Does Christianity make a claim no other religion makes?

To me it seems the mark of a true religion is the one that distinguishes it from all other worldly things. And if I'm not mistaken, only Christianity makes the claim that only Christ saves, that no good works you do can undo any of your bad works.

That without Christ we are dead in our sin.

Without over-generalizing too much, other religions all emphasize something you need to do to achieve transcendence.

And that is the opposite of what Christ says.

Other world views may or may not require anything because other world views may deny the need to transcend all together, which makes them completely worldly which is unimpressive.

So I would say Christianity alone has a mark unlike any other.

FreeMason
To me it seems the mark of a true religion is the one that distinguishes it from all other worldly things. And if I'm not mistaken, only Christianity makes the claim that only Christ saves, that no good works you do can undo any of your bad works.

That without Christ we are dead in our sin.

Without over-generalizing too much, other religions all emphasize something you need to do to achieve transcendence.

And that is the opposite of what Christ says.

Other world views may or may not require anything because other world views may deny the need to transcend all together, which makes them completely worldly which is unimpressive.

So I would say Christianity alone has a mark unlike any other.

The confirmation bias runs strong in this one...

Å99

FreeMason
So I would say Christianity alone has a mark unlike any other.

Almost like the mark of... of... the sort of being that would cloak itself in someone else's image and distort it to mean the opposite of the original image in order to lead those who don't understand the difference astray.

We're speaking of modern mass Christianity, aye? Because not all Christians interpret things as Jesus being the direct hands on grab you and carry you savior... but instead is the *example* to follow. "I am the way" meaning "walk like me"... not "I'll walk for you".

"I know where all the mines are buried... you will reach safety if you follow the same path I walk."

BardingTheBard

FreeMason
So I would say Christianity alone has a mark unlike any other.

Almost like a mark of... of... the sort of being that would cloak itself in someone else's image and distort it to mean the opposite of the original image in order to lead them astray.

We're speaking of modern mass Christianity, aye? Because not all Christians interpret things as Jesus being the direct hands on grab you and carry you savior... but instead is the *example* to follow. "I am the way" meaning "walk like me"... not "I'll walk for you".

"I know where all the mines are buried... you will reach safety if you follow the same path I walk."

edit on 11-10-2013 by BardingTheBard because: (no reason given)

It's not following Christ if all you think is He is an "example", the entire Bible is far too full of evidence to the contrary.

And it's "walk with me" to be most accurate.

Ehhhh.....no, Christianity is not unique. In that all religions have much different ways of salvation, few of which really represent one another. So everyone has a salvation system that is unique to their own. Not only that, but not all religions have salvation systems, those religions having nothing to "save" people from.

Christianity is not unique from Islam and Judaism in many communal beliefs.

Your standards for determining a religion's "truth" are extremely weak and illogical.

So believing in Jesus is different from believing in Muhammad, Vishnu, Krishna, Zeus, Odin, etc.? In what way exactly? All require a belief in their deity.

Christianity is no more "unique" than any other religion throughout history. They're all unique in their own ways and have things that set them apart. Does this mean they're all right? Because that's what your OP is implying.

''only Christianity makes the claim that only Christ saves, ''.... Well, Jesus in his own words stated he did not want some to be forgiven of their sins and therefore ''saved''. If Jesus did not want certain people to be saved, the premise that only Jesus saves is false. Of course, don't expect to hear this biblical fact from evangelists looking for converts.

3NL1GHT3N3D1
So believing in Jesus is different from believing in Muhammad, Vishnu, Krishna, Zeus, Odin, etc.? In what way exactly? All require a belief in their deity.

Christianity is no more "unique" than any other religion throughout history. They're all unique in their own ways and have things that set them apart. Does this mean they're all right? Because that's what your OP is implying.

Well for one, all those different entities and deities are different constructs, with different logic used to explain them, different traits and characteristics. Some of them incompatible with each other.

Odin is not Yahweh for instance, in fact, Odin eventually dies. We can say this is incompatible with Yahweh, or Allah, who are immortal.

But Yahweh and Allah have their incompatibilities and so on.

So which God is the true God, the one worthy of Worship?

My OP clearly states that all religions except one share common traits, and only Christ makes a claim that sets it apart from all the other religions so completely as not to be mistaken as a worldly religion.

sk0rpi0n
''only Christianity makes the claim that only Christ saves, ''.... Well, Jesus in his own words stated he did not want some to be forgiven of their sins and therefore ''saved''. So your very premise is false.

Um no, go ahead and quote the passage and we will discuss it in depth.

Skadi_the_Evil_Elf
Ehhhh.....no, Christianity is not unique. In that all religions have much different ways of salvation, few of which really represent one another. So everyone has a salvation system that is unique to their own. Not only that, but not all religions have salvation systems, those religions having nothing to "save" people from.

Christianity is not unique from Islam and Judaism in many communal beliefs.

Your standards for determining a religion's "truth" are extremely weak and illogical.

