I. Comparative Religions & Cults

I. Introduction

Comparing Religions can be a “touchy” Issue

     Every person’s “worldview/philosophy/religion” is foundational to how they view the world, their place in it, and how they understand the meaning of life.  Religions/worldviews also tend to identify and provide the intellectual and spiritual foundations for social groups and civilizations.  Thus, our religious beliefs and worldviews are very important to how individuals and social groups see themselves and understand life, thus they are connected to emotions and convictions.  (This is why many avoid discussing religion & politics in family gatherings!)

     Question/attack the validity of someone’s belief system and you are shaking the foundation for how they understand life and its meaning – that can be very unsettling.  That doesn’t mean “don’t do it,” just remember that you are messing with the foundations of how people think and handle life – seekers already want to examine/change as needed, but many are currently comfortable and don’t want to change (in various degrees).

     An “examined” view of life (conclusions drawn after examining alternatives and evidence) is not as threatened by an assault or questions as an “un-examined” view (embraced by family or social tradition).  When threatened, those with an unexamined belief system are likely to quickly realize their insecurity and their expected response will be to get defensive and nervous (unprepared to defend their beliefs and afraid they might be wrong).  Unless willing to investigate, they will tend to want to silence the critic (persecution) or cut off discussion (avoidance).  This is why Paul advised Timothy on how to handle talking with outsiders – clean up your own life to aid your credibility and deal with people in a gentle manner,

Now flee from youthful lusts, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.  But refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce quarrels.  And the Lord's bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.  (2Timothy 2:22-26).

       Comparing Religions is Necessary - Understanding what various religions teach will allow us to: (a) better evaluate the truth claims of all religions and (2) be prepared to help others understand the options and why Biblical Christianity^[1] is valid and the best viewpoint.

Ways of Explaining the Many Religious Systems of Humanity

     Atheists believe that all religions are man-made deceptions, but there are reasons for rejecting that hypothesis.  At a more practical level, I would suggest that the logical alternatives for understanding world religions might be something like the following.

     (1) Historical-Geographical polytheism - One possibility is that there actually are many gods and goddesses that exist and have been worshipped in different times and areas.  Many competing deities are the reason for the many different names, concepts of deity, and doctrinal/ritual systems that have come and gone over the centuries.  Territorial polytheism asserts that different deities rule over different nations and geographical areas - wars between human nations are also “power-struggles” between different national deities (whoever wins has the better nation and stronger god).  According to this view, the supernatural realm is real and populated by numerous deities, creating a very confusing situation for humanity.  Every religion is valid in that each actually and correctly worships different real deities through different doctrines, rituals, priesthoods, and ceremonies.  Except for the Hebrew Bible, the ancient world tended to believe in many gods that had divided up and ruled different territories or areas of life.  I don’t believe this is the case, but it is a theoretical possibility.

     (2) Henotheism ‑ This is a form of monotheism (belief in one God) that asserts that all religions are actually worshipping the one true God, but call Him by different names because of their different languages.  To the degree that the conceptions of deity, doctrines, and ceremonies were identical, if the main difference between religions were the name of the deity, this might be a plausible explanation.  However, as we shall see shortly, the major differences (often clearly incompatible) between the nature and workings of deities, and the doctrines and ceremonies of various religions leads me to believe that this is NOT what is happening.

     (3) Judeo-Christian Monotheism - I believe that reality is best explained by the Judeo-Christian (Biblical) viewpoint.  The Bible teaches that the first people knew the true God (Genesis 4:3-4; 5:22-24; 6:8-9).  When sin entered, God promised to send a savior (Genesis 3) and began marking out a genealogical lineage through what became the Hebrew Patriarchs (Genesis 5; 11; 12:1-3; 26:1-4; 28:10-14; 49) from which this promised savior would emerge.  Over time humanity lived long lives and increased in number, but declined spiritually and morally and drifted away from that knowledge and human society became exceedingly wicked (Gen. 6:5) until God destroyed all but 8 people in a great flood (Genesis 7-9 - & common belief of ancient Middle Eastern civilizations).  After the Flood, human culture divided at Babel (Genesis 11:1-9, the last event to which all of the world’s people would have common traditional links) into many language groups that radiated outward from the Middle East and established different nations/culture/traditions (Acts 14:16).  As the Messianic genealogical lineage had narrowed to the Semitic family of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob/Israel and his 12 sons, God rescued the 12 tribes descended from Jacob/Israel from Egyptian bondage and made a national covenant with them at Mt. Sinai through Moses, then led them into the land of Canaan under Joshua (ca. 1446-1398 B.C.).  Fulfilling prophecies as to the time of His arrival, Jesus fulfilled these and offered an atoning sacrifice sufficient to cover the sins of all who will acknowledge Him to be the long-promised savior.

