Deceptive Thinking Leads Us Down the Road of Destruction (Part 3)

In the fourteenth chapter of John, Jesus made the boldest statement ever recorded in human history. He said in John 14:6, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." As the Messiah, Jesus was saying the way to know God would only be discovered by being in relationship with him. One of the points that makes Christianity different from every other religion is the fact that God came to earth in the form of a human named Jesus. Not only did he reveal himself to humanity, but he gave his life to change humanity forever. God came to us and revealed himself as the source of truth for every person.

One of the great challenges we face in the world today is finding truth in the midst of many different religious beliefs, philosophies and worldviews. Who is right and who is wrong? It seems the only sin today is to say that someone's system of belief is incorrect. Are all religions, philosophies and worldviews basically the same? Are all religions, philosophies and worldviews harmless? The answer is no. To believe that they are all basically the same is not only deceptive, but it is also destructive. This type of thinking is called pluralization.

Pluralization is the existence and availability of a number of world-views, each vying for the allegiance of individuals, with no single world-view dominant. When we try to set up a pluralistic society, we have no point of reference for rationality. To be rational you must begin with truth. Truth is the staring part for all rational thinking. When we have no point of reference for rationality, we lose our sense of reason. Without reason, we will believe any teaching or do any activity to feel better about ourselves. Without a reference for rationality and without a sense of reason, we end up killing our neighbor. Remember, all deceptive thinking eventually leads to the destruction of people. This is just what the devil wants for humanity. The following are two examples of the effects of pluralization in our world today.

On September 11, 2001, people of a different religious belief and worldview brought destruction to America. Forever known as 9/11, this was truly one of the most shocking moments in American history. Here in the land of the free and the home of the brave, we watched buildings explode and burn from the crashing of American planes. The enemy had attacked, but this time it was not from across the seas. They were trained in the United States to fly the planes they would eventually use to kill a multitude of people in our country. What was even more perplexing was the fact that the enemy was now our neighbor.

Last year in France, people of a different religious belief and worldview caused one of the most violent uprisings in the recent history of the continent. Once again, these were home-grown terrorists who were causing all of the destruction. It is another picture of neighbors killing neighbors. According to a November 19, 2005 aritcle in World Magazine, the adversity between the young angry Muslim youth and the French government might turn France into an Islamic-type state, or two states. One would be ruled by French law, with extraterritorial entities ruled by Islamic laws. What will it be like for neighbors living next to each other governed by a whole different system of laws, religious beliefs and worldviews.? History has proven that it always leads to the killing of one another.

What we believe is a matter of life and death! Jesus, the way, the truth and the life, taught that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind and all your strength. The second commandment, which flows out of the first, is to love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37-40). How different would the world be if we followed Jesus' way, the truth that he taught and lived life according to his example? He demonstrated his worldview to his neighbor by being crucified on a cross instead of crashing planes into a building. Jesus' cross brings redemption and reconciliation.

Stay tuned for part 4.