NB: Every faith or religion is unique but Christianity stands out as one of a kind that contrasts with all others and really isn't even religion by some definitions. Read and just check out all the differences.
Some venture to compare Christianity with other world religions and put them in the same category of being merely a faith. Christianity may rightly be called a faith because that virtue is so vital to its doctrine of salvation by grace. Christianity is vastly superior and different to the other major faiths if one looks beyond the ethics--for they all teach doing good deeds. Even George Lucas has concluded that all religions are true--this couldn't possibly be right since they are often mutually exclusive or contradictory and deny what the other proclaims (e.g., Islam denies that God is love or that you can know God!).
People wrongly believe that the Golden Rule or some ethical code is the essence of Christianity--some say their religion is the Sermon on the Mount! This is a superficial observation that just looks at ethics or morals and not the faith or dogma that demands it. It is true that faith without works is dead and cannot save, and true faith generates good deeds; we are not saved by good works, though; however, we are not saved without them either, and we are saved unto good works! But Christianity is not against good works, just those done in the energy of the flesh, e.g., for the applause of man, and for the wrong motive--to gain the approbation of God.
I intend to show that Christianity is a one-of-a-kind faith, and cannot even properly be called "religion." For religion seeks to reach up to and please God, while Christianity's God reaches down to man and initiates the relationship. He makes the atonement and reconciles us, we don't offer Him our sacrifices to appease His wrath, mollify, or humor Him. Religion simply says "Do!" Christianity replies simply "Done!" Salvation is a fait accompli or a done-deal! The transaction is complete and paid for by God Himself! We accept Christ's work on our behalf, to do what we couldn't accomplish, to pay a debt we couldn't pay when He didn't owe it. God is not obliged to save anyone, or it would be justice, but He chooses to save by grace through the non-meritorious virtue of faith, which is a gift to be used to take that step of faith into the light, out of the darkness of sin, alienation, and bondage.
In religion, one seeks salvation by good behavior or good deeds, and one only hopes his good deeds outweigh his bad ones on Judgment Day. In a works religion, you can never know if you have worked enough or achieved enough--Christianity is not about man's achievement, but God's accomplishment. You can never be assured of salvation in religion, while Christianity alone offers assurance. They both believe in good works, but in religion, they are an "in-order-to" behavior, in Christianity works are a "therefore." We don't do them because we are obligated, but want to.
Actually, this all adds up to religion being a "do-it-yourself" proposition, or a lifting up of yourself by your own bootstraps, like saying, "God helps those who help themselves!" This is a lie, and the qualification for salvation is to admit you're lost and helpless at God's mercy and you come to Him in faith and repentance. The condition for salvation is to realize you're not qualified and can do nothing to ingratiate yourself with God--not good works, philosophy, religion, ritual, or morality!
Religion is, therefore, the best man can come up with, but God gave us Christianity by revelation and intervention into history. People have tried religion and have found it falls short (religion may even work for some, but that's isn't the test of truth). But Christianity isn't true because it works, it works because it's true! Christianity is a revealed religion--the myth come true, as someone said, and no one would've thought this up. One spiritual seeker said to a preacher that he had tried religion for five years and it didn't work--the preacher replied he had tried religion for 15 years and it didn't work, then he tried Christianity! It's an insult to tell the believer that he "found religion," for what he really found is a Savior to meet all his spiritual needs and to fulfill his life and make it more abundant.
Christianity is the religion of miracles and without them, it would fade into oblivion. Take the miracles out and Christ would be but a footnote in history! You can remove miracles from other faiths and their religion stays intact--not so with ours. The problem with miracles is that they only bring about the desire for more miracles! Miracles don't produce faith, but faith miracles! Israel was shown many miracles and still rebelled (cf. Psalm 78:32), and Jesus did many signs and they "would not believe," despite them (cf. John 12:37).
Christianity is a faith of history and over 25,000 archaeological digs have verified its references. Not once has an artifact controverted a biblical reference. What's so sad though, is that if there's ever a difference in opinion between secular and religious scholars, the world buys into what the secular one says, because they believe religious scholars are biased. If the Bible has never been proven wrong and has time and again proven reliable, why start doubting it? The burden of proof is on the person objecting to the validity of a document, and legally they would have to disprove and discredit the Bible's authority and not automatically assume it's dubious. Christianity is a religion of facts, and the Christian with faith need not fear the facts--the skeptic should. The Bible isn't a "once-upon-a-time" tale but based in history, like no other faith. Jesus is a historical, not mythical or legendary figure! Our God is not only the God of history but the very one who orchestrates it all to His will (cf. Eph. 1:11). History is indeed headed toward culmination at the Second Advent of Christ to conclude time as we know it. Either the resurrection was the "biggest hoax," according to Josh McDowell, or the most wonderful event known to man--there's no room for any middle ground!
