem when Jesus was born (Luke 2:4-7). It was prophesied in Psalm 34:20 that the messiah’s bones would not be broken. It was common for the legs of those being crucified to be broken, to speed up their death, but when the soldier went over to break Jesus’ legs, He was already dead (John 19:32-33). In Zechariah 12:10, it was prophesied that the messiah would be pierced, which was fulfilled in John 19:34. So, the truth is that Jesus Christ is the promised Messiah. The Jewish religion is based on the truth of the promised messiah, but it stops short of the whole truth. The Jews are still waiting for the messiah, but they miss the truth that He already came. It is truth that there is one God, as in Deuteronomy 6:4, John 10:30, 1 Corinthians 8:6, and 1 Timothy 2:5. Islam is founded on the truth of one God as well, but it distorts that truth. The God of the Bible is a Trinity, meaning three distinct persons who are all part of one God. It’s a concept that our human brains cannot fully understand, and so it’s easier for us to just make it simpler - one God, and that’s it. But making God only one person is distorting the truth of the Bible, and the way that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit interact. While Islam recognizes the person of Jesus as a great prophet, it stops short of the truth and does not recognize Him as fully God as well. It is truth that human beings were created in God’s image (Genesis 1:26-27). We were given the capability to understand, to learn, and to gain knowledge of the world around us. It is truth that we can be enlightened about how this world works through studying it with the brain God has given us. But, that is not our true purpose in life; our purpose is to worship God, serve God, and obey God - that is truth. A distortion of that truth occurs when knowledge, or enlightenment, is our sole goal and purpose in life, such as in Buddhism. While knowledge is not wrong, putting it above our Creator is a distortion of the truth. While I am by no means an expert on any of these other religions, as you can see, they were all founded on truth. After all, everything that was created was done through Jesus Christ (John 1:3 and Colossians 1:15-17); even these other religions are out of that same foundation. Each of these religions has taken the Truth of Jesus Christ and either not quite gotten the whole picture, or distorted that truth in some way. While there are aspects to other religions that are true, they have major things that are not truth, so they cannot be trusted or relied on. Where in your life have you started with truth, but then distorted it? Where in your life are you not living the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? I challenge you this week to examine truth in your own life, based on the authority of the Bible.
4 comments:
So believe in God and Jesus because the book they wrote told you to.
The Litany of Re tells me there is a God of the Sun.
The Golden Verses of Pythagoras tell me to worship the Immortal Gods. You know Zeus, Athena, Hades et al.
All of these books and stories have been handed down from generation to generation just like the Bible has.
Also like the Bible, each has been translated time and time again to where I'm sure the original authors would have no clue what you're going on about if read back to them today.
Most importantly you are telling other people they are wrong because they do not believe in your version of God.
The Jews are wrong because Jesus was a miracle worker because my Bible tells me so. The Muslims are wrong because Jesus is more than a prophet because the Bible says so.
See where this is heading?
Anonymous, thanks for reading! In the month of May, we'll be writing on why the Bible is considered an authority, more than the writings of other religions, so please watch for those posts. Until then, check out this post and this post for some writings on the authority of the Bible.
How do you know that the text of the Bible has been translated so much that the original meaning is distorted? The Greek and Hebrew texts we have today for the Bible (which I do read regularly, by the way) are based on ancient manuscripts and fragments, and there is very, very little contradiction between manuscripts from different time periods and found in different locations.
To my knowledge, I did not call anyone "wrong" because they don't believe in "my version" of God. I do not have a version of God; God is God regardless of what I think, and I am only trying to understand a tiny portion of His nature with my humble human brain. I believe that all religions are founded on some aspect of truth; some just distort that truth in such a way that it is no longer true.
Katie, and admin. You are still not thinking, that those other religions think the same vice versa. I encourage you to have more knowledge of other religions before posting. It will help your understanding. A religion with set rules and government like rules is not one to follow. Be open minded and see the distortion of our own religion. Follow up on some other religions such as Buddhism where happiness prevails in most all Buddhists. Realize God is not selfish and will bless even those who do not know but are true at heart. Learn of thich naht Hahns life and discoveries. Anything with set rules and states everything they believe as truth has no room for knowledge and wisdom.
The reason what anonymous is saying is not correct is that the "religion" of Christianity is not a set of rules or whatever. It is a relationship with Jesus Christ and the privilege of living the life of Christ. It's not about doing this or that. It's all about Christ and demonstrating His love. Anonymous could take his/her own advice and gain knowledge of the subject he's rejecting prior to commenting.
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