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Why Christianity is the Only True Religion
I. The atheist's and skeptic's argument.
1. Atheists, agnostics, and other unbelievers will often argue against Christianity by questioning why they should believe in it instead any of the other world religions.
2. They will ask why Christianity is the only true religion.
3. We should ask ourselves if and why Christianity is the only true religion for our own sakes and also so that we can shut the mouths of the gainsayers.
II. If there is a God who is the Creator of the universe (this will be proven in Section V), it is reasonable to conclude that that God would want to be obeyed, honoured, and worshiped by His creation.
1. This is religion by definition.
2. Religion - 1. a. A state of life bound by monastic vows; the condition of one who is a member of a religious order, esp. in the Roman Catholic Church. 3. a. Action or conduct indicating a belief in, reverence for, and desire to please, a divine ruling power; the exercise or practice of rites or observances implying this. Also pl., religious rites. Now rare, exc. as implied in 5. 4. a. A particular system of faith and worship. 5. a. Recognition on the part of man of some higher unseen power as having control of his destiny, and as being entitled to obedience, reverence, and worship; the general mental and moral attitude resulting from this belief, with reference to its effect upon the individual or the community; personal or general acceptance of this feeling as a standard of spiritual and practical life.
3. There are many religions in the world, many of which claim to be the one true religion and way to God.
4. Our job is to find the right one.
III. Omnism (the belief in all religions) is asinine.
1. Omnism violates the law of contradiction: a thing cannot be and not be at the same time in the same way.
2. If two religions teach opposite things, then they can't both be true. One could be true and the either false, or both could be false; but they can't both be true.
3. In that all religions teach different and contradictory things, at most, only one of them can be true.
IV. Avoid the weaker arguments
1. The following are weak arguments for Christianity being the only true religion.
A. Christianity has withstood the test of time.
i. This fact alone doesn't prove the truth of Christianity.
ii. Many false religions have endured for a long time including Judaism, Catholicism, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism.
B. Christianity has spread across the globe.
i. This fact is not sufficient proof that Christianity is true either.
ii. Many false religions have spanned the globe or at least large parts of it such as Judaism, Catholicism, Islam, and Mormonism.
C. The majority of Americans are Christians.
i. This is not only a weak argument, but it's also false.
ii. The majority of Americans are irreligious heathens.
2. These arguments (the first two) are good supporting arguments, but not good primary arguments.
V. For a religion to be true, it must conform to fact and reality.
1. Fact: there is, and can be, only one God.
A. God is the supreme being, the creator and cause of all things.
i. God is the first uncaused cause.
a. All things that exist have a cause.
b. If all the causes in the universe are traced back, they must originate from a first cause which is itself uncaused.
c. There cannot be an infinite regression of causes because there is no such thing as an actual infinite number of anything.
(i) An infinite number of causes would require an infinite amount of time, which would mean that the universe is eternal.
(ii) The universe cannot be eternal because matter is not eternal.
(iii) Given the 2nd law of thermodynamics (the law of entropy), if the universe was eternal, everything would have stopped by now because there would have been an infinite amount of time prior to the present.
d. This first uncaused cause is God.
ii. God is the creator of the universe.
a. The existence of a highly ordered universe demands that it has a creator (Psa 19:1).
b. The existence of highly complex self-replicating biological machines (living organisms) demands the existence of a creator (Rom 1:20).
c. For God to have created the universe which is composed of time, space, and matter, means that He must be outside of those three things and is therefore eternal, omnipresent, and spiritual (not material).
d. For God to have created a universe so vast that the most powerful telescopes cannot find the ends of it, He must be extremely powerful, or in other words, omnipotent.
e. For God to have created highly complex self-replicating biological machines (living organisms), He must be extremely intelligent, or in other words, omniscient.
iii. God is the supreme being.
a. Based on what we have just reasoned out, this Being that we call God is eternal, omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent.
b. He is therefore the supreme being that exists.
c. There can only be one supreme being, by definition.
d. Therefore, there is, and can be, only one God.
