We’re All Hindus Now?

In a recent edition of Newsweek (hold up… someone just gave me a look of surprise.  “You read Newsweek?!”  Yes, I subscribed to it a while back, and really regret it most of the time, although it has given me a different point of view than I would normall hear or think about, with it being one of the most liberal news magazines around.)  Anyways, as I was saying, in the latest edition of Newsweek, they had an article entitled, “We Are All Hindus Now,” describing the current religious climate of America.  Now, of course, they don’t mean that we are all literally Hindus.  What they mean, however, is that Americans, overall, believe loosely the way Hindus believe.  The way we view God, religion, and life after death, is very similar to what the Hindus believe.

First of all, it points out that Hindus believe that there are many paths to God.  The Rig Veda, the most ancient Hindu scripture, says this: “Truth is One, but the sages speak of it by many names.”  Jesus would be one way, the Qur’an would be another, yoga practice would be a third way.  They are all just different manifestations of the truth.  Of course, we as Christian believers know that it cannot be true.  Jesus, Himself, stated that “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6).   However, many Americans, are no longer believing this and are beginning to buy into this philosophy, that what is right for me may not be right for someone else.  So truth is whatever one makes of it, but we’re all headed the same way.

There are some obvious problems with this.  First of all, you cannot make truth what you want it to be.  Of course, you can say truth is one thing all day long until you’re blue in the face, but in the end, it doesn’t change what is really true.  For example, just because you want to believe that the Sun revolves around the earth because that’s how it appears, does not change the fact that it is really the earth revolving around the Sun.  You can believe it all you want, but it doesn’t affect what is really true.

Another problem with this is that anybody who wants to equate Jesus with all the other religious figures of the past shows that they have not properly thought this through.  Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me.”  Now, we’ve got some problems with this statement.  1. Jesus is not the only way, which would then at this point make Him a liar and He cannot have any truth in Him.  2.  He really believed what He was saying because He was crazy, which again, would disqualify Him from being a way to God, because He would be speaking non-truth.  Of course, He really believes it, but it doesn’t make it true, if all truths lead to God.  3.  He was totally sane and was completely telling the truth, which would make all other religions a lie.  So, however you wish to view it, not all paths lead to God because not all paths are really true.  Either Jesus was lying or He was telling the truth.  You cannot have it both ways.  So, reject Christ if you want, but do not claim that He is just another way to God like Buddha or Islam.

Now, the real scary thing with this article in Newsweek was the fact that they say that not only are many Americans buying into this philosophy, but that 37% of evangelicals believe this as well.  Of course, I would like to know what they define as evangelical, but let me make a clarification at this point.  You cannot be an evangelical Christian and believe that there are other ways to get to God other than through the blood of Christ.  Again, the verse in John makes this clear as well as much of the rest of Christ’s teaching and as well as Paul’s teaching.  Even God through the Old Testament makes it clear that it is through His Word alone that salvation can be found.

Now, I’m not saying you have to accept Christ as being the truth.  Although, again, like I said, just because you don’t believe it doesn’t make it not true.  But if you choose to reject Christ, do not try to say that He is one of the ways to God.  Either He is the only way, or He is no way.  There is no middle, gray area in this issue.

What this means for us is that we need to really examine what the truth really is.  Seek for the truth.  Do not be content to take whatever society says is true, because according to Newsweek they’re all saying that everything is truth and that is a bunch of nonsense.  Honestly seek for the truth yourself.  God promises that “You will seek me and find me.  When you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13).  Prove God on this promise.  Seek the truth with all your heart and you will find Him.