An email survey was conducted by a local church of the Millennials living nearby. The survey asked them to articulate their main doubts and objections to Christianity. The most frequent objection was Christianity’s claim of exclusiveness. One participant, wrote, “How could there just be one true faith? It’s arrogant to say your religion is superior and try to convert everyone else to it. Surely all the religions are equally good and valid for meeting the needs of their particular followers.” Another survey respondent commented, “Religious exclusivity is not just narrow—it’s dangerous. Religion has led to untold strife, division, and conflict. It may be the greatest enemy of peace in the world. If Christians continue to insist that they have, ‘the truth”—and if other religions do that same—the world will never know peace” (Tim Keller, The Reason for God). What would you say to prepare your children or grandchildren, when they leave home, to be able to respond to this critique? Let’s think carefully about four assertions in the above critiques of Christianity.
Assertion #1: Religions making exclusive truth claims, like Christianity, are the primary enemy of world peace. It is widely believed today that one of the barriers to world peace is organized religions because of their excusive claims to superiority. I actually agree with this statement. Each religion informs its followers that they have “the truth,” and this naturally leads them to feel superior to those holding other beliefs. Also, a religion tells its followers that they are connected to God by performing that truth. This can lead them to separate from those who are less devoted and pure in life. Since Western culture highly values diversity, exclusivity is anathema. It DIVIDES instead of bringing mankind together. However, the thesis that outlawing religion will thus lead to world peace, though it sounds good, has been proven completely wrong.
In the twentieth century, there were several massive efforts to do this. Soviet Russia, Communist China, and the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia outlawed religion. Nazi Germany outlawed any religion that disagreed with its belief that the Arian race was superior. The result of these four secular regimes was the slaughter of over one hundred million people. This brutal oppression led historian Alister McGrath to write: The twentieth century gave rise to one of the greatest and most distressing paradoxes of human history: that the greatest intolerance and violence of that century were practiced by those who believed that religion caused intolerance and violence. (The Twilight of Atheism: The Rise and Fall of Disbelief in the Modern World).
It is true that great violence has been done to humans in the name of religion. But in the twentieth century, far more violence was done to humans by atheists. We can only conclude that there is a dark part to human nature that leads to violence.
So, when someone says, “We will never come to know peace on earth if religions like Christianity keep making exclusive truth claims.” You might answer, “May I ask a question? Do you know how many humans were slaughtered in the twentieth century by atheistic regimes?” “No.” “Over a hundred million. How does that fact fit into your view that the cause of war is exclusive truth claims of religions?”
Assertion #2: It’s arrogant to say your religion is superior and try to convert everyone else to it. Many people consider it arrogant, narrow-minded, and bigoted for Christians to contend that the only path to God must go through Jesus of Nazareth. In a day of religious pluralism when intolerance is the unpardonable sin, this exclusivity claim is not politically correct. How do we respond to the rising generation of our loved ones who state this objection?
Christianity is actually less exclusive than some other religions. For instance, Muslims radically claim exclusivity—not just theologically but linguistically. They say that the Koran is only recognizable in Arabic and that any translation desacralizes it. Contrast that with the Christian effort to translate the Bible into the language of every tongue and tribe and nation. Religions are exclusive by nature. Judaism insists that the only true God is Yahweh. Additionally Lee Strobel, in his book, The Case for Faith, points out the uncompromising commitments of Buddhism and Hinduism, “Buddhism was born when Gautama Buddha rejected two fundamental assertions of Hinduism—the ultimate authority of the Vedas, which are their Scriptures, and the caste system. Hinduism, itself is absolutely uncompromising on three issues: the law of karma, which is the law of moral cause and effect, so that every birth is a rebirth that makes recompense for the previous life; the authority of the Vedas; and reincarnation."
So, very, very few people in the world hold to this pluralistic view in OUR culture that all religions are equally valid and it’s arrogant to say your religion is superior and try to convert everyone else to it. Most non-Western cultures have no problem saying that their culture and religion are best. The idea that it is wrong to do so is deeply rooted in Western traditions of self-criticism, individualism, and egalitarianism. As one scholar points out, “To charge others with the sin of ‘ethnocentrism’ is really a way of saying, ‘Our culture’s approach to other cultures is superior to yours.’”(Tim Keller, The Reason for God).
So, how might you respond to the argument “It is arrogant to say that your religion is the only true religion?” “May I ask you a question?” “Okay.” “Did you know that nearly all religions believe that their religion is best and that the idea that it is wrong to do so is deeply rooted only in our Western culture?” “No, I didn’t know that, but so what?” “Do you think we should impose our Western moral values on the rest of the world?”
