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By Michael Horner
Can Anyone Really Know God?
Come chat on April 10th @ 9:30 p.m. Eastern
Aren’t all religions the same?
Apart from some common moral principles, all religions aren’t the same. In fact, many of the ideas that Buddhists, Muslims, Christians and Hindus have about God, reality, truth, the basic human dilemma and the nature of salvation are contrary to each other.
For example, there is no question that in Islam, Allah is the religious ultimate. But that’s not the case with Buddhism. In fact, there are several strains of Buddhism and only one thinks of God in terms even close to a personal being. And the rest have differing impersonal concepts of the religious ultimate. In Hinduism, there is also a variety of god concepts. Some consider Vishnu or Krishna as personal deities. Yet other Hindus consider the entire cosmic process as an impersonal ultimate. When religions differ about God any similarities they may have in ethical teachings is merely incidental.
Not only do most religions not make the same claims, they don’t even address the same issues. Contrary statements can’t all be true. There is the logical possibility that all religions may be false. But it is not even a logical possibility that all religions are true. This means that a person can’t rule out the distinct possibility that only one religion may be true.
Some people assume that since religions function in roughly the same way in people’s lives that there must be a common reality behind them. But even if this assumption is true, the conclusion does not follow.
Imagine two men, Fred and Barney, who are married to two women, Wilma and Betty. Just because Wilma functions in Fred’s life roughly the same way Betty functions in Barney’s life, is no reason to believe that Wilma and Betty are just different names for the same entity.1
Footnote:
1. This is based on a similar response in Winfried Corduan’s book, “Reasonable Faith: Basic Christian Apologetics,” Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1993, pp 258, 259.
Isn’t this disastrous to unity?
There is a kernel of truth here but it is actually a trick question. It is true that if everyone believed all roads lead to God, then there would likely be more peace and unity. But this is like saying if everyone wore red hats, all heads would be covered. The obvious question would be “why red hats?” Likewise, if everyone believed one thing about religion, of course there would be more peace and unity but which one thing should everyone believe?
Just as any color hat will cover our heads, so too any common belief, by definition, would produce more unity. But why should that common belief be religious relativism? Why not Islam, Buddhism, atheism, wicca or Christianity? The real question is: “Which one view is true?”
The even greater danger hidden within this question is the implication that people should not be permitted to publicly claim exclusive religious truth (see CRTC and Vision TV policies). This amounts to the imposition of religious relativism via the censorship of religious exclusivism .
Isn’t this intolerant and narrow-minded?
It’s Jesus who said, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but through Me.” We didn’t make that up; Jesus did. That may seem intolerant to someone who thinks that it is intolerant to make exclusive claims to truth. But there is nothing intolerant about making exclusive claims to truth (see The Truth Behind Tolerance) and there is ample historical evidence to verify that Jesus claimed He was God and rose from the dead to validate that claim. If Jesus is God then what He said is true.1
Some people think God is being narrow-minded if Jesus is the only way. But the issue is: “Why is there any way to God?” God has been gracious and merciful to provide us with a way back to a personal relationship with Him even though we have rebelled against Him. If humankind could have reached God by any other way, God would never have sacrificed His only Son. Instead of wondering why there aren’t more ways to God, the appropriate response would be to marvel that there is a way, and accept it with humility and gratitude.
Footnote:
1. See Michael Horner’s articles “Did Jesus Really Rise From the Dead?” and “Who Did Jesus Think He Was Anyway?,” available from Campus Crusade for Christ, Canada. See also W.L. Craig’s “”Reasonable Faith: Christian Truth and Apologetics,” Crossway Books, 1994, chapters 6-8.
~ Michael Horner is a philosopher who lectures at university campuses around the world. Visit his web site for more questions and answers.
