by Tommy Karlas
There is a somewhat popular post-modern idea in our time that says all religions are basically the same (an idea really only endorsed by Hinduism.) And up to a point that is true. In the book “What’s So Great About Christianity,” the author says “all religions are an attempt to solve the dilemma outlined in Pascal’s ‘Pensees.’ Pascal notes that for thousands of years man employed great effort to solve certain basic problems. We want to have peace in the world. We want to live in harmony with one another. We want to raise our children well. We want our lives to matter. Pascal says we have been at this for a very long time, so why haven’t we solved any of these problems?”
To put it another way, we all have this idea, or standard, for the way things ought to be but are not. And even we, ourselves, do not live up to that standard because we are human and flawed. In our natural default mode we are sometimes governed by our self-centered and destructive desires. And we give in to those desires because our will is often weak. All religions pretty much diagnose the problem this way.
So in one sense, we all live at this lower level and all religions are attempts to raise us up to that higher, divine level. But here’s the difference between Christianity and every other religion: All other religions, in one way or another, say you can fix yourself by yourself. In other words, they are based on the merit system; you can save yourself if your good deeds outweigh your bad. For Hindus, it’s Karma that will decide whether you come back in the next life as a billionaire or a cockroach. Judaism and Islam say you will go to heaven if you follow certain laws. Buddhism doesn’t have an after-life or God, but solves the problem of man’s selfishness by prescribing the elimination of the “self” through meditation and self-renunciation (renouncing possessions, sensual pleasure, etc…).
However, Christianity’s premise is much different because it claims that no matter how hard you try, man cannot reach the divine level. It is way too high. God must come down to man’s level and raise us up Himself. And yet, sometimes we have a tendency to say you just need to be a good person. But if that’s all that’s necessary, then Christ’s sacrifice on the cross would be void and in vein. That would mean our justification comes from ourselves and could cause us to become legalistic and judgmental, or think God owes us because we’re good. The whole point of Christianity is we can’t do it ourselves. And it is only when we try our very best to be good that we understand the most how hard it really is. In fact, it’s impossible. Thus making the necessity for the crucifixion. So doing good is not the cause of our salvation, but rather hopefully the result of it.
Another problem this leads to, and people sometimes have with Christianity, is they say it’s too exclusive; that no one can say they have the one true religion because all religions are the same. But this is false because everyone (and every religion) has an exclusive take on spiritual reality. If someone says (in the interest of inclusivity) no one has a superior take on spiritual things, they are undermining their own premise because that is a superior take on spiritual reality. If someone says no one should try to convert anybody to their view of universal truth, that is a universal truth claim that they want the listener to convert to. There’s no way for them to know that all religions are equal unless they assume the kind of knowledge they say nobody has. So the “exclusive” problem gets us no where because everyone has an exclusive take on life and spiritual things.
The real question is what exclusive beliefs are most likely true and most lead you to love and be humble and to serve even your opponents? Which set of exclusive beliefs would most lead to peace on earth? Because at the heart of Christianity’s beliefs is a man dying for His enemies and loving people who don’t love Him. The Christian belief is I’m a sinner saved by grace alone and I assume others may be my moral superiors; because I’m not saved by my moral superiority but grace alone. One of the best quotes I’ve ever heard is “the church isn’t a museum for pristine saints but a ward for broken sinners.”
So on one hand some non—religious people have their exclusive beliefs that look down their noses at those people with their primitive religion. On the other hand, some religious people have their exclusive beliefs that make them think they’re moral, which makes them look down on everybody they think is immoral (which turns people off to Christianity). But the true gospel of Christ are exclusive beliefs that make me not want to trample on others but to serve, love, and be soft-hearted towards them. Because when we see how much we’ve been forgiven and blessed, it makes us want to do likewise to others. Not perfectly, but imperfectly. And that’s not only the difference between Christianity and all other religions, but also the difference between Christianity and religion.
