Comparing Christianity to Other Religions
Christianity is unique over all other religions because it is based on historical facts and acts. Other religions are primarily centered on the ethical and religious opinions of their founders. Christianity is based on the character of Jesus Christ and what He did. Its truth and validity rely on real events of past such as: creation, the fall, crucifixion of Christ, and His resurrection from death to life. The historical records of these events can be objectively investigated.
Christianity is the only religion which offers the possibility of physically investigating its factual nature because it makes specific claims about the world around us. It also addresses where we came from. If these claims are false, then all other biblical claims are also suspect. But if these claims are scientifically valid, there is every reason to believe the Bible’s claims (such as what happens after death or what God requires of us in order to spend eternity in His presence).1
Only the Bible starts with the special creation of all things by an eternal, all powerful, personal God. The Bible has a unique and reasonable solution to the origin problem - "In the beginning, God created ...". Other religious books reveal ignorance on this point. They all propose ideas for the evolution of the universe from existing matter but do not explain how the matter originated.
For example, the Babylonians stated in their "Enuma Elish", that the universe began with a primeval chaotic mixture of three kinds of water. The Greek myths proposed an initial state of matter randomly coming together. Roman writers, like Lucretius, assumed that there was a universal blind interplay of atoms. The Orphic myths supposed the universe developed out of a primeval world-egg. Similarly, the modern theory of evolution begins with eternal matter in one form or another. No other book (including modern evolutionary "science" books) is able to go beyond the present order of things to a real first cause.
Only the Bible explains the origin of matter by the existence of God. He is outside of matter, time, and space. He brought matter into existence and can take matter out of existence.2
The Bible is unique among all the religious writings of the ancient world in the following ways:
1. It is the only book that gives an account of the creation of all things from nothing.
2. It is the only book of ancient history that reveals a meaning and purpose behind events or the past.
3. It is the only book that gives a continuous historical record from the first man to the present era.
4. It is the only religious book which sets the moral standard required by man at an impossible level and explains why man, by his efforts, can never achieve this standard.
5. It is the only book containing detailed prophecies of future events that have come true with 100% accuracy.
The very words of the Bible are God-breathed. The Old Testament alone makes approximately 2,600 claims that it is God’s Word. No other religious work claims this.3
The final and greatest proof of Christ’s absolute uniqueness is His resurrection. Not only did Christ die precisely at the time of His choosing, but He rose on the third day by His own power. Christ predicted this when He said that He had the power to lay His life down and He had the power to take it up again (John 10:17,18). After three days Christ rose from the dead. Christians worship a "living" Lord. All other religious founders and leaders are dead. In most cases their tombs are known and honored. Only the tomb of Christ was occupied for only three days and thereafter it was empty forever!
Christ alone conquered death, which clearly shows that Christ is exactly who He said He was, "the resurrection and the life". It is Christ’s resurrection that gives Christians hope in life, the realization that they have nothing to fear from death, and the assurance that they will see Christ again after their death.4
This article is a compilation of four entries (Jan. 22, Jun. 1, Feb. 16, Apr. 12) on the subject of "Evidence From Comparing Religions" taken from the book, A Closer Look At The Evidence, by Richard & Tina Kleiss.5 Although this amazing book contains evidence, researched from over 70 expert sources, for the existence of a Creator, for the reliability of the Holy Bible, and for the trustworthiness of Christianity, the information in this article all came from one source, the book, Many Infallible Proofs - Evidences for the Christian faith, another amazing book, by Henry M. Morris with Henry M. Morris III.
1. Morris, Henry M. with Henry M. Morris III, Many Infallible Proofs - Evidences for the Christian faith. Green Forest, AR: Master Books, Inc., October 2005 p.10.
2. Morris, Henry M. with Henry M. Morris III, Many Infallible Proofs - Evidences for the Christian faith. Green Forest, AR: Master Books, Inc., October 2005 p.11.
3. Morris, Henry M. with Henry M. Morris III, Many Infallible Proofs - Evidences for the Christian faith. Green Forest, AR: Master Books, Inc., October 2005 p.156-157.
4. Morris, Henry M. with Henry M. Morris III, Many Infallible Proofs - Evidences for the Christian faith. Green Forest, AR: Master Books, Inc., October 2005 p.14.
5. A Closer Look At The Evidence, Richard L. & Christina (Tina) E. Kleiss, Search for the Truth Pub., Midland, MI.
