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"There are lots of spiritual paths, not just one"
Aren't there lots of spiritual paths, apart from Christianity?
Well, three points come straight to mind.
| There can be good things in many different paths. Being a Christian doesn't mean you have to rubbish everybody else's religion. Gandhi was a great man. The Dalai Lama has a lot of valuable things to say. The Bible says that every human has a thirst for God, and is made in God's image, so it's not surprising if the unceasing human quest for truth and spiritual reality has thrown up some good answers in lots of different places. |
But that doesn't mean that every path is right... When you look at the claims different religious traditions make about ultimate reality - they all disagree with one another. Is there one God or are there many? Do we live once or do we reincarnate again and again? What is the point of life? How did it all begin and where will it end? Does God judge our lives, and if so what is the judgment based on? There are so many disagreements, it's impossible just to say comfortably, "Oh, they're all right, and they all lead to God..." | |
| ... And it doesn't mean that every path is complete. The earliest Christians lived in a Roman world full of competing faith-claims, just like ours. And they claimed that there were big things missing from every other faith, which made them ineffective (mataioi was the Greek word they used). None of them could lead you directly to God, since none of them had any answer to the basic problem: that we're separated from God by our sinfulness, which needs to be forgiven. They claimed that Jesus makes all the difference - a religious leader who not only points us to God but takes us to him. |
A few questions to mull over. Take your time.
- If there are so many competing ideas about God in the world, why hasn't he made himself more clear?
- Why has Christianity outpaced every other religion in the world for centuries, just as it's still doing today?
- What kind of spiritual experience would help you know for sure that you had met God?
1. BeThinking has a whole section of their website devoted to helping you compare Christianity to other religions, faith systems and philosophies. Dip in here and have a look at what interests you. There will be plenty!
2. Steven Bancarz was the founder of spiritscienceandmetaphysics.com , an extremely popular New Age website. He was making a lof of money from it. So why is he now a Christian? This video tells his story.
3. The Salvation Army are known all over the world for their compassionate work with people of every kind and description. But it's all based on the firm conviction that Jesus Christ is the solid rock at the base of their activity, and no other religion will do. This little cartoon presentation, "What Makes Christianity Different from Other Religions?" takes just four minutes to explain why.
4. Mohamed Faridi was prepared to be a martyr for Islam when he joined the Iranian army and fought for his country. He couldn't have been more devoted - yet now he's paid an enormous personal cost to become a Christian. Why? His YouTube video explains.
- Check out what we have to say about another big issue?
- Go off in another direction?
- Let us have your reaction to this?