Three More Popular World Religions...

Last time we looked at three of the world's most popular religions. Each had in common one key theme: people determine ultimate moral truth.

You, like me, might wonder: Suppose they're wrong? People are wrong about all sorts of things all the time. People frequently can't agree with each other, so they come to different conclusions. What if they're wrong about eternity? And, if people don't determine ultimate moral truth, then who, or what, does?

The three major religions we're about to discuss all agree that these humanistic philosophies are wrong. Moral truth, they argue, can only come from a supreme being. Let's take a quick look at these religions. They are: Islam, Judaism, and Christianity.

Islam teaches that after death your destination is either Paradise, or Hell. Allah is the name of their god. The only guaranteed way to Paradise is martyrdom. Everyone else must work their way into Paradise by complying with a series of rules known as Pillars.

Judaism is based on the teachings of the Jewish Bible (known as the Old Testament to Christians). The Old Testament teaches that there are two eternal destinations: Heaven, or Hell. To enter Heaven, you must have faith in God, named Yahweh, and follow His Laws. Failure to follow His law requires sacrificial atonement for that sin.

Christians believe that Jesus Christ is the God of the Old Testament Bible, who became human and lived among us. They believe that the New Testament, together with the Old, is the true and accurate Word of God (Yahweh) and that this one God is also three distinct persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. As with Jews, they believe in only two eternal destinations: Heaven or Hell. However, they believe that the only way to enter Heaven is to repent (turn from your sinful ways) and place all of your faith in the atoning work of Jesus Christ.

As with other faiths, there are cultural Muslims (another name for those who follow Islam), cultural Jews, and cultural Christians. By 'cultural' I mean people who loosely follow the religion but have no firm conviction or belief. Some can even be classified as agnostic or atheist, even though they attend church functions and self-identify with one of these religions.

If you spend any amount of time learning about Islam, Judaism, and Christianity, you'll quickly realize that their beliefs in eternity, and how to enter Heaven (or Paradise) are each unique. If truth is knowable (and it is), and if truth is unchanging (it is) then only one can be correct.

Is there a God? If so, which of these religions, if any, follows the truth about this Him? Is God even a "Him"?

We'll explore these questions, and more, next time.