Author: M. Nicholas Brady

Published: 02/24/2021

There is a popular construct in today's world called religious pluralism. It is the idea that all religions worship the same God and ultimately are all a path to the same God. This construct is false! It is nothing short of a lie.

According to dictionary.com, a partial definition of religion is "a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe." Within this partial definition, all religions are the same. The differences come when we begin to define things like who God is, who we are concerning God, and why we exist.

The cultural understanding of religion is more defined. The cultural definition is seen as man's attempt to find God through rites, rituals, practices, and observances.

All religions, except Christianity, require their followers to perform certain practices or make certain sacrifices to get God's attention and/or win his favor.

Christianity is entirely different. The reason is straightforward. In Christianity, the Bible tells the story of God revealing himself to man, of God's tremendous love for us, and his concern for every facet of our lives, no matter how insignificant. Christianity is the story of God seeking us. We don't have to get his attention; we already have it. We don't have to search for him; he is seeking us. We don't have to earn his favor; we already possess it. The only thing we have to do is to accept the salvation he has provided for us through his Son, Jesus Christ, and then, after that, yield our lives to his purpose and design.

In Christianity, there is nothing to earn. There is no rite, ritual, practice, or observance that we can carry out to cleanse us. There is no deed, action, or achievement that we can perform to win God's favor.

God himself provides our salvation through his Son, Jesus Christ. We only need to accept this salvation and then yield our lives to his purpose and design.

All other religions present God as an enigmatic, distant God. Followers of other faiths spend their spiritual lives in a constant struggle seeking to be worthy of his acceptance through various rituals, rites, and works. The path of non-Christian religions is a continuous battle of establishing one's worthiness to a fickle God.

The God of Christianity is full of love and compassion. He knows we are unable to measure up to his acceptance; but, he still loves us. God, in His wisdom, designed a way that we could measure up to his perfection. He gave his only Son, Jesus Christ, as a perfect sacrifice, as compensation for all our sins. In God's eyes, we are already perfect, even though we are imperfect. In God's eyes, we are already righteous, even though we are wicked beyond measure. It is Jesus and only Jesus that makes this possible. There is no other way!

All other religions do not have Jesus. In other religions, followers try to acquire righteousness through behaviors. In Christianity, there is nothing to earn. There is no ritual, rite, or work that one can do to make a relationship with God. The only means to having a relationship with God is to accept the salvation that he has provided.

If our spiritual journey does not involve accepting Jesus as our means to God, then our spiritual journey is a vain and useless endeavor.

There are plenty of good people in other religions. Many are peaceful, kind, gentle, and loving; however, they fall far from being righteous.

We cannot save ourselves. Our righteousness comes from Jesus and Jesus alone!