People generally agree that religion improves people’s lives because it ascribes purpose and meaning to them. Religion also helps pull people out of addiction, restores relationships, and provide personal growth. One way it accomplishes this is through providing an outline for how people should live. Usually, there are certain rules to follow and instructions to obey that generally encourage people to become more loving, patient, and kind lives. Since religion incentivizes all these positive outcomes, it is generally agreed that people should respect other religions because it provides a positive “way of life.” This understanding, though, assumes that the focus of religion is to make bad people good or to help people find their purpose in life. Does this analysis fairly represent religion?
It is true that most religions have a book or prophet which describes the generally accepted way to live. Christianity, specifically, is commonly accused of being overbearing in the laws people are expected to obey. In fact, some say that “Bible” is an acronym that stands for Basic Instruction Before Leaving Earth. With all this, it makes sense for people to assume religion is a way of life, because it is. However, it is a tragedy to confine religion to only being a way of life. This is an unfair over-simplification of religion.
All religions make bold truth claims about the world in addition to being a way of life. For example, Christianity makes the bold truth claim that Jesus is God in human form. Muslims make the bold truth claim that Allah is the only true God. Moreover, all religions provide a way to be forgiven or set free from evil and sin. Christianity claims the only way to be saved from evil is through having genuine faith in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ because he bore the punishment of sin on humanities behalf. Islam claims that submitting to Allah is the way to be saved from evil. Buddhism claims that the way to be saved is through eliminating desire by the eightfold path. Finally, the Bible is so much more than just an instruction manual. The Bible describes the attributes and character of God, it traces how he has revealed himself throughout history, it displays the plan of salvation that God has laid out since creation, and so much more.
Yes, all religions provide a way of life for its followers, but this is only the tip of the iceberg. Religions also make truth claims that explain the surrounding world and they claim to have the key to the afterlife; and Christianity, specifically, is far more concerned with making people that are dead in their sin alive through Christ than turning bad people good. So, while all religions may provide purpose and meaning to people’s lives, they make competing truth claims and only one can be true. This means that people should do their best to find the true religion. “Am I fulfilled” is not the question people should be asking when determining the validity of a religion. Instead, the question should be, “is it true?” For, the true religion will also provide the greatest form of fulfillment in this life. It was for this very reason that Christ said in John 6:35, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”
Written by Luke Radtke