Is Christianity True?

Recently I saw a movie called Mortal Engines and one of the things that stuck with me (and yes this is a spoiler alert), was the fact that the heroine had “the key” to shut down the Medusa (a machine), and save lives, unfortunately, she did not know it until close to the end of the movie. This reminds me of Christians, we have such a treasure in God’s word that often we are unaware of its value because we are either too blinded, too deceived or too burdened to see what God has given to us. To add, there are many that think Christianity is a myth.  In fact, “religion” is seen as your personal and private belief, it cannot give you truth. “Many downright reject the idea that any religion can be true.”[1] When it comes to religion we blindly accept claims that tell us—truth does not exist; we believe, what is true for you, is not true for me— everything is relative.  This is not surprising because our culture tells us that truth and morality are relative. Yet we demand to “know the truth” from our politicians, the media, doctors, our kids and our spouses but when it comes to morality and religion—that’s your personal opinion you should keep it to yourself. But as Christians we should not keep the gospel to ourselves, didn't Jesus command us to “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit”[2] also known as the Great Commision? This is why it is so important that we Christians not only understand but know that we hold something very valuable—the truth, Jesus said “I am the way, and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”[3]

What is Truth?

What is truth, for starters, truth is discovered it can never be invented and it never changes. Truth is not relative but absolute, meaning, if something is true, it must always be true for all people, at all times in all places. Think about it, if there is no truth, then everything is false, but how can we know if that statement is even true? This is why we need to be defenders of truth. As Christians we must understand the importance of truth, for without truth, culture tells us that the gospel is relative—it is true for you, but not true for me. Once this misconception becomes a part of your worldview (the way you view the world), you could be liken to our heroine, unaware of what you hold in your possession—the key. God’s word— the Bible, which is our roadmap, it is the valuable key that guides us, shapes us and answers life’s most important questions - how did it all begin, why are we here, how should we live and where are we going? The Bible as the inerrant word of God is true. But don’t take my word for it, seek truth for yourself.

Are all Religions True?

What about other religions, can they all be true? Can two contradictory things be true at the same time? This is the Law of Noncontradiction - “a statement cannot both be true and false at the same time in the same respect.”[4] For example, can Islam and Christianity both be true with regards to their claims for Jesus Christ? Islam sees Jesus as a prophet and rejects the deity of Jesus, in fact, believing in the deity of Jesus can send a person to hell. Christianity believes in the deity of the Son, Jesus Christ, and Romans 10:9 tells us “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Therefore, believing in Jesus alone saves you (Acts 4:12).  On the other hand, Hinduism teaches there is no heaven or hell, instead it seems like a never ending loop of reincarnation, the loop only ends if you reach moksha. What about the resurrection of Jesus Christ? Either Jesus rose from the dead (historic Christianity) or Jesus was not resurrected (Judaism and Islam).  Yet again, culture informs us that all major religions are valid paths to God, known as pluralism, and we all worship the same God. That my friend, is not true, how can all religions worship the same God when we do not agree who God is? Another look at Hinduism reveals that “to qualify as “Hindu”, a religion has to, one, regard the Vedas (the early sacred writings) as divinely inspired and authoritative, two, accept the caste system and three, respect the veneration of the various levels of deities and spirits, including the protection of cows.”[5] However, the latter may prove extremely challenging especially since there are 330 million gods?  It is important to understand that because general revelation[6] is available to all, there will be traces of God in every religion. However, this does not mean that every religion is true. It will take special revelation to reveal the one true God. 

Is Christianity Verifiable?

Therefore, how can Christians be certain that what we believe is true? Christians can feel confident that the archaeological evidence demonstrates that the historical record of the Bible is true.[7] Christians can feel confident that not only is the Bible the Word of God but the Old and New Testament are historically reliable documents and thanks to Textual Criticism we can be confident that we have the most reliable reading. In contrast to the Qur’an— the product of one man, there is only one version of the Qur’an—”the one Uthman wanted us to have”[8] (since he burned all variants). Lastly, “Christianity’s origins and its central truth-claims are rooted in historical fact (Luke 2:1; Matt. 26:57; Mark 15:1)...The key events of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the historical person, can be examined and thus are subject to verification or falsification.”[9] Therefore, if the resurrection can be disproven then Christianity will fall apart and be considered false. (I Cor 15:14) However, “the resurrection is true, and the accounts of it have provided adequate evidence to certify it as a real event.”[10] Therefore, Christians can feel confident that the resurrection is a real event and shows Christianity to be true.

So why the objection and hostility towards Christianity? In my opinion, many of us today have a problem with what Christianity teaches, why? because it interferes with our lifestyle.  We want God's word to conform/bend to our way of thinking, or worse, integrate with culture. But remember, truth is not subjective, it does not bend, it never changes and it is not invented, it can only be discovered. God has given us the ability to discover truth, therefore, be a defender of truth because knowing the truth can save lives.