The problem with this idea presents itself when the question of “Is that really true?” is thrown at it. Because, if it is true then Islam is not true, Judaism is not true, Christianity is not true, Evolution’s not true and any other religion or belief that declares that it’s the only truth becomes untrue. However, being that there’s no room for non-truth in “Every Road Leads to God” we have a brain frying dilemma …

Because what do you do when Islam professes “Say: O People of the Book! Come to an agreement between us and you: that we shall worship none but God, and that we shall ascribe no partner unto Him, and that none of us shall take others for lords beside God.” (Quran 3:64). Or when Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father (God) except through Me” (John 14:6-9). Or when Judaism states in the 10 commandments, “Thou shalt have no other gods besides Me” (Exodus 20:3-6). Or when Hinduism asks, “which one of our gods are you referring to?” And on and on. Removing the claim of truthfulness from religion removes the religion altogether.

The only solution to this dilemma would be to call this “Every Road” belief, a new religion standing apart from all other religions by drawing large bits and pieces from every religion and mixing it all into a religious melting pot. Upon doing that it would need to change it’s claim from “Every Road” to “Our Road Leads To God”. Then if asked, on whose authority do they make such a claim, they can respond, “on all of your authorities of course”.

Gee… sign me up.

Evolution, for example, requires faith in one man’s creative imagination and intelligent thought. There’s no doubt that Darwin was a genius, but the simple truth is that he wasn’t there to witness life’s origins and so can only speculate. To put ones faith in the creative speculation of a man who doesn’t know for sure requires faith, maybe a lot of faith.

In turn being an atheist requires faith whether or not they adhere to evolutionary theory. An atheist’ faith rests on the non-existence of God. However, not having been witness to the origins of the universe an atheist has to place his or her own faith on the extent that they can rationally think and deduce the universe. Essentially putting one’s faith in ones’ own self. And this takes a great measure of faith.

Islam traces it’s roots back to the divine revelation received by the prophet Mohammed. Islam requires faith in the legitimacy of Mohammed’s revelation. It requires faith in the source of his revelation, that it was indeed Allah and that Allah is the one true God. It also requires faith in how Mohammed interpreted the revelation received, that he didn’t, being human, distort the revelation or add his own dimension to it. Essentially, only Mohammed could judge the legitimacy of his revelation. In summary, a Muslim’s faith rests upon a human being getting it right and from the right source.

Buddhism traces it’s roots back to the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha. He was the chief’s son of a tribal group in Nepal, the Shakyas, and was born around 566 BC. Gautama was less concerned with explaining the origin of things as he was with providing a tool for individuals to use to escape suffering. A follower of Buddha must exhibit faith in the infallible though varied and amended accounts of Gautama’s teachings and be comfortable with the fact that Buddhism addresses how life carries on but doesn’t give an account of how life began or who started it. Buddhism takes a great deal of faith.

Apologetics Press cites that “Hinduism has no founder, nor any traditional time or place of origin; it emerges from the jungle as a continually evolving religious system. Scholars debate the primary source of what would become the Hindu religion, though all agree that several cultures had an influence. The worship of nature and nature-gods is found in the ancient texts and myths of South Asia”. Faith in Hinduism requires taking bits and pieces from various sources. From the earliest accounts of Hinduism’s’ are notations of a monotheism (belief in one God) but this changed over time to belief in many gods. A Hindu’s faith contains many unknowns, many changes, many variations, and many assumptions. This takes an enormous amount of faith.

I’ll stop there and end with Jesus, though I could go on and on. Jesus claimed to be God incarnate. He claimed to have created everything that was created, the earth, the universe, everything. He was there at the origin or the universe and himself has no beginning but always has been. He gives an explanation for why there is suffering in the world. We know truth because He Himself was there, we have value because He being God says we have value. He explains where we’ve come from and where we are going. Nothing He states goes against our rationale and yet it’s all supernatural and infinite. Faith in Jesus requires believing that Jesus is who He says He is. If He is indeed God then we are hearing directly from the source and not through finite, forgetful, creative, limited man. This takes faith but not a leap of faith.

So…. What is your source for what you beleive?  Who’s the authority who claims it’s true? How do you know it’s true?

• Forgiving might benefit the guilty one but will always cost the innocent one.
• Forgiveness by it’s very nature is unfair and unjust.
• Forgiving isn’t natural – If God hadn’t told us we may never have come upon the idea.
• Forgiveness lifts the bitter burden of judgment / retribution / resentment / bitterness off the innocent party, making them feel free and light.
• Forgiving others has huge health benefits whereas holding on to grudges can make you sick.
• Whether you forgive or hold on to your grudge usually makes no difference or has no impact on the guilty party but has a huge impact on you who’s innocent.
• To forgive is not to relinquish your boundaries.
• If you forgive others, the Bible says, God will forgive you. If you don’t forgive others, God won’t forgive you. (Matt 6:14-15)
• People wear forgiveness or un-forgiveness on their faces and with their body language.
• Bitter people are bitter to be around.
• Where there is forgiveness there is joy.

We have boundaries cause we’re strong