| Are All Spiritual Beliefs True? |
| Written by Rich Bordner | |
| Tuesday, 28 July 2009 | |
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"All religions are basically the same. Every religion has something like the golden rule and stresses loving your neighbor. Let's celebrate all spiritual beliefs!"
"All religions are basically the same. Every religion has something like the golden rule and stresses loving your neighbor. Let's celebrate all spiritual beliefs!" This isn't just a "man on the street" belief. Lawyers, doctors, and scientists hold to this as well. It is murmured in quaint coffee shops around the world and shouted from the couch of your favorite talk show. Oprah has made a career on this brand of pluralism. Before we tip our hat to such a notion, though, we should evaluate it. Is it really true? Think for a moment and you'll see how vacuous this belief is. First, some religions don't stress loving one's neighbor. Doing good isn't on their central radar screen. Moreover, if you look at the main beliefs of the world's major faiths, you'll see they are quite different. Christians believe Jesus was crucified on a cross. There is no Christianity without that belief! Muslims, however, reject that; what's more, to Muslims, holding to the crucifixion of Jesus is no small thing--it's a big no-no! Jehovah's Witnesses believe Jesus was the archangel Michael, and Christians reject such a thing. God is a personal creator who is separate from His creation in Christianity, whereas all is one in Hinduism. All these beliefs are main pillars of each faith. Even each faith's beliefs in the afterlife are worlds apart--heaven, reincarnation, nothing, etc. If you reflect further, you'll see that these can't all be true! God is either personal or impersonal. He either exists or He doesn't. In no case can God be both personal and impersonal, real and fake. Jesus either is the Messiah or He is not. In no case can He be both the Messiah and not the Messiah. When you die, you either are reincarnated, go to heaven, rot in the ground, or hitch a ride on a comet...but you can't do it all! I've heard an objection that when it comes to religion, "what's true for you might not be true for me." Is this a good way of thinking? It is not like we are talking about food tastes, which are subjective. No, these are all claims about what really happens after you die. They apply to reality. That doesn't mean they are false; it just means that they can't all be true. Another objection is that all this reflects a western way of thinking. In the west, so the argument goes, it is either this OR that, but in the east, many people are comfortable embracing contradiction. A more common way to think in the east when it comes to contradicting beliefs is "both/and." Is this a good response? No. As Ravi Zacharias often notes, even in the streets of Shanghai, they look both ways when crossing the street, because they understand that that it's either them or the bus, not both. Also, when thinking about spirituality, they choose the both/and way of thinking *instead of* the either/or, not both. No matter how you twist things, you can't get away from the either/or at the end of the day. There's a good reason--it is tethered to reality. So the next time somebody starts pontificating about how all religions are basically the same, take it with the proverbial grain of salt. As my favorite author humorously quips, aspirin and arsenic both come in tablet form, but it's the differences that count! The Article Author: Rich Bordner has been writing on Christianity, apologetics, and philosophy for over eight years. He has degrees in both English and Philosophy, is currently working on an Master's degree in Philosophy, and is also a high school teacher. If you have an interest in Christianity, apologetics, and spirituality, or just want to participate in spirited debate on those topics and more, visit his website. |
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