• A common criticism that many believers have heard is, “You Christians are so judgmental.”
• When faced with this charge, our first response should be to check our own heart and attitude. Have we failed to proclaim the truth with grace and love? Is our critique of error moving into the realm of personal attack? If so, we must remember the admonition given to us in 1 Peter 3:15 and balance our witness with gentleness and respect.
• If our heart and attitude is in the right place, our next response should be to point out that the one calling Christians “judgmental” is doing the very thing they’re accusing us of. They’re judging Christians!
• We must then explain that being judgmental is not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, we all make judgments all the time. Anytime we show a preference we’re making a judgment. What’s really at issue here is whether or not the judgment being made is accurate or well founded.
• At this point it’s important to explain that when we as Christians speak out against various beliefs, practices, or lifestyles, we do so based on our beliefs and convictions that are rooted in God’s revelation to humanity, found in Scripture.
• A person may not like the judgments we are making as believers, but what really matters is what is true; and if the Bible really is God’s revelation to humanity, there is no more important truth for us to know and follow.
• If we’re prepared to explain the above to those who label us “judgmental”, this can then be a great bridge to an ongoing conversation about the merits of our faith or an encouragement to examine the claims of Christianity further.

For more helpful responses to today’s popular criticisms of Christianity, please see the book, Answers For A Confused Church, available in our online store.

• One popular criticism raised against Christianity is the charge that, “Christians just have faith”.
• The fact of the matter, however, is that faith is not unique to Christians. Everyone has faith. For example, even the most hardcore Atheist has faith. The Atheist has faith that there is no God.
• The question is not whether a person has faith or not. The real question is what are you putting your faith in and do you have a valid and reasonable basis for your faith?
• As Christians we are not making a blind leap of faith. Christianity is not just wishful thinking. Rather, the Christian’s faith is one that is rooted in history and founded on a whole host of valid reasons to believe.

For more positive responses to some of the popular criticisms of Christianity, please check out the book, Apologetics For A New Generation, available in our online store.

• The Koran is the religious text of Islam and is revered by all Muslims around the world. It is the supposed literal, word for word, perfect revelation of Allah given to Mohammed, the founder and prophet of Islam.
• Around 610 A.D. Mohammed claimed to have received his first of many revelations from Allah, supposedly delivered to him by the angel Gabriel while Mohammed was praying in a cave near Mecca. He would receive these revelations over a period of 22 years.
• Mohammed reported that when he received these revelations he would go into seizures. He even feared initially that he might be demon possessed.
• Mohammed’s revelations were originally delivered orally to his followers. They were only compiled and arranged in the Koran after his death. This is why the Koran is in no chronological order. Mohammed’s followers simply compiled his revelations, the 114 Suras of the Koran, in order from the longest to the shortest.
• Muslims claim that the Koran is a miraculous work of Allah since Mohammed could not read or write. They claim that Allah gave these revelations to an illiterate Mohammed so that all would know they were of divine origin and not from man.
• The Muslims’ claims for the Koran, however, are seriously flawed. Not only does the Koran contain numerous internal inconsistencies, contradictions, historical and scientific errors, but modern day archaeology and textual criticism has demonstrated conclusively that Mohammed borrowed much of the Koran from pre-existing written texts and oral traditions found in Arabian and Judeo-Christian culture.

For more information on the Koran and the religion of Islam, please check out the documentary DVD, Islam Rising, available in our online store.

• In 1820 Joseph Smith Jr., the founder of Mormonism, claimed to receive a revelation from God the Father and Jesus Christ saying that all of the Christian churches were wrong and their creeds were an abomination to the Lord.
• A few years later Joseph Smith claimed that an angel named “Moroni” had revealed to him the location of hidden “golden plates” on the hill Cumorah in upstate New York. These golden plates were supposedly inscribed with hieroglyphics of a language Smith called “reformed Egyptian”.
• Using miraculous spectacles called the “Urim and Thummin”, supposedly provided by the angel Moroni, Smith translated the golden plates between 1827 and 1830. In 1830 he published his translation of the golden plates, calling it the Book of Mormon.
• The Book of Mormon details the supposed history of ancient Hebrews who came across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas. The Book of Mormon calls these people the “Nephites” and the “Lamanites” and the Mormon Church has claimed that they are the principle ancestors of today’s Native American tribes.
• Joseph Smith claimed that the Book of Mormon was “the most correct of any book on earth”. This is still the claim of the Mormon Church today.
• The reality for the Book of Mormon, however, is far different than what Mormon’s claim for it. Since 1830 it has undergone over 3900 textual changes. Additionally, there is no historical or archaeological evidence whatsoever for any of the people, places, or stories described in the Book of Mormon. For example, modern day genetics has yet to find any evidence of Hebrew ancestry in the Native American populations; the Mormon Church refuses to produce an official map of any of the locations mentioned in the Book of Mormon; and there is no evidence at all for the language Smith called “reformed Egyptian”.
• For these reasons, and many more, the Book of Mormon must be rejected as a true revelation from God and Joseph Smith must be rejected as a legitimate prophet.

