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One God Fits All?
Are all religions really worshipping the same "god"?
Date: 5/2/2005 10:15:08 AM ( 19 y ) ... viewed 1731 times The religious world today is ecumenical, meaning "let's drop the things that divide religions and blend them all into one". This sounds so nice on the surface, but let's look a little deeper. The rationale of ecumenism goes like this:
--Peace is the most important thing in the world.
--All the strife in the world is largely the fault of religious differences.
--Therefore we must rid the world of religious differences.
One approach to achieving this goal would be the "frontal assault", where people are threatened with punishment unless they give up their doctrinal uniqueness. But such confrontations rarely work, so the strategy being employed is more subtle: let's just never allow divisive ideas to be expressed and only talk about things we agree on. Believe what you want in private, but never tell anyone else about it or you'll be an enemy of world peace.
But does this really produce religious harmony, or any other kind of harmony for that matter?
One problem with it is the assumption that squelching people's free expression and practice of religious distinctiveness can even be possible for any length of time. History is filled with attempts at achieving such repression, but every one has failed. Instead of manufacturing peace, war has always resulted. Yet we never learn the lesson; we continually cycle between repression and revolt. Do the ecumenists really think it will be different this time?
Another problem with it is that instead of tolerating all religions, it really tolerates none of them. One cannot truly believe that their religion can be blended with another, or they'd never have joined it in the first place. Only by forsaking some fundamental teachings, the ones that make the religion what it is, can a religion be "assimilated". So the very act of joining together with other belief systems destroys them all.
Compromise is good if you're talking about relationships or business deals, but Truth cannot be compromised.
Are the religions of the world simply deluded into thinking they worship different gods? Let's look at some details.
The God of the Bible is like no other. He claims to be the only God, claims to know the future from the distant past and proves it with fulfilled prophecy on a scale unheard of in other religions, has become one of us, paid the price for heaven that we couldn't pay, and above all, loves us each personally. No other religion paints a picture of God that is even remotely similar.
All other religions describe God as impersonal or not personal at all, or completely unknowable. All other religions require good deeds, penance, or some kind of self-discipline; that is, they offer salvation by works. You must earn your way to heaven, however your religion defines that. But the Bible says you can't earn it, so you must accept it as a gift. God offers this gift out of love for people, who knows each one to the point of numbering the hairs on their heads.
Clearly, the gods of all religions are not the same. And just as clearly, all religions cannot be assimilated without destroying them all. Will the destruction of all religions result in world peace? Don't hold your breath.
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