All religions are basically the same.
Wow, that is a big oversimplification! I suppose you could also say that all people are basically the same. If by this you mean they are born, die, and breath, then yes, we are all the same. But if you look deeper some are young others old, some are tall others short. There are also big differences in gender, race, language, experience, culture, and education.
We can’t even say that all religions are a way to worship God because some have many gods, others no god. For example, Pantheism which has been reborn in modern culture by the popular Star Wars movies. But can Luke really “Use the force” or is there another entity eager to use and deceive you? Read May the Force Bewitch You and Star Wars Worldview.
Pantheism teaches that the universe is god (pan means all, theism means god). Some think that if we develop a spiritual oneness with nature this will lead to greater reverence for all of life. Not really. In Buddism, the word nirvana means “to become extinguished”. In Hinduism, your own personal identity is called maya, an illusion. Not only is the individual self devalued, but the divine is non-personal, not a deity who thinks, feels, wills, and acts.
While Naturalism claims that everything consists of matter, Pantheism claims that everything is spirit. Both systems are non-personal and devalue the personal dimension of human nature. Pantheism (including Buddhism, Hinduism, and New Age) is a self-defeating belief because it involves a person (the pantheist) claiming that individual finite selves (such as the pantheist) are not real. It is self-refuting to say, “I believe that I am not an individual.” The assertion that evil is an illusion is meaningless, since pain that is felt is real. Pantheism is unable to distinguish good from evil since all is one.
Deism is also a self-defeating position because it admits the miracle of a deity creating our universe from nothing, but denies that this deity intervenes in that creation in any miraculous way. Atheism insists that the evil in our world proves there is no God, but without a God there is no concept of evil.
Islam, while monotheistic like Christianity, is in some ways closer to pantheism. Wouldn’t such a deity be missing key elements of personhood? Only within a relationship can God express love, intimacy, and communication. Such a deity, if personal, would have been incomplete and alone before creating. As C.S. Lewis writes in Mere Christianity, “Love is something that one person has for another person. If God was a single person, then before the world was made, He was not love.”
We don’t often think of contemporary political movements as religions but consider Nazism and Communism. Nazi doctrine was organized around the idol of race. A person’s race determined their views, character, and even worth. Communist ideology was organized around the idol of economic class. These false “religions” led to great destruction and millions of people dying. Such idol-based ideologies are invariably dehumanizing, and if given enough power lead to repression, war, and violence. A lower view of God always results in a lower view of the value, status, and dignity of the human person.
Please don’t confuse yourself by believing this lie that all religions are the same, they aren’t. Each has its own view of reality. How do you account for the origin of life, diversity, meaning, and morality?
“I believe in God in my own way” (Syncretism)
Have you ever heard this? Or maybe you yourself have said it. You believe in God, but you combine beliefs and values that are really part of different religions, belief systems, or worldviews. This approach has the obvious danger of self-deception, putting your trust in a set of beliefs that you have adopted from various places, that may not even be logically compatible. That’s OK if you are just fixing a salad, but if you want to live out of that foundation you really owe it to yourself to examine those beliefs, along with their ramifications and implications.
Don’t invent your own belief system. Don’t just follow the crowd. What do you believe to be true about life? How do you support that? Are you willing to change your views? Don’t live an unexamined life. Do your research and write it down. What are the implications for your life?
Personal Reality: Belong to a lonely dream world
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Beautiful Answers to 5 Questions Muslims Ask
Often people from an Islamic background or culture have very similar questions or objections when they consider Jesus and Christianity. We will help to address those questions with reasonable answers. Our goal is not to debate or criticize other beliefs but to provide useful information to help you in your …