{"id":23345,"date":"2020-06-12T14:44:03","date_gmt":"2020-06-12T19:44:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=23345"},"modified":"2020-06-12T14:44:03","modified_gmt":"2020-06-12T19:44:03","slug":"there-are-thousands-of-religions-what-makes-you-think-yours-is-the-only-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/there-are-thousands-of-religions-what-makes-you-think-yours-is-the-only-one\/","title":{"rendered":"There are thousands of religions. What makes you think yours is the only one?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t<h2>Question:<\/h2>\n<p>No offense dude. But given that there are over 1000 religions from all over the world. The idea that your particular God of choice is the only real one. Is just plain ludicrous. And not one thing of what you have to say about the bible matters. It can all be disproved in seconds without getting into it. But I would think if there was a god that supposedly loved the world. We wouldn&#8217;t be in the middle of a pandemic that&#8217;s killed over 100k in just America alone. And infected over a million. Any god who would just sit by and allow that to happen. Isn&#8217;t a loving God at all. Period.<\/p>\n\t<h2>Answer:<\/h2>\n<p>Thank you for contacting me. I am not offended by your comments. There is indeed a multitude of religions in the world today. This testifies to the religious nature of man. If man was not created and given a religious nature by his Creator, where did it come from and why is it so widespread? To me, there is no other rational explanation for man\u2019s religious nature. And, if God gave us a religious nature, why would He not also describe and prescribe true religion?<\/p>\n<p>My desire and intent are to serve the one true and living God, the Creator of the universe. He has revealed Himself in the Bible, which is His inspired word. You may judge this \u201cidea\u201d to be ludicrous but I judge it to be the only sane decision to make.<\/p>\n<p>It is true that not one thing I say about the Bible matters when all is said and done, except as it helps someone else come to an understanding of who God is and what He desires man to do. But all mankind will be judged by the word of God. Thus, what God has said is, ultimately, all that matters.<\/p>\n<p>You say the Bible \u201ccan all be disproved in seconds\u201d. Skeptics have been saying this for two thousand years. And yet the Bible stands. It has been preserved by the providence of God, though He has allowed man to blaspheme Him and His word. Jews, Muslims, and Christians all believe in the Old Testament. Christians and Muslims believe the New Testament also, either in part or whole.<\/p>\n<p>What is the purpose of death? Can you imagine how many people would be alive today if no one had ever died? Could the world sustain that many people? If you were God, how do you think you would deal with the potential problem of overpopulation? [\u201cThe global population has grown from 1 billion in 1800 to 7.774 billion in 2020\u201d (Wikipedia).] So, would the world be better off if no one died? This growth has definitely slowed due to COVID-19, but it has not been reversed. So, if God eliminated all physical problems that exist today, there would be the ultimate problem of worldwide starvation. Perhaps we should think of death as \u201cpopulation control.\u201d Life on earth was perfectly peaceful until the serpent slithered into the garden and tempted Eve to eat the forbidden fruit.<\/p>\n<p>Suffering is indeed a terrible thing, whether physical or psychological. The Bible does not teach that God either desires or delights in the suffering of mankind. Generally, when a father spanks his child, he does not do so merely in order to inflict pain. It is his purpose to punish past bad behavior and deter future bad behavior. God gave men five physical senses: seeing, hearing, smelling, taste, and touch. It is primarily through these senses that man learns about the world in which God has placed him. It is through the sense of touch that physical pain is perceived. Would we be better off without the sense of touch? One who is impervious to pain could never appreciate a tender kiss or a warm embrace. Those who suffer crave relief or, at least, comfort. Those who recover seek to relieve the suffering of others. This brings them closer together psychologically. God gave Adam and Eve a beautiful place in which to live. He taught them to survive both physically and spiritually. For a while, they believed and loved God. There was no suffering in the garden, where He had placed them. Suffering began when they sinned against Him. God allows us to suffer, among other reasons, so we will long for a place where there is no suffering. And He has promised us such a place.<\/p>\n<p>by Bob Myhan<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Question: No offense dude. But given that there are over 1000 religions from all over the world. The idea that your particular God of choice is the only real one. Is just plain ludicrous. And not one thing of what you have to say about the bible matters. It can all be disproved in seconds&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[109,1203,182],"class_list":["post-23345","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-death","tag-polytheism","tag-suffering"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":23239,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/your-god-cant-be-the-only-real-one\/","url_meta":{"origin":23345,"position":0},"title":"Your God Can&#8217;t Be the Only Real One","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 7, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: No offense dude. But given that there are over 1000 religions from all over the world. The idea that your particular God of choice is the only real one. Is just plain ludicrous. And not one thing of what you have to say about the bible matters. It can\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19910,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/there-are-so-many-religions-that-i-am-confused-thinking-that-one-is-right-and-another-is-wrong-what-should-i-do\/","url_meta":{"origin":23345,"position":1},"title":"There are so many religions that I am confused thinking that one is right and another is wrong. What should I do?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 19, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I was just pondering over an article written on\u00a0the differences between Catholicism and Christianity.\u00a0I was raised Catholic and my whole family is Catholic. My grandmother is very adamant about her faith and spends the major part of her day in service, prayer, community service, etc. She believes in the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":42200,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-animal-guides-compatible-with-christianity\/","url_meta":{"origin":23345,"position":2},"title":"Are animal guides compatible with Christianity?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 21, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I'm a teen and I got in trouble with my mom just for trying to contact my spirit animal. She said not to do it again because she does not want me to get possessed by a demon. She did not explain to me how or why. I was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":41356,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-chrislam\/","url_meta":{"origin":23345,"position":3},"title":"What is Chrislam?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 19, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What is Chrislam? Is it a widely accepted religion? Are followers of this faith allowed to marry anyone either Christian or Muslim? I have seen usually people with Christian family backgrounds adapted to this theory, but how is it possible that you travel in two ships together? Answer: You\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":86957,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-wrong-to-study-with-jehovahs-witnesses-or-mormons-but-not-join-these-religions\/","url_meta":{"origin":23345,"position":4},"title":"Is it wrong to study with Jehovah&#8217;s Witnesses or Mormons but not join these religions?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 4, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Will God forgive someone if they did bible studies with Jehovah's Witnesses or Mormons but didn't join these religions? Answer: Why would God be against someone rejecting teachings that are contrary to God's teachings? \"I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Article&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":69814,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/pope-claims-there-are-many-ways-to-reach-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":23345,"position":5},"title":"Pope Claims There Are Many Ways to Reach God","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 14, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Source: \"Pope Francis stirs controversy with interreligious remarks,\" The Pillar, 13 September 2024. \"All religions are a path to reach God. They are - I make a comparison - like different languages, different idioms, to get there. But God is God for everyone, and since God is God for everyone,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Issues&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Issues","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23345","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23345"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23345\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23345"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23345"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23345"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}