Can we tell them apart....?

One is cherry red, another is Pearl white, and yet another is a rusty ole green thing. All have four tires..a steering wheel and a rear view mirrors. They look similar, with similar body styles. So looking at them from the lot..you're convinced they are all the same..they even seat four passengers..the same.

Not until you sit in them do you realize how truly different they are. One is a 6 cylinder gas engine model...another is a 4 cylinder diesel and the last is a total electric model that requires inconvenient regular charging. Neither can use or share the same energy source and are very incompatible.

So within this analogy can we tell religions apart as well...or are they all the same? Examples..like Christianity, Mormonism, Jehovah's Witness, 7th Day Adventist?

All you need to know is right here:


Romans 3:23
New International Version (NIV)
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

There you go.

Herb

Hi Rob, I'll jump in. Yes, from a Christian perspective (that of the first four respondents I presume), you can tell the real deals from those that are not. I put "real deals" in the plural to acknowledge that more than one denomination or body can be grouped under the label Christian.

Instead of identifying those, I'll list some standards by which one can make the call.

1) There is one God (Deut 6:4)
2) But He is three persons (Matt 28:20)
3) Jesus is one of the triune persons, the Word of God made man (any NT book but especially John, Romans, Hebrews, ...)
4) Jesus died for our sins and rose from the dead (1 Cor 15:3)
5) We are sinful (Rom 3:23) and can please God only by receiving the risen Jesus as Lord (Rom 9:10)

All the Christian varieties are like different models within the Ford-Lincoln-Mercury lineup. The Mormons self-identify as Christians, but they are like a Town Car Limousine. (They've got a few extra segments inserted into the chassis). As an Abrahamic(sp?) the Moslems are like the Ford Pinto. Old-fashioned and prone to burst into flame when struck.

I don't care to Wikipedia myself into instant expertise on the eastern religions, but at least one of them is like a rental car with a round-trip GPS. You go through your entire journey and then end up back where you started so that you can go on another journey.

Hi Rob,

Interesting thread. I would suggest that while on the ouside most Christian denominations look the same, to really see the differences you would have to take a close look at what they teach and compare what they teach with what the Bible teaches. For example, Jehovah's Witness' believe that no one who lived before the cross will go to heaven, 7th Day Adventist believe that Jesus will come the second time at the end of the time of trouble, and take the saved back to heaven where they will be for 1000 years before returning to a re-made Earth, Baptists believe in baptism by full emersion, Roman Catholics believe that tradition is more important than the Bible, Mormans believe that there are 3 more books of writings and that the accuracy of the Bible is to be judged by how closely it follows these other writings, and so on.

They cannot all be correct. So to use your analogy, the only way to find out is to get in a try them.

Cheers,

Maurice

PS: You can tell that classes start today.... I am busy on here instead of getting ready for lectures! AAARRRGGGGGGGGGG

Hi Rob,
Nice analogy, but you're still looking for differences. What commonalities are there? The purpose is to transport us to some destination.

Religion? Not very analogous to transportation, as the journey requires no vehicle using such a variety of fuels.

I would of course contend we concern ourselves so much with the destination we miss out on the journey. If we consider someone else's ride or destination incomparable with our own we may miss the chance to wish them well.

How's the scenery along your path? Have you met any interesting people along your way?
Just curious,
Thanks,
Steve
8)

Sure we can.

For example, Jews and Muslims don't recognize Jesus as the Messiah, protestants don't recognize the Pope as the head of the Christian church, evangelical Christians don't recognize Mormons as Christians and Baptists don't recognize each other in the liquor store.