How Can Christians Say Jesus Is The Only Way To God, Aren’t All Religions Equally Valid?

I have two pills. They look the same. They are both small and round. One is baby aspirin the other is nitro glycerin. Are they the same?

You’re in an airplane headed from Chicago to Los Angeles. Thirty minutes into the flight the Captain says, “Hey, there is an airport that looks just like the one in L.A. It’s St. Louis! What’s the difference, an airport is an airport right? Besides, this one is much closer. I’m going to land there instead.” Is that the same?

Your taking a test in college. The professor has been telling you that all truth is relative.  There is no such thing as absolute truth. What is true for you may not be true for me. Then he turns around and gives you a failing grade on your paper. What’s wrong with this picture?

In logic, the law of non-contradiction states that something is either true or it is not, it cannot be both in the same sense at the same time. The law of contradiction states that two antithetical propositions cannot both be true and false at the same time and in the same sense.

Philip Johnson explains it this way, “… nothing that is true can be self-contradictory or inconsistent with any other truth. All logic depends on this simple principle. Rational thought and meaningful discourse demand it. To deny it is to deny all truth in one fell swoop.” Here is the truth.

A Class in Comparative Religion

There are five major religions in our world:

• Christianity
• Islam
• Hinduism
• Buddhism
• Judaism

Fortunately, for critical thinkers and honest seekers of truth, each of these religions are mutually exclusive. That is to say each claims to be true yet they contradict each other. They all differ on virtually every major doctrine such as: the nature of God, the nature of Jesus, the nature of man, the Bible, heaven, hell, sin, salvation, the after life etc. The only thing they have in common is the fact that they have almost nothing in common.

For example, the Bible which claims to have been written by eye witnesses, states unequivocally that Jesus died on the cross. This is no insignificant side issue, Jesus dying on the cross for sin is the fundamental doctrine of redemption in Christianity. Six hundred years later, Mohammed (representing Islam) claims that an angel of light told him that Jesus did not die on the cross.

Logically, they could both be wrong, but they cannot both be right.

Another example of mutual exclusivity is the doctrine of karma and reincarnation taught in Hinduism and Buddhism. Both teach that if you fail to reach Nirvana (selfless perfection) in this life, after you die, you keep coming back again and again until you do. The law of Karma teaches, if you missed the mark you come back as a lower form of life. You could come back as a rat, a roach, a buzzard, or a snake. You could come back as a cow or even a fly. That is why they don’t eat meat, because that cow might be one of their late relatives!

The Bible teaches that a man lives only one life after that comes the judgment. As you can see, both systems are diametrically opposed one to the other. Logically, they are either both wrong, or one of them is right and the other is wrong. They cannot both be correct.

Another excellent example of mutual exclusivity is found in Jesus’ claim of divinity. All four of the other world religions freely admit that Jesus was a great moral teacher and a prophet. But, Jesus said He was God. That only leaves you with three choices. As C.S. Lewis, a professor at Cambridge University pointed out,

“Either Jesus was God or He was a liar or He was a lunatic.”

So, if Jesus was right, the other religions are wrong, and if Jesus was wrong, the other religions are still wrong because they say Jesus was right!

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Buddha said, “I am a teacher in search of truth.” Jesus said, “I Am the truth.”

Confucius said, “I never claimed to be holy.” Jesus said, “Which one of you convicts Me of sin?”

Speaking of the afterlife, Mohammed said, “I do not know what Allah will do to me.” Jesus said, “I Am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me. though he die, yet shall he live.”

None of these other men ever claimed to be God. They all said God is this way, go this way. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the father but by Me.”

This is just a sample of our chapter on comparative religion found in our new book. If you enjoyed this article, you may really the book. It entitled:

Where Did God Come From? A handbook  of Answers  to Difficult Questions. 

This and many more questions are dealt with in the book. It is available at our “store”  page.