There is a Difference

 "but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."--Romans 5:8


In his book, "Radical", David Platt tells of sitting outside of a Buddhist temple in Indonesia engaging in conversation with a Buddhist leader and a Muslim leader.  The two were saying that all religions were fundamentally the same and only superficially different.

David listened for awhile, and then one of the leaders asked him what he thought.  He replied, "It sounds as though you both picture God (or whatever you call god) at the top of a mountain.  It seems as if you believe that we are all at the bottom of the mountain, and I may take one route up the mountain, you may take another, and in the end we will all end up in the same place.

They replied, "Exactly!! You understand!!"

Then David said, "Now let me ask you a question.  What would you think if I told you that the God at the top of the mountain actually came down to where we are?  What would you think if I told you that God doesn't wait for people to find their way to him, but instead comes to us?"

They thought for a moment and responded, "That would be great!"

David then said, "Let me introduce you to Jesus Christ".

With the exception of Christianity, all of the world's religions involve man trying to work his way to God.  Trying to be "good" enough to win God's favor as if one can dictate to God how one should be accepted into His presence.  It is only Christianity that offers God's love, mercy and grace through His Son Jesus Christ as a free gift (free to us) to His enemies who are willing to open their hearts to accept the gift.