Co-exist?

“To claim that all religions are basically the same, therefore, is not to deny the differences between a Buddhist who believes in no god, a Jew who believes in one God, and a Hindu who believes in many gods. It is to deny that those differences matter, however. From this perspective, whether God has a body (yes, say Mormons; no, say Muslims) or whether human beings have souls (yes, say Hindus; no, say Buddhists) is of no account because, as Hindu teacher Swami Sivananda writes, ‘The fundamentals or essentials of all religions are the same. There is difference only in the nonessentials.’ This is a lovely sentiment but it is untrue, disrespectful, and dangerous.”

So says Stephen Prothero, a religion professor at Boston University, who wrote this in a Boston Globe newspaper article recently. The article is adapted from his new book, God is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World—and Why Their Differences Matter.

Above is a picture that is pretty similar to many bumper stickers I see in the Racine area. Coexist. It sounds so unifying. So enlightened. So tolerant and progressive.

How many times haven’t you heard someone say something to the effect, “We are all on the same path”? Or, “All religions are striving for the same thing”? Or, “All religions are basically alike”?

This view resounds in the echo chamber of popular culture, not least on the “Oprah Winfrey Show” and in Elizabeth Gilbert’s bestseller, “Eat Pray Love,” where the world’s religions are described as rivers emptying into the ocean of God. Karen Armstrong, author of “A History of God,” has made a career out of emphasizing the commonalities of religion while eliding their differences. Even the Dalai Lama, who should know better, has gotten into the act, claiming that “all major religious traditions carry basically the same message.”

I understand what people are doing when they say things like this. They do not want to exclude anybody. They know Christianity calls for a narrow path of following Jesus Christ. Jesus taught: "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. (Matthew 7:13-14)

The Bible says that the road to eternal life is only through Jesus. That means that all those who do not believe in Jesus as their Savior are on the road that leads to destruction – hell. Many people, sadly, even Christians, don’t want to accept this. That’s why they make up their false claims to soothe their conscience that there are many paths to eternal life.

Of course, those who claim that the world’s religions are different paths up the same mountain do not deny the undeniable fact that they differ in some particulars. Obviously, Christians do not go on pilgrimage to Mecca, and Muslims do not practice baptism. Religious paths do diverge in dogma, rites, and institutions. To claim that all religions are basically the same, therefore, is not to deny the differences between a Buddhist who believes in no god, a Jew who believes in one God, and a Hindu who believes in many gods. It is to deny that those differences matter, however.

Differences do matter. Infant Baptism, the Real Presence in the Lord’s Supper, Jesus Christ paying for all sins are all essential teachings in the Bible, yet many Christian denominations do not accept them. That is why Christian denominations are so fragmented – and have been for centuries. God’s teachings – all of them – matter.

Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.” (John 8:31)

If dogma matters and separates Christian denominations, don’t you think that dogma matters and separates all religions?

Actually, to believe that all religions are essentially the same may seem like a lovely sentiment, but it is untrue, disrespectful and dangerous.
The gods of Hinduism are not the same as the orishas of Yoruba religion or the immortals of Daoism. To pretend that they are is to refuse to take seriously the beliefs and practices of ordinary religious folk who for centuries have had no problem distinguishing the Nicene Creed of Christianity from the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism or from the Shahadah of Islam.

This lumping of the world’s religions into one mega-religion is not just false and condescending, it is also a threat. How can we make sense of the ongoing conflict in Kashmir if we pretend that Hinduism and Islam are one and the same? Or of the impasse in the Middle East, if we pretend that there are no fundamental disagreements between Judaism, Christianity, and Islam?

We are all different. We should understand and appreciate the differences between our Christian brother, our Mormon neighbor, our Muslim co-worker, and our Hindu doctor. We respect their beliefs, but that doesn’t mean that we have to accept their beliefs as equal, valid and correct. We know what we believe. We know what the Bible teaches. We accept Jesus alone as the Rock of our salvation.

We may exist in a world of other religions, but we do not “co-exist.” We are not all equal. There are only two main religions in the world: 1. Christianity which says we are saved through Jesus Christ; 2. Everything else.

The differences do matter. And they will matter for an eternity.