Question 28 – What does God say about other religions?
Some of you might wonder why there are so many religions, why God tolerates them, and what He has to say about them. Why complicate life for those who are truly seeking? Is religion not just a leftover from primitive evolutionary development when we were afraid of everything we were not able to explain? A detailed analysis of this theme would fill an entire book; therefore, I will limit myself to several basic thoughts/ ideas.
Why so many religions and philosophies?
Many people suppose/believe that the existence of various religions points to the fact that there is no true God. If He existed, it would be easy to somehow find Him. Billions of people would not have to be mistaken and grope around in uncertainty.
Personally, I do not think this weakens the possibility of God's existence. In my opinion, the answer to the above question is quite simple. There are many religions because God allows it. Individual free will leaves room for innumerable possibilities of behaviour (even at the price of being mistaken). If God did not grant us the ability to choose, and did not allow worship of something or someone other than Himself, He would force us to worship only Him, even if we did not want to. However, such forced worship would have no value to a loving God. (Reasons have been given/noted in previous questions.) Although this conclusion could resolve our question, I would like to elaborate a little more to help us better understand the psychology behind mankind's religious behaviour, a situation more complicated than it might first seem.
When you ask the average person about the term religious, he will probably name a form of faith and list the most well-known religious systems: Hinduism, Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, New Age, etc. Yet these only identify forms of worshiping various gods, idols, and other objects. If we were satisfied with these alone, we would not be thorough. That is because the religious behaviour of people exceeds these categories and enters into every person without exception, whether confirmed theist or convinced atheist.
We are born with a religious/spiritual inclination/proclivity. God created us this way. We have been created this way to serve and glorify God. Nevertheless, if we do not have a relationship with God, we replace that relationship with something else. We worship, although we would not call it such, many things in which we have placed our hope, strength, resources/means, and confidence. The object of this idolatry can be based on anything we place in our hearts instead of God Himself. This worship does not necessarily deal with the veneration of statues, totem poles, pictures, or false gods. The form of idolatry I am speaking of focuses on specific people (spiritual leaders, our loved ones, human idols), on money, success, the desire for fame, sex, horoscopes, science, security, the beauty of our bodies, or even health. All of these things can be the subject of our spiritual worship.
Certainly, many contend/dispute that the desire/attempt to safeguard/secure one's family, to look beautiful, to be healthy, or to prepare for one's retirement is not a religion or worship, but the responsibility of every decent person. I am not saying all these things are bad. But if we really are created for worship, then that is what we do. I regularly see people addicted to alcohol, pornography, sex, the Internet, or drugs. They are obsessed with improving their bodies, gaining prestige and fame, pursuing riches and recognition, or trying to gain power over others. Alongside organised religions there exist innumerable forms of unorganised religious behaviour.
God, therefore, allows and tolerates the existence of both formal religious forms and everyday idolatry in our lives. Whether we bow to statues or set our hearts on the desire for wealth, the result is the same; we avoid the living God and focus our strength in the wrong direction. Jesus stated it this way:
"No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money". (Luke 16:13)
Jesus chose possessions as an example. Notice that he personifies possessions as if He were dealing with a person. A servant cannot serve two masters. If you do not serve God, you despise Him. Even without naming your behaviour as such, you are serving another master. Jesus underlined this truth in another place with these words:
"Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters" (Matthew 12:30)
God gives us this choice: worship me and look for your wellbeing in me, or worship and look for it in something else. Many sects, philosophies, and religious systems have come into being because people have chosen the second variant.
Satan and his role
We have said that God tolerates (for now) all religions but does not agree with them. However, this information does not tell us who stands behind all of these systems. Although some religions, sects, and philosophies have been formed by people, demons also play a role in many cases. We have already said that demons (fallen angels who at one time served God) hate God. They also hate mankind who is God's creation and whom God loves. With this viewpoint, it is possible to deduct that demons will do everything necessary to divert mankind's attention from knowing God and His plan of salvation.
If we could find the source of all sects, religions, and philosophies, we would probably discover their origin in two beings: mankind and Satan. Many religions are based on a person's desire to control others or use them to reach other goals (although I believe there are some sincere people involved who have the best intentions). I believe that an internal hunger for God exists, a hunger which people perceive and project into mythology and imagination, leading to the origin/birth of religious systems. Nevertheless, the spirit world feathers its nest by supporting the lie and trying to spread it.
Many religions are based on supernatural revelations through which Satan tries to confuse and make the word TRUTH relative. The common scene/script is this: a supernatural being (for example an angel) reveals itself to a certain person, giving a specific message, and assuring him/her that he/she is the only one on the right path, and encouraging him/her to spread that message. This revelation can also take the character or supernatural confirmation of a specific behaviour, which in turn leads the person to think, "It works for me, so it must be true." These extraordinary circumstances lead towards the demonization of people (various gurus, healers, etc.) who, through their connection with the spirit world, wield specific powers and abilities, thus drawing followers. For a more detailed analysis it would be necessary to dedicate one's self to study each religious system on its own but there is not space for that here.
We do not want God
I consider it necessary to mention one more fact. It may surprise some, but it adds to the fact that people will believe in anything but the living God. Why is this so? Jesus described it in the following way:
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe in him is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed." (John 3:16–20)
The apostle Paul confirmed this fact with these words:
"For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths". (2 Timothy 4:3–4)
World religions
The answer to the existence of many other religions is partly hidden in these words, because people do not want a living and true God! This fact is painful and it costs to say it! God has specific claims that are the complete opposite of our natural inclinations. It is natural for us to hate and return double for the hurt we have experienced. However, God wants us to be humble and forgiving. He wants us to live in sexual purity and be faithful to our spouse, whereas we would prefer the freedom to experiment and have unattached relationships. God leads us to submit to authorities and to Himself. The majority of us (at least in the west) respect authority less and less. People prefer to create their own idols and gods to believe in. These gods generally do not want much from them and agree with everything they consider right. Jesus asks us to die to ourselves and takes our independence away, challenging us to ethical and moral purity and absolute devotion.
Christians can confirm that Jesus' words are sometimes very unpalatable when the Word of Truth convinces them of their intrinsic nature. Many people seem to believe in the Christian God but when they should show/demonstrate/prove their faith through their actions (for example: stop being promiscuous, having sex outside of marriage, cheating at work and so on), they prefer to choose another form of religion that is not so binding/restrictive or dogmatic. In other words, we want God but on no account should God want something from us.
Summation
The existence of many varied religions is not an argument against God's existence, or against Truth revealed by God. Rather, it is a rejection of God, which He temporarily tolerates. Our free wills would be restricted without this tolerance. It is possible to know God and truly recognize Him. He is nearby. If we seek Him humbly and with an honest desire to know Him, He can be found.