This may seem like a bold title!  With all of the religions in the world, it may, indeed, seem presumptuous for any one of them to claim it knows what is true -- and what, therefore, is NOT true about all the others! But, if we stop to consider it, this is done by all of the world's religions.  Each one claims to be a (if not THE) true religion. If it didn't, it would have no followers!  We ALL believe our beliefs to be true, or else we wouldn't believe them. But the rational conclusion HAS TO BE: They can't all be true because they all contradict.  Maybe they're all wrong! But THAT would suggest there is no God!

 

So, in one sense, this article is setting out to do something most people don't want. It is setting out to challenge thinking because there ARE sincere people who are honestly seeking better answers than the ones they have heard. They don't mind being challenged. They don't mind issuing challenges! 

 

We would like to suggest some rational and heart-warming ideas as to what SHOULD BE the ingredients of a religion which is true.  You can decide for yourself if they seem valid for you.

 

We can likely assume that most readers of this website are Christian-oriented people. But we can also hope that people who read our website with any kind of religious background (or none at all!) WANT some good news.  They want ideas which grab both their intellects and their hearts.  If they want a god, they want one worthy of being a god!  Maybe they even just want to know if there might BE a god!  Don't we all want to find answers that not only "ring true," but which inspire our emotions, our hopes, and our quest for something we can actually value above all we have ever known?  How much more true this is as the world around us is disintegrating.

 

The rest of this article will suggest "ingredients" for true religion.  If you should concur that these ingredients represent the goodness and reasonableness you want,  then you may have just found at least a part of what you are looking for. 

 

And, while what we are proposing is Christian-based, it is far from the garbled Christianity which over the centuries has become formalism, doctrinal confusion, prophetic non-sense, and behavioral contradictions -- even evil at times -- much like Judaism had become at the first advent of Jesus.

 

That which happened to the Judaism of Israel in Jesus' day has now happened to the Christianity of our day. Both lost their way.  Both great systems deservedly have been abandoned by God -- even though they had, indeed, been His exclusive tools and voice in the earth for over 18 centuries in each case. THAT clearly sounds critical!  And it IS. 

But if any of us are looking for truth, we should FIND truth that challenges errors of all kind -- even treasured traditions. The sincere Jews of Jesus' day had to do that and to abandon what God was abandoning. It shouldn't seem so strange if that is happening again. There IS more and better to come!

 

It is safe to say that nearly all peoples have religions with which they have been reared. There are national religions, family religions, imposed religions, ethnic religions, group-accepted religions, traditional religions, etc.  In nearly all of our lives, we have generally believed what has been told to us.  And we have likely been warned that to depart from  it will result in the most terrible results. Unfortunately, FEAR has been one of the most restrictive elements in preventing people from finding truths. Should that be the case?  We think not.  Indeed,  FEAR is likely a hallmark of a false religion.  We think that conscience and integrity (internal honesty) must be the dominating factors.  That takes considerable courage. 

 

 

Ingredient #1

THE SOURCES OF INFORMATION

 

Where do we look?  That is a troubling question.  It is difficult if not impossible to dig through all the world's religions. But, if there really IS a god, it seems he should help seekers.  Even if he has reasons for temporary secrecy, he still has reasons for dealing with someone! A god who is not findable or approachable is not appealing to our consciences -- let alone to our good sense.

 

We on this website, of course, DO believe that there is a god. And, from this point forward in this article we will give Him a capital "G" (God) and a capital "H" for pronouns ("Him" and "His") simply because we have become overwhelmed by the glories of His character and His plans and purposes.

 

The point of this month's article is to ask YOU to just LOOK at what kinds of qualities have impressed us so!  If you find it good, you are greatly blessed over what you were yesterday -- on your way to finding "honest-to-goodness" truth.

 

You can then freely COMPARE what you hear from us to whatever you might hear elsewhere. We think you will have "stumbled onto a goldmine" of glorious truths that you will not find matched in any other religious presentations on this planet. What you do with it after that is YOUR business.  We make no demands of anyone.

 

Some religions use traditions as the basis of their beliefs.  Some use "personal revelations."  Some use written documents passed down for many generations. Some don't use anything except appeals to a person's emotions.  

 

Traditions need a reason for them -- something that is usually lacking. Tradition is often only another name for habit.  It is frustratingly without answers!  It also discourages questioning.

 

Personal revelations are dangerous because there are many who don't have such "revelations." Those without the revelations assume that those who have received them are a super-group -- people who can foist their ideas on others simply because the majority are deficient in revelations.                                                                                 

 

Additionally, it is true everywhere that one person's "revelations" differ from another person's "revelations." What do we do then?  All we have is contradictions -- NOT the evidence of true religion! On top of it all, religions based on personal revelations almost always have dictatorial leaders who lord it over others because these leaders are the living examples of pride and self-pomposity -- a "privileged" few.