B. Christianity conforms to this fact and teaches that:
i. There is only one God (1Ti 2:5; Isa 44:6-8).
ii. God is the creator of the universe (Gen 1:1).
iii. God is eternal (Isa 57:15; Psa 90:2).
iv. God is omnipotent (Rev 19:6).
v. God is omniscient (Psa 147:5).
vi. God is omnipresent (Pro 15:3).
vii. God is the supreme being (Gen 17:1; 1Ti 6:15).
2. Therefore, any religion which maintains that there is no God, or that there is more than one God, is false.
A. Therefore, the religions of Atheism and Buddhism are false because they deny that there is a God.
i. "Gautama Buddha rejected the existence of a creator deity, refused to endorse many views on creation, and stated that questions on the origin of the world are not ultimately useful for ending suffering. Buddhism instead emphasizes the system of causal relationships underlying the universe (pratītyasamutpāda or Dependent Origination) which constitute the natural order (dharma) and source of enlightenment. No dependence of phenomena on a supernatural reality is asserted in order to explain the behaviour of matter. According to the doctrine of the Buddha, a human being must study nature (dhamma vicaya) in order to attain prajñā "wisdom" regarding the nature of things (dharma). In Buddhism, the sole aim of spiritual practice is the complete alleviation of dukkha ("suffering") in saṃsāra, which is called nirvana." (God in Buddhism, Wikipedia, 12-8-15)
B. Therefore, the religions of Hinduism, Mormonism, Jehovah's Witnessism, and the ancient Greek and Roman religions are all false because they teach/taught that there are multiple Gods.
i. Hinduism is polytheistic and is therefore false.
a. "Hinduism is a diverse system of thought with beliefs spanning monotheism, polytheism, panentheism, pantheism, pandeism, monism, and atheism among others; and its concept of God is complex and depends upon each individual and the tradition and philosophy followed. It is sometimes referred to as henotheistic (i.e., involving devotion to a single god while accepting the existence of others), but any such term is an overgeneralization." (Hinduism, Wikipedia, 12-8-15)
b. "The Hindu scriptures refer to celestial entities called Devas (or devī in feminine form; devatā used synonymously for Deva in Hindi), which may be translated into English as "gods" or "heavenly beings"." (Hinduism, Wikipedia, 12-8-15)
ii. Mormonism is polytheistic and is therefore false.
a. "And then the Lord said: Let us go down. And they went down at the beginning, and they, that is the Gods, organized and formed the heavens and the earth. 2) And the earth, after it was formed, was empty and desolate, because they had not formed anything but the earth; and darkness reigned upon the face of the deep, and the Spirit of the Gods was brooding upon the face of the waters. 3) And they (the Gods) said: Let there be light; and there was light. 4) And they (the Gods) comprehended the light, for it was bright; and they divided the light, or caused it to be divided, from the darkness. 5) And the Gods called the light Day, and the darkness they called Night. And it came to pass that from the evening until morning they called night; and from the morning until the evening they called day; and this was the first, or the beginning, of that which they called day and night." (The Book of Abraham 4:1-5, The Pearl of Great Price (Mormon "scripture"), p. 38)
b. "Unlike most other Christian groups, Mormonism espouses a distinctly nontrinitarian theology in regards to the nature of God. The LDS Church teaches that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are three separate and distinct beings, the Father and Son having perfected physical bodies and the Holy Ghost having only a body of spirit. While the three beings are physically distinct, in Mormon theology they are one in thoughts, actions, and purpose and commonly referred to collectively as "one God" or the "Godhead". Also, Mormonism teaches that God the Father is the literal father of the spirits of all men and women, which existed prior to their mortal existence. The LDS Church also believes that a Heavenly Mother exists. Further, it is believed that all humans as children of God can become exalted, inheriting all that God has, as joint-heirs with Christ, and becoming like him as a God." (Mormonism, Wikipedia, 12-8-15)
iii. Jehovah's Witnessism is polytheistic and is therefore false.
a. The JWs teach that their "Jesus" is "a god."
b. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god. 2) This one was in the beginning with God. 3) All things came into existence through him, and apart from him not even one thing came into existence..." (John 1:1-3, New World Translation (JW "Bible"))
iv. The ancient Greek and Roman religions all believed in a multitude of gods and are therefore false.
