Thought of the Day: All Religions the Same?

Greetings in Christ Jesus, Fellow Soldiers.

It is becoming increasingly common to hear that all religions basically teach the same thing: How to become a good person. As a result, we can find whichever path amongst the religions that we find most appealing, as long as we're trying to be a better person. This is dead wrong.

One, it betrays great ignorance concerning the various religions. A great many of them (Christianity, Judaism, Islam) are exclusive at their core. To claim that they are one path amongst many is to deny their fundamental teachings. As a result, such claims are merely a use and abuse of these religions for one's personal spiritual gain.

Two, Christianity does not fundamentally teach how to become a good person. In fact, that teaching is antithetical (opposed) to Christianity. Instead, it teaches that we cannot be good people. There is no one righteous--no, not one (Ps. 14; Rom. 3). We are sinful from the time we were conceived, united with our forefather Adam in his rebellion (Ps. 51; Rom. 5). Even our good deeds are like filthy rags before God (Is. 64). And the wages of our sin is death (Rom. 6). We suck.

And this reality can easily be reconciled with our experience. We know that the world is broken--that is why we fight wars, including the one we're currently engaged within. We know that we are broken--that is why we do things we regret and know to be wrong. If we are honest with ourselves, we know that we cannot earn heaven, only hell.

At its core, Christianity (God) teaches that we need another--fully God and fully man--to live the perfect life demanded by God in our place and bear the guilt of our sin to the grave as our sacrifice. Our hope, therefore, is not attached to us as "good people," but only to Christ as the perfect person, who died for the worst of sinners.

It is important that we maintain this sharp distinction between Christianity and all other religions, including atheism and "spiritualism" (spiritual, but not religious). It is just as important that we preach this message to our own hearts everyday, remembering that this truth saved our lives for God.