If you are able to believe in the existence of some unseen higher power, but are unable to be sure what it is exactly, then this article is for you. If you do not believe in even that, then perhaps you should read the earlier article ‘Is There A Higher Power?’ first. Again, I write this article to throw out some ideas for thought, and I listed some common trends of thought that I myself had before I became a Christian, or I have been hearing people mention them on occasion.

 

1. ‘I believe all religions are true, and all the gods exist’

This is a passive viewpoint that essentially says everybody is right, and at some point, it has crossed my mind as well. However, can this perspective possibly be true?

Let us approach this from a purely mathematically logical way. Let us assume that this hypothesis is true – that all religions are true, that the gods that each religion claims to exist really does, and all their religious scriptures are accurate. If we were to consider Buddhism and its premise of reincarnation, against Christianity’s premise of heaven and hell, then we see a possible contradiction. Unless we also assume that human souls can possibly experience different scenarios after the body dies, in which they can cease to exist, get reincarnated, or get sent to either heaven/paradise or hell.

Let us consider also what the religions say about their own gods and other religions’ gods, and let us consider the major religions present in Singapore. Buddhism is about Buddha, and how each and every one of us possibly can reach enlightenment (nirvana) ourselves. Taoism, which in its pure form does not include all the local superstitious practices, does not profess to have divine links, and at most admits to a cosmic force at work. Hinduism describes many deities, and at its heart, is also about reaching enlightenment (moksha). However, once we reach the God of the Christians and Catholics, which incidentally is the same God of the Muslims (all three religions share the same origin and Old Testament), He claims He is the one true God, and that all other gods are false. Herein lies a true contradiction - if no other religion claims that other religions are false except Christianity, Catholicism, and Islamism, these three religions must be mutually exclusive from the rest. Either all three religions are false, and hence the other religions are true, or those three religions are true, and hence the other religions are true. Therefore the initial hypothesis cannot possibly be valid.

 

2. ‘I believe there is one true God, and different religions are different interpretations of the same God’

This is something I used to think when I was about 13 years old, and I believe I am not alone. It is like the old story of the blind men who felt an elephant and all came to different conclusions as to what the animal is. On hindsight now, I think this is just a politically correct view I adopted that does not offend anyone regarding their beliefs, and it is my lazy man’s perspective that does not propel me to find out more about anything. The only thing I can conclude about this perspective is that you would pretty much have to be a blind man to accept that reasoning.

Considering the differences I pointed out in point 1, it is obvious that different religions have drastically different philosophies and theologies. Beyond just the teachings about life, death, and the afterlife, there are many other issues that are either not fully discussed in certain religions or are just plainly different. Some common issues would be ‘how was the world/universe created?’ and ‘how did human beings come about/what are we here for?’, for instance. There is no reasonable way how the same God with some eternal qualities can be ‘translated’ into so many different perspectives in the various religions of the world.

 

3. ‘All religions basically teach the same thing – to do good, so what is special about Christianity?’

This is a perspective I often hear about, especially from parents whose children have received Christ, and the parents themselves believe in some other religion. Indeed, every religion out there that is not a cult of some sort would teach its followers to do good. However, many people are so distracted by this common thread that they fail to see more obvious differences.

For one, every other religion usually has some form of karmic view – that essentially you need to do good for the sake of writing over, erasing, or atoning for the bad that you have done. Whether it is for the sake of accumulating better karma so that you can be reincarnated to something better after you die, or to reach enlightenment, or to enter paradise, or to compensate for the sins in your life, that good that you aim to do essentially is still egocentric in terms of purpose. Every person, I believe, is born with a conscience, and will know right from wrong, no matter how cloudy it gets, and hence will be aware that he or she is far from perfect. The more important point is not that the good deeds are meant for your own atonement, but rather in the view that you can save yourself from the bad, the wrong, and the misdeeds. The essence of the karmic view is that no matter what you have done wrong, you can atone or make up for it in your own strength, through your own effort, by trying to do good.

This then begs the corresponding question ‘how much, then, is enough?’ How many good deeds do you need to do if you have, say, stolen something? What kind of good deeds will matter. Will a person who donate a million dollars to a charity compensate for the fact that his million dollars come from criminal activity? How much good would you need to do in order to achieve enlightenment, or enter paradise? Is there a way to quantify and measure it?

Christianity, which for the purpose of this discussion will include Catholicism, on the other hand, is radically different. It is, in a way, an anti-karmic view. The essence is this – you, by your own strength, will never be able to atone for your sins and wrongs, because God is perfect and holy, and so are His standards. That is the very reason God came in the flesh in the person of Jesus Christ to sacrifice Himself for the sins of the world. And anyone can appropriate that forgiveness, which is a basis of fairness; it is of no issue if you are man or woman, rich or poor, old or young – there is no ‘how much is enough?’ to worry over. There is no other religion for which love is the entire basis, and that a man is willing to lay down his life for your sake, let alone God’s only son. What then is the difference in the ‘doing good’ for Christianity? It is not egocentric; it does not earn you more merit to go to heaven – the moment you accept Christ, you are already bound for heaven when you die. The reason why you do good and bless others is merely because the God you believe in is good and blesses you.

 

Essentially, this article does not aim to make you believe in Christianity. It merely seeks to push you from a position where you sit on the fence and do not choose to take sides. The first two points are meant to push you from the fence; there is no neutral stand. All religions cannot co-exist at the same time, else there would be a logical contradiction, and hence you have to choose what to believe in. The third point is meant to remind you that even if you have to choose a side, choose wisely. The various religions are not the same, nor teaches people how to do good in similar fashion, for similar reasons - especially Christianity, which is also the only religion that tells its believers to go forth and share their beliefs actively with the world at large.