Month: January 2020

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Do All Religions Come From the Same God?

This week, we’re dealing with a very specific question, so keep reading before drawing any conclusions. We’re not asking “Do all religions worship the same God?” or “Do all religions lead to the same God?”. Those questions work from the bottom-up, i.e. viewing God through the lens of a man-made construct. Remember, we want to base our ideas and beliefs on who we say God is rather than trying to conform our conception of God into something that aligns with what we already believe to be true. We’re asking a top-down question, i.e. has God used religion, in general, as a way of revealing the character of God to humanity and guiding all of us to the same ultimate purpose or goal?

Here’s what we know:

  1. The Baháʼí Faith is a religion teaching the essential worth of all religions, and the unity and equality of all people. Many indigenous people throughout the Americas are members of the Baháʼí Faith.
    • Baháʼí teachings are in some ways similar to other monotheistic faiths: God is considered single and all-powerful. However, Baháʼu’lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, taught that religion is orderly and progressively revealed by one God through Manifestations of God who are the founders of major world religions throughout history; these include Abraham, Krishna, Zoroaster, and Moses, with Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammad being the most recent in the period before the Báb and Baháʼu’lláh.
    • Baháʼís regard the major religions as fundamentally unified in purpose, though varied in social practices and interpretations. Baháʼu’lláh taught that the religions of the world come from the same God and are in essence successive chapters of one religion from God.
  2. In 1997, Billy Graham gave a television interview, in which he said: “Well, Christianity and being a true believer–you know, I think there’s the Body of Christ. This comes from all the Christian groups around the world, outside the Christian groups. I think everybody that loves Christ, or knows Christ, whether they’re conscious of it or not, they’re members of the Body of Christ. And I don’t think that we’re going to see a great sweeping revival, that will turn the whole world to Christ at any time. I think James answered that, the Apostle James in the first council in Jerusalem, when he said that God’s purpose for this age is to call out a people for His name. And that’s what God is doing today, He’s calling people out of the world for His name, whether they come from the Muslim world, or the Buddhist world, or the Christian world or the non-believing world, they are members of the Body of Christ because they’ve been called by God. They may not even know the name of Jesus but they know in their hearts that they need something that they don’t have, and they turn to the only light that they have, and I think that they are saved, and that they’re going to be with us in heaven.”
  3. In Acts 10:34,35, the Apostle Peter said, “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.”
  4. In Romans 2:11-14, the Apostle Paul said, “For God shows no partiality. For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law.”

The answer to this question bears heavily on the idea that members of any particular faith should be encouraged, or even required, to convert others. This is especially true in places where there is an established state religion or attempts at establishing a state religion and exercise of other religions is discouraged and/or suppressed. Further, it requires us to examine the meaning of life and why we are all here. If God is the creator, what purpose does God have for our existence and how does religion further that purpose? Is there only one religious avenue by which to fulfill that purpose, and is our ability or dedication to following that one avenue God’s ultimate goal and priority for us? Or is purpose the priority, with religion and spirituality being provided as tools to enable us to fulfill that purpose?

What do you think? Do all religions come from God? Is religion a means to an end, or is it the priority? Let us know what you think in the comments below!

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The Golden Rule: Can Religions Work Together?

“I’d been reading up on comparative religion. The thing is that all major religions have the Golden Rule in Common. ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.’ Not always the same words but the same meaning.”

— Norman Rockwell

The concept of the “Golden Rule” is taught in all major world religions. It is a statement, in summary, of the basic requirements for all human behavior. While the sentiment may be expressed in different ways, the message is the same: treat others the way you would want to be treated. The concept may seem simple enough, but oftentimes, it appears to be easier said than done. Although the Golden Rule is a fundamental obligation in all religions, as Blaise Pascal put it, “[m]en never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.” This week, we’ll be thinking about whether or not truly adopting the Golden Rule can allow people from different religious backgrounds and beliefs to work together to make the world a better place.

Studies have shown that religion can have a positive influence on many aspects of society, and throughout human history, nations have made religion a part of their governmental systems. For example, Judaism teaches that when God established Israel as a nation, He gave them a theocracy to help govern them. Currently, 20% of the countries in the world have an established state religion. However, in almost all of the countries where state religions exist, a variety of abuses and atrocities have taken place. Religion has been used to control people rather than to serve them.

That said, it is important to consider how and why something born of pure intentions becomes corrupted. How do we go from the Golden Rule to religion being used as justification for hurting and/or controlling people? Perhaps it is because of some combination of humans being imperfect, ignorance, and self-serving interests that religion can be turned into a curse rather than a blessing. Perhaps it relates back to a person’s perception of God being based more on condemnation and judgment than love. Perhaps religion is seen by many as a means to an end rather than a journey of growth and enlightenment. It’s important for us to ask ourselves what, if anything, we want to accomplish by believing and to assess how that agenda impacts us and the world around us.

