Are There Many Paths to God?

In September the pope visited Singapore and met with representatives of a variety of faiths. While addressing them, he made the statement: “All religions are a path to God.” He continued, “They are like different languages in order to arrive at God, but God is God for all.”

He expressed his sentiment using the following reasoning: There is only one God. Since you and I are worshipping God, it must be the same God, as there is only one God. 

He emphasized it again a little over a week later at an interreligious gathering in Paris, saying: “Allow ourselves to be guided by the divine inspiration present in every faith.” Present at the meeting were French President Emmanuel Macron, the Anglican archbishop of Canterbury, the head of the grand mosque of Paris and the chief rabbi of France. 

To many, this message is a welcome step toward religious inclusivity and a celebration of what unites the world’s religions instead of what divides them.   

But in matters of faith, especially when God’s name and will are invoked, we must ask, Is this true? Does this align with God’s will revealed in His Word? 

Are all religions simply diverse paths to the same God?  

Jesus came to bring a sword

Some might be surprised that Jesus openly said He would bring division: “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword” (Matthew 10:34). 

But isn’t Jesus the embodiment of love and acceptance of everyone? Didn’t He come to bring peace, after all? Doesn’t the Bible call Him the “Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6)? 

It does.

So, why would Jesus make such a statement? 

Jesus said that His teachings would bring division, which is diametrically opposite to Pope Francis’ message of all faiths being pathways to God.  The answer is simple: Nothing seems to divide people more than beliefs. Consider many of the beliefs people hold that cause division—abortion rights, transgender rights, immigration, political candidates, climate change, health care, voting rights, etc. 

People hold their personal beliefs dear, and those who hold different beliefs are often viewed as enemies. 

Faith and doctrine can also be very divisive—even more so than political and social issues. 

Jesus said that some Christians would experience even their own family members turning on them and casting them out as enemies (Matthew 10:35-36). Many people are naturally hostile to God’s law (Romans 8:7), and that hostility is often directed toward those who strive to obey it. (To learn more, read “The Meaning of Romans 8:7: What Is the Carnal Mind?”)

Jesus said that His teachings would bring division, which is diametrically opposite to Pope Francis’ message of all faiths being pathways to God. 

Are there many paths?

A cursory glance at the world’s religions reveals significant differences in belief and practice. Consider what mainstream Christianity, Islam and Judaism believe about Jesus Christ: 

• Mainstream Christianity believes Jesus was a part of the triune God and died on the cross for our sins. Most Christians believe that salvation comes through His sacrifice. 
• Islam believes Jesus was not God and did not die on a cross, but instead was saved from death by Allah and taken to heaven. 
• Judaism thinks Jesus may have been a good rabbi—but does not believe He was God or the long-awaited Messiah. 

These are three completely contradictory teachings. 

They cannot all be true. 

Simply put, all paths cannot lead to the same God because that would mean God inspires different beliefs and ways of life that contradict one another. If that were true, God would be a confusing and unreliable being who changes His mind or has different ideas at different times. A God like this would not be trustworthy, consistent or reliable.   

Because God is on a higher plane than we are, we can only know Him if He reveals Himself to us (Deuteronomy 29:29). For Christians, that revelation should come through the Bible, which contains the truth about who God is and what He expects from us. 

The Bible continually reinforces God’s consistency, reliability and unchangeability. Consider just three examples:

• “For I am the LORD, I do not change” (Malachi 3:6).
• “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever” (Isaiah 40:8). 
• “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).

To learn more, study our infographic “Characteristics of God From Old Testament to New Testament.”  

A God of confusion?

Pope Francis’ statement is confusing because his words are untrue. His views would make God inconsistent. The apostle Paul clearly tells us, “God is not the author of confusion” (1 Corinthians 14:33). 

The God that Pope Francis claims to represent is not the same God Paul taught about.

According to the Bible, not all religions worship the same God, and there aren’t alternative paths to salvation. Contrary to what Pope Francis is teaching, there is only one God, and He reveals Himself through the Bible. The Bible does talk about human-devised deities but clearly labels them as false. Consider the following:

• God passed judgment on the man-made “gods” of Egypt (Exodus 12:12).
• Ancient Judah worshipped many gods (Jeremiah 11:13), and God rebuked them for doing so (Jeremiah 35:15). 

Reinforcing this point, the apostle Paul made another direct statement, which definitively distinguishes the true God from “so-called gods,” in 1 Corinthians 8:5-6: 

“For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords), yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.”

So, according to the Bible, not all religions worship the same God, and there aren’t alternative paths to salvation. There is one God—revealed in the Bible as a family composed of God the Father and Jesus Christ, the Son. 

To learn more about the nature of the true God, read “What Did the Apostles Believe About God?” 

Truth is increasingly being rejected 

What is truth? 

Pilate asked this famous question (John 18:38), but he wasn’t really interested in letting Christ answer. Likewise, people in our world are cynical that there is absolute truth. Instead, our society has embraced inclusion and pluralism as a substitute for truth.

According to this approach, people can have their own truth, and no one has the right to exclude or judge another. (However, those who insist there is absolute truth are often judged and excluded.)  

According to the Bible, not all religions worship the same God, and there aren’t alternative paths to salvation. (To learn more about the problems with this approach, read “What Does the Bible Say About ‘My Truth’?”)

Society’s approach sacrifices truth for inclusion and leads us to believe things that are not true— things that are even harmful. 

Accommodating all beliefs at the expense of truth has led us to tolerate and celebrate many destructive behaviors. In Western nations, we continually reject biblically based moral standards and instead accept and permit all kinds of wrong things, including:

• Abortion of a child in the womb, in some cases even into the eighth or ninth month of gestation.
• Decriminalized drug use. 
• Various deviant sexual behaviors.
• Euthanasia and assisted suicide. 

Without truth, we are left groping in the dark. Our society is becoming increasingly confused about the difference between right and wrong, and good and evil (Isaiah 5:20; 59:10). 

(To learn more, read “The Abyss of Moral Relativism” and “5 Ways Our Culture Is Rejecting Biblical Morality.”) 

What is truth?

Pilate’s question was a response to Christ’s statement: “Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice” (John 18:37). Jesus defined truth as His words, the words He came to deliver from the Father (John 17:14-17). 

So, what did Jesus say about the way to God and salvation? Did He directly address if there’s one way or multiple ways to salvation? 

Consider four direct statements on this topic found in the Bible: 

• “Nor is there salvation in any other [name than Jesus Christ], for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12; see also verse 10).
• “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).
• “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture” (John 10:9).
• “Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death” (John 8:51).

There is only one way—one single path to salvation. 

Regardless of the views of Pope Francis I, other religious leaders or society in general, we urge and implore you to reject those ideas and pursue God’s way of life as revealed in the Bible.

It is the only path to God and salvation.

Photo credit: iStock.com/ChromatikaMultimedia

Date Posted: November 11, 2024