For more information on the Book of Mormon and the religion of Mormonism, please check out Dr. Carlson’s lecture, Mormonism: Christian or Cult? available in CD or MP3 in our online store.

• The New World Translation is the name of the Bible used by Jehovah’s Witnesses around the world. They claim it is a scholarly translation of the Scriptures from the Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic languages.
• The New World Translation was originally released in six volumes between 1950 and 1961 when the Jehovah’s Witnesses completed their translation.
• The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society (the legal organization that directs the beliefs and practices of all Jehovah’s Witnesses) to this day refuse to divulge the names and credentials of the translators of The New World Translation. They claim that the translation committee requested anonymity out of humility.
• In the years following its publication however, former Jehovah’s Witnesses have made known the identities of the translators of The New World Translation, they were: Frederick Franz (then Vice President of the JWs), Nathan Knorr (then President of the JWs), Albert Schroeder, George Gangas, and Milton Henschel.
• None of these men possessed the educational background or qualifications to serve as reliable, scholarly translators of the Bible from the original languages. In fact, Frederick Franz, the chief translator on the committee, under oath during a trial in Scotland in 1954, could not even translate a single English verse from the book of Genesis into Hebrew.
• Given what we now know about the translation committee, the ongoing refusal of the Watchtower Organization to acknowledge the translators’ names or credentials, and the fact that no reputable scholar of the ancient languages has ever endorsed The New World Translation, this book must be rejected as a false and deceptive manipulation of the true Scriptures revealed by God.

For more information on the Jehovah’s Witnesses please check out Dr. Carlson’s book, Fast Facts On False Teachings, available in our online store.

• In recent weeks we’ve been looking at some of the apologetic responses to the philosophy of Religious Pluralism. In this final installment in this series we want to highlight an argument we call “The Pragmatic Test for Truth”.
• This argument is generally not the best to use when opening a conversation about Religious Pluralism, but in the course of an ongoing dialogue on this topic, this argument makes an important point.
• The Pragmatic Test for Truth asks the question, “What do the religions of the world produce, philosophically, in the lives and societies of their adherents?” In other words, what is the fruit of the various world religions?
• For example, when we examine the Eastern faiths of Hinduism and Buddhism we find a history of producing stagnant cultures. The Eastern worldview posits a foundational doctrine known as “maya” which means that the world is an illusion. Now, if the world is an illusion, what basis do we have to seek to better ourselves technologically, scientifically, medically, etc.?
• Another example, the religion of Islam has historically produced intolerant and repressive cultures. When one reads the Koran you will find numerous verses commanding Muslims to kill Jews, Christians, and other infidels. You also find in Islam the widespread denial of basic human rights.
• A person’s religious worldview matters. And the fruit of the religions of the world is an important topic to consider when the religious pluralist makes that claim that “All religions are basically the same.”
• When you examine the fundamental teachings of the various religions of the world, what you will find is that not only are all religions not basically the same, but only in biblical Christianity do we find a true basis for love and compassion, for cultural and social progress, etc.

For more information on the various religions of the world, please check out Dr. Carlson’s book, Fast Facts On False Teachings, available in our online store.

• In recent weeks we’ve been looking at the popular spiritual claim that, “All roads lead to God and one religious path is as good as another.”
• A great response to those who make statements like this is to simply ask the question, “So what path are you following?”
• In many cases, what you’ll discover is that the person making the claim that all roads lead to God really isn’t following any particular religion. Many simply use pluralistic statements like the one above to mask their own lack of any religious commitment whatsoever.
• If you discover that the religious pluralist you’re talking to doesn’t practice any religion, simply ask, “If all roads lead to God, don’t you think you should be following one them?”
• At this point, suggest they try the Jesus path with you. Let them know it’s really great and invite them to join you on the journey!