Both Islam and Judaism make the claim that what gains you Heaven is your works.

Particularly in Islam which is very big on works and intention at least of works.

Faith alone really is only a Christian concept.

FreeMason
It's not following Christ if all you think is He is an "example", the entire Bible is far too full of evidence to the contrary.

"Follow my example". "Follow my lead". That doesn't mean he's *saving* you... he's showing you how to move your legs so you can save yourself.

The bible is editable. Also... doesn't it sound just like Satan to plant himself firmly in the Governmental form of the Christian Church (while still being unable to do anything about the true family/community form of the church), put on the cloak of Jesus' name, and claim to be the one and only? Especially given who is said is going to be running the planet in that very same bible?

There are non-canonical scriptures that speak of Jesus far more like Buddha.

Any teacher worth their salt teaches people to fish... not collects dependents.

Remember that whole "these works I do so shall you and even more" bit?

Jesus himself said we are to follow his teachings,

"If you love Me, keep My commandments" (John 14:15) as well as "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love" (John 15:10). "He who does not love Me does not keep My words" (John 14:24).

so he is different in the fact that he as well expects you to
follow a set of commandments to enter paradise, unique
as all can be if you ask me.

Religion is all the same in that it asks those who believe
these stories with no actual evidence, to follow their rules
to get to their paradise. Yep, pretty much all organized religion
fits that mold, Christianity included.

Simply having faith period would not save anyone, having
faith in their religion seems to convince them they will be
saved, having faith in one man, jesus for example is a great
idea but he himself is part of an organized religion and as
much as he changed it, he kept it the same, slavery for
instance is my favorite that this supposed benign savior
supports, real moral there jesus..... sheesh its almost like
he had no clue slavery was immoral.

bloodreviara
...slavery for instance is my favorite that this supposed benign savior supports, real moral there jesus..... sheesh its almost like he had no clue slavery was immoral.

So you know for sure that things like that weren't shall we say... deliberately added... to help a certain class of people?

Don't blame someone you've never met for words in a book they didn't write.

To reasonably make a statement about salvation it needs to be defined.Salvation means deliverance which is Yahoshuas "name" and what he is.Yahoshua(Yeshua,Yahshua...) means Yahweh is salvation.

What is Gods salvation saving mankind from.Most Christians believe it is from the penalty for committing sin...wrong doing and the penalty is going to be meted out by God.So in essence the "salvation" of Christianity is God is saving you from ...God!!That is more like the ultimate shakedown from a wise-guy protection racket and completely false..

The fact is God is saving ALL of mankind from permanent death....the grave ...the realm of the dead, the realm of imperception or what the scriptures calls Sheol(Hebrew) and Hades(Greek).Hell is the poor translation and the doctrine of hell is extrapolated from the bible and mixed with pagan and mythology lore and writers such as Dante and is 100% false.

Physical death doesn't happen because we have "sinned" which mean falling short or missing the mark of perfection(maturity).The fact is because we are "born" imperfect (immature..sinful) the physical body will die.There is nothing we can do to stop it.

Salvation is the resurrection to life and is an infinite process not an event.The scriptures say you are[being] "saved" by grace....the acting agent /catalyst of salvation "through" faith"..both of which are given by God(as everything is given by God).These are all things mankind can't do. However that doesn't mean nothing(works) happens.Those works are done by God also...Yahoshua ..God is salvation.

Christianity is just like many religions that focus on morals and ethics while being neither.Being religious does not make anyone better morally or ethically just more self righteous.There was a very good reason Yahoshua only confronted the religious Jewish leaders.What Christians believe is being pardoned of guilt is being forgiven however that isn't what forgiven in this case means.Forgiven(ess) means freed from bondage.Everyone is 100% accountable for their guilt.No one is being pardoned.

Christianity was not instituted by Yahoshua nor the apostles.One of Yahoshua's purposes was to destroy religion and free those in bondage to it.The fact is very few were freed and that is still true today.Yahoshua accurately said those who think they see are blind(religious).... and will not be saved in "this" age..the physical age.The majority of all mankind will die in the body in the physical realm being immature.However there are many ages(infinite) to come.

Yahoshua's main purpose was to save all mankind from the bondage of permanent death by being the seed of spirit.He didn't fail just because so many have not grown to maturity.It has been sowed in all of humanity and all will reap a harvest.That's the good news...and NONE of it has anything to do with religion ....ANY religion at all.

FreeMason

3NL1GHT3N3D1
So believing in Jesus is different from believing in Muhammad, Vishnu, Krishna, Zeus, Odin, etc.? In what way exactly? All require a belief in their deity.

Christianity is no more "unique" than any other religion throughout history. They're all unique in their own ways and have things that set them apart. Does this mean they're all right? Because that's what your OP is implying.

Well for one, all those different entities and deities are different constructs, with different logic used to explain them, different traits and characteristics. Some of them incompatible with each other.