Published by kimc on June 26th, 2007 at
3:33 pm in Chat, Culture, DaVinci, Discover, Experience, Family, From Today On, Inspire, Life Issues, Movies, Self, Sex & Love, Talk, World, questions, streeters No Comments
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Published by kimc on June 26th, 2007 at
3:26 pm in Chat, Culture, DaVinci, Discover, Experience, Family, From Today On, Inspire, Life Issues, Movies, Self, Sex & Love, Talk, World, questions, streeters No Comments
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Published by kimc on June 26th, 2007 at
3:25 pm in Chat, Culture, DaVinci, Discover, Experience, Family, From Today On, Inspire, Life Issues, Movies, Self, Sex & Love, Talk, Uncategorized, World, questions, streeters No Comments
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Published by Jeremy Massel on June 26th, 2007 at
3:23 pm in Chat, Culture, DaVinci, Discover, Experience, Family, From Today On, Inspire, Life Issues, Movies, Self, Sex & Love, Talk, World, questions, streeters No Comments
8 Comments
We’ve started a new blog to discuss movies! The movie being featured right now is The Nativity Story which was released today in theatres. Please come join us at www.movies.thelife.com! Or continue reading below for tons of fascinating Da Vinci Code content!
15 Comments
The Da Vinci Code movie is being released on DVD on November 14th. If you haven’t seen it yet, now’s your chance to finally see what everyone’s been talking about. The international best-selling novel has sold over 60 million copies in 44 languages, and now the movie has grossed hundreds of millions of dollars around the world. Why is this story so popular? What’s the big attraction?
The reason that The Da Vinci Code sold so many books, movie tickets, and soon DVDs isn’t Dan Brown’s writing ability. (It’s a fast paced, fun tale, but plenty of those are written every year.) No, it’s clearly the controversial content that has made it such a bestseller.
There has been substantial confusion among readers about whether the book is factual. While promoted as fiction, Dan Brown repeatedly claims the details of the story are historically accurate, and the “FACT” page of the book states “All descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents, and secret rituals in this novel are accurate.”. However, nearly all scholars disagree. Many of the biggest claims of The Da Vinci Code story have been shown to be false.
So if you’re wondering which, if any, of the supposedly historical facts in the movie are accurate, you aren’t alone. Here is a sampling of some of the issues raised by the movie:
- Was Jesus considered “merely a man” before Constantine? - No. There’s no evidence the early church believed this. Even the early 2nd century heretics were suggesting that Jesus was only God and NOT a man. (See also this streaming video)
- Did the church run a “smear campaign” against Mary Magdalene? - No. Mary is spoken of positively in the Gospels and made a Saint by the church.
- Were there really “more than eighty gospels” written? - No. The few other ancient writings we possess are much later than the biblical records and thus were never considered historically accurate.
- Did Leonardo Paint Mary into the Last Supper? - No. It would make no difference even if he did; but read the article for six good reasons why we know he didn’t.
- Did Leonardo Da Vinci hate the Bible? - No. All of the quotes from Leonardo in The Da Vinci Code are misquoted. Leonardo was not referring to the Bible or Christianity in any of them!
The reason the story captivates people is that there is something about the person of Jesus Christ that just intrigues. He enchants our minds and our hearts. When we consider what really know about Him, the real Jesus outside of The Da Vinci Code fiction, author Max Lucado asks “What do we do with such a person? We applaud men for doing good things. We enshrine God for doing great things. But when a man does God things? One thing is for sure, we can’t ignore him. Why would we want to?” (Max Lucado, Next Door Savior)
The real Jesus is much more incredible than the false one portrayed in Brown’s Code. If Brown’s book has piqued your curiosity, you can explore the life of Christ for yourself with an interactive online experience called Who is Jesus?, a free, guided, 5 part course available through thelife.com, or continue reading this blog.
62 Comments
Dan Brown claims to be Christian. This should mean that he tries to follow Jesus. But Dan Brown believes a lot of what The Da Vinci Code discusses. He stated in a TV interview (pick the first Good Morning America interview here to see it) that he would not change a thing if he were to write a non-fiction book on the same topics The Da Vinci Code discusses. He clearly believes in a very different Jesus than most Christians. So, the question is: Who is Jesus really? Is he “merely a man” as Brown suggests, or something much, much more?
