The Many and the One
"Just tell me what you believe so I can tell you why you're wrong!" You
may not have heard these precise words, but I can bet you've run into this
attitude at some point in your life.
Our faith is distinct it is who and what we are. What we live and die for
and what we know our ultimate destiny will be if we live in faith to
Yeshua our Messiah.
People have used all sorts of words to slander and offend Believers over
the ages: "Judaizers", "heretics" some have even gone so far as to call us
"devil worshipers". This would be something akin to a cannibal looking
down upon your dietary habits, they are the last ones to talk!
There are times people try to gauge what Brethren feel about other
religions and sects or denominations, trying to label us either as liberal
and progressive or conservative and intolerant. Which is funny because you
really can't be both, but these are the kinds of comments that get thrown
around about us.
The reason I mention this is that I want to make it very clear to everyone
that Brethren are not intolerant of other faiths. Not at all! But saying
this, does not mean we believe in pluralism. Pluralism means that there
are many paths to God and to eternal life. That we absolutely do not
believe. There is one path. One Narrow Path laid out by Yeshua. You cannot
believe this and believe in pluralism. Some groups teach that they are all
the Body of Christ, but if they believe what each group is doing is right,
then why would they insist on their own way. This implies that all
Christian groups are on the Narrow Path and there is no proof to
substantiate this at all. Secretly, they believe each one is closer to
being right than the others and their way will take them to the Kingdom of
Heaven. Kind of like an unspoken competition. "Last one to the top is a
rotten soul!" It just becomes guess work at that point.
So it must be clear that Brethren do not believe in pluralism and we only
believe one way... The Bible, along with the Didache, will take a person
from this world along the Narrow Path to eternal life. We do not believe
any other way leads a soul to where they want to go. After all, Yeshua is
the Way the Truth and the Life. If a person does not come into contact
with this truth in this life, that they will have the opportunity to do so
in the hereafter. Because we believe God is both just and merciful. We
believe that every single soul will have the choice to turn to God through
Yeshua. To have no provision for every single soul would imply that God is
neither just nor merciful. Those who cling to the latter idea are usually
those who believe themselves to be above reproach and guaranteed for
paradise. This acceptance of an unjust and unmerciful concept of the
afterlife, makes themselves guilty of legalism at best, and can be a sign
of intolerance and cruelty of the soul.
So we believe in One Way but we also believe in an infinitely Just and
Merciful God that would never leave a single soul without the clear option
to choose to turn to the Light of Yahweh. We believe this opportunity to
choose is so vital that to think that just because the physical body
ceases to work, that the spirit isn't still working toward this same goal
is unthinkable.
It is a small mind and a cold heart that accepts intolerance and injustice
for even one single soul. Yeshua would never accept this, and as His
Brethren, neither should we.
What about people of other religions, then? Are they evil? No. We do not
believe people of other faiths are evil. We do believe some are in error,
they are mistaken. And a person who is in error is not evil. If they
faithfully seek the God of the Universe and strive to do so based on the
teachings they were lead to believe and have never heard of Bible or the
True Gospel of Yeshua, they are not evil. They are in a vehicle that just
does not have the power to take them where they need to go. If they put
aside this faulty vehicle, either in this life or in the next and embrace
Yeshua and His teachings, they will get where they want to go - eternal
life in the Kingdom of God.
But make no mistake - there are some evil teachers out there. A cultural
Christian who is lukewarm to Yeshua, that makes a mockery of His teachings
and twist His words to suite his or her own needs, is evil and will not be
accepted by Him.
There are more people who claim to be in Yeshua who don't know or follow
Him than there are people who have never heard the Gospel of Yeshua in
this world, and act more Godly in their morality and ethics and civility
in this world.
If you saw a community of Buddhist monks you would assume they are
followers of Yeshua because they embody the peaceful nature that Yeshua
outlines for His disciples.
If you saw the Hindus that renounce worldly objects and desires to seek
the One God, of their deeply spiritual nature and high moral character.
You would assume they are followers of Yeshua because they embody the walk
of the spiritual minded believer, one that Yeshua outlines for Believers.
If you saw the Sikh communities, how they follow the One God, how they
study the word of their scriptures, how they discipline themselves in
worship, how they hold themselves to a very high moral, spiritual and
ethical standard, and how their faith is in all parts of their lives. You
would assume they follow Yeshua because these are mandates for all
Believers.
Having said this, you would think I am encouraging pluralism, but I am
not. These beautiful and spiritual people practice the faith that they
have been given. They do not have Yeshua, not because they are evil but
because of circumstances other than their own nature. This is not
something Yeshua would ever hold against someone. In all of these faiths,
there are some truths that are in line with the teachings of Yeshua. The
truths of:
Love
Service
Peace
Duty
Contemplation
Spiritual Practice
Morality
Ethics
Philosophy
The drive to find the ultimate Truth
The drive to find our final Home.
All world religions of merit, strive for these things. These elements are
true! Anything that is true has only One Author... Yeshua. He is the Way,
the Truth and the Life. If any soul seeks the Way to life, they embody
peace, love, compassion, morality, ethics, philosophy, service spiritual
practice, duty, and contemplation then they will have to seek out Yeshua,
if any soul looks for "Ultimate Truth", they must learn at the feet of the
Master - Yeshua our Messiah; if any soul longs for completion, to attain
eternity in the Kingdom of God and live with Yeshua for eternity in a joy
that surpasses our ability to comprehend, they will have to take hold of
Yeshua as He is, the only One who can get them to where they need to go.
We do not hate other religions. Not every person who kills or injures
another person is a representative of the highest attributes of their
respective faiths. Followers of Yeshua understood that there were many
gentile communities of deeply spiritual, ethical and moral ideals that
only need to come into contact with Yeshua to complete their faith. The
Unknown God then becomes the Known God.
However, adopting the attitude of Yeshua, we have no compassion on those
who betray the Gospel of Messiah, that spread lies about Him and His
teachings, that reject the Law and encourage others to do the same (See
Matthew 5:17-20). To never have the truth is one thing, to have the truth
and reject it or twist it to meet your needs is an abomination and these
people God will turn His back to.
There is only One Truth. One Way and One Path, just as there is only One
God of the Universe.
Yeshua our Messiah is the Source of Truth and Life. We follow His
Teachings in the here and in the hereafter.
