How many mountains?

Here's a question. “It is apparent that I wholeheartedly believe in Christianity but what about the people in the eastern countries they wholeheartedly believe in their religions as well. Isn’t it arrogance to say that I am right and they aren’t? Does it really matter what you believe as long as you are sincere about it? “

Will all the religions in their various forms (Jesus, Mohamed, buddha and co.) get you to heaven?

I would say no they won’t. Let us examine this.

Many young Muslim men are very sincere and wholeheartedly believe that strapping explosives to themselves and detonating them in public areas is the will of Allah in their lives.

They are wholehearted about their beliefs… so does it matter? Well most Muslim clerics and most of the rest of the world would say it does matter and that these sincere young men are wrong to be suicide bombers. Let me stress that the majority of Muslim clerics say that suicide bombing is against the teaching of Islam.

Just because you are wholehearted and are convinced what you believe is to be true does not make it so. I could say and believe this chair is a pig but this does not mean I will have roast pork for dinner tonight. Blowing up the infidel will not get you to Paradise.

It is possible to be sincerely and wholeheartedly wrong about something so where does that leave the major religions of the world?

Well one of the teachings of the Hindu's is that all religions have the truth in them and that they are all just different paths up the same mountain. Each separate religion heads towards eternity but takes a different method to get there.

So lets us look at the major religions of the world.

For starters one obviously noticeable thing is that there seem to be three different mountains.

Hinduism and Buddhism has it’s afterlife as a continual cycle of re-incarnation leading to Nirvana with an impersonal God which is the universe. In eternity you will have no self – no individuality you will be one with the universe in the same way that a drop of water falling in the ocean is one with the ocean.

Confusism and Shintoism the afterlife is one of spirits interacting with humans and an impersonal god or gods if a deity exists at all. Your strength in the afterlife is dependant on your descendants.

Finally Judaism, Islam and Christianity each individual has but one life and then resurrection to eternity with it's creator or separation from the God for eternity. Resurrection is where you have a body that is a combination of physical and spiritual. In 1 Corinthians the resurrected body is compared to this body as a plant is compared to it’s seed.

The Deities are also very different amongst them all as well. Hinduism, and Shintoism all have many gods with one or more main gods. Confusism and Buddism all began with the founders saying there are no gods and yet centuries later their followers have deified them.

Hinduism is the only religion to say that all religions lead to heaven all others say that theirs is the only way and that all others are wrong. Especially with Shintoism where you have to be born Japanese.

Another noticeable thing is that in all religions bar one the method to obtain the afterlife goal it is one in which the human must work. The human must climb the mountain, be pure, sacrifice, do good works and not do bad deeds to get to their reward. But Christianity is different. Ephesians 2: 8 and 9 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast”.

Salvation is the Gift of God.

God came down to the cross and there is no mountain to climb. Any good works or non evil-doing is a response of the love and gratitude we have for what God has done.

If a house cat has fleas, the cat can not apply the flea powder to itself. All it can do is allow the owner to apply the treatment and be grateful. (as much as cats can be grateful) It is a gift of love from the owner. This is like Jesus’s gift to us.

In the eastern religions the founders all stated they were not divine however in the following centuries the followers have venerated them to the point of worship and have named them as Avatars of Brahman and so forth.
Jesus however stated his divinity and his immediate followers also proclaimed that as well.

John 14: 1-10 When Jesus said I am the truth the way and the life and no man come to the father except by me was He lying? Was He a lunatic or was He Lord.
John 10 28-33 Jesus Said – “I and the Father are one” and so the Jews went to stone him for blasphemy calling himself God.

The Jews holy name for God translates as “I am who I am” At one point Jesus said Before Abraham was I am. The Jews were so incensed by his words they attempted to throw him from a cliff due to his "blasphemy".

The tombs of all other founders are enshrined and worship occurs there - the tomb of Jesus is empty - the people who could have stolen his body would not have wanted to and the people who would have wanted to could not have done it. There is more logic behind it but the historical fact is that Jesus Christ was resurrected from the dead, He performed the miracles proving he was who He said he was and He said He was God. And if Jesus i.e. God incarnate says that he is the only way then I will believe Him.

Now however this leaves us with the question of how we should treat people of other religions.

Jesus gives us two very good examples. He loves and gave miracles for Romans and Samaritans – people who did not follow Yahweh. Yet he had compassion on them, He taught them the truth. He praised them for when they did have faith in him but did not berate them for when they did not.

Paul when he went to Athens was talking at a meeting of the intellectuals of the day called the Aeropogus. Paul congratulated them on the devotion to their religions and then explained to them the truth of Jesus – but without ridiculing their beliefs.

In the same light we are called to share the truth in a loving and respectful way – choosing the appropriate times and not arrogantly trying to humiliate their “foolishness”

We to can also learn from them. The Muslims have a great devotion to prayer, the Buddhists have self-control and many have morality that we can aspire to.

We do these thing not because they will earn our way to heaven but because are grateful for the gift of eternity given to us.