Religion vs Gospel (2): Do all Religions walk the same path?

All religions are the same right? Surely, they all believe in a god or gods, try to encourage people to be good and explain what happens to our soul after we die. Would you agree with this statement? For some time, I held the view that all religions are the same or at least on the same path as each other. Do you hold this view? This view is rather popular amongst people today. I would like to spend some time delving into the question: “Are all religions basically the same”?

There are over two hundred belief systems operating in our world today. This is not a new concept as there has always been a belief in a god or a supreme being, which can be seen in Aboriginal culture, Aztecs etc. Today, I would like to focus in on a couple of religions; Islam, Buddhism, New Age Spirituality and Christianity (please note: I do not hold Christianity as a religion but for the sake of this article, I will tentatively place Christianity into this category: for more on this please see Religion: It Stinks). By focussing on each religion, I hope to display the important differences between each.

Islam

The Islamic religion is built around the teachings of Muhammad, who claims that God spoke to him via the angel Gabriel. During this conversation, it was revealed to Muhammad that Judaism and Christianity had distorted the truth about the creator and that his mission must be to set it right. Over time, the truth was completely revealed to him.

Muhammad was labelled the prophet, and as Islam accounts, he became the chief prophet whom God used to institute the Muslim religion. Essentially, Islam teaches that a Muslim must strive to do the will of God. This is revealed through the Koran and the Sunna. When we die, we are judged according to how well we have performed while living on earth. This is a simple explanation; for more information I recommend John Dickson’s book “A Spectator’s Guide to World Religions”.

Buddhism

Buddhism has grown in popularity over the past years. Buddhism arises from the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama who lived about 1500 years ago. He taught that our existence is spoiled by suffering and desire is the prime cause of suffering. By eradicating desire, one can experience a state of Nirvana, which is achieved through Gautama’s teaching of the eightfold path. Through this practice, a person will become a “Buddha”; in a sense, a god.

Buddhism teaches that a person has everything at their disposal to attain enlightenment. By working hard, you can achieve heaven essentially.

This is a simple explanation; for more information I recommend John Dickson’s book “A Spectator’s Guide to World Religions”.

New Age Spirituality

It is hard to nail down a set of core beliefs in the New Age movement and I guess it would be best described as an umbrella of pluralistic beliefs. However, there are two distinct characteristics of the New Age movement.

Firstly, everything spiritual is good, this can be expressed by consulting the stars, wearing a cross, approaching tarot card readers and so on. Additionally, it is good to take the bits and pieces from religions that you like.

Secondly, there is an emphasis of self-actualisation and spiritualism, which is achieved through a range a self help and self discovery. This is emphasised due to the New Agers belief that all are one and have a divine spark in them; that we are all connected. When watching the popular movie “Avatar”, you can most definitely see this view played out.

For more on this belief, I recommend Simon Smart’s book “A Spectator’s Guide to World Views”.

Christianity

Christianity, in essence, started about two thousand years ago by a man named Jesus who lived in the small rural town of Galilee in Israel. He was a carpenter by trade, born of a virgin and a humble man who made an awesome claim; that he is the one and only living God, come down from heaven to save God’s people from their sins. This was and still is a huge claim.

Christianity claims that the universe and everything in it was created by God. We are created for relationship with God and initially, we were in perfect relationship with him. Sadly, all people have sinned; this is rebellion from God (see Christians Believe 2). God came into history as the man Jesus to rescue us from our sins by dying on the cross and was resurrected three days later to give us new life. By faith in Jesus is the Christian forgiven and given heaven as a gift.

The Conclusion

Islam teaches that we have to be good to get into heaven; Buddhism teaches that desire and passion are the problems with the world; New Agers teach that we are all connected and by self seeking can we become like god; and Christianity teaches that only through God (Jesus) can we be forgiven of sin and enter into heaven. By this brief description, I see huge differences between these four views.

I believe it is clear from looking at these four views that the problems in this world need to be addressed. As a staunch follower of Jesus, I believe that it is clear that our only hope is through Jesus, as he said: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Jesus is the only answer to the world’s problems as he is God who loves us.

Finally, to say that Christianity is the same as Islam or Buddhism, I have this to add from the bible; the Apostle Paul states: But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed (Galatians 1:8). Christianity teaches that Jesus is the only way! If someone teaches something contrary to this, they are wrong and cursed. Are all religions the same? Absolutely not! Jesus calls for our trust in him. Use the mind that God has given you to delve deeper and research the truth. I will finish by recommending two fantastic books for those interested after this article; A Spectator’s Guide to World Religions by John Dickson and A Spectator’s Guide to World Views by Simon Smart.