Giday Gebrekidan
A true religion must understand the human condition. It must understand and accept that man is free, it must admit the individuality of man and God, and it must show the existential dilemma of man. Why? Because these three points are true and logical and so if a religion claims to be divine wisdom then at least it must not miss these points.
Freedom. The bible and other religious texts as well tell us that man is free to do good or evil. This moral choice comes with full responsibility, just as a child who eats too much candy will ruin his teeth so the man that choses evil will ruin his soul. Freedom does mean the choice to live or die, if you chose life you will do good, if you choose death you can choose to do evil. This isn’t robbing your freedom, it simply means evil can’t sustain and doing evil is not life.
Individuality. A free agent created to be responsible for his own choices will have individuality. And a creator that has no beginning or end, omnipotent and omnipresent, must also have His own individuality apart from His creations. Today science as well confirms that the universe does have a beginning and so it’s illogical to assume the universe as being a God that created itself. The creator must be above His creations. If a religion claims that the creator can be part of His creations and His creations can be part of Him then it becomes an absurd teaching. It will feel good for our pride to think we are part of God but it’s impossible and illogical.
In Christianity believers become by grace partakers of the divine nature. But this does not mean they become the same as their creator. “To be commune with God is not the same as to be God.” (Wall, Against Pantheism.)
Existence. Man lives with the realization of his weakness, a true religion must understand this. Pascal demonstrates this point clearly in his “Pensées,” a collection of fragments of his writings. He says, “The true religion would have to teach greatness and wretchedness, inspire self-esteem and self-contempt, love and hate.” (p. 142) Hate being hatred of one’s wretchedness. The only religion that does this is Christianity through Christ. Pascal explains that, “It teaches … that there is a God, of whom men are capable, and that there is corruption in nature which makes them unworthy. It is of equal importance to men to know each of these points: and it is equally dangerous for man to know God without knowing his own wretchedness as to know his own wretchedness without knowing the redeemer who can cure him. Knowing only one of these points leads either to the arrogance of the philosophers, who have known God but not their own wretchedness or to the despair of the atheists, who know their own wretchedness without knowing their Redeemer. … Jesus Christ is the object of all things, the center towards which all things tend. Whoever knows Him knows the reason for everything. Those who go astray only do so for want of seeing one of these two things. It is then perfectly possible to know God but not our own wretchedness, or our wretchedness but not God; but it is not possible to know Christ without knowing both God and our own wretchedness alike.” (p. 140-41)
Then he further explains for the heathens and Epicureans God is the author of mathematical truths and the order of elements; for the Jews God is insurance for property and life to those that worship Him. This may apply to Islam as well. But the Christian God makes them inwardly aware of their wretchedness and His infinite mercy. (p. 141-42) This awareness is only possible with the awareness of Jesus Christ.
Earlier in this book Pascal says, “A purely intellectual religion would be more appropriate to the clever, but would be no good for the people. The Christian religion alone is appropriate for all, being a blend of external and internal. It exalts the people inwardly, and humbles the proud outwardly, and is not perfect without both, for the people must understand the spirit of the letter while the clever must submit their spirit to the letter. No other religion has proposed that we should hate ourselves. No other religion therefore can please those who hate themselves and seek a being who is really worthy of love. And if they had never [before] heard of the religion of a humiliated God, they would at once embrace it.” (p. 70)
Sources:
Pascal, Blaise. (1966.) “Pensées.” Trans. Krailsheimer. Penguin Books. 1995 ed.
Wall, Aron. (March 12, 2015.) “Against Pantheism.”March 16, 2016.
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