What Does the Bible Say About Different Religions?

Both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible were completed before either Buddhism or Islam emerged as religions. They are not mentioned by name anywhere in the Bible, nor is Hinduism. However, the Bible makes an exclusive claim that there is only one God and that he is the one that the scriptures reveal. It also opposes any other religious system that either the Biblical Jews or early Christians encountered.

Identification

The first public address that God made to the children of Israel when they gathered at Mt. Sinai in the wilderness started with God taking responsibility for their miraculous escape from Egypt through the Red Sea. Next, he commanded the people never to acknowledge, serve or create images of any other gods. This became the fundamental directive linked to Israel's blessing and to their freedom to govern itself in their own land. See Exodus 20:2, 3.

History

The worst sin that Israel still remembers involved idolatry. Moses spent so long on the top of Mt. Sinai, that the people convinced his brother, the high priest, Aaron, to make a molten gold idol of a calf. Then, the people indulged in a frenzied orgy of worship directed to the calf. Moses returned to witness the idolatry and then executed deadly judgment against the participants. See Exodus 32:1-35. Later, when the kingdom of Israel fractured into the northern kingdom, Israel, and the southern kingdom, Judah, King Jeroboam wanted to prevent the northerners from worshiping at God's temple in Jerusalem. He erected two golden calves to mark the northern border, Dan, and the southern border, Bethel. This act became Jeroboam's reputation against which the sins of the other kings of Israel were compared. See 1 Kings 12:25-33.

Considerations

The Bible does not ignore the fact that the other nations did not always revere their God. However, when the kings of neighboring nations came into contact with Israel's or Judah's prophets, they were challenged to discover that God is the most powerful of all the other gods. This happened when Joseph and Pharoah interacted and when Daniel impacted the rules of the Babylonian Nebuchadnezzar and Darius. One famous public confrontation between the gods of the nations, the Baals, served by Jezebel and her prophets, and the God of Israel is very familiar. Elijah challenged the priests of Baal to a contest to see which god would answer with fire. This was a very public display of God's power and involvement with his people. Read about it in 1 Kings 18:16-46.

Types

After the early Christians started traveling throughout the Roman empire to Greece and Asia Minor, they brought similar challenges to the Greek and Roman gods. Paul visited the Greek city of Athens, where he had an invitation to address a group of philosophers at the areopagus. To prepare, he wandered around the city, taking note of the many objects of worship that were dedicated to the various gods. In addition, he found an altar dedicated to "the unknown god." His message identified the God of Israel, the creator of the universe, with this unknown god. According to Paul, prior to the resurrection of Jesus Christ, God was willing to overlook idolatry as an expression of ignorance but that now they should repent and turn to this God. See Acts 17:16-34.

Expert Insight

In short, the Bible does not leave room for any other religion to be valid or true. Belief in God is considered foundational to faith and a faith-filled life is the only way that anyone can please God. See Hebrews 11:6. The Bible clearly states that everyone will one day proclaim that Jesus is Lord. This will bring glory to God, the Father. This confession is understood to imply that there is, as God first proclaimed, no other god beside him. See Philippians 2:9-11.

Resources

• Online Searchable Bible