There is a very famous ancient parable about an elephant and six blind men who wanted to know what the elephant looked like.  The first man who feels a leg says the elephant is like a pillar; the second who feels the tail says the elephant is like a rope; the third who feels the trunk says the elephant is like a tree branch; the fourth who feels the ear says the elephant is like a hand fan; the fifth who feels the belly says the elephant is like a wall; and the sixth who feels the tusk says the elephant is like a solid pipe.  Who is right?  The point of the parable is that they are all right.  They all are describing the elephant from what they know.  They are all equally true. 

            This parable is often used to describe religion and God.  Though these religions might be different, they all are equally true.  Popular culture dogmatically promotes this idea.  For example, George Lucas, the man behind the Star Wars movies, said in a magazine interview, “I remember when I was 10 years old, I asked my mother, ‘If there’s only one God, why are there so many religions?’ I’ve been pondering that question ever since, and the conclusion I’ve come to is that all religions are true’” (Time, April 26, 1999).  Madonna, who has become very spiritual in recent years, concurs: “I do believe that all paths lead to God.  It’s a shame that we end up having religious wars, because so many of the messages are the same” (Q Magazine, March 1998).  And on and on it could go.  Rarely do your hear a person say, “I believe a particular religion is right or that another religion is wrong.”  That person would immediately be called the dreaded “I” word: intolerant.  Or perhaps even called hateful.  I will talk more about that later.   

            The popular culture’s promotion of this idea has permeated the general public.  The end result of all this is that this belief is becoming standardized.  In an August, 2005 Newsweek poll, the question was asked: “Can a good person who isn't of your religious faith go to heaven or attain salvation, or not?”  79% said yes.

            Sadly, it is not just in mainstream America that this idea has taken root; it is also becoming prevalent with people who identify themselves as Christians.  For example, in the same Newsweek poll, shockingly 68% of evangelical Protestants said that a good person outside of their faith can go to heaven.  In a survey among Christian youth, 48% believe that it doesn’t matter what religious faith you associate with because they all believe the same principles and truth.  Our President Bush identifies himself as a follower of Christ.  I have a great deal of respect for his strong pro-life stance on issues like stem-cell research and his nominees for the Supreme Court.  However, on this issue, it seems he concurs with the popular culture.  In an interview with Charles Gibson, Bush was asked if he thought non-Christians go to heaven.  He said yes. 

            Sounds like the issue is already settled, right?  Not so fast.  There is a whole lot more to be said that sadly is not being said.  Do All Religions Lead to God?  Let me tell you how I am going to approach this question.  First, we need to describe the core beliefs of the world’s four largest religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam (I cannot cover all religions).  I want these religions to speak for themselves.  You cannot answer this question without a working knowledge of them.  By laying out these beliefs, I believe it will be apparent that these religions are indeed not saying the same thing.  In fact, they conflict repeatedly over their core beliefs.  By comparing these religions, you will see that to say they all teach the same thing is both illogical and arrogant. 

 

           First, though, I want to discuss the similarities between the religions.  Now, some people do not want to acknowledge any similarities, perhaps because they are so determined to prove they are different.  I can understand those sentiments but just as it is important to let the differences stand, so too it is important to acknowledge the similarities.  When we walk through our comparison chart, you will see that one religion might have one belief in common with another religion.  For example, both Christians and Muslims believe that God created the world.  The belief that God created the world is not shared with the other religions.  So there are beliefs that one religion might share with another religion. 

            Are there any beliefs that all the religions share?  Yes, what these religions have in common is morality.  All agree on basic universal principles concerning stealing, lying, sexual morality, and unjustified killing.  This basic morality is just that; it is basic.  It does not get into details but covers the essential aspects of human life.   Therefore, as soon as you move past that, you will see differences between them.  For example, all the religions forbid the unjustified taking of life but Buddhism includes the taking of animal life well which the others do not. 

As I said, it is important to let the similarities stand: we do share a common morality.  However, I think it is also fair not to be too impressed with these similarities.  Why?  This basic universal morality is a strong piece of evidence for the existence of God.  The best explanation of why we have this shared morality is that God wired everyone this way, whether they are adherents to these religions or not.  Even the atheist has this same morality.   

