Doubt 1 - Only One True Religion?
You’ll recall that one of Jesus’s 12 apostles was known as “Doubting Thomas”. We all have our doubts about things, and although Christians don’t want to admit it sometimes, there can be things about the Bible and the biblical message we struggle with, maybe doubt. The thing we can learn from Thomas’s story is that if we are honest about our doubts, yet continue to submit to the Lord in faith, God will be OK with that, and as time goes by, provide more evidence to remove the doubts (John 20:27). If we refuse to ask hard questions, our spiritual life may grow stagnant, and we will not be prepared when critics offer the same questions. This series of Cross Points will deal with some of the common doubts our culture throws at Christians, and maybe it will touch on some you’ve struggled with personally.
Some critics of Christianity will say, “It is arrogant to say your religion is superior and try to convert everyone to it. Surely all religions are equally good and valid for meeting spiritual needs. To say Christianity is the one true religion is narrow.” They might then use the illustration of blind men and an elephant. Three blind men are walking along and come upon an elephant. They all touch it and feel it. One touches the truck and thinks it’s a snake. Another touches the leg and thinks it’s a tree. A third touches the side and thinks it’s a building. The critic will then argue that similarly all religions have “some” truth, but none are able to hold the whole truth. We need what they all provide to have the whole picture. That’s the argument…
But the story is told from the perspective of three blind men. They are simply wrong when they think it’s a snake or a tree or a building. And how can the storyteller know that each blind man only sees a part unless the storyteller can see the whole? There may be some truth in different religions, but that doesn’t negate the possibility that one of them is from God and is “the way” as the Bible depicts Christian faith. Since humans all have some blindness to deal with, maybe God himself could provide a documented story that clears things up. Wouldn’t that be nice? Guess what?
So, maybe we should ask the question: What is religion? Some say it is belief in God. But Zen Buddhism doesn’t believe in God at all. Others say it is belief in the supernatural. But Hinduism does not believe in the supernatural realm beyond the material world. Timothy Keller, in his book The Reason for God, offers this definition: Religion is a set of beliefs that explain what life is about, who we are, and the most important things humans should spend their time doing. It becomes a “faith narrative.” All points of view about life come from our worldview, this faith narrative all of us use as a lens to see life through. None of us have all the “proof” in hand so we are left looking for evidence. Where does the evidence lead us? Real faith goes where the greatest evidence leads it. Christian faith as our worldview has overwhelming evidence to support that what the Bible says is true, and Jesus is who he claimed.
This leads to a factor too few examine sufficiently. The Bible, a book like no other in the history of the world, offers what proports to be God’s perspective. Does this story, written by over 40 authors over 1,500 years, offer a thread of consistent connection from the world’s beginning to our present day? Does it ring true with what we experience in life? For those who examine it fairly and with detail, it does! It explains that sin entered the world messing up our relationship with God, creating a tension that impacts all humanity and the universe throughout the history it recounts, and can only be resolved by God himself. And he resolved it in Jesus, the Messiah. I’m convinced there is one true religion.
Cross Point: “What I’m saying is true and reasonable. None of this happened in a corner.” (Acts 26:25, 26)
Some critics of Christianity will say, “It is arrogant to say your religion is superior and try to convert everyone to it. Surely all religions are equally good and valid for meeting spiritual needs. To say Christianity is the one true religion is narrow.” They might then use the illustration of blind men and an elephant. Three blind men are walking along and come upon an elephant. They all touch it and feel it. One touches the truck and thinks it’s a snake. Another touches the leg and thinks it’s a tree. A third touches the side and thinks it’s a building. The critic will then argue that similarly all religions have “some” truth, but none are able to hold the whole truth. We need what they all provide to have the whole picture. That’s the argument…
But the story is told from the perspective of three blind men. They are simply wrong when they think it’s a snake or a tree or a building. And how can the storyteller know that each blind man only sees a part unless the storyteller can see the whole? There may be some truth in different religions, but that doesn’t negate the possibility that one of them is from God and is “the way” as the Bible depicts Christian faith. Since humans all have some blindness to deal with, maybe God himself could provide a documented story that clears things up. Wouldn’t that be nice? Guess what?
So, maybe we should ask the question: What is religion? Some say it is belief in God. But Zen Buddhism doesn’t believe in God at all. Others say it is belief in the supernatural. But Hinduism does not believe in the supernatural realm beyond the material world. Timothy Keller, in his book The Reason for God, offers this definition: Religion is a set of beliefs that explain what life is about, who we are, and the most important things humans should spend their time doing. It becomes a “faith narrative.” All points of view about life come from our worldview, this faith narrative all of us use as a lens to see life through. None of us have all the “proof” in hand so we are left looking for evidence. Where does the evidence lead us? Real faith goes where the greatest evidence leads it. Christian faith as our worldview has overwhelming evidence to support that what the Bible says is true, and Jesus is who he claimed.
This leads to a factor too few examine sufficiently. The Bible, a book like no other in the history of the world, offers what proports to be God’s perspective. Does this story, written by over 40 authors over 1,500 years, offer a thread of consistent connection from the world’s beginning to our present day? Does it ring true with what we experience in life? For those who examine it fairly and with detail, it does! It explains that sin entered the world messing up our relationship with God, creating a tension that impacts all humanity and the universe throughout the history it recounts, and can only be resolved by God himself. And he resolved it in Jesus, the Messiah. I’m convinced there is one true religion.
Cross Point: “What I’m saying is true and reasonable. None of this happened in a corner.” (Acts 26:25, 26)
Posted in Cross Points