Assertion #3: Insisting that your religion is right and the others wrong is fundamentally INTOLERANT. In the formative years of the United States, there was great overlap between the Christian worldview (held for example by John Adams) and the Deist worldview (held by Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson). In the twentieth century, many Bible-believing Christians withdrew from culture, misunderstanding the kingdom of God to be primarily future (called Premillennialism), rather than a present reality that has been inaugurated by King Jesus and will be fully realized in the future. This vacuum has been filled by a combination of worldviews including relativism—the false idea that there is no such thing as absolute truth. Relativism teaches, “you have your truth and I have my truth.” This philosophic relativism results in attacking Christianity because by claiming it is true, it is intolerant of truth claims that contradict it. Instead of correctly defining intolerance as not valuing a person with whom you disagree, relativism redefines intolerance as not valuing the truth claim with which you disagree—leading to the silly idea that all truth claims are equally valid.
Although many claim “your truth is your truth and my truth is my truth”, no one actually lives that way in the physical world. Here is a possible way to respond to the accusation that believing Jesus’ claim, “No one comes to the Father but by me” is intolerant.” “May I ask you a question?” “Okay.” “If you were about to get on an airplane and found out that the pilot said, ‘My truth is that I am a trained pilot and you’re being intolerant if you don’t believe me’—when he had no experience as a pilot, would you get on the plane?” “Of course not.” “So why wouldn’t you believe his truth claim?” “Because it was false.” “Weren’t you being intolerant of his belief that he could fly a plane?” “Yeah. But it wasn’t true.” “Then aren’t you saying that truth must be rooted in reality, and that truth is intolerant of what is false?”
Assertion #4: Instead of being divisive, Christians should just admit that all religions teach the same thing—that God is loving and we should love others. We shouldn’t tell others how to live. Of course, this assertion is completely false. All religions don’t believe the same thing. But rather than argue, Greg Koukl, author of Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Christian Convictions, suggests a series of questions we might use in response to this critique to get our friend to think.
How much have you studied other religions to compare the details and find a common theme? Why would the similarities be more important than the differences? I’m curious, what do you think Jesus’ attitude was on this issue. Did he think all religions were basically equal? Isn’t telling people to love one another example of doing what you are objecting to—telling others how they should live and believe.
THE CASE FOR THE UNIQUENESS OF CHRISTIANITY
I believe that before our children get out in the culture answering the attack upon Christianity for its exclusiveness claims, the kids themselves need to know the following facts:
A. Unlike other religions, Christianity is rooted in recognizing God’s holiness.
- The word, holiness describes the perfection of God in all his moral attributes.
- The word, holiness, from the Hebrew word QUADASH, to cut, teaches that God is cut off from sin and sinful man. There is a massive chasm between sinful man and the Holy God. No religion teaches this but biblical Christianity.
- The whole sacrificial system of the OT, it could be said, was to teach Israel about God’s holiness. No one entered the Holy of Holies, where God was understood to dwell on his throne, except the High Priest, only once per year, and only after making sacrifices for his own sin.
- The holy presence of God is traumatic for sinful humans if not deadly:
- Isaiah 6:1-5 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne…. Above him were seraphim.…And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips.”
- Exodus 33:20 The LORD said to Moses, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.”
- No man was to touch the ark of the covenant because it was God’s throne. We read in 2 Samuel 6:6-7. Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled… God struck him down, and he died there beside the ark of God.
- Luke 5:8 But when Simon Peter saw it, (miracle of fish) he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”
- Because of God’s holiness—no sin in his universe can go ultimately unpunished. Every sin is high treason against a morally perfect being. God is the universe’s holy judge. That is why the wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23).
- No other religion believes in a God that is so holy that sinful humans will die if they see his face. I believe that the presence of God’s holiness will destroy humans in their guilt like sunlight destroying bacteria. No other religion has a God who is holy enough to require that an atoning sacrifice be made to blot out their guilt.
B. All other religions are human attempts to bridge the gap between them and God BY GOOD WORKS. Christianity alone teaches that God’s holiness makes the gap too wide for good works to bridge. It can only be overcome by God coming to sinful man. To underscore this point, you might ask someone you are sharing this material with, “What is the most common reason YOU hear for why God should let someone into heaven?” They will answer “I tried to be a good person.” That answer, in various forms, is the universal belief of all non-Christian religions. As one Muslim explains Islam, “In the hereafter, we go to Jannah (Paradise) or Jahannam (Hell-fire) depending upon the deeds that we did in worldly life. So, getting Jannah in the hereafter is the objective of every Muslim in this world, to do all the good deeds possible that ensure going into Paradise.” Hinduism teaches that through reincarnation, the quality of your new life is completely based upon the good or evil you did in your past life. Mormonism believes that the celestial kingdom will be the residence of those who have been righteous and received and lived up to all of the required ordinances and covenants. Even Catholicism, teaches “infused grace” which means that only Jesus can give you the power to live a life that pleases God—but that life is what commends you to God.
