If Jesus Christ is the only true way to know God, why are there so many other religions?
What is sin and why is sin completely intolerable?
How much fun can heaven be if everyone in heaven must be perfect all the time?
Won't there be a lot of good people who will not go to heaven because they do not believe in Jesus?
Why is believing in Jesus so important?
If God is good and loving, why is there evil and deception in the world?
Why doesn't God just stop all suffering on Earth?
If Jesus Christ is the only true way to know God, why are there so many other religions?
It is correct to say that there are many forms of religion in the world. This is because all of mankind currently lives inside a closed box and though he can move about within this box, he cannot see what lies outside. Throughout his history, man has had a desire to know the reality outside of the box which he cannot see. Out of that desire came many of the world's past and current religious beliefs and systems.
But in reality there are only two types of religion. The first type is "human achievement". In other words, man is able to attain an unknown God through his or her own effort or even imagination. These religions generally have their roots in human tradition and their core beliefs have often changed as the cultures around them have changed.
For example, Hinduism (not to pick on any particular religion) has evolved through the centuries and currently Hinduism has literally millions of gods, out of which each practitioner can select one.
Siddharta Gautama, dissatisfied with traditional Hinduism, sought a solution to the problem of suffering. After observing man and trying several different approaches, he came up with the Noble Eight-fold Path. Buddhism teaches that by following the Eight-fold Path, a follower can reach nirvana, or the end to all suffering.
The Egyptians worshipped Ra-Amun, or the sun-god, as their chief god. Their idea of the afterlife started off as a similar but better version of this world. Gradually, the idea of the afterlife went through many changes and evolved into a dangerous journey through the afterworld where the deceased would encounter many difficulties. To help the deceased with their journey outside of the box, they buried with the deceased a copy of The Book of the Dead which was a papyrus roll containing various incantations and spells.
Atheists just worship the box itself.
The other type of religion is simply the Creator taking the initiative to intervene on earth because he knows that man is helpless on his own. Very early in the history of mankind, all of man had a knowledge of the true God. Even fragments of records from ancient China and other civilizations show knowledge of a Creator similar to the Father which had once flooded the earth to cleanse it because evil was rampant. However, people eventually decided to turn away from their Creator and follow their own desires. And the Creator let them turn away. Soon the knowledge of their true Creator was lost. Left with the same questions but no longer the answers, they began to fashion their own ideas of the world outside of the box.
God knew that if he wanted to save mankind, he would have to personally come into the box. So to prepare the people for his coming, he established a chosen people. The chosen people were to foreshadow and prepare the earth for his personal visitation. Through the chosen people, God would make visible his power to the other nations. They were also to serve as a nation of priests, personally displaying the character of God on earth. They did a rather poor job at this, making many mistakes and sometimes behaving even worse than their neighboring countries with no knowledge of God. Nevertheless, the Deliverer was to come through these chosen people, and God would personally become the high-priest for the entire earth Himself.
At the predetermined point in space and time, Jesus (Yeshua) Christ (Anointed) was born onto the Earth. He became a living and physical example of God's love on Earth and many people who willingly abandoned their selfish lives and simply followed Jesus Christ would be given the privilege to be called sons of God.
Since the day God called Abram 5,000 years ago and changed his name
to Abraham "the father of many nations," to the day Jesus called Simon
the fisherman 2,000 years ago and changed his name to Peter "on this Rock
I will build my Church," until today, God's message to mankind has never
changed. Cultures, religions, languages, and nations have changed, even come
and gone, but the truth contained in the Old Testament scriptures and the
New Testament fulfillment of the scriptures have not changed or "evolved"
in the smallest detail.
Haven't there been many wars fought and people killed in the name of Christianity and other religions?
True, but also remember that vastly more people throughout history have
been killed because of simple selfish ambition than due to all of the worlds
religions put together.
What is sin and why is sin completely intolerable?
What amount of cancer would be tolerable in your own body or the body
of a loved one? God makes it clear that the effect of sin on a society
is very similar to the effect of cancer on the human body. A cancer
cell will consume and multiply without little regard for its original purpose,
for the life of its host, or for the life of the cells around it.
A single sin or selfish act will divide and spread until the entire society
is polluted and self-seeking. Eventually, the society will either
die on its own, or have its misery ended by God.
How much fun can heaven be if everyone in heaven must be perfect all the time?
How much fun is it to unjustly hurt your fellow man? Or to be
hurt or even killed yourself? People in heaven will not wish to seek
temporary pleasure or gain by causing hurt to themselves or their friends.
And this is in addition to the greatly increased knowledge, abilities,
responsibilities, travel, and freedoms you will have in heaven, and throughout
creation itself.
