Comparative Religions

People are often lumping Christianity with other religions. "They're all the same," they say. Many, even among Christians, are pretty sure that Christians and Moslems worship the same God, just under different names. (It's not true, but many say it is.) Many (most?) say that there are many ways to the same place and likely all religions are true to some extent.

Religions tend to believe in deity or deities. Atheism (the worship of the material against the divine) would be an exception. Buddha denied the existence of a deity and worshiped human contentment in asceticism instead. Over against the non-theists are the polytheists who find a god around every bush, so to speak. The pagan world might see god in every bush in some pantheistic religions. Hindus have to deal with a lot of gods. Mormons don't have to deal with a lot of them even though a lot exist and the goal is that we would become more of them. But religion, by its nature, entails something higher than self, whether it be the laws of nature or the supernatural.

Religions are a search for truth. They aim to answer life's deepest questions. Why are we here? What is good and bad? Where did we come from? How then must we live? And, of course, the ever-present question of evil and what to do about it. Some see a commonality to religions while others see vast and irreconcilable differences. It has been suggested that all religions are comprised of the two basic foundations of the universal fatherhood of God and the universal brotherhood of Man. Of course, this is problematic in Christianity since Jesus warns of "your father, the devil" and the Bible speaks of a select family, the family of the redeemed.

In the end, most people conclude that all religions are about morality. That's the primary concern in all cases. Religions teach people how to live moral lives. Of course, they may vary widely in that moral structure. One teaches severe self-denial and another teaches murder (jihad) as a lifestyle and another teaches supreme self-interest as the highest value, but it is true that religions teach people how to live.

Christianity stands out from others in a couple of very important points. First, Christianity is not primarily about morality. All other religions teach people how to live in such a way to achieve the end they hope for, but Christianity teaches that we cannot. The standard is perfection and the possibility of any human meeting that standard is zero. Christ alone met that standard. The penalty -- all religions include penalties -- is death but Christianity offers "the free gift", an answer to our problem provided by a Savior not on the basis of our successful moral efforts, but on faith alone in His successful sacrifice on our behalf. This is not standard religious fare. This is unique.

There is another aspect that is unique. While Christianity is not about moral living, moral living is obviously part of Christianity. In other religions, it is the means. In Christianity, it is the result. Other religions obey their moral mandates to achieve something. Christians do it out of gratitude. There is, however, another aspect of this aspect that is different.

We are told in Scripture that we are saved "not of works". So, we do "works of faith" -- the works that faith requires -- but there is no credit, no merit in them. We aren't earning God's favor here for being good or, contrarily, earning His displeasure when we fail at being good. How is that possible? Christianity is unique on this point as well. According to the Bible, Christians obey because "it is God who works in you both to will and to do His good pleasure" (Phil 2:13). The ability and desire for doing good is provided by God. Paul writes to the Thessalonian church,

To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of His calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by His power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Thess 1:11-12).

Did you get that? It's really astounding. All other religions demand obedience to obtain something. Paul says that God makes us worthy of His calling and God, who gives us the resolve and desire for good works, fulfills that resolve by His power! Wait! It gets better! In this way, we take part in the grand panorama of glorifying our Lord Jesus and we get glorified as well!!

Not all religions are the same. Don't let people tell you they are. Religions, on their surface, carry similarities. Maybe there are deities. Maybe they answer life's questions. Maybe they offer moral guidance. Maybe. But Christianity alone answers the problem of sin, answers that problem without the nonsensical "if you work hard enough at it you can be good enough", and offers rewards for obedience that is powered and provided by God. These are unique. I'm fairly certain that the deeper you dig, the more you'll find Christianity is not much the same as others at all. In fact, if you do not find that to be so, I suspect you're looking at it wrong.