Christianity is the religion of salvation since it alone offers the world a Savior that we must be saved through and He did it all for us, with the gift of salvation ready to be received. There is only one Savior (cf. Hos. 13:4) and one way of salvation (cf. Acts 4:12). Man is in a state of rebellion against God: The Bible properly diagnoses man's problem and dilemma as the sin question and settles it by the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. "[H]ow shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?" (Heb. 2:3, ESV); there are severe consequences, and man is responsible to God for rejecting what he does know (cf. Rom. 1:28). Remember, in a works religion, you are just never sure of your salvation, but Christianity teaches assurance is possible.
Christianity is the faith of prophecy and no other religion's god can tell you the future, while the Bible has over 2,000 predictive prophecies that were fulfilled (333 in Christ's first advent alone), and this is not just a few lucky guesses! Muhammad tells no prophecy in the Koran, except the self-fulfilling one where he promises to return to Mecca. The one and only true God knows and tells us the future before it happens. Not one prophecy has been proven wrong!
Christianity is a faith of grace, a foreign concept to other faiths. In other religions, one earns his salvation by merit or good deeds. Faith is unmerited favor; we don't earn it, can't pay it back, and don't deserve it in the first place! This concept is unique to Christianity and denied dogmatically by other faiths who believe in legalism and salvation by works alone. With grace, one can be assured of his salvation and isn't dependent on the value and merit of his works for assurance.
The biggest contribution to religion though is probably that Christians address God as Father, and are considered the children of God. We are adopted into God's royal family and have the honor and privilege of being "family." We have the right to become the children of God by virtue of faith in Christ as we receive Him as Lord and Savior, even believing in His name (cf. John 1:12).
Lastly, of the contrasts, the Christian life is not just a list of dos and don'ts, but a vital and growing relationship with the Father and the Son by the power of the Spirit. We grow in faith and our "chief aim is to glorify [God] and enjoy Him forever" (cf. The Westminster Shorter Catechism). Christians share in the very nature of God and reflect His glory (cf. 2 Pet. 1:4; 2 Cor. 3:18). The goal and mission is to know God and to make Him known respectively! Our biblical mandate: "Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD;.." (Hos. 6:3, ESV).
In the final analysis, we are not saved by service, but unto service (cf. Eph. 2:10, saying, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works."). The conclusion of the matter is that there may be an element of truth in every religion (enough error to be dangerous and inoculate one to the real thing), but the one in which is the personification of the absolute Truth with a capital T, and not a fraud or imitation, is Christianity alone! Soli Deo Gloria!
People wrongly believe that the Golden Rule or some ethical code is the essence of Christianity--some say their religion is the Sermon on the Mount! This is a superficial observation that just looks at ethics or morals and not the faith or dogma that demands it. It is true that faith without works is dead and cannot save, and true faith generates good deeds; we are not saved by good works, though; however, we are not saved without them either, and we are saved unto good works! But Christianity is not against good works, just those done in the energy of the flesh, e.g., for the applause of man, and for the wrong motive--to gain the approbation of God.
I intend to show that Christianity is a one-of-a-kind faith, and cannot even properly be called "religion." For religion seeks to reach up to and please God, while Christianity's God reaches down to man and initiates the relationship. He makes the atonement and reconciles us, we don't offer Him our sacrifices to appease His wrath, mollify, or humor Him. Religion simply says "Do!" Christianity replies simply "Done!" Salvation is a fait accompli or a done-deal! The transaction is complete and paid for by God Himself! We accept Christ's work on our behalf, to do what we couldn't accomplish, to pay a debt we couldn't pay when He didn't owe it. God is not obliged to save anyone, or it would be justice, but He chooses to save by grace through the non-meritorious virtue of faith, which is a gift to be used to take that step of faith into the light, out of the darkness of sin, alienation, and bondage.
In religion, one seeks salvation by good behavior or good deeds, and one only hopes his good deeds outweigh his bad ones on Judgment Day. In a works religion, you can never know if you have worked enough or achieved enough--Christianity is not about man's achievement, but God's accomplishment. You can never be assured of salvation in religion, while Christianity alone offers assurance. They both believe in good works, but in religion, they are an "in-order-to" behavior, in Christianity works are a "therefore." We don't do them because we are obligated, but want to.
Actually, this all adds up to religion being a "do-it-yourself" proposition, or a lifting up of yourself by your own bootstraps, like saying, "God helps those who help themselves!" This is a lie, and the qualification for salvation is to admit you're lost and helpless at God's mercy and you come to Him in faith and repentance. The condition for salvation is to realize you're not qualified and can do nothing to ingratiate yourself with God--not good works, philosophy, religion, ritual, or morality!
