False Belief Systems

“There is one body and one Spirit-just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call- 5- one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6- one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all, (Ephesians 4:4-6). Christ is the only one true God. There is only one way to heaven and that is through Christ alone. One important aspect of truth is knowing how to defend the faith, how to answer those who do not believe. Many churches today teach about there being more than one way to heaven, that is a lie. There are many false belief systems, and out of the many there are three main religions that will be the focus to assist readers in gaining more understanding and to better prepare individuals to communicate the truth from a biblical perspective. What we do is respect people from different walks of life, who have different perspectives, therefore, we come from a place of love with a goal to win someone to Christ. Through apologetics, we learn how to answer those outside of the Christian faith.

Islamic Faith……

Acts 9:22- But Saul increased all the more in strength and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ.

Apologetics is often a neglected aspect of Muslim evangelism, and yet it is perhaps one of the most important. Muslim opinion about Christianity is that it is both irrational and indefensible. The deity of Christ and the cross of Christ are the two most fundamental truths of the Christian faith that the Qur'an denies. The Qur'an also denies that Jesus was ever killed or crucified. According to Muslim belief, He was taken up to heaven and someone else was mistakenly put on the cross in His place. Obviously, there is no good news if Jesus never died for our sins and is not Himself God in the flesh, with the authority to forgive our sins.

The idea that God would actually become a man to die for sinners who are under condemnation due mainly to Adam's sin, a sin which they had no part in, is logically inconceivable for Muslims. Remember, Christian apologetics means a reasoned defense of the faith, giving reasons to believe that Christianity is true and rational over against false religions and non-Christian worldviews. We are called to engage in the task of Christian apologetics as the opportunity arises, and it arises particularly clearly in the case of Islam, which takes issue at numerous points with what we believe about God, about Jesus, the Bible, sin, and salvation.

Brief History and Belief

In the seventh century, Muhammad claimed the angel Gabriel visited him. During these angelic visitations, which continued for about 23 years until Muhammad’s death, the angel purportedly revealed to Muhammad the words of Allah (the Arabic word for “God” used by Muslims). These dictated revelations compose the Qur'an, Islam’s holy book. Islam means “submission,” deriving from a root word that means “peace.” The word Muslim means “one who submits to Allah.” Muslims have six articles of faith: Belief in one Allah: Muslims believe Allah is one, eternal, creator, and sovereign. Belief in the angels. Belief in the prophets: The prophets include the biblical prophets but end with Muhammad as Allah’s final prophet. Belief in the revelations of Allah: Muslims accept certain portions of the Bible, such as the Torah and the Gospels. They believe the Qur'an is the preexistent, perfect word of Allah. Belief in the last day of judgment and the hereafter: Everyone will be resurrected for judgment into either paradise or hell. Belief in predestination: Muslims believe Allah has decreed everything that will happen. Muslims testify to Allah’s sovereignty with their frequent phrase, inshallah, meaning, “if God wills.”

False Claims and How to Respond

Muslim argument: Christians believe that God is a Trinity. Yet nowhere do we find the Trinity taught in the Bible. The clear biblical witness is that God is absolutely one, having no plurality.

Christian Response: Both Jesus and Paul taught that God is absolutely one. Mark 12:29-30, John 17:3, 1st Corinthians 8:6, and 1st Timothy 2:5. The Trinity entails the belief in only one God. Christians do not worship three Gods. Therefore, biblical references indicating that there is only one God affirms, rather than denying, the Trinitarian belief. The Bible teaches that although there is only one God, there are three Persons addressed as God: The Father (1st Peter 1:2), the Son (Matthew 1:23, John 20:28, Colossians 2:9, and Titus 2:13, The Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3-4).

Jesus in John 17:3 refers to the Father as the only true God. This point needs further clarification since it seems to imply that Jesus is denying that he is truly God as well. It must be remembered that Christ at the Incarnation became a real human being without ceasing to be divine. As the God-man, the Father became his God. Therefore, we would expect Jesus to refer to his Father as the true God, since the Father cannot possibly be a false God.)

Muslim argument: The New Testament contradicts the Old Testament, since in the Old no mention is made of a plurality of Persons who are God.

Christian Response: The Old Testament does in fact affirm the plurality of the Godhead in several places. It addresses God with plural pronouns (Gen. 1:26-27, 3:22, 11:7 and Isaiah 6:8). It clearly refers to more than one Person in the Godhead, (Gen 19:24, Proverbs 30:4, Isaiah 48:12-16, Zechariah 2:7-11, 3:1-2). It refers to the Angel of Jehovah as being both distinct from God and fully God at the same time, Gen. 31:10-13, Exodus 3:1-4, 13-14, 23:20-22, Judges 2:1-5).

