WORLD RELIGIONS, WHO'S RIGHT?

WORLD RELIGIONS, WHO'S RIGHT?

A few years ago I read an article that stated 2 billion people worship 300 different gods along with their religions. They all claim that God has chosen them to be keepers of the way, the truth and the life. These are rounded off numbers, so they are not exact, but as the world population approaches the 7 billion mark, these numbers can only increase. To make it less complicated, let's work with the 300 different religion number. Could it be that all these religions are true, or at least have enough of the truth to satisfy God? Christians may site Matt 16: 13-16 as the bare minimum to gain entrance through the pearly gates.

Religious writer Lisa Miller writes, "truth cannot be shut up in one book, neither the Veda, the Koran or the Bible." She adds, "all religions have some truth but none have all the the truth." Eckhart Tolle, author of The Power of Now and A New Earth concurs, "all religions have wrong teaching." In today's world of academic enlightenment this sounds very scholarly. After all, who isn't wrong at least once in a while; nothing is perfect, right? The problem with this is that each of the three hundred world religions claim to have the truth, and therefore could have no wrong teaching. This being true, then 299 are wrong. For instance, truth can only have one meaning; truth is absolute. You can have contrary beliefs, but truth does not contradict itself. Truth does not change from culture to culture or from generation to generation. This is where the 300 align in claiming that only one possesses the way, the truth, and the life. The conclusion we have to come to is a no-brainer; 299 do not have the truth. It is only possible for one to be the authentic keeper of truth that comes from God. Ms. Miller and Mr. Tolle are both guilty of lazy research.

All religions demand obedience to their particular belief system. When a country infuses its state-run religion into its military, it becomes a dangerous and formidable foe. Japanese kamikazes who worshiped their emperor during World War II gave their lives by flying directly into American ships and killing thousands of Americans. The 9/11 Muslims who gave their lives to take down the World Trade Center lived from the time they arrived in America a riotous life of drugs, sex, and booze. Mohamed Atta, the pied-piper of the 9/11 attack, called for a prostitute to come to his motel room on the night before he was to board his flight to kill not only himself but also thousands of innocent people. That people purposely give their lives for their religious belief is a strong argument that they are indeed possessors of truth that only comes from God. However, the right question needs to be asked, "what is truth." Did all these people give their lives for the truth, or was it for their belief system? Were they brain-washed into believing a lie? For Mohamed Atta, it was 72 big bosom virgins waiting for him in heaven to continue his earthly life-style unabated. There should be no question in our minds that the 9/11 hijackers sincerely believed that a better place awaited them. They willingly made the ultimate sacrifice. Your country or your religion can ask no more from you. The question that begs to be answered is, "did God give us a Transcendent", that is a divine law, a standard above our own ideas of right and wrong, a standard to which we can all appeal, whether a prince or a pauper.

Epistemology; Is the science of religious knowledge. All world religions lay claim to the true knowledge of God; the control world religions have over the minds of people can pose a threat to others who are not like-mined. Therefore, all religions are fair game to be examined as to their claim and validity. All religions try to answer three questions; origin, morality, and destination. Every human-being believes something about God, even an atheist who claims there is no God is forced to render an opinion.

Deuteronomy records the final days of Moses before transferring leadership over to Joshua. Joshua would lead them in the coming war to conquer Canaan, but Moses prepares them for life in the conquered land. Deut. 4:39, "Therefore know this day and consider it in your heart, that the Lord Himself is God in heaven above and Earth beneath; there is no other." That was Moses, speaking to a naive generation who had grown up in the wilderness living on manna and his teaching. They knew nothing about God other than what was told to them by Moses. Their God is the only God there is; there is no other. He told them when they got into the land they were going to see a lot of different religions with many gods. Don't be fooled into thinking that they had a god just as we have one also. Deut. 4:40, "You shall therefore keep his commandments which I give you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which the Lord your God is giving you for all time." Moses told them the stakes were high; as the first generation in the land, they would set God's standard for future generations to come. The Exodus agreement must be taught to their children so they can teach their children also.

Exodus 19: 5-8 - it was agreed by the Elders but not voted on by the people, "all that God has said we will do." Generation after generation tried to break the agreement, only to find that God was holding them to it. Truth is truth, and it cannot be changed through wishful thinking, nor can it be improved on. Deut. 4: 2, "Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you."

How does Christianity differ from all world religions?

- It is a relationship not a religion or system of work.
- It has a sin-bearer all others do not.
- It is done, not do.
- Only in Christianity are we greater in death than we are in life.

DEATH PENALTY - FOR AND AGAINST

The Christian and Capital Punishment (Against)

The first reference to capital punishment is found in Genesis 9:6. The Noahic Covenant, "whoever sheds man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed; in the image of God made He man." Before the flood, man had filled the world with violence and bloodshed. There will be no more floods to stop the violence and bloodshed of man's inhumanity to man (Gen. 9:11). By the use of capital punishment, men were to quell the violence and restore the order of justice. God ordained social order and gave government the authority to rule over the social order.

