Tag: Hindus

Pretty Cool to Design Your Own Religion

“My religion is a religion of love and my god is a god of love”.

Response: You seem to describe a “designer religion” – the notion that each of us can fashion our own god or gods to suit our wishes and desires.  We thus create god in our own image.  Here are some clues about choosing (or designing) our own gods:

  • Did your god create the heavens and earth, or did it all just happen by itself? 

Some religions, like Hinduism, are based on evolution.  And yet there are 10,000 scientists in this country who see evolution as an unproven theory, with stronger evidence for creation than evolution.  An example is the fossil record, within which the missing links are still missing.  (By the way, both creation scientists and evolutions embrace micro-evolution, such as changes in moths or birds.  It is on macro-evolution – the notion that a whale can evolve to a bear – where they disagree.)  There is even an emerging Intelligent Design movement of scientists who have abandoned evolution because the evidence of intelligence in design is too compelling to ignore.

  • Where do you want to end up after this life on earth?  

Every religion has a distinctly different ending for life.  So you might consider the following:

  • “Good” Moslem men go to paradise with 73 virgins and “bad” Moslem men go to hell;
  • Hindus believe that the end their life on earth leads to being reincarnated as a person, animal, or perhaps a mosquito, and (hopefully) eventually escaping reincarnation to become one with the All;
  • Mormons – get their own planet if they are good Mormons;
  • Atheists – turn into a pile of ashes and are buried or blown away by the wind;
  • Christians – go to heaven to be with the Lord; those who reject Christ and His offer of eternal life spend eternity in Hades; and    
  • Universalism – everyone gets to go to heaven, whether they want to or not.

NOTE:  These different perspectives raise these provocative questions:  

  • Are they all true?   (Is it even possible for all of them to be true?)
  • On what basis do you assume that we get to select the ending we want (paradise with virgins, have our own planet, one with the all, go to heaven to be with the Lord, etc.)? 
  • Are there clues as to which of these is most likely to be the truth?
  • Have you considered the evidence for Christianity: 
  • The Bible:  Written by 40 authors with widely differing occupations from 3 continents over 1,500 years, the Bible tells an integrated story that is woven together in a progressive story of human life, with God’s involvement over the centuries.  This unity is evidence of a common author (the Holy Spirit), who inspired and guided the writing of the books of the Bible, in contrast to other religions.
  • Fulfilled prophecy – Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection fulfilled dozens of prophecies, the odds of which happening by chance are truly astronomical.
  • The Flood – Over 130 cultures have stories / myths in their history that they are descendants of a family who was saved in a boat from a world-wide flood.  This is best explained by the story of Noah – that he really did build an ark, the Bible story is true, and these stories/myths are exactly what we would expect.  This is in contrast to evolution, which claims that a fish can turn into a bear if we just wait long enough.
  • Vast archaeological evidence that testifies to the historicity of the Old and New Testaments, rather than being merely an inspiring book authored by a charismatic religious or cult leader.  There have even been expeditions that have found Noah’s Ark, and brought back physical evidence of the ark’s existence. 
  • Evidence Consistent With Rules of Evidence – From a legal perspective, what does the evidence tell us?  Simon Greenleaf was the nation’s greatest legal scholar on rules of evidence, with his work known as the standard for rules of evidence, even by the U.S. Supreme Court.  A person of Jewish descent, Greenleaf was challenged by his students to examine the evidence for whether or not Jesus Christ was indeed the savior of mankind, or a great imposter.  He accepted the challenge, and after much study, became a Christian, compelled by the evidence before him.
  • Coming Back From the Dead – Evidence comes from many different sources.  Dr. Maurice Rawlings was a non-Christian cardiologist who lost many patients.  As his medical skills improved, he was able to bring many of them back from the dead.  About half of them did not want to come back, as they were experiencing great bliss.  About half of them were absolutely terrified that they were to die again and once experience hell.

A Personal Relationship with the Sovereign, Living God of the Universe

Christianity is unique in that it offers the opportunity for a personal relationship with the sovereign, living God, unlike other religions.  The sovereign, living God of the universe created us in His image, with the capacity and yearning to know Him and walk in His ways.  The Word of God reveals that He knows each of us, that He created each of us with unique gifts and talents, and that we have a purpose in our lives.  Furthermore, we will never experience true joy and peace (that transcends circumstances) unless we discover and live to carry out that purpose.  Have you discovered your purpose or mission in your life?

The central question for designer religions:  Anyone can develop a philosophy or religion – a conceptual framework for life and what happens after we die. 

  • But what is the source of their knowledge? 
  • Did they receive some revelation from the sovereign, living God about life and death (the only true authority about life and death), or did they just make it up? 
  • If you take a little from this religion and a little from that religion, to create a new (synthetic) religion, is it valid? 
  • Does your explanation for your eternal destiny explain what will really happen when you die?  The stakes are very high, as eternity is a very long time. 

Does God Reveal Himself Through All Religions

“God reveals Himself through all religions.”

Response:

* If God reveals Himself through all religions:

  • He would not have condemned the pagan religions in the Old Testament.
  • He would not have condemned the religion of the Pharisees and Sadducees (Talmudic Judaism) in the New Testament.
  • He would not have claimed exclusivity:  “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’”  John 14:6

The sovereign, living God of the universe reveals Himself through nature, the created world, through His Word, and through His Holy Spirit today as it works in the hearts of Christians.  He reveals that He is a God of love, of holiness, of justice, and of mercy.  He invites us to a close walk with Him on earth and for eternity, but we must accept His invitation, and not be drawn away to other pursuits and other gods.

* Christ distinguished between believers and non-believers:

  • “Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, ‘First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’  Matthew 13:30
  • “He who is not with Me is against Me…” Matthew 12:30a
  • “Only those who enter the narrow gate shall be saved: And He went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. Then one said to Him, “Lord, are there few who are saved?”  And He said to them, ‘Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.

When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know you, where you are from,’ then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’ But He will say, ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’” Luke 13:22-28

* All religions have different requirements, and their adherents do not end up in the same place:

  • Christians believe we must accept Christ as Lord and Savior, then we go to heaven.
  • Muslims believe they go to Paradise, with each man having 73 virgins; the only guaranteed way to reach heaven is by dying in Jihad.
  • Mormon men believe if they are good Mormons (good works), they get their own planet, where they and their wife/wives procreate endlessly, creating spirit-babies that are then born on earth.
  • Buddhists believe they enter Nirvana, or nothingness, by becoming empty of self.
  • Hindus believe that if they are good, after a few reincarnations, they will escape reincarnation and become one with the Atman (the all), like a drop of water that falls in to the ocean.
  • Secular humanists (declared to be a religion by the U.S. Supreme Court) believe when you die, it is all over – you cease to exist, like a bug that gets squashed (no requirements, but no hope).
  • Because several of these directly contradict each other, these do not appear to be different manifestations of the same God, but descriptions of different gods.

* What is the evidence for Christianity above other religions?

In the book “The Math of Christ”, author Stephen M. Bauer calculates the likelihood that 40 Old Testament prophecies that were fulfilled by Christ would have happened by chance.  The odds that they happened by chance were one chance in 1 x 10 to the 136th power.  To gain some perspective on that number, if you covered the whole earth – land and sea, with silver dollars, one of which was red, and asked a blind guy name George to go out and pick out the red one, the chances of George being successful are one chance in 1 x 10 to the 17th power.

* What difference does it make?

“I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ.  But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.  As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.”          Galatians 1:6-9