 

Appeals to emotions are among the weakest and most dangerous of religious practices -- and quite common.  We ARE all human!  Emotions can be our weakness!  People who know how to manipulate them can cause us irreparable harm.  Among  other things, our giving in to emotions makes it possible for selfish but vibrant people set themselves up as religious dictators -- demigods who lead their "flocks" to destructive practices and mind-twisting fables. Reason and questioning are always discouraged.

 

That leaves written documents. There is a strength to written records as the basis for religions. Those records can be compared for internal consistency, for scientific and historical accuracies, for "reasonableness," for logic, and for everything else that is important when truth is being sought.  Written documents can confirm whether a religion might be true -- but they can also help to confirm that it is not!  Some religious "holy books" reveal themselves to be nonsense.

 

Written documents, of course, also have built-in challenges. They often contain "codes" in the forms of symbolisms, allegories, types & antitypes, idioms, and, frequently, the challenges of old languages that have meanings long-lost to modern civilizations.  Added to this are the difficulties resulting when most of us are not able to read the original languages and, thus, have to rely on unreliable and varying translations.  

 

When we go to examine the voluminous testimonies of any written religious source, we need patience, and we need help from someone who actually KNOWS what the document is saying.  For instance, ANY Christian or Jew can CLAIM Biblical knowledge and backing; but all too frequently, that person is horribly unschooled in what the Bible actually teaches.  He just spouts random, out-of-context verses which say one thing when they stand alone, but mean the opposite when combined with the total testimony.  So, once again, we are forced to listen, over and over, to differing versions of what this great book is supposed to be saying.  Consequently, in the end, we are justified in throwing away the interpretations of some while we accept the interpretations of others -- mostly based on (1) how GOOD the message seems, and (2) how our own growing knowledge of Bible contents seems to verify or reject what the interpreter is saying.

 

In other words, WE NEED HELP!  And that help is in large measure reliant on our approaching a God (whom we may not know) and ASKING Him to open our understanding.  He DOES respond -- IF we have confidence that He will. All others must await His "due time" -- which WILL COME!

 

The Bible

 

In this article, we are basing our claims for "true religion" on the little-known message of this great book called "The Bible."  But we aren't going to go into a lecture on it.  We are merely pointing out that our "ingredients" (or "hallmarks") for a true religion will be items we do find contained in the Bible.  If the reader likes what is presented, THEN the reader can ask for the needed Biblical substantiation -- AND ask why so many seemingly contradictory claims are made from the same book!  The Bible, contrary to the old adage, is NOT "a fiddle upon which any tune can be played."  A knowledge of its vast contents yields only ONE consistent story.  There are no contradictions.  There are no options.  It stands up to its claim of being "The Word of God."

 

 

Ingredient #2

WHY IS EVIL PERMITTED?

 

THIS QUESTION is, in one way or another, asked by nearly everyone on earth!  Sometimes it is expressed as, "Why do bad things happen to good people?"  Nearly no religion seems to have an adequate explanation for it.  Therefore, we would rank the answer to this question HIGH on the list of "ingredients" that should be present in a true religion.  The Bible (though so few have seemed to realize it) HAS the answer to the question; and the answer is rational and satisfying.  We outline it in a little booklet entitled "If there is a God...WHY...?"  You can request a free copy from us.  (If this website of ours is totally functional at the date of this article, there is a "Doctrinal Kernel" on the subject entitled, "Why Evil Is Permitted" -- which also addresses this question.  Please see it.)  But here and now, let us say that this extremely important question IS answered; and that, in itself, is the first evidence of a true religion.  We should reject any claim to a religion's being true if it cannot or does not answer this major and all-pervading question.  It MAY BE THE question of all time.

 

 

Ingredient #3

WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD FOR HUMANITY?

 

Here again we have a vital and basic question -- a question about where things are going and why.  No true religion can exist unless it clearly specifies a rational answer to this question -- and specifies it in a manner consistent with fairness, joy, or (as the Bible states it), that "the desire of all nations shall come."  The QUALITY of the answer to this question will be indicative of the likelihood that the religion which preaches it is true.  Because the answer to this can be summarized relatively quickly, we will do so here -- not requiring your requesting of a booklet on the subject.  

 

As the very shortest of answers to this question:  Ever since man's fall from obedience just after his creation, the race has been suffering under what we have above called "The Permission of Evil." This difficult experience was permitted so that not only man, but the entire universe of created beings (like angels), will have learned, through experience and observation, the lessons needed for a never-ending eternity of perfect and glorious living. THAT is what the future holds.

