The Apologetics Advertisement for Christianity
By Nathaniel Ashcroft
The Pyramid
Recently, some have started to wear the labels of as many religions as they choose; Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu; all at the same time. More commonly, some choose one religion to follow, and assert that, even in their belief of a specific religion, it’s not any more correct than any of the others; all theists make it to some form of “heaven”.
When I say ‘pyramid of religions’, I am referring to the idea that some hold in which every religion is a way to God. This is illustrated by a pyramid, with God at the peak, and every religion to ever be practiced lining the bottom. This demonstrates the belief that, in heaven, there will be Buddhists, Muslims, Christians, and any other practitioners of religion all together, because they all were ultimately following the same God in different ways, as demonstrated by the pyramid shape. The idea insinuates that no one religion is exclusive, or more accurately, God is not exclusive. The reason this view is ultimately false lies in the meaning and idea of truth itself. We live in the post-modern era, in which the idea of relative truth has begun to take hold. Relative truth (in the post-modern meaning of the word) is the idea that nothing is factually true, and no one can claim a belief to be objectively true and binding.
I’m going to clarify what I mean by these three words before I continue: truth, objective, and subjective. By ‘truth’ I mean facts, I mean absolute truth, I mean yes or no. By ‘objective’, I mean true, no matter what anyone says, no matter any opinion, I mean true because it’s true. By ‘subjective’ I mean a belief that is opinionated, and may or may not be true in reality.
Now that we have established these terms, let’s go back to the pyramid of religions. Truth is objective, not subjective. Truth is true whether anyone believes it or not. So if my opinion is that I am swimming in the Atlantic ocean at this very moment, that doesn’t change the fact that I am sitting down revising this section of my book. To apply this to God, God is either real, or He is not; my opinion will not change the conclusion. If God exists in reality, and I believe that He does not, my opinion does not have the power to change the truth of God’s existence. To then apply this to the pyramid, Christianity is either true, or it is not, Islam is either true, or it is not, and so on. They cannot all be perfectly true at the same time in light of their contradictory beliefs. If God has revealed Himself through Jesus in the way Christians believe, then Islam is not the religion God revealed Himself in. The only way the pyramid is even partially true is if God has only revealed Himself through the creation of the world. As Christians we call this general revelation.
The pyramid still isn’t fully true even if God has only revealed Himself through general revelation, because then this pyramid idea that all theists will ultimately end up in the same place after death assumes that God still offers an afterlife to sinners even without explicitly telling them about it or how to get into it; that God accepts every single way humanity attempts to reach Him. If God has only revealed Himself through creating our universe, then no one will reach heaven; we will all be judged and punished. A God who does not reveal who He is to His created creatures is a God who does not care about His creation or regards them as sinful and not worthy of redemption. This goes back to my previous section on the true religion being centered on grace. God would be unjust to allow everyone into paradise, with their sin unatoned.
Christianity contradicts every other religion in its essential doctrine. Across all expressions of theism, there are similarities (mostly in the ideas of their moral teaching, as all of us have an innate sense for morality), but besides that they are far removed from each other. Even one clear contradiction would render them incompatible, as God cannot disagree with Himself. Perfection entails a lack of need for change. If I claim to have the perfect car, but then I change and add to it over and over again, the car I said was perfect was clearly not, or else I would never have changed it. Jesus either is God or He isn’t. Jesus is either just a prophet or He isn’t. He cannot be both. Truth is objective. The Bible records Jesus claiming to be
“the way and the truth and the life” (NIV John 14:6).
which is an exclusive claim. If it’s true, then He isn’t anything other than God in the Christian sense, and He is the only way to salvation. Jesus cannot be both fully God and not God at all; those are contradictory. I cannot be both 6 feet tall and 5 feet tall at the same time; those are contradictory. Although, this does not negate that Jesus can be both fully man and fully God; I can be both 6 feet tall and have a shoe size of 12. That is because these are different aspects which can both be true at the same time. This topic of the incarnation of Christ is incredibly dense; the short defense I just gave is limited and not the focus of this section.
Truth is discovered. I discover that I am a male. I discover that trees are alive. I discover that God is real. My intuition and opinions can only point me towards what is already factually true; I cannot change truth by an opinion. Of course, this does not mean that I cannot change the current state of affairs in a given place and make something that was not previously true to be true. Factually, I am seated right now. Let’s say my opinion is that I am actually standing. If I stand up, then that opinion is validated. But the opinion did not change the truth, a change in the state of my body changed the truth of that situation. With a truth such as God, I cannot change this state of affairs in any action of my own. If God is objectively true, then I cannot change the fact. If God is objectively false, then I cannot change that fact. Certainly, my opinions cannot change such a truth. So, the truth about God is a truth also that must be discovered. If I discover the Muslim god to be the true god, then logically I should follow that god, having discovered this truth. Since I have found the Christian God to be the True God, the only logical decision is to follow Him. I should never base my world view in life on what makes me comfortable, but on what is actually true and applies to my life. I do not want to ride a
“gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts” (Lewis 73)
into hell and eternal obliteration. I don’t want comfort if it keeps me from the truth. If you were deathly sick, and a single medication existed that would cure your disease, you would not want a fake medication that did not cure you. Of course you would desire the medication that truly cures your sickness. The reason all medications don’t lead to health is because they just don’t all cure this disease you have. Simple as that. It would be awesome if they all did, that idea could be quite comforting, but it’s just not true. In the same way, the reason all religions don’t lead to heaven is because they are simply not all viable ways to salvation. They don’t all cure.
Jesus is really the lynchpin when considering Christianity. As Christians, we claim Jesus is the only way to heaven and God incarnate, which is an exclusive claim that includes all people who profess faith in Christ. So, if we Christians are correct in our belief about Jesus, all the other beliefs about Him are incorrect, and those who do not trust in His name will not be saved. The truth that is claimed by Christians is an objective truth claim, and if true, no one’s opinion can change it. If God has legitimately revealed Himself in any one religion, then the rest are all false. If Jesus really is God incarnate who humbled Himself to the likeness of a man, then the divine teaching He put forth is actually true, the prophecy that He acknowledged and fulfilled is true, and the teaching of the apostles as recognized within scripture and taught by them is true.
The Bible makes exclusive truth claims: it claims to be God breathed, it only acknowledges the Trinity as God, and it claims that all other ‘gods’ are mere idols, made by human hands. Religion is not blind belief, but pursuit of the Truth. There is no reason they could all be true at the same time… that disrespects the idea of religion and those who follow it.
Have you heard the gospel? If not, click here.
View next week’s section to learn why the Bible is trustworthy.
Works Cited
NIV Quest Study Bible. Zondervan, 2011.
Lewis, C.S. The Screwtape Letters. Annotated edition, HarperOne, 2013.