Under Mosaic law, capital punishment for murder continued and even broadened. The basic principle was "life for life", "eye for eye," "tooth for tooth" (Exodus 21:25). Besides murder, the death penalty was used for such crimes as adultery (Lev. 20:10), and even for a stubborn and rebellious son (Deut. 21:18). The stubborn son and adultery is the height of disrespect for the feelings and convictions of those we live with and around. Life is to be respected. Some Christians believe the death penalty is not for today. Capital punishment was given to a moral government (Israel) under God's direct leadership. The problem with this view is that Israel was anything but a moral people. Because America is not morally responsible, we do not know how to properly execute the death penalty. We might ask then who was Romans 13 addressed to. Paul says this is the nature of the law, whether morally responsible or not.

Some Objections to Capital Punishment

A number of objections to capital punishment have been offered by those who oppose it. Three of them are worthy of comment from a Biblical standpoint.

1. The case of Cain. Capital punishment was not God's intention from the beginning. When Cain slew his brother, Abel, God intervened on Cain's behalf. God forbade anyone to slay Cain in return. "If anyone slays Cain," God said, "vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold (Gen. 4:15). God set a mark on Cain for his own protection to warn those who would seek to slay him to avenge the blood of Abel.

2 Jesus and the adulterous woman. Did not Jesus show His disdain for capital punishment by refusing to apply the Old Testament death sentence to the woman taken in adultery? Jesus said to her, "Go and sin no more" (John 8:11). Moses commanded the death penalty for adulterers; Jesus forgave them. Is it not then, more Christian to do away with capital punishment and exercise forgiving love?

3. The cross of Christ and forgiving grace. The cross and God's forgiving grace is in itself an argument against capital punishment. God does not desire to punish men, least of all with capital punishment. Rather, God desires to pardon men through Christ. All our crimes were nailed to His cross (Eph. 2:15,16). Christ's sacrifice redeems from the curse (penalty) of the law (Gal. 3:13).

The Christian and Capital Punishment (For)

1. The case of Cain only proves capital punishment by Cain's fear that someone would slay him. This was Cain's own natural expectation, "whoever finds me will slay me" (Gen. 4:14). It was justice, not injustice, that Cain feared. First, God Himself said, "The voice of thy brother's blood cries unto me from the ground" (Gen. 4:10). Crying for what? For justice. One naturally anticipates the loss of his own life as a consequence of taking another life. Second, God's answer to Cain implies capital punishment. "If anyone slays Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold." This no doubt means capital punishment would be used on anyone who kills Cain to seven generations. God Himself commuted the death sentence on Cain. There was no one to carry out the sentence. Surely God would not call upon his father to execute his only remaining son. Cain's case is the "exception" which proves the rule. From the beginning, God's intentions were that capital crimes should receive capital sentences.

2. Jesus and the adulterous woman. There is nothing in this passage against capital punishment. Jesus never claimed to have broken Moses' Law (Matt. 5:17). Moses' Law commanded the death penalty only if there were two or more eye witnesses (Num. 35:30). None claimed to be eye witnesses who pressed the charge of adultery. After they left, Jesus asked, "Woman, where are thine accusers? Has no man condemned you?" She said, "No man, Lord" (John 8:10-11). On the basis of no witnesses, the case was dismissed, "Neither do I condemn you." The woman had been given due process of the law. Under the Law of Moses, the judge has no power to condemn a person to death without two or more witnesses.

3. The cross of Christ and forgiving grace. This objection to capital punishment is built on a misunderstanding of grace. Forgiving a sin does not automatically rescind the results of sin. A drunk who confesses his sin has no right to expect God to take away his hangover. The grace of God takes care of the penalty of sin, but not always the immediate consequences. "Be not deceived. God is not mocked, for whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap" (Gal. 6:7). This appies to the Christian. The thief on the cross was saved, but not from the death penalty which he himself said he deserved for the crimes he had committed (Luke 23:41). "Truly I say to you, today you shall be with me in Paradise" (Luke 23:43).

When the Corinthians abused the Lord's Supper, God visited them with sickness and even death (I Cor. 11:30). The New Testament does not void God's moral law in the Old Testament. Even under grace, it is still wrong to lie, to steal, to commit adultery, and to murder. If these acts are still sin, then there are still consequences for doing any one of them. If then God's moral law has not changed, then the consequences for breaking them has not changed.

One final point should be made in response to the alleged inhumanity of capital punishment. Contrary to what some would have us believe, capital punishment implies the highest regard for human life. Man is of great value because he was made in the image of God. That is why it is a sin of great consequence to kill him (Gen. 9:6). The worth of the individual is so great that the highest penalty is attached to those who would take the life of even one man.