What is Your Religious System?

In light of recent comments made by our president, I felt it necessary to bring out a few important things about religious viewpoints. This article is not intended to bash President Obama, but rather to use some of his speeches as an example to highlight the different views of religion.

Have you ever thought about what you believe? Have you ever wondered if what you believe is right? If it were wrong would you want to know it? There are several different belief systems out there. After reading this article, you will see that all of them cannot be right. The basic tenets of each religious system of thought will naturally exclude other systems.

What exactly do we mean by “religious systems of thought”? What is a religious system? There are several major designations for these religious systems. When we refer to them, we are not speaking simply of what religious belief a person holds to (i.e. Christian, Hindu, Muslim, Jew, etc.). We are rather referring to how these other religious systems can be viewed within our own framework. One of the most popular religious systems is found in Christianity itself and that is the system of Exclusivism. Exclusivists hold to the view that there is absolute truth and to believe in anything else is to believe in a lie. Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man comes to the Father, but by me.”We should note that not all Christians hold to an Exclusivist position. For example, Catholic doctrine teaches a belief in Purgatory where the impenitent will have an opportunity to atone for their less severe sins. They also teach that there is some value in other religious systems. Whether you belief this or not is for another article, but the point here is simply that Exclusivists believes that their beliefs point the way to the truth and any other way is false. On the flip side, Inclusivism believes that all people will be saved. This does not mean that they believe that every religion is correct, but they believe all men will ultimately end up in heaven. This is most akin to Mormon teachings on heaven and “outer darkness.” Pluralists believe that God is at the top of a mountain and the world’s religions are paths that lead up different sides of that mountain. They believe that everyone worships the same God in their own way. However, can this be true? Is Allah the same as Yahweh? Is the God Christians worship the same as the god (herself) that Shirley MacLain worships? Certainly not! Universalists believe that we can glean understanding from all of the world’s religions and all religions are valid as long as they uphold these universal principles. In a Universalist church service, you will find the pastor reading from the Koran, the Bible, and the New York times. He will ignore the contradictions because for him they don’t matter. We are simply trying to find the good in everything.

Why take the time to even care about these systems? The answer is simple. Right is right and wrong is wrong (what system is that?). Every one of us really holds to an exclusivist position. Take for example your bank account. Don’t you want to have an absolute standard for knowing exactly how much money is in there? Don’t you want to know for sure what the direction of a particular city is when you are traveling? Don’t you want the doctor to know for sure whether you have cancer or not? Of course we do! It is only when it comes to God’s truth that we begin to blur the lines to suit our fancy. As mentioned above, Jesus claimed to be the only way to the Father. That means all other bets are off. Islam claims to be the only way to Allah. These both cannot be true. We then must resort to which one has proven itself to be faithful and true. The Bible has been tested and tried and been found to be trustworthy. It lauds a Savior who has risen from the grave. What greater authority does He need? The Koran and every other religion have fallen short. Their texts of scripture do not hold water compared to the Bible and their religious leaders are still in the grave. Which one will you choose? The choice is of eternal importance!