So, You Want a One-World Religion?

A candid look at how all gods are not the same.

Earlier this year, Pope Francis called for all of humanity to unite around a one-world religion. Francis believes that the “pluralism and diversity” of religions is God’s will. His call is for Christian, Muslim, and Jewish leaders to denounce their doctrinal differences and embrace their similarities as a way to fight “climate change” and global conflicts.

On the surface, this argument seems valid. Maybe we focus on the points we agree upon instead of debating our differences. However, further inspection of this movement reveals a much darker agenda. Is Transhumanism—the idea that human beings can eliminate the aging process and live forever—the “new” religion being propagated by the global elites? You can read more here.

Names Matter

That’s a topic for a different day. For now, I want to address the question, "Are all gods the same?” You may have heard people say that we all serve the same God. It really doesn’t matter what you call him.

Umm . . . yes, it does.

Picture this scenario: A woman walks in the door after work and greets her husband. Only, she calls him by the wrong name. When he objects to this, her response is, “Oh, honey, you should not be bothered by the fact that I called you by my ex-husband’s name. You’re basically the same person to me.”

I think that might kill the relationship! What do you think?

This is how many people view God, not as someone with whom they want a deep, personal relationship, but as a sugar daddy in the sky who should give them whatever they ask for, even though they don’t treat Him with the respect He requires and deserves. This is why many people become disillusioned with God when they don’t get out of the relationship what they want, even though they are unwilling to commit.

Whenever I hear someone talk about how all gods are the same, it is a clear indication that they haven’t researched the gods of any religion. Jesus Christ is the only one of the bunch whose existence can be verified from history. Many historians concluded that there is more secular (apart from the Bible) evidence to prove that Jesus lived and walked the earth than there is to prove that Napoleon existed.

On the other hand, we know that Allah was seen only in visions by the Prophet Muhammad, and Siddhartha Gautama (later known as Buddha) never claimed to be anything but a man. Jesus not only claimed to be God but proved it when He healed hundreds of people, raised some from the dead, and then rose again after being tortured and dying a slow, painful death. No one else has ever claimed to be both God and man, let alone demonstrated it.

Do you realize that the Bible is the only sacred book that was divinely written and preserved? The Bible was written over a period of three thousand years by forty different authors from three different continents and using three different languages. It is the only book with no known discrepancies with history, archeology, astronomy, or any other area of science.

This is vastly different than what we know about the Qur'an. We know that the Qur’an was written over a period of twenty-three years. The Qur'an is only meant to be understood in classic Arabic, even though 80% of the Muslim population doesn't know Arabic. Furthermore, the prophet Muhammad was the only person to whom Allah ever appeared.

The fact that the narratives in the Bible have been collaborated by many individuals on different continents, using different languages, and over thousands of years is truly amazing. Documents, known now as the Dead Sea Scrolls, were discovered between 1947 and 1956 in eleven different caves on the shore of the Dead Sea in Israel. These documents date back to over two thousand years ago!

You can think about calling God anything you want, but He’s made it very clear who He is and what is His name. Throughout history, there have been many other gods competing for top-dog status. This is why the authors in the Bible talk about the name of the LORD.

Psalm 148:13 says, “Let them praise the name of the Lord,
    for his name alone is exalted;
    his splendor is above the earth and the heavens.”

The Creator of the Universe was very careful to make His name known to all.

To take it a step further, God describes himself as “a jealous God” in Exodus 20. God doesn’t want to share you with anyone else, including your ex-husband or wife (smile).

The Wrap-Up

The short answer to “Are all religions the same?” is no; HELL no. Jesus is the only way to spend eternity with God in heaven. There are no shortcuts, “no passing Go, no collecting $200.”

Everyone claims they know God, but only the @RealGod promises us a personal relationship with the Creator of the Universe and the opportunity to spend eternity with Him in Heaven.

It’s my observation that most people feel that they deserve to go to Heaven and so invent their own theology that will land them there without observing the guidelines of any religion. It’s the à la carte approach to salvation—take the viewpoints from the Bible you like and leave the rest behind. As difficult as it is for us to accept, according to the Bible, not everyone will enter heaven.

Saying that all gods are the same offends the only real God. This will leave you god-less in the same way that calling your spouse by the wrong name will leave you single.

For heaven’s sake…it doesn't matter what you believe; it only matters what is true.

“You must not have any other god but me… You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods.”
Exodus 20: 3, 5

Thanks for reading today! Remember that life and short, and eternity is long, so pursue the truth before it’s too late.

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For more information on this topic, please check out “Would God Really Send Someone to Hell?” Available on Amazon.