Aren't a lot of rules which God has laid out for us in the Bible outdated in light of our modern society?
Please remember that many times, people find a particular act fun or interesting largely because it pushes the limits of what was previously allowed, not because the act itself is always that fun or interesting in itself. There are also things which people consider "fun" in the short term that result in harmful consequences in the longer term in larger circles. When one can witness the full consequences of ones actions upon oneself and others, not only in the immediate term but in the long term as well, this kind of fascination begins to lose its attractiveness.
For example, many people do not know why God forbids sex before the marriage covenant. God originally intended marriage as a bond of stability where children can be raised in a sharing and committed environment where the security of the partnership between the mother and father is never in question. However, if couples freely have sex either with each other or with other people before they marry, the marriage bond becomes weaker. Where there is lack of commitment, selfishness creeps in. Each person focuses more on meeting his or her own needs and less on meeting the needs of the marriage. Their children will sense this insecurity, even if the couple is still together, and they will carry this insecurity into the next generation. To make matters worse, this generation which did not previously see much strength in their parent's marriage commitment to begin with, will tend to enter their own relationships with more of a self-seeking attitude than the previous generation. And so on.
It is hard for many people to see that the rules which God has set for
individuals and society were given by God to ensure the long-term survival
of his creation, which is highly beloved. Often God does not go into
detail with his creation to explain the why and how of each guideline.
Nevertheless, every person and society who steadfastly follows God instead
of their various impulses or desires always will look around at some point
and be glad for the path they have chosen.
Won't there be a lot of good people who will not go to heaven because they do not believe in Jesus?
It depends on what is meant by "good". The word "good" is very broad and can convey many different meanings depending on the listener. Let us be more specific:
Will there be a lot of highly-respected people who will not go to heaven because they do not believe in Jesus Christ? Yes...
Will there be a lot of friendly people who will not go to heaven because they do not believe in Jesus Christ? Yes...
Will there be a lot of hard-working people who will not go to heaven because they do not believe in Jesus Christ? Yes...
Will there be a lot of religious leaders who will not go to heaven because they do not believe in Jesus Christ? Yes...
Will there be a lot of talented people who will not go to heaven because they do not believe in Jesus Christ? Yes...
Will there be a lot of physically attractive people who will not go to heaven because they do not believe in Jesus Christ? Yes...
Will there be a lot of moral and law-abiding people who will not go to heaven because they do not believe in Jesus Christ? Yes...
Will there be a lot of highly intelligent people who will not go to heaven because they do not believe in Jesus Christ? Yes...
Will there be a lot of people who have made significant contributions to society which will not go to heaven because they do not believe in Jesus Christ? Yes....goodness is more than being a productive member of society.
Will there be a lot of people who have performed many selfless acts
in their lifetime which will not go to heaven because they do not believe
in Jesus Christ? Yes....goodness is more than just giving oneself
selflessly to any cause.
Why is believing in Jesus so important?
Imagine if you had a trusted Son with whom you shared a most deep and personal relationship. This Son was the same as you in every essence: ability, power, character, God. There is a planet where the residents are suffering from wars, fear, hatred, deception, confusion and death because they had chosen to turn away from your protection many years ago. Most people on the planet do not respect truth. You have seen this because they often mistreat and even kill those whom truly represent you, but gladly accept many who come with their own opinions. However, you still care deeply for the people. You send your trusted Son to go down to the suffering people to personally teach them your character: mercy, love, righteousness, willing humility, willing obedience, truth, and faith. Things that they may not want but need to ultimately survive.
Upon the planet, your Son showed the people how much you love them,
and backed up his words with miraculous acts of healing for the sick and
the poor. He also taught them how to truly love one another selflessly.
Instead of welcoming him and learning from him, the leaders among the people
chose to abuse him and slander him instead, because of their pride and
because he did not fit their preconceived notions of what a God ought to
be like. He came in gentleness, he never lied, and he spoke to people directly
and compassionately. He became angry when your name was being defamed,
but he was never once vengeful or manipulative when he personally was mocked
or mistreated. He began to reach the hearts of the people and soon
his jealous accusers started to premeditate his death. After your
Son had been teaching for three and a half years, the leaders among the
people were overjoyed when they were finally given the opportunity to publicly
humiliate him and then crucify him like a criminal. Assuredly he
had the right and ability to defend himself even as he was being beaten
and executed, since he had all the power of being God. But instead,
your Son the high-priest pleaded that you would spare his Roman executioners
because they did not realize what they were doing. He selflessly
obeyed your plan of redemption for humanity out of love, in spite of his
own suffering and pain. After he was killed by the people, you physically
returned his body to life and lifted him up in the sight of men. You told
the people of this little planet that THIS is now the gold standard of
righteousness. There will be no other example given to follow.
