“How do we know Christianity is the true religion when all other religions claim to be the right one?”
Those that know me know that I would rather talk or listen to someone else speak their mind than write. It’s SO much more personal! Anyway, every now and then I would like to post some of the questions and answers from some of my emails. This was one of the questions I received over the last couple of weeks. I thought I would put my anwer in a blog and let you guys put your two cents in.
-Well, I have finally sat down, logged into MySpace, and hit the REPLY button. : ) Okay, here is my feeble attempt to answer a question that has been running around my head as well as the UNIVERSE for some time now.
Let me begin by saying that I think “religion” is just another self-help scheme that will only provide temporary fulfillment to an unending need. There are a TON of “religious” people in the world. Religion is no NEW, fresh, trend or popular concept. There are many religions that date back before and after Christianity. We could go into detail over all the historical facts and fallacies of each, but let’s focus on the main one in question. Here is what the dictionary says about religion:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/religion
When speaking of Christianity, history, historians, scholars, artifacts, etc. have proven the Bible to be a historically accurate, factual book. Jesus was a REAL person who was where the Bible says he was, did what it says he did, walked where it said he walked, etc. Other religions state Jesus as a “good man.” How can he be a “good man” if he really is not the son of God, which he claimed? “Good men” are not liars. “Good men” are not crazy, lunatics “pretending” to heal people and doing all the radical things Jesus did. Based on the Biblical, historically factual, description of Jesus, we can conclude that he is one of three things. A Liar, a Lunatic, or (as he claimed)LORD . In regards to the Bible, we are talking about a compilation of writings that have been comprised over thousands of years by MANY different authors, inspired by God himself) Either it’s real in its entirety or it is not true at all. There is no real in between. Again, we can spend months digging up case, by case, point by point, proving the validity of the Bible from a factual historical point.
Christianity is the only “religion” (I despise this word) where you don’t “work” your way into eternal security. Every other religion IS about what you DO to achieve eternal life, some to become your own god. We can never work hard enough, do enough, or be “good enough.” Christianity is the ONLY religion where we are drawn, called, beckoned, offered, an opportunity by the ONE God of the universe to KNOW him. AND not only to achieve life after death, but to live life more abundantly here on Earth. Jesus paved the way so that though we do not “measure up,” we are made perfect by his sacrificial death AND resurrection on the cross. NO other religion serves a God that is STILL ALIVE and ACTIVE TODAY! When was the last time you saw or heard of someone getting healed or healing someone in the name of Buddha? How about Mohammad, Joseph Smith? When was the last time you heard someone in serious, legitimate trouble and cry out for another god for help and then that god (little g) stepped in and met them there? We are CREATED with the innate desire to know THE CREATOR. The ONE true God. We will continue to search our whole lives looking for that “thing” to fulfill us. Jesus is the only answer to that equation. He WILL be there in our time of need. He will be there when things are going great.
Earlier I stated that I despised the word religion. It is not a set of religious, ritualistic, BORING rules and boxes to check. I know there are many Christians out there that are so caught up in being legalistic, that it almost becomes a “works-based” way of life. The Creator of the universe, the galaxies, the ONE who slung the stars in the sky, gave them names, created the planets, Earth in it’s perfect form to provide oxygen and our necessities for survival, the ONE who tells our hearts to beat, our lungs to breathe. THAT GOD wants to KNOW US! HE draws US to HIM! When we encounter THAT-HIM, and see HIM, and know HIM, we desire to be LIKE HIM. We have somehow begun focusing on behavior modification rather than the core of heart transformation! GOD will transform our hearts! The behavior will come in line as we know Him! I don’t need to “check off” whether I have talked to God today. He IS with me ALL day. I see Him in the trees, the clouds, his creations, the sky, life on Earth just to name a few. He speaks to me in in His still, small voice, through the Bible, and He guides me through the day. Many times, I don’t listen and well and miss it. He is STILL there to redirect me. I ask him for direction. I talk to him about my problems. He listens. He speaks.
I believe and know Christianity is the “one true religion” because I have experienced all of the above. Jesus, and his works, are STILL alive today. He is alive in his people. God IS here. He is calling out to each of us to KNOW Him. I am knowing Him more every day. You can too.