Compared to Christianity, Islam has some similarities but significant differences as well. Like Christianity, Islam is monotheistic. However, Muslims reject the Trinity, that God has revealed Himself as one in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Muslims claim that Jesus was one of the most important prophets, not God’s Son. Islam asserts that Jesus, though born of a virgin, was created like Adam. Muslims do not believe Jesus died on the cross. They do not understand why Allah would allow His prophet Isa (the Islamic word for "Jesus") to die a torturous death. Yet the Bible shows how the death of the perfect Son of God was essential to pay for the sins of the world. Because of these essential differences and contradictions, Islam and Christianity cannot both be true. The Bible and Qur’an cannot both be God’s Word. The truth has eternal consequences.

1st John 4:1-4- “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.”

Catholicism (Catholic Faith)……

John 1:12- But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.

The most crucial problem with the Roman Catholic Church is its belief that faith alone in Christ is not sufficient for salvation.

The Bible clearly and consistently states that receiving Jesus Christ as Savior, by grace through faith, grants salvation. The Roman Catholic Church rejects this.

The issue concerning any church and its practices should be “Is this biblical?” If a teaching is Biblical (taken in context), it should be embraced. If it is not, it should be rejected.

God is more interested in whether a church is doing His will and obeying His Word than whether it can trace a line of succession back to Jesus’ apostles. Jesus was very concerned about abandoning the Word of God to follow the traditions of men.

Mark 7:7- In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.

Salvation: The Roman Catholic Church teaches that salvation is by baptismal regeneration and is maintained through the Catholic sacraments unless a willful act of sin is committed that breaks the state of sanctifying grace.

The Bible teaches that we are saved by grace which is received through simple faith.

Ephesians 2:8-9- For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

The official position of the Roman Catholic Church is that a person must believe in Jesus Christ AND be baptized and receive the Eucharist along with the other sacraments and obey the decrees of the Roman Catholic Church and perform meritorious works and not die with any mortal sins.

Catholic divergence from the Bible on this most crucial of issues, salvation, means that yes, Catholicism is a false religion. If a person believes what the Catholic Church officially teaches, he/she will not be saved. Any claim that works or rituals must be added to faith in order for salvation to be achieved is a claim that Jesus’ death was not sufficient to fully purchase our salvation.

Prayer: The Roman Catholic Church teaches Catholics to not only pray to God, but also to petition Mary and the saints for their prayers.

We are taught in Scripture to only pray to God, (Mathhew 6:9-13). The question still stands- Can a Roman Catholic be truly Christian given all the false teaching that Catholicism holds? First, we must separate the institution from those who congregate within it. While we cannot judge a person's heart, we can investigate the teachings and beliefs of a religious system like Catholicism to evaluate whether it accurately reflects the truth of scripture.

Remember: In evaluating Catholicism, we find the doctrines, beliefs and practices of the Roman Catholic Church to be unbiblical. By far the most important distinction between Catholicism and Christianity is their teaching on salvation. How one gets to Heaven is the most important question a person can ask, but the answers offered by scripture and by the Catholic Church are radically different, and any religion that does not agree with Scripture regarding salvation is, by definition, a false religion.

Romans 10:8-10- But what does it say? The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart, (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9- because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10- or with the heart one believes and is justified and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

Choosing to remain in the Catholic system of religion after coming to a saving faith in Jesus Christ may have a negative effect on a person's spiritual development. False teaching impacts a believer’s spiritual maturity and relationships with family and friends. Christ must come first, even above our family and friends. In Luke 14, Jesus says, verse 26 says- If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.” This does not mean we should hate our family; rather, it means we must love Him more than even our family. Therefore, Christians must share the true gospel with Catholics, as this is a truly loving action.

Atheism……….

If atheism is, as the Bible teaches, a moral choice of defiance, a rejection of what is obvious to all people, then this has implications for Christians in regard to both how we personally deal with atheists and their arguments and how we instruct and equip the church to confront it.

Psalm 14:1- The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good.

Atheism is not based on lack of evidence but on moral rebellion……….

We should not expect an evidential refutation of atheist arguments to be effective. If evidence itself did not lead the atheists to atheism, it will not convince them to abandon it. In light of the biblical teaching, a better approach would be to center on the real cause of unbelief—rebellion against God, and it is the work of the Holy Spirit through the Word of God that addresses that rebellion.

The Bible and the biblical gospel, not science or rational arguments, always must be primary…..

It is the gospel message of Scripture lovingly, persistently presented by a gracious witness who reflects the compassion of Christ that will have the greatest impact on self-proclaimed atheists.

Atheists have presumed that the most reasonable conclusions are the ones that have the best evidential support, and they have argued that the evidence in favor of God’s existence is too weak, or the arguments in favor of concluding there is no God are more compelling.

The existence of God must be accepted by faith, but this does not mean belief in God is illogical. There are many good arguments for the existence of God. The Bible teaches that God’s existence is clearly seen in the universe.

Psalm 19:1-4- The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. 2- Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. 3-There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. 4- Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.

By challenging the presuppositions of atheism, you can demonstrate that without God, the atheist’s worldview lacks a coherent foundation for concepts like morality, logic, and knowledge………..

