Is ours an Exclusive Religion

• Is Ours an Exclusive Religion ?
• John 14:1-6
• USA Today ..
• "If their take on God and truth and life is the only right one, which their creed boldly states, everyone else is wrong… Tebow’s one truth evangelical campaign has little appreciation for the rest of us"
- Tom Krattenmaker
• 1 Religious culture in America ..
• SYNCRETISM ..
– Blending together of various religious beliefs to create harmony among all those different beliefs …
• 1 Religious culture in America ..
• 2009 Pew forum (religious and public life) …
– 1 of 5 Americans believe there is spiritual energy in trees and mountains and crystals.
– 22% of those who call themselves Christian believe in reincarnation (part Buddhism, part Hinduism).
– 1 in 4 of "Christians" visit the services of faiths other than their own for spiritual enrichment, and the same number admit to having adopted New Age/Eastern ideas.

• 1 Religious culture in America ..
• Interview … 27 year old
– raised a Baptist, briefly studied Mormonism, before taking up Buddhism. He believes in astrology, the supernatural, yet he insists he still derives meaning from "the whole Christianity thing."
– "My religion now is complicated."
• 1 Religious culture in America ..
• American religious identification survey (March 2009)…
– Baptist
– Catholic
– “None”
• 92% believe in God, yet 72% say many religions can lead to eternal life ..
• John 14:6
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

• 2 Our reaction to this ..
• Syncretism seeks to find points of unity and harmony …
• “Divine deli..”
• 2 Our reaction to this ..
• “Religious promiscuity egged on by store managers in the spiritual marketplace who sell us whatever they imagine we want ..” (WSJ)
• Are we to coexist .. yes
• 1st, the laws of our land demand that we coexist with other religious faiths
• 2nd this country was founded by those who sought to establish this country in order to coexist with others.
• 3rd our God allows other religions to exist on the face of His earth.
• Practice of New Testament ..
• Acts 17:22-25 "Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; 23 for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you:
• Practice of New Testament ..
• 1 Timothy 2:1-2 Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.
• Practice of New Testament ..
• 1 Timothy 2:1-2 Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.
• 1 Peter 2:17 Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.

• Practice of New Testament ..
• 2 Timothy 2:24-26 And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, 25 in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, 26 and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.
• 3 How far can we go to coexist ..
• COEXIST promotes not just tolerance, but acceptance of all religions acknowledging that each has equal merit as a faith to live by ..
• 3 How far can we go to coexist ..
• Deuteronomy 6:4-5 "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

• John 14:6
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

• 3 How far can we go to coexist ..
• "This is what I love about the new spirituality taking hold in America. We all have our personal convictions and we shouldn't be afraid to express them. More and more we are becoming more accepting of the beliefs held by others even though they don't mirror our own. I think that God would be most pleased to know that fear of Him is starting to fade. That old "my way or the highway" dogmatism is old school.
• 3 How far can we go to coexist ..
• “ The best news out of the Parade Magazine poll of October 2009 is just 12% of the respondents said their religion was the one true faith with 59% noting that all religions were valid."

• John 14:6
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

• Is Ours an Exclusive Religion ?
• John 14:1-6