SEARCHING ISSUES: WHAT ABOUT OTHER RELIGIONS?

SEARCHING ISSUES: WHAT ABOUT OTHER RELIGIONS? Jun 30, 2002 Given by: Pastor Rich Bersett [Index of Past Messages] Introductory Thanks to Cheryl Mathews for very good teaching on the "I Am's" Hilary Swank, 1999's Oscar winner for Best Actress and wife of actor Chad Lowe, was asked, "Where does Jesus fit into all of [your and your husband's success]?" She responded: It's not like we're Catholic or Christian or Episcopal or practice Judaism or Buddhism even. We just kind of believe in a higher power and that doesn't mean a man God, or someone on a cross. It just means that we all have god-like qualities. We have the power inside of us to do good things. But I don't want you to write it like I'm freaky. In her desperate attempt to not be "freaky", Ms. Swank falls into an all-too-common practice - a sort of pluralistic inclusivisim. Eclecticism. Don't know which is true---take a little of each and convince yourself they're all somewhat true and I'm OK. "I am a reformed Taoist, part-time Buddhist, Hindu, animist, pagan, Jewish mystic, and Christian. I always got along great with priests and rabbis and mullahs and gurus, even though I spend most of my life constructively criticizing them." - Steven Van Zandt, a rock 'n' roll guitarist who was a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band and recently released his first solo album in ten years Citation: Rolling Stone (1-20-00), p.26 At a January 4, 2000 interfaith dialogue in the Chicago suburbs, Nobel Peace Prize nominee M. Cherif Bassiouni, a law professor at DePaul University, Chicago, Illinois, said all religions lead to God using different paths. "The judgment is not by the choice we make, but by how we pursue the path of the choice we make," he said. "Different religions and cultures are equal in the eyes of God and should be seen as equal in the eyes of man," he said. Seventy-seven percent of Americans say that there is some truth in all religions. "Faith in America," U.S. News & World Report (5-6-02), p. 42; source: Would you agree or disagree? How about this one-All religions are trying to get to the same place-how can we say one is more right than the other? HILTON HEAD ISLAND ilus - "Take any road you want" may sound like noble and politically correct advice, but, friend, if you want to get to HHI, you'd better take HWY 278 (or a boat). Pluralists contend that no one religion can know the fullness of spiritual truth, and therefore all religions are valid. But while it is good to acknowledge our limitations, this statement is itself a strong assertion about the nature of spiritual truth. There is an old story about the blind men who are trying to describe an elephant. One feels the tail and reports that an elephant is thin and flexible. Another feels a leg and claims the animal is thick as a tree. Another touches its side and reports the elephant is like a wall. This is supposed to represent how the various religions only understand part of God, while no one can truly see the whole picture. To claim full knowledge of God, pluralists contend, is arrogance. But the only way this parable makes any sense is if you've seen a whole elephant. Therefore, the minute you say, "All religions only see part of the truth," you are claiming the very knowledge you say no one else has. And you are demonstrating the same spiritual arrogance you accuse Christians of. Marilyn Monroe died in '62 - still American icon of glamour, stardom and tragedy. Once she said of her religious persuasion, "I believe in everything-a little bit." Dr. Laura - 10 commandments. Dr Ruth - please yourself. But Dr. Laura and Dr. Ruth can't both be right.. And in the issues of faith, when the basic teachings fundamentally contradict, they can't both be right. Shirley Maclaine insists, "There is, in truth, no good, and there is, in truth, no evil." Believing in everything sounds noble and politically correct, but it is impossible when belief systems contradict.. But shouldn't we tolerate other religions? After all, we're Americans, and the First Amendment pretty much mandates tolerance, doesn't it? And, being Christians, we are to love others and do our best to treat them fairly. Does that mean we are to say, "You have your religion and we have ours, and that's just fine"? After all, the Muslims say that to us! And the Hindus-they don't seem to mind what you believe, as long as you leave them alone and you are sincere in your beliefs! Tolerance is an issue I'd like to deal with next week. But suffice it to say for now, that as Christians, we should be tolerant, we should respect others and we should be inclusive, as far as we can. We should be willing to find God's truth wherever it shows up. But how will anyone know what that truth is? There must be an ultimate source of truth, a plumbline of what is right and what is wrong. By the way, when it comes to tolerance and respect and living in peace alongside people of other faiths in pluralistic contexts, did you know there is today no "Christianized" country in the world where your life would be in danger because you are from another faith? But today in such countries as Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Iran, to become a follower of Christ is to put your life at risk. In Kaduna, Nigeria, multiple thousands have been killed since the imposition of Islamic law. The death toll in Ambon, Indonesia, where similar imposition exists, the death toll is over 6,000. In the Sudan, two million people have been systematically killed. The victims have almost all been Christians and, of course, may it be clearly said that the events of September 11 were unmistakably prompted by religious zealots, and they weren't Christians. The Basic Question - Is Jesus the only way to God? In any court of law the first witness to be asked a question is the defendant-How do you plead-guilty or not guilty? We might ask, not ourselves, but the Lord Jesus Himself, "Are you the only way to God?" His answer is an unqualified YES. John 14:6 - "I am the way , the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except by me." In Acts 3, Peter and John are used by God to heal a man born lame, who then stood and danced and praised the Lord for his healing. Peter said, "Why do you stare at us, as if we were the ones who made this man walk…by faith in the name of Jesus this man was made strong!" Peter and John were arrested by the intolerant, closed-minded, exclusivistic religionists of that day and brought to trial before the Sanhedrin. Peter's defense? Filled with the Holy Spirit he says, "Rulers and elders of the people! If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, then know this, you and everyone else in Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you completely healed. He is the 'stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone' (quoting Deut. Ps). Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." Acts 4:8-12 1 Timothy 2:5 - "For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men-the testimony given in its proper time…" Hebrews 1:1-3 and 2:1-4 Jesus is uniquely qualified to be the sole savior Acts 3:14 - Peter: Jesus is the "Holy and Righteous One" - "Author of life" (vs 15) and in vs 20 he says He is "The Christ". • Jesus is absolutely set apart from all the leaders of all other world religions • Muhammad is not worshiped nor admitted to be divine • Buddha didn't even believe in a personal God, no does Hindusim Jesus is unique in what He achieved Acts 4:12 - "Salvation is found in no one else…" • Buddha - teacher; Muhammad - "prophet"; but Jesus is SAVIOR • Only Jesus claims to save us from the enemy of our souls: sin. ◦ He saves His followers from its guilt, its power and its judgement • Every 12 years, millions of Hindus flock to Allahabad, India, to take a dip in the Ganges River. Scores get hurt when bathers rush to the water. The solution: purification by proxy. A popular website, webdunia.com, offers virtual cleansing. "Pilgrims" who want to avoid crowds, chaos, and travel costs can send a passport-size photo to the site, which then provides virtual absolution. The Hindus have it partly right: We need washing, but only Christ can cleanse from sin, not an annual pilgrimage nor a ".com" Jesus is unique in His resurrection Acts 4:10 - Peter: Jesus is the one "whom God raised from the dead…" Muhammad and Buddha remain in their tombs, but Jesus was not only raised from death, but He had the audacity, humanly speaking, to predict it! And, being yet alive He can be known personally, He sends His Spirit to any who trust in Him, and His promise is that all who follow Him will likewise be raised to eternal life. Conclusion Ecclesiastes 3:11 - "He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end." We know there is more than this life. We have a God-shaped vacuum in each of us, and we are restless, Augustine said, until we find God to fill that God-shaped vacuum. Nothing but that personal relationship with God through His divine Son will bring that relationship about. Two old fellows were walking along the shoreline of a lake when a frog came hopping up to them. Creaking with age, one of the old-timers slowly bent down and scooped up the frog in his hands. As he stood there gazing at the frog, fascinated by its ugliness, the frog croaked, "Hey, mister! I'm not really a frog. If you kiss me, I'll turn into a beautiful princess who will do anything your heart desires." Startled, the old man slipped the frog into his pocket and headed on down the shoreline. For the longest time he and his friend trudged along in silence. "Well?" his buddy finally blurted out. "You gonna kiss it?" "Naw, I guess not," the first codger replied. "At my age, I think I'll have more fun with a talking frog." A recent promotion by H. R. Block Inc. offered walk-in customers a chance to win a drawing for a million dollars. Glen and Gloria Sims of Sewell, New Jersey, won the drawing, but they refused to believe it when an H. R. Block representative phoned them with the good news. After several additional contacts by both mail and phone, the Sims still thought it was all just a scam, and usually hung up the phone or trashed the special notices. Some weeks later, H. R. Block called one more time to let the Sims know the deadline for accepting the million-dollar prize was nearing and that the story of their refusal to accept the prize would appear on an upcoming NBC "Today Show." At that point, Mr. Sims decided to investigate further. A few days later he appeared on the "Today Show" to tell America that he and his wife had finally gone to H. R. Block to claim the million-dollar prize. Mr. Sims' final words were: "From the time this has been going on, H. R. Block explained to us they really wanted a happy ending to all this, and they were ecstatic that we finally accepted the prize." God wants a similar ending as he offers salvation to every unbeliever. Ravi Zaharias tells of going to see a play in Cambodia. In the play a prince had stolen the wife of a peasant who was newly married. The prince refused to give her back and then told the woman that if she said this man was her husband, he would kill the husband in front of her. When the peasant went to the king asking that the prince return the wife, the king said, "Let's call her in and ask her." She comes in and says, "That man is not my husband. The prince is my husband." The peasant is dismayed. A priest jumps into the middle and says, "Your honor, I have a medicine that when both men drink it they will have to tell the truth." Both of them drank it. Then he said, "Since one of you is going to die, each of you may spend five minutes alone with the girl." They hung a huge barrel on a rod, and they were to hold each end of the rod and not to have any contact. One was going to hold one end of the rod, the other the other end of the rod, and the barrel was to be in the middle. The peasant holds one end, the woman the other. The woman says, "Please forgive me. The only reason I said what I did is I'm trying to save your life." Then the prince spends five minutes with her. He says, "If you say that man is your husband, we'll kill you and him." Then the magic of it all: the barrel opens, and a little boy jumps out. He's been writing down the conversations. The medicine was only a decoy. The boy gives the conversations to the priest who says, "King, your son is a liar. This peasant is telling the truth." At the close of the story of this world, Jesus emerges with the real story. Then all truth is revealed. In the meantime, that truth has been revealed to us. What will you do with it? British theologian C.S. Lewis described happiness 50 years ago in terms that make even more sense today in our commuter-driven society: A car is made to run on petrol [gasoline], and it would not run properly on anything else. Now God designed the human machine to run on himself. He himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spirits were designed to feed on. There is no other. That is why it is just no good asking God to make us happy in our own way without bothering about religion. God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing   [Back to Top]