For more apologetic responses to Religious Pluralism and other false worldviews, please check out Dr. Carlson’s book, Fast Facts On False Teachings, available in our online store.

• Last week we began looking at some apologetic responses to the popular claim that, “All roads lead to God and one path is as good as another.”
• We noted that statements like this are only true if God is impersonal, but if God is a personal being, then it really matters how we engage Him, especially if He’s told us how we might do so.
• A helpful observation to share with the religious pluralist on this point is this, if someone “in the know” gives you directions that will lead you safely to your destination, it only makes sense to follow their guidance.
• For example, consider the helicopter traffic reporter. When the helicopter traffic reporter comes on the radio and diagnoses the reason for why you’re stuck in rush hour traffic, and then shares with you a route that will get you home safely and on time, the logical choice is to accept their guidance gladly. Why? Because they’re a mile up in the sky! They see and know things that you cannot from your vantage point.
• The same holds true with our Heavenly Father. God is our “Heavenly traffic reporter”. From His eternal vantage point He sees our problem (sin), and He knows all the competing religious options available to us, but He’s told us very clearly, “There’s only one way that leads to life and that is through a relationship with my Son, Jesus Christ.”
• Just as it would be foolish to ignore the helicopter traffic reporter in the sky, so too is it foolish to disregard the guidance that our Heavenly Father has given us for how we can have a right relationship with Him (John 3:16).

For more helpful apologetic responses to Religious Pluralism and Universalism, please check out the Apologetics Study Bible for Students, available in our online store.

• The philosophy of Religious Pluralism is a widely held view in our world today. Those who hold this position will often make statements such as, “All roads lead to God and one path is as good as another.”
• It’s important to understand that statements like the above are only true if God is impersonal, for impersonal destinations cannot have a preference about how they are approached or engaged. For example, consider traveling to California. You can travel to CA any way you like – by plane, bike, jogging, etc. – CA doesn’t care how you get there because the state of CA is an impersonal entity.
• On the contrary, if God is a personal being, statements like the one above may or may not be true depending on what God has revealed about how He wants to be approached or engaged. And if the personal God has revealed that there is only one way to have a relationship with Him, then taking that revelation seriously is of utmost importance.
• In the Bible we learn that God truly is a personal being; and God has told us that there is only one way to approach Him, through a saving relationship with Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 2:5-6; John 14:6; Acts 4:12). This revelation from our personal God completely dispels the notion of religious pluralism.

For more information on Religious Pluralism and the biblical response to it, please check out Jason Carlson’s DVD lecture titled, Salvation: Is There Really Just 1 Way? available in our online store.

• In our current series we are responding to the claims of Religious Pluralism and Universalism, philosophies that declare that all religious paths lead to God and ultimately everyone will be saved.
• Last week we began looking at some of the philosophic arguments against Religious Pluralism by considering the Law of Non-Contradiction. Today we will consider a related argument that we call the Multiple Personality Deity Problem.
• Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD) is a mental illness where an individual will exhibit multiple, differing and disassociated personalities at different times.
• MPD is relevant to the issue of Religious Pluralism because the deity of the Religious Pluralist very likely suffers from this condition. Consider this…
• The god of Religious Pluralism goes to one group of people and tells them, “This is who I am and this is the only way you can be saved.” He then goes to another group of people and tells them a completely different story, saying, “No, this is who I am and this how you’re really saved.” He then goes to yet another group of people and once again gives them a totally different story, saying, “No, no, this is who I truly am and this is really the only way to be saved.”
• The god of Religious Pluralism goes all over the world sharing mutually exclusive and contradictory revelations about his nature and the true way to salvation. He even tells another group of people, “No, no, no, I’m not exclusive. Everyone will ultimately be saved no matter what they believe.”
• The god of the Religious Pluralist is ultimately nothing more than a deity that suffers from multiple personality disorder. It’s a god who at best is very confused, or at worst is totally misleading. In either case, who would want to trust a god like that with their eternal destiny?
• Contrary to the god of Religious Pluralism, Jesus Christ makes the clear and exclusive claim, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). And while his claim is exclusive, his invitation is open to all, “whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

For more on the different claims of the world’s religions, please check out Dr. Carlson’s book, Fast Facts On False Teachings, available in our online store.