            Now, some people will say that is the point of religion: to help us get along, to bridle human sin.  If they can agree on that, it really does not matter what they teach about other things.  The problem with this is that these religions say much more than morality.  To say that all these religions have nothing more to say is not being fair to them. 

            At this point, I want to look at the beliefs of these religions about the ultimate issues.  There are six major issues that I included in this chart: God or Ultimate Reality, the world, human beings, the human predicament, the means of salvation, and the afterlife.  Please see the link “World Religions Belief Chart” and carefully examine the chart. 

 

 

            Certainly, we see pockets of similarities, especially between Hinduism and Buddhism and Christianity and Islam.  However, these religions conflict repeatedly.  Understand this point: there cannot be contradictory truths about God.  That is logically impossible.  That is exactly what these different religions are saying.  With God, a Hindu believes God is impersonal and unknowable; Christians believe that God is personal and knowable.  These cannot both be true.  For Christians, Jesus is fully God and that you need to believe in him to receive eternal life.  A Muslim says Jesus is not God and that believing so will condemn you.  Also, with beliefs other than God you see clear conflict.  A Christian and Muslim say the world is created and real; a Hindu says the universe is eternal and an illusion.  A Buddhist says that a person does not have a soul.  Christians and Muslims say we do.  Hindus and Buddhists believe in reincarnation.  Muslims and Christians do not.  Muslims believe in a place called paradise where believers live forever.  Buddhists believe in Nirvana that is not an actual place but a state of existence and you will not be a person.  Christians believe salvation is by grace while the others stress personal effort. 

            These four world religions differ again and again on major points.  They teach contradictory things.  Next year is an election year.  Surely, Democrats and Republicans will be duking it out for control.  They will carefully articulate what they stand for and how they differ from their opponents.  Let me ask you a question: Do you think you will hear any politician say: I am a Democrat but we need to realize that we are all saying the same thing?  Of course not, to say such a thing is sheer madness.  Democrats and Republicans have some common ground but they have fundamental differences.  That is why we have separate parties.  They are not saying the same thing. 

            You can use many areas of life as examples.  Why is it that when we come to religion, somehow everything changes?  Somehow, contradictory truths are both truth.  This is completely illogical.   

            In addition to being illogical, to promote the idea that all religions lead to God is arrogant toward the religions themselves.  Imagine you were sitting down at Starbucks and you saw me and a devout Muslim discussing things.  You heard us have vigorous dialogue, acknowledging our agreements as well as our disagreements.  At the end of the conversation, we shook hands and were getting up to leave when a guy sitting at the table next to us walks over and says, “I noticed that you guys were disagreeing over some points of doctrine.  Let me shed some light for your guys.  You really are saying the same thing.”  How arrogant!  This is exactly what many people do with religions—they distort their teachings to make them identical.      

            Ravi Zacharias was born and raised in India.  He became a Christian as a teenager.  With his background, he shares a unique perspective.  He has lectured and written extensively on the subject of Christ and other religions.  In his book Jesus among Other Gods, he writes, “All religions are not the same. All religions do not point to God.  All religions do not say that all religions are the same. At the heart of every religion is an uncompromising commitment to a particular way of defining who God is or is not and accordingly, of defining life’s purpose.  Anyone who claims that all religions are the same betrays not only an ignorance of all religions but also a caricatured view of even the best-known ones” (7).        

            Here is the bottom line.  All religions cannot lead to God because they fundamentally contradict each other.  They cannot all be right.  By saying this, I am not being intolerant.  It has nothing to do with tolerance.  It has everything to do with logic.  In fact, I would say it is intolerant and arrogant not to let them speak for themselves.

 

             Now, I want to discuss what the Bible says about this question of Christianity and its view of other religions.  It is important to hear what the Bible itself says.  Turn to Matthew 7.  This is part of Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount.  In this sermon which covers chapters 5 -7, Jesus speaks about the life and conduct of the believer.  These chapters contain many famous sayings such as “blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God” or “we are the light of the world” or the Lord’s Prayer in 6:9-13 or the golden rule in 7:12.  However, it is ironic that some of the same people who love to quote these sayings reject parts of the Sermon on the Mount, 7:13-14 in particular.  Here Jesus contrasts two gates.  One gate is very narrow and the way to it is hard.  Those who find this gate are very few.  In contrast, the other gate is very wide and the way to it easy, and those who enter by it are many.  Where does it lead?  Destruction.  Notice, Jesus offers no other gates--only two.  The contrast here is very stark.  There are not different levels of happiness or bliss.  Either life or destruction.  It is either/or.  Jesus is exclusivistic.

