The Audacity of Truth

Consider these facts:

- 1 out of every 5 people in the world is Muslim

- In 1990 there were 30 mosques in the United States. Now there is over 3,000.

- 67% percent of the world's population does not identify itself as Christian.

I read those facts in a book I am currently reading called "The God Conversation" by J.P. Moreland. And reading those facts got be thinking. If nearly 70% of the world's population does not identify themselves as Christian, and as Christians we claim to have the truth in Jesus Christ; then essentially what we are saying is that 70% of the world has got it wrong. And to me, to say that 70% of the world is in error feels a bit arrogant.

In college I lived in a fraternity house, and in that house I was known as the "Christian boy." So what usually ended up happening is that when someone wanted to engage in an open dialogue with a Christian they came knocking at my door and I loved it. I love engaging in conversation about worldviews. There was one night, however, that the question was brought up "How can you as a Christian claim that you have the right truth, and all others are wrong?" Which is a great question, but it's a hard one to answer especially in our increasingly relativistic culture. In fact this particular conversation sparked interest with almost everyone on my floor that came into my room to listen in on our conversation. Well have you ever had an entire room turn against you? It's scary. Especially when everyone, including other Christians, are yelling at you because of your stance of "Jesus is the way the TRUTH, and the Life" and that no one comes to the Father except through him (John 14:6) like they were me that night.

That is when I found out that the Christians audacity of truth is not popular. Instead what is more accepted is an "all roads lead to God" sort of belief. In fact it was the great theologianate (that's sarcasm) Oprah that said while doing a show about Islam "then it is clear that Islam is just another one of the many ways to get to god." And it's not a surprise that people believe this. I will be honest and say, I wish that it were true. However there are two thoughts that I want us to consider when it comes to the "all roads lead to God" analogy.

Thought 1 - What Would Key Figures of these Religions Say?
If you told Moses, Jesus, Mohammad, or Buddha about this mountain top theology how would they respond? Did they view their religious systems as just one of the many paths that lead to God? Hardly. Jesus said that no one gets into heaven except through him. Buddha would say, there might or might not be a god, but the issue is enlightenment. Mohammad claimed that Gabriel came and spoke to him and gave Allah's final and definitive word to man. In fact, according to the Islamic belief that salvation is only found through a complete surrender of your life to Allah and to be a true follower of Allah you have to declare "There is no God but Allah and Mohammad is his prophet." So two of the most influential religious leaders, Jesus and Mohammad, would both say the mountain top analogy is invalid.

Thought 2 - What about the Contradictions between the Religious Beliefs?
If you do a study of Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism it won't take you long to discover that they disagree on key issues. Let's take a look at the nature of God for example. Christianity says that God is Trinity, Islam sees the nature of god as one, Hindu believes in over 300 million Gods, while Buddhist do not necessarily acknowledge a deity. How can each of these views lead to God when they don't even agree on the very nature of God? Not only do they not see eye to eye on the essence of God but they don't even agree on how you are saved. Islam says you have to confess to Allah and live a life according the Koran and if your good deeds out weigh your bad then you will go to heaven. Buddhist say you mediate until you reach a point of nothingness, an enlightenment that they call Nirvana. And lastly Christians say, God sent his Son Jesus Christ to die for the sins of the world, that if you believe in him then his righteousness is transferred to you and your sins are transferred to him. So we see at the very core beliefs these religions do not agree with one another and see totally different ways to God.

The reality is between the atheist and the theist, Christian or Muslim, Hindu or Buddhist; One of these worldviews has the Audacity of Truth on their side. Only one can have the truth claim but which one is it? This should be a serious question that everyone should ask themselves. Am I a Christian because of my up bringing and circumstance or am I a Christian because I KNOW it be true? Keep joining us on this journey of developing the Christian mind!

the ideas in this article are reflections from my reading of "The God Conversation" by J.P Moreland and Tim Muehlhoff