Survey: What Do You Think is the #1 Difference in Teaching that Separates Christianity From Other Belief Systems?

Today I’m asking you to be part of a survey based on the blog series I posted about different belief systems and if they teach the same core truth. Over the last two weeks I’ve posted blogs about Hinduism, Buddhism, Kabbalah, Islam, and Taoism. I contrasted their teachings to those of Christianity and came to the conclusion that each belief system has completely different teachings. There is no way you could say that they teach the same core truth. I’ve also shown how the New Age movement takes something from each of these systems and incorporates it into New Age spirituality.

Now I’d like to hear from you!

What do you think is the #1 difference in teaching that separates Christianity from other belief systems? There are many, but I want to know from you which one you think is the most significant! The following is a list of differences that I noticed right away. Which important element of Christianity do you think separates it from other religions?

• The belief in heaven and hell.
• The teaching of sin and the need for salvation.
• The belief that Jesus is God.
• The belief that Christians worship a personal/relational God and not an impersonal one.

These are just a few suggestions. Please leave a comment and let me know your answer. You can choose an answer from what I listed or add your own!

 

God Bless,

Gina

Clip art photo from Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Christianity vs. Islam

Today we are going to examine what Islam believes about Jesus and salvation. Islam is one of many different belief systems that we are going to look at this week. Our goal is to determine if all belief systems teach the same thing. New Age author Eckhart Tolle teaches in his book, A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose, that all religions are equally false and equally true (pg. 70-71). In this week’s series of blogs we will see this is false. If all belief systems are equally true, then shouldn’t their ideas and claims agree with each other?

We have already established that New Age teachers like to take a little bit of this and a little bit of that to make up their belief system. One of the religions they like to grab from is Islam. So let’s see if Islam teaches the same thing as Christianity:

Who is Jesus?

Islam teaches that Jesus is a prophet from God, but is not the Son of God. Islam does not believe Jesus died on the cross and that He rose from the tomb.

Immediately we see a conflict between who Jesus is: God or prophet? And we also see a difference in belief about Jesus on the cross, dying on the cross, and rising from the grave.

Do these religions agree? NO. Either Jesus was either on the cross or off the cross. He either rose from the grave or did not rise from the grave. Two conflicting accounts, they cannot both be true.

What about salvation?

Islam teaches that Allah, their god, will ultimately determine if a person is saved by deciding if that person has followed god’s law. Allah chooses whether a person will go to heaven or hell. This is based on works.

Again we see a conflict of belief between Islam and Christianity. The Bible teaches that we can never live according to the law. Therefore, God sent His own son, Jesus, to be a sacrifice on the cross for our sins so we could have fellowship with God. When we choose to believe that Jesus is God and has died for our sins, we are forgiven and gain salvation. All we have to do is choose to follow Him and let Him change our lives.

Here we have examined just two aspects of the Islamic and Christian faiths, salvation and Jesus, and have concluded that they teach two very different doctrines.

Islam and Christianity cannot be equally true.

Any thoughts?