All Religions Do Not Lead To Heaven Series

WELCOME

Good Morning. Welcome to church! Whether you are listening online or you’re here in person; we’re glad you’ve connected with us!

If you have your Bible with you this morning, turn to John 14, and let’s read verse 6 together [Read John 14:6]. This verse is a difficult pill to swallow for many people today because in it Jesus makes an absolute claim; and absolutes are not too popular in today’s culture. People like options and alternatives.

INTRODUCTION: BLIND MEN AND AN ELEPHANT

Before we work our way further into this verse, allow me to tell you a story about a group of blind men who come across an elephant for the first time in their life. They each began to describe what they were touching. One touched the tusk and said it was a spear; another the ear and said it was a fan; another the belly and said it was a wall, and so on.

This story has been used to describe world religions; we’re all touching some aspect of the same truth. People believe it makes no difference whether you subscribe to Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism, or any other -ism; they all lead to the same place. This is one of the reasons why it has become cool to say that all religions have something good to offer and that “All roads lead to heaven.” This type of spirituality – and I’m using the term pretty loosely here – is called Universalism.

But the truth is that the spiritualities of today are not different paths up the same mountain; they are highways that lead people into darkness, confusion, skepticism, and eventually into total disbelief. All roads do not lead to heaven; they lead people to a place called, “I’m Totally Lost.”

THE NEW AGE MOVEMENT IN AMERICA

Another popular spirituality of today is the New Age Movement (NAM). According to Pew Research Center (2017), which is a nonpartisan American Think Tank based in Washington D.C., roughly six-in-ten American adults believe in at least one of the following New Age beliefs: (1) a spiritual energy exists within physical objects (i.e. mountains and trees), and they believe in (2) psychics, (3) reincarnation, and (4) astrology.

I’ve noticed that often when people learn that I’m a pastor, their conversation about spirituality will include something about (1) the universe is speaking, or (2) a healing energy pulsates through physical objects.

These ideas are among the “doctrines” of the New Age Movement (NAM) and they are widely promoted through celebrities like Oprah and the Oprah Winfrey Show, as well as through blockbuster movies like Star Wars (the Force), Avatar (the Tree of Souls), and the Avengers (Infinity Stones)—all of which are hugely popular, but they disseminate ideas about new age spiritualities.

Another trait of New Age spiritualities is that they disassociate themselves from organized religion. So, you might hear your friends say things like,

• “I’m spiritual, not religious”

• “I don’t need to go to church, I have my own spiritual relationship with a Higher Power…with Something Beyond Me”

• “Let me channel good vibes to you.”

[Use a personal story here] A friend of mine told me of an encounter she had with a group of friends at a Beauty Pageant. Right before the contestants went on stage my friend asked if all the contestants could pray together. She opened in a word of prayer,

“Dear God, we thank you for this opportunity and we ask you to calm our nerves and have your hand of blessing upon us this afternoon…”

Then the girl next to her prayed,

“Dear Higher Power, wherever you are, give us your energy…”

My friend was in shock. She didn’t know what to think.

New Agers are also not bound to any particular religious text. Instead, their doctrines are a conglomeration of multiple religions because they believe that no single religion or religious figure can make absolute claims. Truth is relative and subjective and that’s why according to the New Age Movement, “all roads lead to heaven.”

TRUTH CANNOT BE RELATIVE

How, then, should we begin to share our faith with those who subscribe to Universalism or are in the New Age Movements?

I think the conversation has to begin with a discussion on truth. At first glance, the claim that “truth is relative” comes across as open-minded and tolerant; two words that are paraded in culture. But truth cannot be relative. And proclaiming that there is an absolute truth is neither prejudice nor intolerant. Truth is objective; it cannot by its very nature be subjective.

People aren’t free to make up their own truth. Allow me to illustrate:

Suppose someone has it in their mind that according to their truth, anyone who eats a steady diet of hamburgers, french fries, and diet cokes will live a long and prosperous life. That is absurd, right? The truth is that people who eat a consistent diet of fast food will develop diabetes and heart disease.