            If you were to continue reading in Matthew, Jesus goes on to give several examples where it is either/or.  There are good trees and bad trees.  People who do the will of God or not.  People who build their house upon sand and are washed away when the flood comes or people who build upon the rock and survive the flood.  Jesus is driving home the point through repeated examples that there are only two choices. 

            What is the deciding factor between the two ways?  He is.  Turn to John 14:6.  In this situation, Jesus addresses the disciples’ fears that he was leaving them behind.  Jesus assures them that though he was leaving, he was preparing a place for them and that he would return for them.  In v.6, he says these poignant words, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.”  Jesus does not just claim to know about the truth—he is the truth.  You must not only know about him but you must know him.  No other person brings life.

            Earlier in John’s Gospel, Jesus is having an extremely heated discussion with the Pharisees who often debated with Jesus.  In 8:24, Jesus told them, “I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.”  Jesus hangs everything upon on himself—“If you do not believe that I am he.”  What does that mean?  It means that you must have a proper understanding of who he is and to embrace that belief.  That is why cults that distort Jesus’ identity will be condemned.  You must get it right. 

            Notice, also, whom Jesus is speaking too—the Pharisees.  These were the most zealous of religious people.  They were known among the Jewish people to be the most devout.  Sincerity and effort does not cut it with Jesus.  Your religious efforts and even your sincerity will not save you—only belief in Jesus.  Period.  With Jesus, he repeatedly drew the dividing line at his feet.  He said in Matthew 12:30, “Whoever is not with me is against Me.” 

 

            There are other passages with Jesus Christ but hopefully you will see how clear it is.  What about his disciples?  Did they promote this notion of the exclusivity of Christ? 

            Turn to Acts 4.  Shortly after Jesus’ ascension, Peter and John have just been arrested for preaching the gospel.  They are taken before the Sanhedrin which was the highest Jewish council.  These are also the same people who handed Jesus over to be killed.  If there was ever a time to water down the message about Jesus, this would be it.  Peter stands and preaches about Jesus.  In v.12, he says, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”  Peter clearly articulates an exclusivistic message about Jesus.  I want you to notice three points about Peter’s speech.  First, his audience.    Peter was not only preaching to religious people but the leaders themselves.  Second, his language.  The phrase “under heaven” was a stock way of saying everyone—it included the whole world.  He also says “given among men.”  The word “men” is the generic usage of “man” like mankind.  In other words, he is saying the same thing as with the phrase “under heaven.”  By putting these two phrases side by side, he is stressing the fact that salvation for all people comes through Jesus.  Third, the name of Jesus.  In context, the name mentioned in v.12 is the name of Jesus.  Salvation comes not through a generic notion of deity but through Christ--God revealed as a man.  Peter affirms the exclusivity of Christ.

            With the apostle Paul, turn to Romans 10:9-10.  In these famous verses, Paul lays out a confession of faith.  If someone genuinely believes in the content of these words, he or she will be saved. 

            Then, Paul goes on to describe the necessity of Christ.  Turn to v.14-15.  Paul teaches that faith must come from hearing about Jesus and believing in him which leads to the critical nature of missions.  It is hard to fathom the unbelievable hardship that Paul endured on his missionary journeys if he believed that the Gentiles did not really need Christ.  As Paul catalogues in 2 Corinthians 11, one time he was stoned and left for dead, beaten mercilessly, imprisoned for years at a time, shipwrecked three times, faced false accusations and death threats from his enemies, etc.  Who in their right mind would endure such suffering to preach to people who really did not need to hear it?  If you do not believe in the exclusivity of Christ, why even do missionary work? 

            Also, in 1 Timothy 2:5, Paul teaches, “There is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”  A mediator is a bridge, a go-between.  The bridge between God and men is who?  Christ Jesus.  The great Puritan theologian Stephen Charnock wrote, “Christ is said to be the one Mediator in the same sense that God is said to be the one God. As there is but one Creator of man, so there is but one Mediator for men.”  Here, Paul echoes John 14:6 and Acts 4:12—Jesus is the only way to salvation.     

