I had another interesting conversation the other day; this time with a 25 year old Christian just out of Bible college. What made this particular conversation so interesting was that it again reinforced a simple contradiction I have found in almost every religion: even though nearly EVERY religion has at its core the same tenets, intelligent and kind people can still believe that their religion is the ONE "true" religion.
While I can understand where this belief came from (religions have a vested interest in convincing their constituents that theirs is the one and only religion as lost members equate to lost power and revenue), what I cannot reconcile is the exclusivity paramount to most religions. You see, even though every religion can agree that a positive afterlife takes being a good, kind and loving person, very few (if any, truly) teach that this is possible unless you believe in THEIR god.
Strange that the only thing conflicting religions admit to agreeing upon is the policy of exclusivity.
During this conversation I was told that even though the majority of my actions were "Christ-like", I would not be allowed into heaven simply because I did not believe Christ is THE son of God. This held true even after Robert acknowledged that Christ never expected people to call themselves Christian (as this term didn't exist until after he died), all he ever asked was that people follow his example of what it meant to live a good life.
This contradiction has always struck me as strange. To believe that an all-knowing, all-loving God would purposefully deny any creation access to something positive simply because one detail of a religion is not specifically acknowledged? Since when did God come to resemble the mean girl in high school?
To gauge how deep his belief ran, I posed a hypothetical scenario to Robert: There is a Chinese man growing up in the rural northern part of China who is, by all accounts, a good man to his family, his friends and his community. This man happens to be a devout Buddhist.
I ask, "Is this man not going to heaven?".
As expected, Robert's answers were eerily similar to the ones I hear every time I pose this hypothetical situation to people of differing faiths, and they always astound me. As Robert understands it, if this man has ZERO access to any of the specific teachings of Christianity, he is given a pass (because he had no chance to deny their religion, their God accepts this man because he is good). But, should this man have a missionary come and preach "the word", if he chooses to believe in the religion he grew up with rather than the one a foreigner preached about in a language he didn't really understand, he is denied access.
I then expand the hypothetical by asking Robert what his reaction would be to a Buddhist monk coming into his bible classes and preaching that Christ was not THE son of God but rather simply A son of God. I asked him how long it would take before he renounced his faith of 25 years. Robert's answer was cut straight from the cloth of every devout follower, "Never. I believe (insert your God here) is the way." When pressed to explain why the Chinese man should miss out on heaven simply because he felt the same way as Robert himself did, I could see the wheels churning, but Robert's teaching showed through, "God will show himself to every person. It is up to them to choose to follow."
Isn't this what happens to EVERY person who chooses to follow a religion? Whether they hear some snippet of conversation, have a miraculous moment, or are searching and find an answer, doesn't everyone who chooses a religion do so because they feel a pull to God? If so, why then is any ONE religion THE religion? Doesn't it stand to reason that the God every individual is drawn to is the SAME god? Aren't we all simply Chinese Buddhists in different clothing?
Christ did not preach Christianity. Buddha did not teach Buddhism. What each taught was love.
Love thyself, love thy neighbor. Follow the path of good acts and kindness and you will become enlightened. It truly doesn't matter what name your God has, we are all a part of the same journey. If God is truly omnipotent, why would a being with that much power care WHO you pray to? Wouldn't they instead only care whether or not you show that you have heard the message?