Anyone who hears of this once and only sacrifice and then rejects Father's
trusted Son can not possibly know the Father's own character and his own
heart.
We can not see the full extent of God's love now, but the first letter to the Corinthians probably says it best:
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.
When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13: 4-13
If God is good and loving, why is there evil and deception in the world?
God's true purpose for this planet is to bring out of it trusted sons and daughters after his own heart, to represent God on Earth and then to help him in heaven and throughout creation. This is no fairy tale, mankind has no greater purpose than this.
Suppose you were a wealthy landowner, with not only a nice house but also with a thriving business which supported the livelihood of many loyal employees.
You had a most responsible employee whom you worked closely with and you made him a foreman in charge of the other employees. You gave him many tools for him to do his job most effectively and after a while he began to consider himself better than his fellow employees because of the great abilities and trust which you gave him. Gradually, his pride grew until he not only considered himself better than his fellow employees, he felt that he could run your business better than you could. This employee began stir up dissention among your other employees. Although you could have terminated this employee immediately, you decided to let him continue to see who would freely choose to stay loyal to you and who would choose to follow this employee. Despite the fact that you cared deeply for your employees and always treated them fairly, one third of your staff decided to follow this employee in his bid for power. When they finally openly rebelled and began to actively interfere with your business, you kicked them out of your estate and they were forced to live in the wilderness. In his humiliation, your employee resented you greatly, and from that point on you became the greatest enemy in his heart.
You also had many children whom you loved deeply. They were to be heirs to your everything estate, including your residence and your business. You watched over them as your children matured and soon they reached the age where they were responsible enough to make choices for themselves. However, you gave them strict orders not to wander into the wilderness, because if they disobeyed you, they would leave your protection and eventually become sick and die, spiritually and physically. However, your shrewd and now bitter ex-employee who is in the wilderness called out to your heirs with lies and some of them chose to enter the wilderness in spite of your warning. As soon as they left the presense of your love and experienced the wilderness, their hearts became changed and adopted selfish tendencies.
Soon the heirs had children of their own in the wilderness, and their children had children. Because of their blindness and lack of love, their children began to fight, kill, extort, and starve one another. You felt compassion for your heirs and all their children lost in the wilderness. You longed to bring them all back into your estate to become heirs again, but they had to be willing to be cleaned first. Your enemy siezed this opportunity and began to spread all sorts of lies and disinformation about your character, attemping to cut off their remaining loyalty towards you. Because of their selfishness, many of them tended to believe the well-crafted lies of your enemy. Some even became hateful towards you personally because of their suffering, while they continued to mistreat each other. Whenever you came in and tried to correct their waywardness with punishment, they cursed you for adding to their suffering. When you came to them gently, in mercy and love, they scoffed at you for being weak and inpotent.
But each one who was willing to reject the slander and lies of the enemy
and come to you earnestly asking for the truth, you taught them and gradually
changed their heart. They became your beloved ambassadors to the
lost children of the wilderness and you used them to help and teach those
around them. When their work was finished, you gladly gave the them
the right to become full heirs to your entire estate, most trusted sons
and daughters tested through fire, hardship, and suffering.
Why doesn't God just stop all suffering on Earth?
God states clearly that he does not take pleasure in anyone's suffering, no matter if they are guilty or innocent. This planet unfortunately has turned away from the complete protection of God a long time ago. Sadly, as man we often add to this burden and hasten our own departure through hatred and cruelty. As God has so eloquently stated though the genealogy* in Genesis chapter 5:
Man
(is) appointed
mortal
sorrow.
(But) the Blessed God
shall come down
teaching.
His death shall bring
the despairing
rest.
For those who love God, our suffering strengthens our character and purifies our hearts and our motives, and the strength of our character gives us confidence.
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us.
1 John 4: 18-19
* The meaning of the old Hebrew names from Adam through Noah spells
out the fascinating passage above, clearly anticipating the coming of Messiah.
(Adam = "Man", Seth = "appointed", Enosh = "mortal",
Kenan = "sorrow", Mahalelel = "the blessed God", Jared
= "shall come down/descend", Enoch = "teaching",
Methuselah = "His death brings", Lamech = "the despairing",
Noah = "rest")
Thank you for visiting this FAQ page. The purpose of this page is to hopefully help increase understanding about the character of God, especially as we near the end of this age. This page will be updated periodically as new questions and topics are added. Also, possible future topics include:
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