PART 2 of “OUR ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT GOD”

December 2, 2009

By Kevin M

We often hear people recite words to the effect of “I believe there are many paths to the same God.” Are you among them?

In the post-Christian era in which we now live, it’s become politically correct—even considered somehow socially responsible—to frame a discussion of the Creator in this manner. The presumption is that all faiths, all beliefs, what ever they may be, inevitably lead the believer to the One True God.

Some people hide in the apparent confusion of the many world faiths, hoping that truth can be had by staying somewhere in the middle of them all. But while this is a common practice in politics and social situations, is it the proper way to approach the God of the Universe?

Among the monotheistic faiths, consider that true Christianity holds that Jesus Christ is The Messiah, the human incarnation of God himself and the only path to salvation. But Judaism specifically rejects Jesus as The Messiah, and Islam considers him to be a prophet later overshadowed by an even greater emissary of God in the person of Muhammad. While we can (and must) live in peace with people of all faiths, the core beliefs of the worlds three major monotheistic faiths are mutually exclusive; one can’t believe in one without rejecting the others.

Apart from the dividing lines between the monotheistic faiths, Eastern religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, and others) don’t even hold to the belief in a single god, let alone his manifestation in Jesus.

Then there’s pantheism, the belief that “God is in all things, and all things are in God”. At some level this sounds logical, but we need to ask if the Holocaust or other tragedies were somehow “of God”. Does the same God to whom we ascribe love and mercy, also act as the force behind wanton evil and rampant destruction? The flaw in pantheism is that it essentially reduces God to meaninglessness by putting him in opposition to himself.

Finally, there’s the Personal God—the God we seek on our own terms. This is the God who fits neatly into our lifestyles, the God who doesn’t tick us off. We can discard any religious teaching that offends us, to bring it right down to our own comfort levels. A Religion of One, you might say, with us at the center.

What’s wrong with any of that?

The problem with all these assumptions is that none of them involve actually seeking the true God of the Universe, not nearly as much as they attempt to keep our options open. We can pray to “God” for deliverance from an affliction or crisis one day, then return to a completely secular and irreverent life the next. We can pray to the God of Israel in the morning, then practice Zen the rest of the day. In our own minds there’s no conflict. But if there is a God—and if there isn’t then to whom is it that we direct our prayers in those dark moments—the more relevant question centers on how he sees this arrangement.

In Part 1 of this series, But I Think God Is…, we established that if there is a God, then he has absolute power over us–if he has anything less then why even bother to pray? Would such a limited god be even remotely capable of answering our prayers? If we can pray for his help in a time of need, but ignore him at all other times, then what we’re really meaning when we say “God” is a genie in a lamp, or even Santa Claus—both are with us on an as-needed-only basis and are entirely the stuff of fantasy. Is that the God to whom we pray?

Consider this concept against the introductory language of the Ten Commandments:

“…for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand {generations} of those who love me and keep my commandments.”—Exodus 20:5-6 (NIV)

Now if God is real, and he said something this strong, it seems to me that he takes this “One God” policy thing pretty serious. And though I don’t profess to speak for God, I’m guessing that he takes our pronouncements like “many paths to the same God” in about the same way that we view flies at a picnic. Is it any wonder that at times it seems as if God IS angry, something that even those with the most indefinite views of faith find conceivable.

Like it or not, the Kingdom of God is NOT a democracy!

This gets to the heart of the entire “God discussion”—most people approach their beliefs in a manner consistent with a human political system, where we have choices on who to vote for, or what referendums to approve. Further, if we don’t like what our politicians do once in office, we can call and complain to them, get petitions going or even vote them out of office.

Is that how faith functions, like a democracy? God, subject to the whim of Man? Isn’t that a reversal of the order?

The idea of some sort of democratic Eternal Kingdom is strictly a concept in the human mind. A God with absolute power over us does not need to seek our approval or even our opinions. This is a difficult concept for us to grasp in our human weakness, but logically, it is the only rational conclusion.

Ultimately, it is God himself who determines what truth is and how it is that he wishes to be approached (what we would call faith or religion). We can consider as many ways to approach this as humanity can dream up, but only one of them is the right one, and this is the challenge to us all.

If we believe in God in any way, we need to pick ONE path and seek him. Hiding in confusion isn’t seeking God, it’s running away. Seeking a religion that doesn’t offend us, or one that “fits” neatly either with our personal lifestyles or with the prevailing ways of the world isn’t seeking God either, but more a search for justification of some sort.

If we truly desire to seek God, then we need to be serious about it, and willing to commit to the true path, even if we find that path to be uncomfortable or even offensive.

The True Path

In the book of Genesis, God gave to Adam and Eve to eat of the fruit of all of the trees in the Garden of Eden—except one. From the multitudes of trees they were permitted to eat from, they could have sustenance; but by eating the fruit of just one tree they faced expulsion from the garden.

In an almost mirror image, God now allows us many choices as to what to believe, but salvation comes from only one of those choices. If we truly desire to know God, our job is to earnestly seek him, even if that journey takes us to a place we never imagined going.

One of the “choices” God has given us is recorded to have said the following:

“I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”–John 14:6

Most people make assumptions about Jesus Christ without fully investigating the available facts, as though the question of his messiah-ship is just another issue to be debated on daytime talk shows.

But if we believe that there is an all powerful God, then there have to be parameters, rules he (not us) sets for us to seek him. Our faith job is to purposefully seek to know if that apparently absurd claim by a man named Jesus is true. In fact a statement so sweeping demands that we investigate it fully, to decide for ourselves if there’s any validity to it.

The Old Testament promised a messiah, a deliverer, would be sent from God to the people. Was Jesus–the man quoted in John 14;6–that messiah?

The answer to that question is a test for our eternal destinies, and it isn’t multiple choice.

COMING UP NEXT: “I DON’T HAVE A SPECIFIC FAITH–I’M SPIRITUAL”