Odin is not Yahweh for instance, in fact, Odin eventually dies. We can say this is incompatible with Yahweh, or Allah, who are immortal.

But Yahweh and Allah have their incompatibilities and so on.

So which God is the true God, the one worthy of Worship?

My OP clearly states that all religions except one share common traits, and only Christ makes a claim that sets it apart from all the other religions so completely as not to be mistaken as a worldly religion.

Your OP can clearly state anything it wants...completely ignoring common traits to then say they don't share common traits...or, taking the highly edited writings, collected in a very badly put together religious version of part-travelogue, part-horror story...and claiming the stories are unique...which then 'sets it apart' 'so completely' so that it cannot 'be mistaken'...is clumsy logic, most often practiced by individuals who are afraid to face the awesome task of responsibility that thier thoughts and actions create...in not facing the responsibility, it falls to a scapegoat...scapegoat must live somewhere (hell)...scapegoat is hard at work harvesting (why? No explanation) the unrepentant...and saviour character is needed...because a subconscious part of them knows it is thier failure to face responsibility which has created an elaborate Grimms fairy tale around the psychological blindness that protects them from having to fessss up...

Å99

FreeMason
To me it seems the mark of a true religion is the one that distinguishes it from all other worldly things. And if I'm not mistaken, only Christianity makes the claim that only Christ saves, that no good works you do can undo any of your bad works.

That without Christ we are dead in our sin.

Without over-generalizing too much, other religions all emphasize something you need to do to achieve transcendence.

And that is the opposite of what Christ says.

Other world views may or may not require anything because other world views may deny the need to transcend all together, which makes them completely worldly which is unimpressive.

So I would say Christianity alone has a mark unlike any other.

The mark of the beast from a certain apostle that seem to change the message that the apostles before told about?

I would rather put my faith in some higher ideals than man made religion where I and god can achieve a form of symbiosis where we have a personal bond. I do not trust all humans to know god, but I trust god to guide me home.

And if I'm not mistaken, only Christianity makes the claim that only Christ saves, that no good works you do can undo any of your bad works.

1Peter 4:8

And above all things have fervent love among yourselves: for love shall cover a multitude of sins.

Matthew 5:9

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

Luke 7:47

Therefore I say unto you, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.


James 2:14-17

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

Between Love and Faith, Love is the highest attribute.

reply to post by FreeMason

Um no, go ahead and quote the passage and we will discuss it in depth.

Very well.....


And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:

That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.
- Mark 4:11-12

I even started a thread on the same over here

FreeMason
To me it seems the mark of a true religion is the one that distinguishes it from all other worldly things. And if I'm not mistaken, only Christianity makes the claim that only Christ saves, that no good works you do can undo any of your bad works.

That without Christ we are dead in our sin.

Without over-generalizing too much, other religions all emphasize something you need to do to achieve transcendence.

And that is the opposite of what Christ says.

Other world views may or may not require anything because other world views may deny the need to transcend all together, which makes them completely worldly which is unimpressive.

So I would say Christianity alone has a mark unlike any other.

Christianity is one of the FEW religions that believes in order to obtain salvation, you have to BELIEVE AND GIVE YOURSELF TO ONE MAN.

I don't believe in Idols...and to me, the concept of Jesus is an idol. He is elevated to God-like status in christianity, and you are told as a prerequisite to being saved, you must believe in him.

Even if you believe in ALL of the bible, and ALL of the ideological aspects of Christianity, it isn't enough. You have to believe in this man over everything else, to me, that is absurd.

All the other abrahamic religions accept Jesus as a prophet and/or teacher....such as Islam, and Judaism....but they don't elevate him to a god-like status.

To me, Christianity is a cult, because it emphasizes a MAN over spiritual effort and practice itself. It places too much stock in "Believe in the man Christ, who is actually a God-man, and you'll be saved"



Most religions do not believe they are the ONLY path to salvation. Christianity is unique in that aspect, but not in a good way. I've talked to MANY christians, preachers, priests, and pastors....and they ALL say that no matter HOW GOOD OF PERSON YOU ARE....you don't get to go to heaven unless you accept Jesus as your Lord. To me, that is insane.

reply to post by supermarket2012

Christianity is one of the FEW religions that believes in order to obtain salvation, you have to BELIEVE AND GIVE YOURSELF TO ONE MAN.

I don't believe in Idols...and to me, the concept of Jesus is an idol. He is elevated to God-like status in christianity, and you are told as a prerequisite to being saved, you must believe in him.

Um... Christianity teaches that Jesus IS God, incarnate. He's not "just some guy", he's God, living here in the flesh.

Kinda surprised you would have missed that, it's kind of central to the whole thing.

To the OP, I was in the car last night and someone on the radio made a statement that speaks to your "makes a claim no one else does" question. Though I haven't done enough research to verify it, I think he's spot on -- Christianity is unique in having a God that is humble -- in every other religion, their gods are all about power and control, while Jesus is about humbling himself to serve others.

And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:8 NIV)