Tag: critical thinking

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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!

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Is There Only One “Right” Way to Live?

This is probably one of the most important questions we will consider. This question may seem pretty straightforward, but it’s extremely important for us to avoid drawing a quick conclusion. Why? Because whatever answer you land on will be the basis for how you view and relate to people who live and believe differently from you.

Here’s what we know:

  1.  “Absolute truth” is whatever is always valid, regardless of parameters or context. Those parameters include things like time, culture, religion, nationality, etc. The word absolute in the term suggests that absolute truth must have or be: a quality of truth that cannot be exceeded; complete truth; unvarying and permanent truth. Absolute truths cannot have exceptions and must be valid for everyone at all times, no matter what.
  2. If there is only one “right” way to live, the phrase only one suggests that way of living is absolute, meaning it must always be valid for everyone at all times, no matter what.
  3. Some (not all) religions/denominations of religions teach that their ideology is the only way to be saved and/or the only way of life that is acceptable to God. For example, Catholicism teaches that “outside the Church there is no salvation,” first stated by Pope Innocent III in 1215. Another example is Islam, which teaches that “[t[ruly the religion with Allah is Islam” (3:19) “[a]nd whoever seeks a religion other than Islam it will never be accepted of him…” (3:85).
  4. Philosophers have debated what is known as moral relativism, i.e. that “moral judgments are true or false only relative to some particular standpoint (for instance, that of a culture or a historical period) and that no standpoint is uniquely privileged over all others.” The Ancient Greeks first challenged accepted assumptions regarding morality in the 5th century B.C.E., and that challenge saw a resurgence in the late 1500s A.D. with the writings of Montaigne. In his book “On Custom”, Montaigne advances as a general thesis that “each man calls barbarism whatever is not his own practice; for indeed it seems we have no other test of truth and reason than the example and pattern of the opinions and customs of the country we live in” (Montaigne, p. 152).

That said, you may be wondering, “Does objective truth exist? And, if it does, how do I figure out what that ‘truth’ is?” There is no simple answer to those questions. In the Bible, John 14:6 states that Jesus said he was “the way and the truth and the life.” Taking that at face value for a second, if Jesus is truth AND Jesus is God or Godlike, could we draw the conclusion that the overarching message of that statement is that truth = God and/or God = truth? Mahatma Gandhi seemed to think so. He wrote, “My prayerful search gave me the revealing maxim Truth is God, instead of the usual one God is Truth. That maxim enables me to see God face to face as it were. I feel Him pervade every fibre of my being.” Harijan, 9-8-’42.

Gandhi’s perspective is interesting because it points back to one of our earlier discussions. Do you remember when we asked you who do you say God is? If “truth” and God go hand in hand, perhaps what we think about truth goes back to what we believe about God and who we say God is. Moral relativists generally don’t believe in God and thus, don’t believe in an objective standard or truth being set by God. On the other hand, truth absolutists believe in their conception of God 100%, thus they believe in what they consider to be God’s absolute truth 100% (as we saw above, this can be said for both Catholic and Islamic theology). However, if you believe in an infinite God, there’s also an argument to be made for truth also being infinite, which actually works with both truth absolutism and moral relativism because an infinite truth accounts for what we know (known absolutes), what we know we don’t know (unknown absolutes), and what we don’t know we don’t know (relativism).

As you have probably realized, we often find ourselves caught between two extremes. In this context, one extreme being that there is only one “correct” way to live and believe, and the other extreme being that there are no moral absolutes at all (which is also an absolute!). It can get pretty confusing, but the important thing to remember is that the only person you can ultimately control is…you. No matter what anyone else believes or how they believe people should live their lives, the best way for you to live and believe your truth is to just do it. Know what you believe, know why you believe it, and then do the best you can to live a life that is consistent with what you feel convicted of in your heart. You never know who’s watching, and showing how the life you live works for you is often more effective than just talking about it could ever be.

What do you think? Is there only one “right” way to live life? Is truth absolute or relative? Are there principles/lifestyle choices that you believe anyone can benefit from? Let us know in the comments below!