Christianity and World Religions



Christianity and World Religions

Article description: The eastern mystic religions are growing in popularity. But are all religions created equal?


On the other hand, many, shifting to an opposite extreme, adopt an equally untenable position. They allege that perhaps all religions are rightnever realizing, apparently, how such a contradictory ideology reflects upon the very nature of God.

Others suggest that one has the legitimate option of choosing whatever he considers to be good from any or all religious systems. They thus formulate a conglomerate faith of their own design.

The truth is not resident in any of these theories.

Changing Times

There was a time when most Christians had little need for information concerning the concepts of Eastern philosophies and religions. That day is past. In our modern era of global travel and instant, around-the-world communication, the saying that East is East; West is West; and never the twain shall meet, is obsolete.

Eastern mysticism, via television and the world-wide web, now can step right into our living rooms. This exposure, together with the confused state of Christendom, and combined with the crass materialism of the Western world, has made many vulnerable to the ideologies of the East. When people get turned off of traditional religion, they usually will gravitate toward some other religious outletregardless of how baseless it may be.

Add to all of this the fact that the so-called sacred scriptures of the East are now widely and inexpensively circulated in America. These include the Vedas of Hinduism, the Pali Canon of Buddhism, and the Yi-Ching of Confucianism. These writings are being read by many of the younger generation. We can no longer afford to ignore the religions of the Eastor the West, for that matter (e.g., Islam). These are forces with which we must deal.

The Challenge


There is biblical precedent for the comparative approach we propose in this investigation. When the Holy Spirit wanted to demonstrate the superiority of Christianity over Judaism (even though the latter was given by God), he drew a series of contrasts between the two regimes. This is reflected in the book of Hebrews. Christ, through whom Christianity came, is superior to angels (through whom the Mosaic law was conveyedHebrews 1:5-2:18); Jesus was greater than either Moses or Joshua (leading figures of the Hebrew systemHebrews 3-4). Finally, the Lords priesthood stands above that of the Old Testament economy (Hebrews 5-7).


The Matter of History

Unlike the mystical and subjective religious systems of the East, Christianity is a body of belief (and practice) that either stands or falls on the basis of its historical claims. E.F. Harrison has expressed the matter in this fashion: Some religions, both ancient and modern, require no historical basis, for they depend upon ideas rather than events. Christianity is not one of these (1968, 11).

Did Jesus Christ really live? There is ample evidence from a variety of historical sources that he did.  Did he enter the world by means of a supernatural birth? Did he perform credible miracles to buttress his claim of being from God, and, in nature, deity himself? Is there solid evidence that Jesus of Nazareth was resurrected from the dead?

The answer to these questions is a resounding, Yes. The facts regarding Jesus may be investigated and checked. They are as certain as history can be. No one, who is reasonably capable of analyzing historical data, can deny the unshakable foundation of the Christian religion.

On the other hand, the philosophies of the East are almost wholly unconcerned with history. In some branches of Buddhism, for instance, the very historical reality of Siddharta Gautama (the Buddha) is irrelevant. One can be a Buddhist in good standing and not even acknowledge Buddhas existence! Hinduism has no known founder, prophet, priest, king, or doctrine. It has been said that Hinduism is more a culture than a creed. Confucianism has no historical credentials to establish it as a divine system. The teaching of Confucius basically was neither religious nor philosophical, but merely social. The truth is, there was very little religious impulse at all in the attitude of Confucius regarding life.



In glaring contrast, the gods of Eastern mysticism are no gods at all (cf. 1 Corinthians 8:5). Buddhism denies the existence of a personal God altogether (because of the seeming inequities of human suffering upon the earth). This religious system has been described as a non-theistic, ethical discipline; a man-centered, self-training program with no faith or formal worship (though many revere the images of Buddha and other holy men of that system). The so-called Buddha (not a name, but a title, meaning The Enlightened One) himself is shrouded in mythological mist. The oldest Buddhist writings were not even composed until some four hundred years after his death.


As a matter of fact, Hinduism is quite pantheistic. In India there is a sacred saying of three words: Thou are That, which is to say, the individual soul (Atman) is to be identified with the all-pervading God (Brahman). Hinduism sees the universe as one with God, who is totally impersonal. Such ideologies are not only God-dishonoring, they are utterly impotent to elevate humanity. Ultimately, like atheism, they make man his own god.