 

           

            How should Christians live in light of the light of this doctrine?  You should have a working knowledge of other religions.  You will greatly enhance your witnessing effectiveness if you will take the time to learn what they believe.  If you know what others believe, you will gain a greater ear with others.  I know when I meet someone who is trying to convince me Christianity is wrong but they don’t understand it, it makes me lose respect for them.  When I meet someone who does understand Christianity, it makes me want to listen to them even if I don’t agree with them.  We should be informed witnesses for Christ. 

            You should also know them because of the simple fact that there are so many people in these various religions.  According to adherents.com, there are approximately 900 million Hindus, 376 million Buddhists, and 1.5 billion Muslims.  That’s roughly 2.75 billion people.  If you love them, you will want to know what they believe.

           

            Also, I believe you need to be equipped to deflate this common accusation in the western world.  If having a belief is true makes you arrogant, then everyone is arrogant.  We all have countless beliefs about the world, the environment, health and diet, parenting, dealing with people, manners, etc.  I would venture to say that with all of these beliefs, someone will disagree with you.  Does that make you arrogant?  Not at all.  Arrogance has nothing to do with truth—you can be arrogant whether you are right or wrong.  It has to do with the manner in which we express those beliefs. 

            The objection is made that only Christianity is exclusivistic, meaning they are right and others are wrong.  I am going to make the surprising response that “You’re right, Christians are exclusivists . . . but so is everyone else.”  What do I mean by that?  What I mean is that everyone has a belief about the question whether all religions lead to God. 

            To begin with, the four world religions we examined are all exclusivistic.  They believe they are right.  Being a follower presupposes that you are right.  That is why people composed their Scriptures, that is why they write literature promoting their beliefs.  Every religion de facto believes they are right.  That is commonsense.  You can do an experiment: If you meet someone who says they are all the same, ask them to become a Christian.  I guarantee that they will look at you funny. 

            Also, these four religions believe that there are consequences for those who are wrong.  From what we have just seen, if you are a non-Christian, the Bible teaches that you will suffer in hell forever.  Islam holds a similar doctrine in a clear division between Muslims and non-Muslims.  Someone might say Christians and Muslims are exclusivists but not Hinduism and Buddhism.  They too are exclusivistic in that they believe there are consequences for being wrong.  What do I mean by that?  They both believe in reincarnation.  Originally, reincarnation was not viewed as a positive thing.  We in the western world have made it a good thing, “a second chance” if you will.  Originally, it meant you had to endure countless cycles of suffering.  The hope was that eventually you would reincarnate yourself high enough to be released off the cycle.  There was little expectation of this happening soon.  It would take countless lifetimes, perhaps millions of years. 

            Because of their view that people are not actual individual selves, they have no concept of personal immortality.  This means there is neither eternal bliss nor judgment.  Please remember that.  Because there is no personal immortality, the severity of judgment will not appear as severe as say Christianity or Islam.  However, they still believe in suffering if you follow a different religion.  For example, if you follow the Buddha, you will greatly reduce your sufferings in contrast to say if you follow Christianity.  If you follow Christianity, you will remain in the cycle of suffering forever.  Insofar as they believe that a person needs to follow a certain path to reduce the suffering, they are exclusivistic. 

            In this light, Hinduism and Buddhism are just as exclusivistic as Christianity or Islam, the only difference lies in the extremity of punishment.  As I said, the eastern religions do not have eternal judgment simply because the concept of personal immortality does not exist.

            What about the religious pluralist—the person who believes all religions lead to God.  As we said earlier, this position is illogical and arrogant.  Setting that aside for the moment, the pluralist still says others are wrong.  This is evident by the fact that they change the beliefs of these religions to their own.

            What about the atheist?  They might say that they are not religious.  They are open-minded but they do not believe in God.  For all their talk, they have a belief about the question whether all religions lead to God.  Their answer: God does not exist.  They are exclusivists. 