VI. The other major monotheistic religions of the world today are Judaism and Islam.
1. The belief in only one God by itself means little and is merely the faith of a devil (Jam 2:19).
2. Judaism is a false religion for the following reasons:
A. They reject Jesus Christ who is the Messiah that their scriptures prophesied of (Joh 1:11; Joh 5:39; Luk 24:25-27,44).
B. See Section VII, 4 for a list of prophecies that Jesus Christ fulfilled, proving that He is the Messiah.
C. Even when the Jewish religion was God's true religion before He reformed it, most of the leadership didn't believe their own scriptures and killed their Messiah (Joh 5:46-47; Act 13:27-29).
D. They cannot practice the religion of Moses without the temple which they have been without for the last 2000 years.
3. Islam is a false religion because it is self-contradictory.
A. Muslims believe that Jesus was born of a virgin, but don't believe that He is the Son of God.
i. "These are accounts from the Unseen, which We reveal to you. You were not with them when they cast their lots as to which of them would take charge of Mary; nor were you with them as they quarreled. 45) The Angels said, "O Mary, Allah gives you good news of a Word from Him. His name is the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, well-esteemed in this world and the next, and one of the nearest. 46) He will speak to the people from the crib, and in adulthood, and will be one of the righteous." 47) She said, "My Lord, how can I have a child, when no man has touched me?" He said, "It will be so. Allah creates whatever He wills. To have anything done, He only says to it, 'Be,' and it is." 48) And He will teach him the Scripture and wisdom, and the Torah and the Gospel." (Quran, 3:44-48)
ii. "The Messiah son of Mary was only a messenger, before whom other Messengers had passed away, and his mother was a woman of truth...." (Quran 5:75)
iii. "Originator of the heavens and the earth - how can He have a son when He never had a companion? He created all things, and He has knowledge of all things. 102) Such is Allah, your Lord. There is no god except He, the Creator of all things; so worship Him. He is responsible for everything." (Quran 6:101-102)
iv. "That is Jesus son of Mary-the Word of truth about which they doubt. 35) It is not for Allah to have a child - glory be to Him. To have anything done, He says to it, "Be," and it becomes." (Quran 19:34-35)
v. If Jesus was born of a virgin, then he didn't have a human father.
vi. Therefore, if Jesus didn't have a human father, then God caused his conception, making Him the Son of God (Luk 1:35).
vii. Therefore, one of the core beliefs in Islam is self contradictory.
B. Muslims say that Jesus was a prophet and that they believe His teachings, yet they deny them.
i. "In their footsteps, We sent Jesus son of Mary, fulfilling the Torah that preceded him; and We gave him the Gospel, wherein is guidance and light, and confirming the Torah that preceded him, and guidance and counsel for the righteous." (Quran 5:46)
ii. Jesus said He was the Son of God (Joh 10:36; Mat 27:43), which they deny.
iii. Jesus said He and God the Father are one (Joh 10:30), which they deny.
iv. Jesus said that He would be crucified and raised from the dead three days later (Mat 20:18-19), both of which they deny happened.
C. Muslims say they believe in the New Testament "Gospel."
i. "In their footsteps, We sent Jesus son of Mary, fulfilling the Torah that preceded him; and We gave him the Gospel, wherein is guidance and light, and confirming the Torah that preceded him, and guidance and counsel for the righteous." (Quran 5:46)
ii. Yet, the very gospel that they claim to believe condemns them for believing another gospel of pure works salvation (Gal 1:8-9).
iii. Muhammad claimed to have received the words of the Quran from the angel Gabriel. Hopefully for Gabriel's sake this is not true (Gal 1:8).
