| October 28, 2003 Do all religions lead to God? --A question posed by many; a question fairly easy to answer. I’ll answer it using some fairly simple metaphors that correspond to the reality around us. *Suppose one man believes 2+2=4. Another man believes 2+2=5. Then suppose another man believes 2+2=61. Then you have yet another man that believes 2+2=4.9. These men firmly and passionately believe they’re each right. In fact they live their lives according to these firm beliefs of mathematics that they hold and are even willing to die for them. Tell me, do all these men’s’ sum beliefs concerning the addition of the integer 2 to itself equal the correct answer? I rest my case. Many people complain that Christians are pretty close minded and they find it very audacious that they claim Christ is the only way to Heaven (aka "in the presence of God", non-way to Hell {see John 14:6}). Well here’s my beef with that insinuation. Since when did a narrow way equal the wrong way? When I cross the Chesapeake Bay, whose expanse is hundreds of miles upon hundreds of miles, the only safe path I have in my car is across a two-lane bridge, 45 feet across at best. Since when did a narrow way equal the wrong way? I dare you to drive across the Chesapeake Bay by not using the Bay Bridge... I rest my case. Here’s another thing folks. I’m not advocating one religion over another in this article and I don’t even claim empirically to have the 2+2=4 in any other article. All I’m saying, and in the words of the Christopher Lambert (Highlander for you non-sci fi fans), “There can be only One.” And all I’m saying is that I think we have enough tools to discover reasonably which one that is. So don’t bash, cause I ain’t got the cash. Also, after you read my article (that is if you want to). Check out the link below it with an extremely reasonable, articulate, and rational approach to the popular aforementioned question. Do All Religions Lead to God? –by Ken Samples Here’s an article below I wrote to the Washington Post Opinion Edition column mostly on a whim. I should submit more stuff to them, at least to pester those liberals. Despite President Bush’s attempt to play down the War on Terrorism as not being a war against a religion, logic is not on his side. Recent comments by Deputy Undersecretary Lt. Gen. William G. Boykin, which were endorsed by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and the chairmen of the military Joint Chiefs of Staff, that the war on terrorism is a war against Satan brings up an issue that no one in the media seems to have the balls to bring up. "because we're a Christian nation, because our foundation and our roots are Judeo-Christians. ... And the enemy is a guy named Satan." This issue refers to the Law of Non-Contradiction. It basically states the obvious, that A cannot be simultaneously A and B (Non A) at the same time for that would be contradictory. In relative terms, Islam (“hijacked” or not) and Judeo-Christianity cannot both be right. If one is right, it leads to heaven and the other is wrong and leads to hell. They both can be wrong, but they both cannot be the “right” religion because of their contradictions of one another; for example, the founder of Christianity’s own words that only he is the way, truth, and life and that no one is saved apart from him and only him. The Law of Non-Contradiction applies to all contradicting religions from Christianity, to Judaism, to Islam, to Hinduism, to Atheism, to Buddhism, etc. Boykin makes his comments on the premise that the Judeo-Christian religion is the “right” one and despite it’s seemingly offensive nature, if his religion is indeed the “right” one, his comments make perfect logical sense within their context no matter if they’re offensive or not to an individual. Why is the media afraid to acknowledge the Law of Non-Contradiction in that either one religion is right and all others are wrong, or that all religions are wrong? Are they afraid to step on peoples’ toes? It seems to me humanity would like to know the truth about his/her condition and not be lied to and that’s what the media would be doing by editorially violating the Law of Non-Contradiction. Either way, billions of people in religions around the world believe a lie according to the aforementioned Law. So what does this bring us to? Well, I think it brings us to the point that the only way to delineate which religion is “right” or if all are wrong is to thoroughly investigate, test, and research all scientific, historical, and theological claims of respective religions to see if they correspond correctly to reality. Left behind would be traditions, emotions, and egotism because they only cloud and twist the truth. What good is a tradition or emotion if it will lead you to eternal damnation? Yes, faith would still play a huge part for it would still be needed in trusting character. But after all the lies had been sifted through and everything tested, a leap of faith wouldn’t be blind, but reasonable whether deistic or not. Why isn’t the media trying to accomplish this instead of wasting all their time wondering how to make all religions “work” politically and socially when the irrefutable Law of Non-contradiction states they will never “work” together. I assume it’s because that would be the least offensive and easiest way out of inevitable conflict. No one wants to be proved they're wrong. But lies and truth don’t play nice. Emotions and tradition cannot refute the Law of Non-contradiction and everybody can’t be right. The truth is out there and until people put aside their traditions and emotions and seek it, peace will never exist on this chunk of spherical dirt, I guarantee you. So I guess that means it never will. No doubt Boykin’s comments will get blasted by the media and general public and that he will be seen as a close minded bigot, but take into consideration the Law of Non-Contradiction when you hear statements like that. Yeah, if he’s wrong about his religion, then those comments are indeed deplorable. But if his religion is the “right” one, well then a lot of people need to go sit by a big tree alone and check themselves. Of course there is no way to empirically verify any religion. But I believe we can at least empirically eliminate religions from contention of being correct because of their contradictions to reality. And I also believe through this, when everything is tested vigorously, only the truth will be left standing. And isn’t that what every human being on the face of this Earth wants? I’ve yet to meet anyone who said they like to be lied to. Two plus two will always equal four and what goes up will always come down, period. |