            What about the agnostic?  There are two types of agnostics—informed and uninformed.  If they say they are informed, they say they know about these religions and they are unsure if one is right.   An informed agnostic may not explicitly reject you but they implicitly reject you.  What do I mean by that?  A Christian has certain beliefs—God made the world, human beings fell into sin, God hates sin and judges it but he loves us so much that Jesus, who is fully God and man, died on the cross so that we might be reconciled to God and receive eternal life.  The agnostic says, “That’s true for you but not for me.”  What has he just said there?  What you believe is not true.  If it was true, he would agree with you.  It might sound more polite but make no mistake about it, he rejects your view.  Rejection is still rejection.  He thinks you are wrong and he is right.  The same would hold with the other religions.  Regardless of appearances, at rock bottom the informed agnostic is an exclusivist. 

            Now, an uninformed agnostic says they have not studied any religions and they have no opinion.  I still think they are exclusivists in that they do not pursue this knowledge.  In other words, if they thought it was true, they would seek after it.  By saying he does not want to take a stance, he implicitly is denying these religions; he is saying they are not true.  Regardless, for the sake of argument, let us grant their position.  If that is the case, if they know nothing, they have no right to say that it is wrong to be exclusivists.  If you know nothing, you cannot say anyone is right or wrong.  So rather than residing on some alleged higher, neutral ground, the agnostic lives on the same playing field as everyone else.  He has certain beliefs which exclude the possibility of other people being right.  There is no neutral ground. 

 

            At all times, Christians should remain humble toward other religions.  Yes, it is possible to be fully convinced you have the truth but yet humble, loving, and graceful toward others.  Romans 12:18 says, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.”  Paul is not commanding Christians just to get along with other Christians.  He is saying we should live peacefully with all people.  That does not mean we compromise on truth.  We just recognize that we are sinners like everyone else.  We are no different other than our stance and belief in Jesus. 

            Last summer, I had two Mormon missionaries come to my door.  We sat and talked for an hour and a half.  We had a great discussion, and I pressed them on their beliefs and made a case for Christianity.  I did not hold back.  Though I make a strong case for the faith and pointed out weaknesses in Mormonism, I still want to show them love and compassion.  As soon as they entered my house, I asked them if they wanted a glass of cold water.  It was August and they had been walking around.  They probably appreciated it and they might remember it more than my arguments.  Be humble. 

 

            On the other hand, we should be bold.  Christian exclusivism is not a subject up for discussion.  To jettison this doctrine you have to ignore or, worse yet, reject numerous passages of Scripture.  Scripture has not left you that option.  The teaching is very plain.  And if you truly understand who Jesus is and what he accomplished, you cannot help but see he is utterly unique. 

             Krister Sairsingh grew up in a Hindu home in Trinidad.  When he grew older, he came to America and studied at Harvard University.  He firmly believed that all religions were valid paths of spiritual life.  At the same time, he made a pact with a friend to spend his life defending Hinduism.  Internally, though, he was in turmoil.  He believed in his own divinity but also disliked his cruel attitudes and behaviors toward beggars and people of lower castes.  As a Hindu, he knew that he would pay for such attitudes and actions in the next life.  As a result, he was gripped by dread and terror. 

            Krister had a Christian friend but Krister brushed him off because he did not believe Jesus was not unique.  However, Krister made the crucial step of actually reading the Bible.  What he found astounded him.  Krister writes about his pilgrimage in the book Finding God at Harvard: 

            I began to read the gospel accounts of Jesus to learn more about him.  He struck me as utterly unique, different from anyone I had known or read about . . . What astounded me most was Jesus’ claim to have the power to forgive sins . . . Who was this Jesus who could break the bondage of karma, who said he had the power to forgive sins?  I had to know.  I delved deeper into the Gospels.  Over the next six weeks, I went into the sugarcane fields to pray, hoping that something of God’s truth would be revealed to me.  More than anything else, I wanted the truth (184-85).

            He found the truth, and the transformation did not escape the notice of his watching mother, herself a devout Hindu.  Krister continues:

            My mother . . . admitted that she was baffled by the sudden transformation of my life.  She noticed that I was no longer fearful . . . She could not understand how such joy could have filled my life in just a few weeks . . . She later told me [that] she would prostrate herself on the floor of the puja room [with the images of Hindu gods], crying out for the truth.  Within three weeks she too had become convinced by the teachings of Jesus (187).