The best sources we have are found in the Bible itself. The biblical texts are the earliest texts we have, written in the first century and recorded by eyewitnesses or those who directly consulted eyewitnesses. There is no evidence that the Bible “evolved through countless translations, additions, and revisions” as Brown, through Teabing, suggests. The Bible is in fact the most reliable ancient document we possess, and exists in thousands of ancient copies with no major discrepancies. Here’s what these earliest sources have to say regarding Jesus, who is called “Immanuel,” meaning “God with us” (Matthew 1:23).
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God … The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:1,14).
“Christ Jesus, who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness” (Phil 2:5-7).
“For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form” (Col 2:9).
“Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”" (John 20:28)
Jesus also accepted worship, and for Jews this was seen as blasphemy because only God could be worshiped. The early church leaders agreed that Jesus was not merely a man: “God Himself being manifested in human form for the renewal of eternal life” - Ignatius (105AD)
It seems that since Dan Brown is contradicting the oldest and most reliable sources on who Jesus is, he is inventing his own Jesus to suit himself. That will never do for someone who “seeks the truth.” Jesus was clear regarding his claims about Himself and his work on earth. Many religious leaders have taught that we should love one another. But what made Jesus unique? Here’s what Billy Graham had to say:
Only Jesus died and then came back to life by the power of God, never to die again. … You can visit the tombs of philosophers and religious teachers of every kind across the world but you can’t visit Jesus’ tomb, because He rose from the dead and is now in heaven. Someday, He will return in glory to destroy all evil and rule in perfect justice. … Do you want to know God? Look at Jesus, for He was God in human flesh. And when you do, you also will discover that God loves you. He loves you so much that Christ was willing to die for you so you could be reconciled to God.
It’s time to answer Jesus’ question for yourself. It was first addressed to His twelve disciples but applicable to you and me today. Don’t jump to answer based on your preconceived notions or Dan Brown’s flawed history, but instead answer by examining the information available and asking God to help you answer Jesus’ question: “Who do you say I am?“
13 Comments
Toronto Sun columnist Michael Coren made the following comments in his article “Da Vinci Code a ‘disgrace’“, appearing in the May 20th 2006 issue of the newspaper:
“Surely a mild disclaimer at the beginning of the new movie might be nice. This is all that was asked of director Ron Howard, but the polite request was dismissed. Yet similar disclaimers have been inserted before movies many times in the past. For Asians before Year of the Dragon, blacks before Birth of a Nation, gays before Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Jews before Merchant of Venice. No, don’t stop me. For Mormons before Big Love, Muslims before True Lies, Native Americans before Pocahontas II and the Nearsighted before Mr. Magoo. Oh, and for Wolves before White Fang. So Christians, it would appear, matter slightly less that our friends in the wolf community.”
Should The Da Vinci Code movie have included a disclaimer, considering that many of its purported historical claims (such as Jesus’ supposed marriage, the Priory of Sion, Jesus’ divinity, and many others) are extremely dubious at best?
6 Comments
“The government of China has decided to put a halt to the runaway success of The DaVinci Code, pulling the high-grossing thriller from all of the country’s movie theaters, according to the film’s distributor, Sony Pictures.” (CNN, June 8 2006)
Why would the Chinese government decide to ban The Da Vinci Code? Some news stories suggest it was due to pressure from Catholics and other Christian groups within China. But Christians comprise only a tiny portion of China’s population (3-4% according to the CIA Factbook), and China is officially an atheist country. Could the real reason China banned the movie is to try to prevent discussion of the movie like we do on this blog? Persecution.org reports that “Foreigners are not allowed to proselytize … Illegal materials (any unapproved foreign religious material) cannot be sold, distributed, copied, or shipped.”
Perhaps the Chinese government was worried that discussion of the movie would lead to opportunities to proselytize (share the gospel) and banned the movie for that reason? (Thanks to ChristianCADRE for the idea for this article)
- None Found
