Richard Hollerman

Probably you have read the posts on Facebook and the website (www.Truediscipleship.com) on “Pluralism.” Let’s build on this at this time.

Pluralism, of course, is a theological position that would accept all religions as correct and to be embraced. It may be Islam. Or it could be Judaism. Perhaps it is Hinduism or Buddhism. And it may be a form of “Christianity.” There would also be many atheists who believe that all religion is false and to be rejected.

But today, in this article, we wish to focus on Muslims, part of Islam, with perhaps 1.9 billion adherents. Judaism, we must remember. this religion comprises roughly 13 million adherents. All forms of (so-called) Christianity would be several billion people more (in its several different forms). And Pluralism would include Roman Catholicism, Orthodoxy, and Protestantism. But today we wish to especially consider Islam and Judaism.

Of course, Judaism, with many changes and alterations over the years since the time of Abraham, about 2,000 BC, might be considered similar to what we had a long while ago. Yes, there have been massive changes but there are similarities too. And the same is true for Islam. Begun by a false prophet in Arabia (in the 700s AD) who amalgamated and defeated  some 100 different tribes, it spread by sword, across North Africa, the Middle East, and into Europe until it was stopped by Charles Martel in the Battle of Tours in France (on October 10, 732 BC).

Today, on the one hand, Judaism consists of some 16 million adherents, with special concentrations in Jerusalem and the United States. (From these two sources there would be 51% from the U.S. and about 5 million from Israel.) Further more, Islam, since the 700s, is found in other countries (in North Africa, the Middle East, and elsewhere). Actually with an influx of refugees and aliens, it would be found in Africa, in America, in Europe, as well as in the Middle East. Of course, we know that Shi Muslims would especially be found in Iran, in Lebanon, and elsewhere. The Sunnis would be found in many different nations.

Some of our readers believe that God revealed His truth in His Word, the Bible. If this is so (and it is), then we know that both Islam and Judaism are false. They both believe that God, the Creator, did not reveal truth in Jesus (although, supposedly, God did create the world). In the case of these two world religions, we know that they either deny Jesus is God’s Son and the Savior of the world or that they believe there are other ways to God, besides Christ Jesus.

We think that these religions are false in many ways. Judaism is false for it radically differs from Scripture, and Islam is utterly false since it completely contradicts the Word God. God alone is correct. The way of Scripture is very different from these religions. And even when two or three billion people in the world believe one way, they may be wrong (and definitely are wrong) in many ways.

Thus, even though several billions of people may believe that God is Creator and half of these people hold to Jesu as God’s Son. We know that these dear people are wrong in many ways—yet at least some of them are “sincerely” wrong. Although pluralists may agree that God is real and He created all, we know that doctrinally, there are massive failures on the part of these religions to accept what God says. Whom will you believe? What will you believe?

It is a matter of accepting the Word of God (Scripture) or unaided human reason. Which will it be?