If the Golden Rule is fundamental for everyone, is it so impossible that we could find a way to co-exist peacefully in purpose, even if not in belief? If nations or different ideologies wanted to become allies against anything that violated the Golden Rule…the Rule of Love…is it so impossible that they could do it as “equal-but-different” partners? Instead of pushing conformity to one thing over the other, is it possible to learn to accept and respect the fact that there will always be differences? Different people may be pursuing or encouraging different final goals, but why can’t the Golden Rule be the metric by which we gauge how we interact with each other right now? Couldn’t it be possible for everyone to encourage each other to achieve the best that their different traditions require of them while working together to oppose the negative things we can agree on?

The “fish-run principle”, which Zen Buddhists derive from Chuang-Tzu, states: “A fish-run is constructed to catch fish: we should keep the fish and forget the run. A snare is to catch a rabbit: we should keep the rabbit and forget the snare. Words are to transmit meaning: we should keep the meaning and forget the words.” We may not all speak the same languages or come from the same cultures or believe in the same things, but it isn’t impossible for different people to find common ground. If we can agree on things like compassion, love, respect, humility, empathy, and just treating others the way we want to be treated, who knows what kind of impact that collective mission and purpose could have.

What do you think? Is the Golden Rule fundamental? Is it possible for people from different religious backgrounds to work together? What areas of common ground do you think exist? Let us know what you think in the comments below!

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Does Humanity Need a Messiah?

In exploring Western Christianity’s teaching of original sin and the impact sin has on the human condition, a question that needed to be considered was: do other religions teach the need for a savior? While most religious groups outside of Western Christianity do not teach that humanity needs to be saved from inherent sinfulness, many groups do teach the existence of a “Messiah” figure that saves humanity from the effect sin has had on the world. A Messiah is “the promised deliverer of the Jewish nation prophesied in the Hebrew Bible” or “a leader or savior of a particular group or cause.” All three Abrahamic religious groups, amongst others, believe in a Messiah.

Here’s what we know:

  1. In Jewish eschatology, the term mashiach, or “Messiah”, refers specifically to a future Jewish king from the Davidic line, who is expected to save the Jewish nation, and will be anointed with holy anointing oil and rule the Jewish people during the Messianic Age. Orthodox views hold that the Messiah will be descended from his father through the line of King David, and will gather the Jews back into the Land of Israel, usher in an era of peace, build the Third Temple, re-institute the Sanhedrin, and so on.
  2. While the term “messiah” does appear in Islam, the meaning is different from that found in Christianity and Judaism. The Quran identifies Jesus (Isa) as the messiah (Masih), who will one day return to earth. Jesus is believed to have been anointed by Allah at birth with the specific task of being a prophet and king. The Mahdi will appear and unite all Muslims, ridding the world of evil. After the death of Mahdi, Jesus will reign as the Messianic king, bringing eternal peace and monotheism to the world and eliminating all religions besides Islam. Unlike Christians, Muslims see Jesus as a prophet, but not as God himself or the son of God. Like all other prophets, Jesus is an ordinary man, who receives revelations from God. The Quran also denies the crucifixion of Jesus, claiming that he was neither killed nor crucified
  3. Within Christianity, Jesus is believed to be the Messiah, based on the Christian interpretation of the Hebrew Scriptures. Christians believe that messianic prophecies were fulfilled in the mission, death, and resurrection of Jesus and that he will return to fulfill the rest of the messianic prophecies. When he returns to earth, he will destroy all evil and establish eternal peace on earth through his Messianic religion. The majority of historical and mainline Christian theologies consider Jesus to be the Son of God and God the Son, a concept of the Messiah fundamentally different from the Jewish and Islamic concepts.
  4. See also Buddhism (Maitreya), Java (Satrio Piningit), Taoism (Li Hong), and Hinduism (Kalki)

Some may find it interesting that while only the concept of original sin necessitates salvation from sin itself, most world religions still teach of a messiah figure who comes and makes the world better in one way or another. Another point to consider is that every “Messiah” is coming for the benefit of those who believe in that particular religion/conception of God. There is no universal “Messiah” who comes for the benefit of everyone.

What do you think? Does humanity need a Messiah rather than a savior? Are the concepts of “Messiah” and “savior” more or less the same? Has the Messiah already come, or are we still waiting? If he has come, will he return…and when? Let us know what you think in the comments below!