     Judeo-Christian Exclusiveness - If there is one true God, then you would expect Him to say so and be jealous of man-made counterfeit religions competing with His authorized system.  The God of the Judeo-Christian system consistently presents Himself as being the only God^[2] and He has revealed His will and nature through the Israelite patriarchs/prophets and covenants, then finally in Jesus.  Until Jesus arrived, God allowed other nations/culture groups outside of Judaism to go their own ways (Acts 14:15-16) and this means that non-Christian religions have several sources: (1) vague concepts passed on from early patriarchal monotheism that have been added to or changed over time, (2) humanly-inspired notions/traditions (Jeremiah 5:30-31; Mark 7:3-8; 1Peter 1:18) that have been added, and (3) ideas with a demonic origin (1Corinthians 10:20-21; 2Corinthians 11:13-15; 1Timothy 4:1).  The Biblical claim that YHWH is the only God and that salvation is only found in Jesus (John 14:6; Acts 4:12) is either very arrogant and elitist (if not true) or simply the way things really are (if true).

All Religions Can Not be “equally true”

     A popular notion promoted by advocates of the French Enlightenment’s materialistic/naturalistic evolutionary progress paradigm is that there is no supernatural realm and, thus, all religions are the inventions of priesthoods who either ignorantly believe the erroneous superstitious ideas they promote or deviously use religion to control and manipulate people.  The modern expression of this is called Multiculturalism and Pluralism - advocating that all religions are equally valid and deserving of time at the microphone.   Although these folks claim to be “tolerant” of all religions, it is common for them to reject Christianity for its exclusive truth-claims.^[3]  Actually, those promoting multiculturalism and pluralism don’t take any religious “truth-claims” seriously - “all religions are equally valid” is their way of saying that “all religions are equally fictitious” and don’t deserve any time at the microphone, but should be banned from public discussion.

     As I said earlier, my main reason for rejecting the notions that “all religions teach the same thing” or that “all religions worship the same God” is simple - they don’t teach the same thing and they are not worshipping the same God.  Consider the differences that exist,

     God or gods? - Some religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam) assert that there is one Divine, separate personal being, while others (Vedic Brahmanism, Greco-Roman paganism) assert that there are many gods and some (Satan in Genesis 3:4-5; Mormonism, Scientology, New Age) claim that humans can turn into gods.

     Creation or Monism? - Some religions assert that an eternal Creator made the separate and temporary physical universe, while some insist that there is only one reality in the universe and all of what exists is “God” (Vedic Brahmanism, New Age?)

     Salvation by faith or works? - Christianity asserts that people are saved by individual faith in what Jesus did on the cross, while some religions assert that humans “save themselves” by their own works to escape the “wheel of Reincarnation” (Brahmanism claims that humans can achieve Nirvana by proceeding upwardly thru the cycles of reincarnation with accumulating good karma; Buddhism asserts a path by which people can “break-free” of the reincarnation cycle; Jainism is atheistic with its own “path” to escaping reincarnation; Sikhism is a blend of Brahmanism & Islam.

     Human Equality or Inequality? - Some religions assert equality of all people groups before God, while others assert that they are a “special/superior people” (Judaism & Shinto)

     Human existence, reality or illusion? - Some religions assert that people are God’s image creatures (Judaism & Christianity), while others assert that human individuality is an illusion (Vedic Brahmanism)

     Evil, real or an illusion - Some religions assert that evil is real, while some assert that it is an illusion

     How many saved, some or all? - Some religions teach that all people will be saved (Universalism), while Christianity teaches that a relatively small percentage of humanity will be saved.

     Idolatry, allowed or wrong? - Some religions endorse idolatry/images of the deity, while others adamantly reject idolatry.

     Marriage - Is marriage to be monogamous (Judeo-Christian ideal), polygamous up to 4 wives if you can afford them (Islam), or un limited and commanded (Mormonism)?

     How could so many differences/contradictions come from “one God,” unless He was purposely trying to deceive and confuse humanity?  Such differences also reveal that the claim that “all religions teach the same thing” is either rooted in a fundamental ignorance about world religions or an intentional agenda of deception.  I guess you could say that “all religions teach the same thing” in the same way that black and white are not opposite colors, but merely different “shades of gray.”

According to the Evidence

     Original Monotheism (belief in one God) - Since the French Enlightenment, intellectuals have embraced the "evolutionary developmental" explanation for the origin of religion - that early man superstitiously worshipped dead souls ‑> then many spirits ‑> then gods ‑> and finally one God!  A considerable body of evidence suggests that monotheism was the original system and anthropologists, led by Wilhelm Schmidt of Vienna, have found that the religions of hundreds of isolated tribes throughout the world are not “primitive” in the sense of being original.  Instead, they all seem to have a memory of a “high God” who resembles the benign creator-father God of the Bible, yet is no longer worshipped or feared because He is so little known.^[4]

       The lofty, abstract notion of a universal "God" is found earlier than the historical evidence of polytheism.  Even the terms are ancient: the Persian "deva" and Slavic "baga/bogu" mean Lord; the Iranian and Indian "asura/ahura" for the Living One; the Semitics had "el/il" for King/God; and the early Central Americans had a word for "God."  Each of these terms represented something concrete ‑ a personal being upon which man felt dependent, but who was approachable.  The Sanskrit Dyaus pitar, Greek Zeus pater, Latin Jupiter/Diespiter, and Chinese Shang-Ti all express the idea of one great "heavenly God." 

