Can you accurately and
objectively answer the questions:
"Of the various and differing religions of the world, which one is
the most correct or truthful?"
My friend, I must admit that
I've never heard a debate on which religion is the most correct that I felt was
fruitful. Most often each person
returns to the starting point with the same answer: I believe my choice of religion is the one closest to the
truth.
Of course, we should all
remember that it has been proven that we may believe something sincerely and be
wrong!! Centuries ago great scientists sincerely believed that the earth was
flat, but they were wrong. I think
you would agree with me that every "religion" has some truth. And most of us would admit that
religious systems are not infallible, therefore they may contain some error.
All religions try in some way
to address the fundamental questions that linger in the heart of every human
being such as: What is ultimate
reality? Who is humankind? What is the basis of morality? What is the meaning of human history? What happens to a person at death?
Anthropologists tell us that
even primitive cultures grasp for answers to these difficult questions. Each religion eventually develops a
"belief system" that attempts to provide solutions for these
questions. One thing we know for
certain is that no matter how much truth a religion may contain, it is possible
for people to misinterpret and misapply that truth.
This happened 2,000 years ago
in Jerusalem when the Pharisees and chief priests thought they were worshipping
the one supreme deity correctly.
It is true that they were religious men with a well developed religious
system, but they were not possessors of the real truth. their religious head knowledge and
ritual did not qualify them for acceptance into the Kingdom of Heaven, Isa Al-Masih made it clear to them that their religion was not enough.
Woe unto you, teachers of
the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! For you are
like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside
are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on
the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full
of
hypocrisy and wickedness.