Truth My Kids Will Know - Not All Religions Are Equally Valid

Lie #1 - "All religions are basically the same and teach the same things."  

(Now, I understand that Christians don't consider ourselves a 'religion', I agree completely that faith in Jesus isn't a religious thing. But I'm writing this from the world's point of view that Christianity is just one of the many religions of the world.)

Religions around the world are not "essentially the same". They are not all equally valid in their beliefs. And they don't all teach us to become "more moral people". 

True, there are some religions that tend to be more moral than others.

But there are also others that tend to be less moral.

The question remains though: "More or less moral...by what standard?"

If you're going to claim that all religions teach us how to behave ourselves - and that some religions do this better than others - then you're going to have to explain what moral standard you're judging them by!

There are some world religions are simply insane and have no place in a civilized society.

Here are a few examples:

- An ancient Hindu tradition of "sati" burned widows to death when their husbands died.

- The Church of Euthanasia's rhetoric include, "Thou shalt not procreate" and "Save the planet, kill yourself."

- In parts of Africa and India, Human Sacrifice is still practiced as a religious tradition.

- In rural India, some people hang themselves on hooks through the skin in honor of their fish god.

- Many cults and religions today practice "self flagellation" (whipping themselves until they bleed) and "self mutilation"

Not all religions are morally good - and not all of them elevate their society.

Here's where my own bias has to come through: As a Christian, I know that no amount of "morality" in a religion can bring someone to Heaven. I know this truth from John 14:6 - "Jesus answered and said to him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.'"

They Can't All Be Right!

There is a push right now to paint all "faiths" with the same brush - claiming that we all teach basically the same thing. But that's not a logical thing to say! Very few, if any, world religions teach that other religions are just as good as they are. Most religions teach that they are the only truth.

No logical person could ever say that a religion that says there's only ONE God and another that says there are MANY gods could both be right!

Even the three major monotheistic faiths (Christianity, Judaism, and Islam) all say completely different things about the same man.
     Islam says Jesus was just another Muslim prophet and good teacher
     Judaism says Jesus was just another man Who falsely claimed to be the Messiah

     Christianity says that Jesus was literally God in a human body that came to die for our sins.

Can all of those views be correct? Could Jesus have been a liar and still be a "good teacher"? Could He have been both God and not God? If He was supposedly just another prophet of Allah - then why did He make the claim to be the great I AM?

There's more disagreement among religions about life after death:

Buddhism says there is no actual Heaven, only a continual reincarnation until a perfect spiritual state is achieved.

Islam says the way to Heaven is by obeying the five pillars - or by dying as a martyr.

Atheism (nationally recognized as an actual religion) says that this life is all there is; when it's over, it's over

Baha'i says that there are many ways to Heaven through the different religions.

Christianity says that faith in Jesus is the only way to Heaven

How could all of these contradictory beliefs be correct?

The simple answer is, they can't be.

And as logical people, we're each responsible to find out which of them is truth. (I would suggest starting with the Book that has been proven historically, scientifically, and morally right time after time.)

Christianity Prevails In Freedom

When this country was founded, all religions were welcome. Even though we considered ourselves a fundamentally Christian nation, the founders still established the first amendment: "Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..." The intentions of these very Christian and deeply spiritual men were clear - they were not going use the government to force people into a religion, or to stop anyone from practicing their religion. 

The founders believed that Christianity would always win out whenever there was freedom and open discussion. And that's exactly what happened! Even as immigrants from other religions and beliefs arrived in this country, we remained a predominately Christian nation. Far from "oppressive religious intolerance" - it was precisely because there was freedom of religion that Christianity flourished. In an open discussion, Christianity always shines as the wiser, more logical, and more moral choice.

Only in recent times have we seen this Christian success called "oppression" and "intolerance". It's become popular to think that Christianity was dominant because other religions were suppressed. But that simply was not the case - look again at the first amendment. Does that sound like words of freedom or of oppression to you?

Gradually, our freedom of religion began to be restricted. We were told to be more "tolerant" of other religions...as if we weren't already tolerating them! (Just because I don't agree with what they teach, doesn't mean I can't tolerate them teaching it!) When these restrictions began to be placed on Christians, we started losing the culture. 

It's funny how that worked out: when we were free to talk and debate openly, Christianity came out on top. But when shackles were placed on Christians expressing our faith, then another idea started to form in society. This new doctrine claimed, "we all worship the same divine being." That's almost the only thing you're allowed to hear and see in our culture now.

In the face of this lie - my kids will know the truth: All world religions are not the same, are not equally good, and are not equally valid ways to Heaven.

Jesus was clear - "No one comes to the Father, except through Me."