Atheism is not the result of objective assessment of evidence, but of stubborn disobedience; it does not arise from the careful application of reason but from willful rebellion. Atheism is the suppression of truth by wickedness, the cognitive consequence of immorality. In short, it is sin that is the mother of unbelief. Atheists are as moral (or immoral) as religious people. In practical terms atheists often follow the same moral code as religious people, but they arrive at the decision of what is good or bad without any help from the idea of God.

Atheists argue that because everything in the universe can be explained in a satisfactory way without using God as part of the explanation, then there is no point in saying that God exists.

There are a number of traditional arguments used to prove that God exists; however, none of them convinces atheists. Here they are:

The Argument from Design

The universe is such a beautiful and orderly thing that it must have been designed. Only God could have designed it. Therefore since the universe exists, God must exist.

An atheist might refute this by saying that, actually, the universe is not particularly beautiful and orderly. And even if it was, why should there be a designer? And modern science shows that most of the natural things we think of as designed are just the products of processes like evolution.

The "Ontological" Argument

We think of God as a perfect being. If God didn't exist he wouldn't be perfect. God is perfect; therefore God exists.

Most atheists think this argument is so feeble they don't bother dealing with it. Professional philosophers usually reject it on the grounds that existence is not a property of beings.

The First Cause Argument

Everything that happens has a cause. Therefore, the universe must have had a cause. That cause must have been God. Therefore, since the universe exists, God must exist in order to have caused it to exist.

Jehovah Witness’ Religion

One fact according to research shows that over the past century and a half, the Jehovah’s Witnesses have become one of the most significant cults in the world. As of 2019, an estimated 8.7 million people adhere to the teaching and practice of this false religion worldwide.

1st Timothy 6:3- If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, 4- he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain.

Jehovah’s Witnesses are most well-known for denying the Trinity, the deity of Christ, the personhood of the Holy Spirit, and the doctrine of eternal punishment. Jehovah’s Witnesses reject the doctrine of the Trinity, believing Jesus to be a created being and the Holy Spirit to essentially be the inanimate power of God. Jehovah’s Witnesses reject the concept of Christ’s substitutionary atonement and instead hold to a ransom theory, that Jesus’ death was a ransom payment for Adam’s sin.

No eternal punishment?

Jehovah’s Witnesses insist that there is no eternal torment for unbelievers in the afterlife. In Jehovah’s Witness theology, the body and the soul are inseparable, so the soul dies with the body. Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that physical death was the only thing Adam suffered when he fell in the garden. According to the Jehovah’s Witnesses, there is no immortal soul.

The Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that the 144,000 mentioned in Rev. 7:4 are 144,000 faithful Jehovah’s Witnesses who will go to heaven. The remainder of faithful Jehovah’s Witnesses will be resurrected and live forever on earth. Those who die without hearing of Christ or knowing God’s will in the Bible will be raised in the resurrection of the unrighteous and will have a second chance to believe in the teachings of the Jehovah’s Witnesses and obey God and to be included in the final inheritance of eternal life on earth. Anyone who does not attain to the eternal inheritance by failing to believe and obey the teachings of the Jehovah’s Witnesses will be annihilated.

Defending the faith:

Jehovah witness false claim: Jesus was created as the Archangel Michael.

Answering with truth: Jesus was not the Archangel Michael in the Old Testament. Michael in Daniel 10:13 is called “one of the chief princes” indicating he is one among a group of chief princes. By contrast, the Greek word used to describe Jesus in John 3:16 (“God s only-begotten son”) is monogenes-literally meaning “unique” or “one of a kind.” Jesus is not a mere “chief prince” but is rather the “King of kings and Lord of lords” (Rev. 19:16).

Jehovah witness false claim: Jesus is God’s only Begotten Son in the sense that He was directly created by the hand of God (John 3:16).

Answering with truth:

Perhaps no title of Christ has been so misunderstood as “Son of God.” Though the term can refer to “offspring of,” it carries the more important meaning, “of the order of.” The phrase is often used this way in the Old Testament. For example, “sons of the prophets” meant of the “order of prophets” (1st Kings 20:35). “Sons of the singers” meant “of the order of singers” (Neh. 12:28). Likewise, the phrase “Son of God,” in the case of Christ, means “of the order of God,” and represents a claim to undiminished deity.

Evidence for Christ’s eternal Sonship is found in the fact that God created the universe through His Son (Heb. 1:2)-implying that Christ was the Son of God prior to the Creation. Moreover, Christ as the Son is explicitly said to have existed “before all things” (Col. 1:17; see especially verses 13-14). As well, Jesus, speaking as the Son of God (John 8:54-56), asserts His eternal preexistence before Abraham (v. 58).

This religion has many objections/false claims concerning the word of God. As believers, we have to know and understand the position that has been taken to dismantle truth and preoccupy ourselves with apologizing (defending) the faith.