     If there is any recognizable “trend” with respect to religious “development” in a given culture, it is to degenerate from monotheism into polytheism, animism and, finally, selfish and individualistic hedonism.  This was also described by the apostle Paul in Romans 1:18-32.  The evidence that has surfaced over the last century indicates that man does NOT tend to inherently develop "upwardly" in spiritual matters, but to degenerate into selfish/self-serving systems of myth,

it cannot be shown that there is a universal tendency on the part of polytheistic religions to gradually reduce the number of deities until finally arriving at one deity.  In some instances, in fact, such a religion may even add more deities as its adherents become aware of more and more natural phenomena to deify.^[5]

     Decline towards Polytheism - Where there are no "revealed" written scriptures and no prophets to apply God's truth, degeneration from monotheism into polytheism is the rule in religion, rather than upward development toward unity.  “Judeo-Christian” influences dominated the founding of the United States, but time has shown the disintegration of one dominant religion into a multitude of sects and philosophical viewpoints each vying for control and influence.  What is often missed today is that civilizations grow upon a commonly-held worldview and decline as individualism and confusion rise to prominence.  In America’s modern history, we are seeing monotheism degenerating into the “diversity” of multi-cultural polytheism, mysticism, ignorant fundamentalism, and atheism!

     Civilization Cycle – There seems to be a fairly predictable pattern by which civilizations rise and fall.  Civilizations on the rise usually have had strong religious beliefs, common goals, and a unified theology, often with a single main deity.  However, success and dominance tend to bring on a tendency towards materialism, secularism, selfish individualism, and division into special interests.  Accordingly, religious unity segments as individuals reject religion altogether or retool it to fit their own individual whims.  Religions tend to fragment into offering “something for everyone” over time, not unify!

     Arnold Toynbee identified 26 separate civilizations that moved through a similar set of stages as they developed, peaked, and declined.  Clear examples can be found in the histories of Israel, Greece, and Rome as they passed from theism to atheism/secularism, then barbarism, and, finally to new beginnings and spiritual renewal.  (1) Civilizations arise upon a theistic foundation, believing that there are supernatural realities, fixed moral boundaries, and ultimate accountability for one’s actions.  Within these spiritual and moral boundaries, there is a sense of corporate welfare – the nation and fixed larger truths are more important than individual feelings/whims.  (2) After the enemies are defeated and earthly security seems assured, then material affluence and spiritual ignorance begin to set in and men (wanting to be free of divine restrictions on their methods of gaining wealth and enjoying it) begin to justify their situation and desires by seeking to discredit "revealed religion" - its historic truth and fixed ethical boundaries.  With wealth/comfort, but no principles/values beyond "please self," the spiritual and intellectual marketplace becomes filled with countless philosophies and religions that are rejected by the educated, but tolerated for the sake of the “ignorant/superstitious.”  Religions cease to be matters of truth/reality/conviction and become “products” to be “marketed” for the spiritual “shoppers” looking for a religion that fits their lifestyle.  Of course, in such a climate the old traditional system which built the society is "laughed off" as outmoded and any philosophy hoping for mass acceptance must advocate the absolute, unlimited freedom of the individual to do whatever they want.  (3) Finally, as individualistic pleasure-seeking and materialism grow, commonly-held ethical systems disappear and the society becomes "crime-ridden" and barbaric.  As short-sighted politicians lure votes by appeasing a selfish populace rather than leading it, business people seek maximum income and minimal service and quality goods, and Individualism and special interest groups break up the spirit of group unity, then anarchy looms.  (4) Finally, impending anarchy will lead men to recognize the need for order and some kind of government will forcibly assert itself to regain social order (either from within or by external conquest), but the "thinkers" will once again pursue the search for more permanent  truth, and God will be "rediscovered"!

     Moses warned Israel of this danger before they entered Canaan (Deuteronomy 8) and you will, of course, recognize this same cycle recurring in America's history.  The Creator mentioned freely in the Declaration of Independence (1776) has since been ejected from the public education system (Supreme Court decisions in 1962-3) and has become increasingly unknown by a generation of young Americans who have turned to the gods popularized in the secular media: film/music/sports celebrities, financial security, the "weekend," and “my constitutional right" to do whatever I feel like, etc.  Since man is a spiritual being, as well as a physical one, he must have some kind of belief system to explain his existence.  So, when self-centered Americans look for a comfortable "spiritual" expression, we should not be surprised that it is always something which, in the final analysis says "do your own thing" (materialistic hedonism, New Age, Wicca, Satanism, Spectator Churchianity, etc.).