Why is it that many people believe that all roads lead to God?
1. There are so many religions
It is said that there are over 20,000 different religions, sects and cults. The idea that out of 20,000 plus religions only one is right is hard to believe. However the fact is that the test may be multiple choice, but that does not mean it has multiple answers. The question in a maths test may be 2+2. There may be 20,000 multi-choice answers but there is only one that is correct.
2. The belief that all religions are basically the same
Many religions do have some things in common. Most believe that there is a higher power, some sort of existence after life and a need for spiritual enlightenment. However they contradict each other in crucial areas for example.
How many gods are there?
Hinduism: believes there are more than 300 million gods
Islam: one god
Buddhism: No god “Man is born alone, lives alone, dies alone, and it is he alone who can blaze the way which leads to Nirvana. There is no god or saviour to help man from the problem of life. Man must save himself.”
Who is Jesus?
Christians believe Jesus is God
Muslims believe Jesus was a prophet but not God
What is right and wrong?
Christians says there is truth & error, right & wrong
New Age says there are no absolutes, everything is relative
The differences are not trivial or minor, they are significant. They differ in what they believe about the nature of God, the identity of Jesus and how we enter into a relationship with God.
Logically all religions can’t lead to God.
All religions can not be equally true when they all contradict each other.
Opposing contradictions cannot be both true.
If all religions contradict each other we are left with only two logical choices;
Either they are all wrong, or one is right. Either they are all false, or one is true.
If they are all wrong, that's basically saying there is no God, yet surveys suggest that 95.5% of the worlds population believe in some sort of God.
3. Sincerity is what matters
The third reason people believe there are many roads to God is the feeling that what really matters is sincerity. It’s not what a person believes, it is how they believe. Are they sincere?
It is one thing to value sincerity, it is another to make sincerity the characteristic of spiritual truth. How you believe is important but so does what you believe.
You may be sincere in your belief - but you may be sincerely wrong
4. No religious group should think they are better than any other
Some people are offended by religious groups that think their religion is better than any other religion. They believe it is intolerant and narrow-minded to claim one right or one wrong.
If a child at school writes 32 as the answer to the equation 2+2, is it intolerant & narrow minded of the teacher to correct them?
If you went to the doctor and after examining you he said “You have a malignant tumour spreading through yoiur body. I think I know how to cure it, but it seems so arrogant of me to choose one method over another, so I think it is best for me to say nothing at all.”
If there is just one way to God is it intolerant & narrow-minded to show everyone that way?
5. People don’t believe in truth
The definition of truth corresponds between our ideas & perceptions and reality. I make a statement “it is raining”. It is true if I look outside and it is raining.
The belief that there is more than one way to God is really a belief that truth does not exist or more to the point it doesn’t matter. What is right for you is right for you, what is right for me is right for me.
Yet no where else in life is that true. If you live in Palmerston North and want to drive to Napier you get on to the state highway and if you stay on that road you will get to Napier. All roads do not lead to Napier.
There is not a single area in life where you can make any choice you want from many options and still achieve the same result or experience.
How is it that an idea that fails when applied anywhere else in life is somehow true when it comes to the spiritual realm?
Jesus did make an outrageous claim
In the bible Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except by me." (John 14:6)
He did not say “I am a way”
or “I know the way”
But “I am the way.” Not only the way but the only way
This is the idea that marks the Christian faith.
In the Bible Peter speaking about Jesus said “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:10,12)
What He is saying is if there are 20,000 religions in the world 19,999 are wrong.
That is an outrageous claim.
It may be an outrageous claim but don’t simply dismiss it because there are so many other religions. There are many religions to choose from and they differ greatly. Choosing where to place your spiritual trust is neither intolerant nor narrow-minded. Truth exists and it matters what you believe. If all roads do not lead to God then it is incredible important for you to choose the right road.