We live in a society that values the philosophy of relativism. One of the core tenants of relativism is the claim that all beliefs are equally valuable. In fact, you will find this claim applied to many different areas. It is not uncommon to hear someone say that one culture, philosophy, or education is equal to all others. You even hear this principle applied to religion. “All roads lead to God” or “That’s your way to God, this is mine” have become all but cliché.
Whereas saying this sort of thing can be very useful for creating warm, fuzzy feelings, logically, we know that this cannot be true. Too many details contradict for this to be the case. For example, Christianity teaches that Jesus is God incarnate. According to Islam, to say such a thing is an unforgivable sin that results in eternal hell. According to Christianity, there is one God, but traditional Hinduism teaches that there are millions of gods. Christianity teaches that a real God created a real world. Buddhism believes that everything in this world, including ourselves, and even the gods are only an illusion.
Some differences cannot be reconciled based on good feelings and wishful thinking. That is why the faith we choose AND how we approach that faith are essential. Today, we will be studying from 1 Kings 18, a story that shows, beyond doubt, that all beliefs are not equally valid. We will learn the importance holding onto the right faith with the right heart.