The ministry sends out a monthly pamphlet called Impact. The back page usually has an excerpt from Dr. Kennedy's library of commentaries. This month, the title is "Just Two Basic Religions." Here is a copy:
Just Two Basic Religions
Posted on September 8, 2011 by admin
By Dr. D. James Kennedy
East is east and west is west and never the twain shall meet, but at the end of the twentieth century, the twain have not only met, the twain have collided. We in the west have met the religions of the East: Shintoism, Confucianism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam.
“What about all those other gods?” has been a question millions of Americans have asked. “Are they real? Are they false? What should we think?”
Some people have said, “Well, there is really just one religion with different faces, and we’re all basically going to the same God through different paths.”
But in Romans we read that man has substituted idol worship for belief in the true God. Paul declares that “Although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God…. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man” (Romans 1:21–23 NKJV).
Dr. Erwin Lutzer, Senior Pastor of The Moody Church, has said, “I believe that the Scriptures require us to view other religions as the flawed attempts of man to reach God through human effort and insight.”
There are thousands of varieties of pagan religions, but they all really boil down to one approach. I am, of course, excluding Christianity, which is the largest religion in the world, by far, and which is not really a “religion” in the truest sense of that word—it is a relationship between God and the people He has called to Himself. But in all pagan religions there is one underlying reality—all human effort is directed toward trying to effect one’s own salvation.
All pagan religions boil down to man’s effort to save himself. That is why the worship is given to the creature. It is the creature’s efforts to save himself that all of their hopes are built upon.
By contrast, Christ has proved Himself to be the living God by His Resurrection from the dead. He freely gives eternal life by His grace as a gift to all of those that will trust in Him. So the two religions and only two that exist on this planet are diametrically opposite to each other.
Therefore, what is our attitude to be toward these other religions? The idea that we would accept one religion more than another is totally unacceptable to the people who insist on “political correctness” today.
All of those thousands of other pagan religions base their claim to know God and reach heaven upon things they do—saying so many prayers, doing this or doing that and the other thing. It all gets down to “self,” and ultimately, what do all those religions believe in? They believe in self.
They try to be their own savior because they will have none other, and they will save themselves by their good works because there is no other way. For them, there is no Divine Redeemer that came from Heaven. For them, there is no Divine Savior who went to a Cross and took upon Himself the guilt of our sins, endured the wrath of His Father in our place, paid the penalty of our sin, and now offers freely to us the gift of eternal life.
Only Christianity has such a Divine Redeemer, such a Divine Savior. Only Christianity offers salvation as a free gift.
So if we are asked, “What about these other gods?” our answer can be steadfast and firm: “There is no other god who is able to save to the uttermost. To put one’s trust for salvation in anything or anyone other than Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, is pure foolishness.”
Adapted from Dr. Kennedy’s message, “What About These Other gods?”
© Copyright 2011 Truth in Action Ministries
P.O.Box 7009, Albert Lea, MN 56007
When I think about the open arms that mayor Bloomberg (Gloomberg - as Pam Gellar calls him! lol) has offered to those who want to build a mosque near Ground Zero, and now the latest news where the Ground Zero Mosque Mayor Bloomberg Partners with Saudi Prince in New Muslim News Channel. it makes me really angry. But Dr. Kennedy's quote reminds me of the truth of the matter:
There are thousands of varieties of pagan religions, but they all really boil down to one approach: man's effort to save himself. - Dr. D. James Kennedy
During a conversation I recently had with my blogging friend Steve in the comment section of the previous post, I wrote (in part):
When it comes to knowing and understanding what is the truth or what is a lie in the everyday world we live in, it can become difficult to discern. However, there is One in whom we can turn to who IS the ultimate truth - Jesus!
In my personal life, I have found that things I thought about certain instances and people were not always correct. In one recent revelation - the information proved to be much worse than what I originally thought. I can be quite naive in that way.
We want to think the very best of people - especially those closest to us. But sometimes the truth coming out destroys what we previously knew about them. It is heartbreaking.
It helps to realize that only one Perfect Man has ever lived - Jesus Christ. When we focus on Him, His Word, the Bible, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit then we will know the truth and the truth will set us free. It is the truth that matters most anyway. The truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Christ is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. On that we can completely depend and find solace in times of trouble.
Jesus told us, "In this world you will have trouble (tribulation). But take heart! For I have overcome the world."
It has become increasingly difficult to tell people about Jesus Christ and the Gospel. It's not politically correct to claim that one knows (or has) the absolute truth. But you and I KNOW Who does hold the truth! And it is in Him that we can rest in His grace and mercy.
The fact that relativism (including moral relativism) is such a popular concept these days means that anyone who claims otherwise is mislabeled as a "bigot", "fear-monger", "hater", "racist", "sons of b******", etc. I'll accept the label of "Hobbit" which was given by some Democrat loon. Even though it was meant to disparage and belittle us, the fact that the Hobbits in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy were successful in the end makes it a label that represents worthiness to press on, even through terrible danger and hard times.
Those who claim to know and believe that there is such a thing as absolute truth which determines what is actually right or wrong, are hated by those who don't believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Why is that? I think that Dr. Kennedy's analysis helps to explain why.
In the same flyer, there is a quote by former House Speaker Robert Winthrop which was stated in 1849:
"Men, in a word, must necessarily be controlled, either by a power within them, or by a power without them; either by the Word of God, or by the strong arm of man; either by the Bible, or by the bayonet."
What was true then, is true now.
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2 comments:
”Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man” (Romans 1:21–23 NKJV).”
Nowhere is this more obvious than in the Christian Bible. In its pages, the incorruptible God is so upset and angered by the actions of its created beings that, in one famous case, it decides to kill them all, in accordance with Hebrews 9:22. Apparently Jesus was “Plan B” after the first plan didn't work out too well.
This God also talks a lot about avenging himself. Why would the Sovereign of the Universe need to avenge himself at all? Especially when he constantly tells his creatures to forgive (Matthew 18:21~22)? That, to me, sounds pretty corrupt.
Dr. Erwin Lutzer, Senior Pastor of The Moody Church, has said, “I believe that the Scriptures require us to view other religions as the flawed attempts of man to reach God through human effort and insight.”
As opposed to Christianity (and Judaism, and Islam), where an alleged God reveals to us what it thinks we should know.
”...For them, there is no Divine Redeemer that came from Heaven. For them, there is no Divine Savior who went to a Cross and took upon Himself the guilt of our sins, endured the wrath of His Father in our place, paid the penalty of our sin, and now offers freely to us the gift of eternal life.”
Except that it's not a gift; you have to give up something in order to get it—and no, it's not your sin. Obviously it isn't free--someone paid for it, right? Although, what did Jesus pay? Not his life; he got that back. He lived a humble life, he died a nasty death, and now we are told he reigns in glory with the Father...so what did he sacrifice?
Apologetics is like alchemy; you'll learn a lot, but you can't do anything useful with it.
Hopefully, others will find some time to comment. For now, I will just say that your drivel has actually proven the point of the post.
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