PROOF THERE ARE NO OTHER GODS

In my last blog I gave proof from the Bible, reason and comparison with other “gods” that the God of the Bible is the only true God.  Now we’ll be more specific in our comparison between God and the other counterfeits.  We can gain some insight into  what God is like from His creation.  We live in a world of color, smell, sounds (music), tastes and beauty.  The God who created such a world must be characterized by those as well.  He created man with the capacity for love, joy, laughter, desire for justice and an innate knowledge of right and wrong.  Animals don’t have these, and man didn’t just develop them on his own.  Their source is the God who created man.  Thus, nature shows a sovereign God who cares about His creation, wants justice and is the source of love.  How do the various “gods” compare to this description?

CHRISTIANITY follows a personal, sovereign God who created a world for man, the height of His creation, to enjoy. He wants to have a relationship with man.  He has set absolutes of right and wrong. He is a just God who will punish evil but also a God of love who cares for His people. He has a wonderful future destiny for the people He created. Now let’s compare that to the gods of different religions.

JUDAISM has the same God as revealed in the Bible, but they only use the Old Testament. They reject Jesus as the Messiah, yet Jesus clearly claims to be God.  Therefore, they only accept part of the true God.

ISLAM worships Allah, but Allah is not the same as our God. He is entirely different. Allah was one of many gods worshiped by Muhammad’s Quraysh tribe. Allah was one of the names for the moon god who was married to the sun goddess. The Muslim flag today features a crescent moon that still recognizes this fact. In fact, Abraham was called out of Ur (meaning “moon-city”) in order to follow God’s call (Genesis 11:27-32). Abraham had to leave the place of moon worship in order to follow God. The god Allah was an Arabian idol that sat in the Kabbah with many other idols until Mohammed made Allah his number one god.

Some say Allah and our God are the same, just with different names.  However, they have entirely different characteristics. Our God is knowable and personal, while Allah is unknowable and impersonal. Our God cannot change or go against His nature. For example, our God cannot lie. Allah can do anything he wants with no limitations. He is capricious and changes his mind.  He has no feelings towards man and doesn’t personally enter human history.  Allah provides no savior or intercessor. He shows no grace or mercy. Those who follow him are on their own and not assured of his help or acceptance.  He does not come near meeting the qualifications of being the true God of love, justice, care and truth.

HINDUISM has many, many gods. Anything and everything can be a god. Brahma is impersonal, formless, abstract and without attributes. These do not even come close to a sovereign God of love and justice. This could not be our loving, caring, sovereign creator God.

NEW AGE focuses on man himself as god, the belief being each person has a higher consciousness within themselves, a part of the god force is within all of us. This falls short of God being all-sovereign as revealed in His creation.

BUDDHISM does not believe in a personal god. Buddha never claimed to be god, but taught there is a god-like force in everyone.

CONFUCIANISM has little belief in the supernatural and so focuses on social and political structure in this life. It teaches there is an ethical principle of order which is impersonal, but guides all things.

So we can see that only the God of the Bible is personal, sovereign, caring, just and loving. None of the other gods come anywhere near to those characteristics. Yet many people follow them because there is a counterfeit supernatural power behind them. That power is Satan, the one who wants to be worshipped instead of God. He puts his power behind these other religions and receives their worship (1 Corinthians 10:20-21; 2 Corinthians 11:13-15; 1 Timothy 4:1-3; Ephesians 2:1-3; Revelation 20:3). Make no mistake, there is power behind the other gods, but it is from Satan and his demons.

Since this world is under Satan’s control, there is much opposition to God and His truth as revealed in the Bible. Satan is behind this world system (2 Corinthians 4:4; John 14:30; Matthew 4:8-9). When we as Christians tell others that our god is the only true God (John 14:6), there is often rejection and sometimes persecution. Most people will not mind us believing in our God if we let them believe in theirs. But when we tell them we are right and they are wrong, difficulties start. Darkness doesn’t want light, for light removes darkness.

John 14:6 6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Acts 4:12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.

How does this comparison of our God with other “gods” help you better understand and appreciate the God you worship?

Spend some time thanking Him for Who He is and that you have the privilege of knowing Him.