Confucianism, taking its name from Kong-fu-tse (the prince of wisdom), who lived five centuries before Jesus, is another form of idolatry. Basically it is grounded in the notion of reverence for parents and superiors. It involves, therefore, the worship of ancestors. Parents are to be respected (Ephesians 6:1ff), but they are not gods. Confucianisms moral base is wholly materialistic, having no foundation grounded in the character of the true God.

Standard of Truth


The central theme of the Scriptures is Jesus Christ, who was foretold by the prophets, and who was manifested as a human being during the administration of Augustus Caesar (1 Timothy 3:16; Luke 2:1). Christ is the living embodiment of truth, and the good news (gospel) regarding his mission is the word of truth (2 Corinthians 6:7). According to the New Testament, there is no access to God other than through Christ (Luke 10:16; John 14:6).


On the other hand, to the Eastern mind truth need be neither logical nor consistent. To the Buddhist, for instance, the notion that God is, or, that he is not, is an equally valid belief. There is no ultimate truth by which this statement is to be measured. For the Eastern mystic, the propositions that God is and God is not are simply parts of the one universe as a whole. This sounds totally foolishand it is; but to one who is conditioned to think in terms of non-logical processes, it is not a bothersome thing at all.

If it is the case though, that truth is merely subjective and relative, why would a Buddhist or Hindu ever work to convert others to those systems? Such makes no sense whatever. It is entirely inconsistent. But then inconsistency, we are told, is a portion of all that is within the universe, and thus is truth itself! It hardly goes without saying that countries who have adopted this mode of thinking generally are some of the most disadvantaged in the world.

Sin and Savior




In contradistinction, Eastern thought does not see man as one who has departed from his Maker. Hinduism, for example, insists that the soul has always existed and will continue to exist until, through a process of numerous re-births (reincarnation), it is merged with the Soul of Souls. All of mans present circumstancesjoy and sadness, wealth and prosperity, health and affliction, etc.are Karma, i.e., the consequence of what he has done in some previous phase of his existence. Karma is thus viewed as neither good nor bad. It simply is. As one writer observes: In the Eastern way of thinking there is ultimately no difference between good and evil; they are purely relative (Chapman 1981, 150). So, man works his own way out of the human predicament. Such a notion is the very antithesis of Christian doctrine (Ephesians 2:8-10; Titus 3:4-7).

In Buddhism (and Buddhism is the offspring of Hinduism), one finally escapes Karma by the elimination of desire, and, as David Bentley-Taylor notes: It is an evolutionary process to be achieved by ones own effort (Anderson 1950, 1126).

Anyone who is able to assess the evidence, and draw reasonable inferences, must conclude that the religious systems of the East are wholly impotent. They deny mans true status as a creature who needs to be reconciled to his God. And so, as a consequence, they see no need for a Savior; and even if they did, their systems provide none. They have no way of obtaining release from the real and universal emotionthe guilt of doing wrong. Would that they might open their eyes to the Savior whose gospel is for every creature (Mark 16:15-16).


For those who die in harmony with the will of God, the Holy Scriptures promise an eternal state of fellowship with Deity (John 14:3; Revelation 21:3). But man does not become God in the final order of things. The eternal abode is called heaven. It is a place of great reward (Matthew 5:12), where spiritual treasures are laid up (Matthew 6:20). It is a state in which saints will exist in new, glorified bodies (though not physical ones; Philippians 3:21; 1 Corinthians 15:42ff). There, the redeemed will serve the Creatorforever in a state of bliss. In a word, it will be the beginning of what human existence was meant to be.

The philosophy of the East can be summed up in one word: escape. It is a dismal desire for release from Karma. The Buddhist, for instance, longs for Nirvana, which may be described as something between annihilation and continued existence. Does that sound contradictory? Of course it does. But one must remember that even contradiction is truth in the oriental method of thinking.



One must kindly say that such a statement is utterly nonsensical.


The Christian system stands alone. It has no legitimate competitors. It represents the only hope for a world immersed in evil. The sincerity and dedication of many of the devotees of the Eastern religions (that admittedly sometimes puts some Christians to shame) can never be a substitute for humble obedience to God through the acceptance of his Son.


Anderson, J.N.D. 1950. The Worlds Religions. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.


Harrison, E.F. 1968. A Short Life of Christ. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.

Schaff, Phillip. 1916. Theological PropaedeuticA General Introduction to the Study of Theology. New York, NY: Charles Scribners Sons.

–Wayne Jackson

© 1999 by Christian Courier Publications. All rights reserved.


Comments are closed.