Religion is, therefore, the best man can come up with, but God gave us Christianity by revelation and intervention into history. People have tried religion and have found it falls short (religion may even work for some, but that's isn't the test of truth). But Christianity isn't true because it works, it works because it's true! Christianity is a revealed religion--the myth come true, as someone said, and no one would've thought this up. One spiritual seeker said to a preacher that he had tried religion for five years and it didn't work--the preacher replied he had tried religion for 15 years and it didn't work, then he tried Christianity! It's an insult to tell the believer that he "found religion," for what he really found is a Savior to meet all his spiritual needs and to fulfill his life and make it more abundant.
Christianity is the religion of miracles and without them, it would fade into oblivion. Take the miracles out and Christ would be but a footnote in history! You can remove miracles from other faiths and their religion stays intact--not so with ours. The problem with miracles is that they only bring about the desire for more miracles! Miracles don't produce faith, but faith miracles! Israel was shown many miracles and still rebelled (cf. Psalm 78:32), and Jesus did many signs and they "would not believe," despite them (cf. John 12:37).
Christianity is a faith of history and over 25,000 archaeological digs have verified its references. Not once has an artifact controverted a biblical reference. What's so sad though, is that if there's ever a difference in opinion between secular and religious scholars, the world buys into what the secular one says, because they believe religious scholars are biased. If the Bible has never been proven wrong and has time and again proven reliable, why start doubting it? The burden of proof is on the person objecting to the validity of a document, and legally they would have to disprove and discredit the Bible's authority and not automatically assume it's dubious. Christianity is a religion of facts, and the Christian with faith need not fear the facts--the skeptic should. The Bible isn't a "once-upon-a-time" tale but based in history, like no other faith. Jesus is a historical, not mythical or legendary figure! Our God is not only the God of history but the very one who orchestrates it all to His will (cf. Eph. 1:11). History is indeed headed toward culmination at the Second Advent of Christ to conclude time as we know it. Either the resurrection was the "biggest hoax," according to Josh McDowell, or the most wonderful event known to man--there's no room for any middle ground!
Christianity is the religion of salvation since it alone offers the world a Savior that we must be saved through and He did it all for us, with the gift of salvation ready to be received. There is only one Savior (cf. Hos. 13:4) and one way of salvation (cf. Acts 4:12). Man is in a state of rebellion against God: The Bible properly diagnoses man's problem and dilemma as the sin question and settles it by the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. "[H]ow shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?" (Heb. 2:3, ESV); there are severe consequences, and man is responsible to God for rejecting what he does know (cf. Rom. 1:28). Remember, in a works religion, you are just never sure of your salvation, but Christianity teaches assurance is possible.
Christianity is the faith of prophecy and no other religion's god can tell you the future, while the Bible has over 2,000 predictive prophecies that were fulfilled (333 in Christ's first advent alone), and this is not just a few lucky guesses! Muhammad tells no prophecy in the Koran, except the self-fulfilling one where he promises to return to Mecca. The one and only true God knows and tells us the future before it happens. Not one prophecy has been proven wrong!
Christianity is a faith of grace, a foreign concept to other faiths. In other religions, one earns his salvation by merit or good deeds. Faith is unmerited favor; we don't earn it, can't pay it back, and don't deserve it in the first place! This concept is unique to Christianity and denied dogmatically by other faiths who believe in legalism and salvation by works alone. With grace, one can be assured of his salvation and isn't dependent on the value and merit of his works for assurance.
The biggest contribution to religion though is probably that Christians address God as Father, and are considered the children of God. We are adopted into God's royal family and have the honor and privilege of being "family." We have the right to become the children of God by virtue of faith in Christ as we receive Him as Lord and Savior, even believing in His name (cf. John 1:12).
Lastly, of the contrasts, the Christian life is not just a list of dos and don'ts, but a vital and growing relationship with the Father and the Son by the power of the Spirit. We grow in faith and our "chief aim is to glorify [God] and enjoy Him forever" (cf. The Westminster Shorter Catechism). Christians share in the very nature of God and reflect His glory (cf. 2 Pet. 1:4; 2 Cor. 3:18). The goal and mission is to know God and to make Him known respectively! Our biblical mandate: "Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD;.." (Hos. 6:3, ESV).
In the final analysis, we are not saved by service, but unto service (cf. Eph. 2:10, saying, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works."). The conclusion of the matter is that there may be an element of truth in every religion (enough error to be dangerous and inoculate one to the real thing), but the one in which is the personification of the absolute Truth with a capital T, and not a fraud or imitation, is Christianity alone! Soli Deo Gloria!
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