 

This period of time when evil is permitted has a specific starting time and a projected limit -- very soon to expire.  God has mercifully encapsulated evil.  When its time does expire, everything that we find un-good will come to an end.  The race will stop dying.  The already-dead will return from death.  All who are willing will be restored to youthful and flawless health.  The earth, itself, will yield its increase so that there will no longer exist any needs that are not fulfilled.  All of nature will be brought under subjection to the needs and delights of the human race.  Fear will vanish.  Inequities will exist no longer. 

 

You can imagine -- try it, as hard as you can! -- what all of this will mean.  But THAT is the picture of mankind's near future.  It will not be restricted to certain classes of people.  The deeds of this present life will be wiped out of memory.  And the promises of the future will NOT BE RESTRICTED to those who have done well in this current life!

 

If you know of another religion with this "ingredient," you are among the very few who do!  It is the answer to the prayer, "Thy Kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."  In a day like ours, this question is of such vital importance that a religion which cannot elucidate a good future for everyone is, indeed, a deficient, if not a totally false, religion.  What kind of a god couldn't give an enthusiastic and encouraging answer to this question?  Most all religions tend to prophesy a gruesome future for most of the race.  What is THAT supposed to do for us?

 

 

Ingredient #4

"MYSTERIES!"

 

Many religions have "mysteries."  But the problem with their mysteries is that their definition of mysteries is that something cannot be understood.  The whole usage of "mystery" for them is simply an excuse for not having an answer!  But Biblical mysteries have a different meaning.  "Mystery" in the Bible is something which IS understood -- but ONLY by a select few.  And these "mysteries" will not forever remain secrets held only by a few. They will ALL be understood eventually by all.  Their current "mystery" status is due to the fact that God is doing certain things for humanity which could not be accomplished if they were openly known at this time. It's a long story!  But in any case, 

"mysteries" ARE NOT EXCUSES for not answering people's questions!  Indeed, if we don't know the answers, it is because we have not yet found the truth -- the religion which HAS the answers.

 

 

Ingredient #5

DOCTRINE -- BAD & GOOD

 

This could be a very large and complicated "ingredient" about true religion.  But we can, at least, just give some samples of doctrine (teachings) which indicate the good or the bad things about a religion.  All religions TEACH something!  Some of these teachings have to be good or nobody would ever join himself to them. But having a few good doctrines does not make a true religion.  It just indicates some good doctrine.  But if the good doctrine (teaching) is mixed with bad teachings which overcome the good things, the religion itself is not true.

 

Inevitably, pointing out false doctrine is "sensitive."  People don't like to have long-cherished teachings challenged, and they are always reticent to see WHY a bad doctrine IS bad -- and that the good doctrine which replaces it is more rational and satisfying.  Tradition gets in their way.  So does fear.

 

There are SO MANY teachings that it is nearly impossible to even begin to list them. But some are of such vital importance to our understanding of God, that they need to be addressed forcibly. We will list just two -- both of which are at the very center of the search for religious truth.

 

The concept of eternal suffering for much of the race is present in nearly every religion.  Do we have any idea of how BAD that is?  This doctrine is not only irrational, but cruel to the extreme.  What KIND of a god would either WANT that -- or not have the power to insure that it will never happen?  Eternal torment by ANY name (usually "hell") is a sure mark of a false religion.  And, YES!  The Bible uses the WORD "hell," but it does not in any sense use the IDEA of eternal torment when the subject is carefully studied.  With a little patience on the part of the inquirer, this can be proven beyond all doubt.  The hallmark of a true religion is that it has a God who values His creatures to the point where He will fight for their eternal joy (without interfering with their free moral choices).  And, if they insist on being incorrigible, a good God will have the character and ability simply to erase their existence -- not to torture them eternally!

 

Another doctrine which SOUNDS GOOD, but which creates insurmountable problems, is the doctrine of "The Immortal Soul."  The Bible does not teach it!  The Biblical testimony is that souls DIE.  THAT sounds terrible!  But just think about it.  If souls DON'T die, they MUST "go somewhere" when a person dies.  This has created the lies about a place of eternal torment for those who haven't been so good.  But if souls DO die, the need for such a place ceases to exist.  The Biblical doctrine is that we ARE souls; we DIE; but a "resurrection" (a total resuscitation and make-over) will get mankind out of the death problem.  Resurrection is SO ILLOGICAL if souls don't die!  But no one        can deny that the Bible teaches resurrection.  The words "Immortal Soul" (contrary to popular opinion and zealous preachers of error) don't even occur in the Bible.

 

 

 

Ingredient #6

WHERE ARE WE?  WHAT'S GOING ON?

