Recently, I had a very interesting conversation with a 40-years old man. He was raised as a Christian, went to a Christian high school, but ended leaving his faith. Having studied world religions for more than 20 years, he came to the conclusion that the core of all religions are the same, made different by their rules of do’s and don’ts. "Spirituality is the essence," he pointed out to me.
For more than an hour, I questioned him on his belief so I won't misunderstood his point--what he believe and why he believe. I refrained from rushing into criticism.
"An offended person is harder to win than a fortified city"- Proverbs 18:19
My first move was to understand his coming from and to find common grounds. We both agreed that religions purify and transform us. Whilst he believe it is the sole end, I believed it is a means to glorify God.
I will address his claim that all religions are the same.
Most people see religion in a mountain-path view, where all the paths leads to the same direction. It will be dangerous when followers get too high up and start thinking their way is the only right way.
The mountain paths analogy meant that Jesus is one way among many and a truth for some. The problem with this view is that we disregard the claim of key religious leaders and gloss over the contradictions of different faith. Central to a Muslim's belief is this: To be a a true follower of Allah, a Moslem must publicly recite, "There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is the prophet of Allah." I am sure Muhammad would scoff at the idea that Islam is merely one path to God. Jesus is just as adamant in claiming his view is the true path to God. In John 14:6, he claimed no one could come to God except through him. To say all religion is the same is to water down their claims.
This is a convenient view for people uninterested in and uninformed about religion. It is convenient because it provides justification for people’s indifference and ignorance so they don’t have to change.
As the analogy goes, then, for the Hindus, there will be many gods at the top of the mountain. In Islam, there is one God through Muhammad. Christians believe in a trinitarian God whilst Buddhist believe there is no God on top of the mountain.
One of the most fundamental rules of logic is the 'law of noncontradiction'. As Aristotle teaches, we cannot give both yes and no as an answer. In the case of religion, if one says there is a God (Islam), then another claim that believes God is non-existent (Buddhism) will not be true. Both cannot be true at the same in the same way.
I challenge you to look at religion as a maze where we are trying to get to the center. Some path are windy and leads further away from the center. Some are short but leads to dead-ends. Some are parallels, seemingly similar, but one leads to the center while the other does not. In this view, we acknowledge the differences of religions and also their similarities. Ultimately, only one path leads to the center. This view values self-exploration and discovery, forcing us to assess the deficiencies found in a route which will cause the serious seeker of God to abandon one’s truth and look for another.