Christianity alone, teaches that we are saved by grace alone through faith alone. Our good works cannot commend us to God. God doesn’t grade on a curve. No criminal can attempt to avoid punishment for his crimes by pointing to his pile of good deeds. In a universe governed by a holy God, good deeds have no extra merit to balance evil ones, since we should have done those good works in the first place. In Romans 3, Paul is clear: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight…That is the watershed difference between Christianity and all other religions, which are a form of moralism. Our good deeds cannot commend us to God.
C. All other religions, by making salvation dependent upon the follower’s personal righteousness, open the door to smugness, arrogance, and feelings of superiority. True Christianity (not moralism masquerading as Christianity) slams that door shut. Salvation is a free gift. There is no merit in us that causes God to choose to give us the gift of faith. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast (Eph 2:8-9). Christianity has the resources within itself to destroy smugness—we are blind men and women begging for bread. Since it is often failure that drives a person to see his need for Christ, the Christian community is made up of broken people whose character flaws could be expected to often be greater than the lost around them. Not only that but the doctrine of common grace tells us that people of other faiths have much wisdom and good to offer the world. We read in James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” Lost folks made in the image of God have much to offer. True Christianity also has the power to destroy hostility towards our ideological enemies, like the progressive elites, those in the LGBTQ life and the pro-abortion lobby. Our founder died, praying for his enemies, “Father forgive them, for they don’t realize what they are doing.” (Lk 23:34). Christianity simply provides NO foundation for pride or hostility towards those whose ideological beliefs oppose ours. It can only be embraced by those who cry out, “God have mercy on me, a sinner.” Judgementalism and hostility towards those outside one’s tribe is often associated with extremist fundamentalism of one religion or another. But Christians who are hostile towards those with whom they disagree aren’t TOO Christian. Rather, they aren’t Christian ENOUGH!
D. Christianity is unique among major religions because only its founder claimed to be God. Last week we refuted the argument that Jesus didn’t claim to be God—that this is just a legend that grew up, promoted by Jesus’ followers. But I did not mention the manuscript evidence that we have for verifying the historical reliability of the words Jesus actually spoke, like, “I and the Father are one” or “He who has seen me has seen the Father.” When comparing current copies of ancient manuscripts in museums today, the highest number of any ancient manuscripts other than the NT, is 643 copies of Homer’s Iliad, which are carbon-dated as being written 500 years after the events they describe. By way of comparison, there are 24,000 partial or whole manuscripts of the NT, some of which are dated 25 years after the events. These don't prove the NT is the Word of God. But they do prove the historical accuracy of what Jesus said.
Moses did not claim to be God but to speak for God. Muhammad claimed to be the prophet of God. Gautama Buddha did not claim to be God. Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormons, did not claim to be God. But Jesus of Nazareth did. That fact makes a watershed difference between Christianity and other religions. C.S. Lewis, who was a professor at Cambridge University, and once an agnostic, wrote:
I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about him: ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said, would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice….You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to (Mere Christianity).
So how might you respond to one who says, “I believe that Jesus was a great moral teacher, but not the Son of God like his followers claim?” You might say, “May I ask you a question?” “Okay.” “Do you know how many times Jesus claimed to be God?” “No.” “Many times. For example, he said, ‘I and the Father are one’ and ‘He who has seen me has seen the Father.’ He claimed to be Yahweh, the Hebrew personal name for God which means, 'I am.' He was executed for claiming to be divine.” “But that doesn’t prove it was true.” “That’s right, but let’s consider two possibilities. Let’s assume that Jesus knew he wasn’t God but claimed to be. What would that make him?” “I guess a liar.” “Right. So, if he is a liar, how could he be a good moral teacher?” “You have a point.” “Or suppose he was deluded and was so mentally imbalanced that he thought he was God, when he wasn’t. Could such a deranged teacher come up with the moral teaching in the Sermon on the Mount?” “I guess not.” “So how could Jesus be just a great moral teacher?"
E. Christianity is unique because its founder claimed he would rise from the dead and no one has been able to refute the historic evidence showing that this is a fact of history. No other religion of the world was founded by one who claimed he would rise from the dead and whose followers were executed for refusing to deny that it took place.
Christianity is about as similar to other religions as DAY is to NIGHT. No wonder Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (Jn 14:6). No wonder Peter preached, “there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
For Further Prayerful Thought:
- How would you refute each of the four assertions that comprise the argument that there can’t be just one religion?
- Why might it be important to teach the rising generation the five ways Christianity is unique before they go out into the world?
- When you understand how an attack upon Christianity logically fails, why is it wiser to use questions with a colleague instead of telling them bluntly how they are wrong?