 

This ingredient is merely another wording for the subject of PROPHECY.  Prophecy is that function of true religion which allows it to tell an outline of the future connected to the events of the past.  We all "feel" that the "status quo" is simply unacceptable.  Therefore, any religion which does not have a carefully crafted explanation for where we've been, where we are, where we going, and how we'll get there, is certainly not a true religion. Some religions indicate that things will eternally go on as they are.  (What a disappointment!)  A true religion will be able to explain clearly WHY God has done everything He has done in the past, WHY the current state of things exists; and HOW it will all turn out in the end for a glorious future. Any religion which falls short in any of these explanations lacks the hallmarks of truth.

 

 

 

Ingredient #7

THE CHARACTER OF GOD

 

Perhaps no other subject is of such great importance. Perhaps no other subject has been so twisted.  After all, if there IS a God, and if He has ANYTHING about Him that doesn't sound good in the end, then He is no God at all!  He becomes a monster or a weakling.  A true God must be of such MAGNIFICENT character traits that, once understood, can elicit nothing other than praise, worship, adoration, respect, reverence -- and every other good quality that an imagination can imagine.  In the words of one person's definition of God:  "Nothing greater can be thought."

 

To our understanding, God is the perfect balance of four basic attributes: Wisdom, Justice, Love, and Power. Not one of these attributes can violate the others.  The BALANCE is as important as are the four separate character traits.

 

A true religion will have a God who is wise to the point where it is impossible for Him to make a mistake.  It is impossible for him to do anything which, in the long run, will not be realized as the inner desire for good of all His creation.  

 

A true religion will have a God with absolute justice.  If justice is lacking, trust is also lacking. Consequently, there will never be "respect of persons" with a true God -- a condition where there are "favorites" who get special considerations.  Instead, there will be inviolate justice without exception.  All will be responsible for the same standards to the extent of their abilities -- and those standards will be acknowledged as perfect for the eternal welfare of each and every individual.  No one (in the end) will feel as if he has been slighted.  And this justice will gain the respect of all since every intelligent creature will know that he is being treated fairly and in accord with his circumstances.  But justice is unforgiving!  That COULD BE a problem!

 

As absolute as God's justice must be, it will be tempered by the attribute of love.  No religion will be true that is lacking in the universal application of this attribute.  This love is the Greek word agape.  And it has the meaning of doing that which is absolutely the best for everyone for all time.  What a high standard for wisdom to figure out!  Thus, while justice cannot be violated, love will find ways to "get around" its hardness -- not its standards.  Love will find legal and just ways of preserving justice while getting God's creatures out of the trouble they have caused themselves.  Among other names, this quality is known as "mercy."

 

Finally, no religion will be true unless its God has ALL POWER necessary to carry out without fail all the provisions of His plans and purposes.  In other words, He will be "Almighty."  He will have no equal in existence as to the unchallenged ability to conquer everything that needs conquering.  No one will ever fear that He is insufficient in power and resources to stop anything which could happen to disrupt the ultimate peace He has planned for His universe.

 

And, as mentioned, these attributes must balance, compliment, and check the extremes of each other.  If justice becomes more important than love, we have a frightening God without mercy.  Or, the other away around:  If love violates justice, we will have a God who cannot be trusted to be fair.  The same problems exist with power.  If power is exercised as a display instead of as a grace, it, too, becomes frightening.  Wisdom INSISTS that these things balance.  And if they don't, God, Himself, is not wise.  This balance of character traits is the hallmark of a true God and religion.  

 

It might be noted, however, that we, as yet-imperfect humans, cannot accurately and currently totally assess what God is doing.  His current activities (or seeming lack of them) might make us feel that any or all of His attributes are deficient. However, a work in progress can never be accurately evaluated by onlookers!  Thus an understanding of God's plans and purposes and the timing sequences of them is necessary so that we do not jump to conclusions based on our lack of facts. The race is currently "under construction." The final product will be breathtakingly beautiful!

 

 

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Perhaps it is helpful to realize that "religion" is a word with problems.  Most of us tend to separate it into a category of its own.  But a true religion will not be a category; it will be the very essence of life itself.  EVERYTHING in our experience will be a vital part of it. It will be a vital part of all of our experiences.  And religion's God will, consequently, not be distant, mysterious, or unapproachable -- because He will be the center of life itself -- an ever-present and very REAL Being who, in the end, all will recognize as their everything.  But, as mentioned, we are yet "under construction."

There IS truth.  It makes us free!  It IS findable. It WILL become universally known, understood, and loved.  And its God will soon become the adored center of the human experience.

 

Please consider these hallmarks of true religion.  Compare them to the religions which exist.  Be courageous to make up your own list of what God and religion SHOULD be like -- and WHY you think so.  Ask yourself what motivates your thinking. Then embrace the good that seems -- even undefined -- to be desired "deep-down" by all of mankind everywhere.  The grandest of dreams and hopes WILL find their fulfillment soon.  THAT is what true religion is all about!  (Isaiah 14:7)

 

 

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