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Christianity vs. World Religions. Some preliminary thoughts:. Determining the truth or falseness of Christianity or world religions has nothing to do with educational level.
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Christianity vs. World Religions • Some preliminary thoughts: • Determining the truth or falseness of Christianity or world religions has nothing to do with educational level. • Determining the truth or falseness of Christianity or world religions has nothing to do with where one was born, or what system of religion our parents brought us up in. • All religions are not the same.
“Anyone who claims that all religions are the same betrays not only an ignorance of all religions but also a caricatured view of even the best-known ones. Every religion at its core is exclusive.” Ravi Zacharias, Jesus Among Other Gods, p. 7
Christianity vs. World Religions • Has God revealed Himself in non-Christian religions? • There are many good non-Christian people whose convictions and morality exhibit principles common to all religions which they learned from the faiths they believe in and practice. • How can this be that non-Christian religions often reflect the wisdom and morality that is also characteristic of the Christian faith?
Christianity vs. World Religions • Has God revealed Himself in non-Christian religions? • Three different ways in which we can identify God’s influence: • General revelation. • Human conscience and moral awareness. • Some of the “truth” of world religions reflect a preservation of some of what God has revealed in the past.
Christianity vs. World Religions • Has God revealed Himself in non-Christian religions? • The answer to this question must be “No!” but this doesn’t mean that God’s influence has not been felt. • But God cannot be known in the sense of knowing who He is, knowing His character, knowing His mind, and knowing His will for human beings through world religions. • World religions are a result of this continual need to seek after the divine, but being guilty of diverging from and grossly distorting the knowledge of the true God.
Christianity vs. World Religions • What makes Christianity unique and exclusive? • Its uniqueness is found in Jesus. • Jesus is truly an historical character who made some extraordinary claims. • He proved these claims by being resurrected from the dead (Jn. 2:18-22; Rom. 1:3-4). • He not only preached a message He required people to follow, He was identical with the message (Jn. 14:6).
Christianity vs. World Religions • What makes Christianity unique and exclusive? • Its exclusivity is found in Jesus. • In spite of all efforts to try to harmonize all religions into equally legitimate routes to the divine, following Jesus does not allow this. • Jesus made it clear that the only way to God was through Him (Jn. 14:6). • The apostles showed they understood the exclusive nature of their message (Acts. 4:12)
Christianity vs. World Religions • What makes Christianity unique and exclusive? • Its exclusivity is found in Jesus. • In spite of all efforts to try to harmonize all religions into equally legitimate routes to the divine, following Jesus does not allow this. • This salvation provided by Jesus is for all mankind (Jn. 3:16; 1 Tim. 2:3-4; Acts 17:30). • All people are obligated to Jesus to come to Him since all are going to be judged by Him (Jn. 3:36; Acts 17:31).
Christianity vs. World Religions • What makes Christianity unique and exclusive? Jesus!