Karma or grace? A conversation with seekers

If you follow Hinduism, Buddhism or another Eastern path, or if you describe yourself as "spiritual but not religious", you are asking some of the deepest questions a person can ask: Why is there suffering? How can I find peace? What is real? This article is written with respect for those questions and for the people asking them. We begin with what we admire, say honestly where we differ, and invite you to consider Jesus.

What we share

We share a conviction that there is more to reality than the material world, that human beings long for something beyond themselves, and that compassion, humility and self-control matter. Many followers of Eastern traditions live with a gentleness and discipline that put many Christians to shame. We are thankful for that, and we are not here to caricature anyone.

A model for the conversation

When the apostle Paul visited Athens, a city full of religions, he did not begin by mocking them. He said, "Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious" (Acts 17:22, ESV). He started where his listeners were, and then he told them about the God "who made the world and everything in it" and who "commands all people everywhere to repent" because he has raised Jesus from the dead (Acts 17:24-31). We want to follow his example.

Where we differ, and why it matters

1. Who or what is ultimate?

Many Eastern traditions, especially in the Hindu school of Advaita, hold that ultimate reality is an impersonal oneness, and that the individual self is an illusion or is identical with it. Buddhism generally teaches that there is no permanent self at all. The Bible teaches that the ultimate reality is a personal God who made the world, is distinct from it, and knows each of us by name. "The heavens declare the glory of God" (Psalm 19:1, ESV). We are not God, and we are not illusions. We are creatures, made to know and love our Creator.

2. Karma or grace?

Karma teaches that every deed brings its consequence, and that we must work off our wrongs over many lifetimes. It is a demanding and, in its own way, a just system. The trouble is that no one knows how much is enough. The Bible agrees that wrongs have a cost, but it announces that God has paid it himself: "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works" (Ephesians 2:8-9, ESV). Karma says "do, and you will be saved". The gospel says "it is done".

3. Reincarnation or resurrection?

Many Eastern religions teach that we are reborn again and again until we are released. The Bible teaches that "it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment" (Hebrews 9:27, ESV), and that Christ's resurrection is the firstfruits of a bodily resurrection for all who trust him. We do not escape the body and the world. God redeems them.

4. Is every path the same?

It is often said that all religions are different roads up the same mountain. Yet the great traditions say very different things about God, the self and salvation, and they cannot all be true at once. Hinduism says that there are many gods or one impersonal reality. Buddhism says there is no creator. Christianity says that there is one personal God. These claims contradict each other. The idea that "all paths lead to the same place" is itself a claim that no tradition makes. Jesus made a bold claim of his own: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6, ESV). It is not arrogant to take such a claim seriously. It is arrogant to dismiss it without examining it.

"My own truth"

Many people today say that truth is whatever is true for me. We understand the appeal. It feels humble and tolerant. But when we are ill, we want a doctor who knows what is true about the body, and not one who offers us his own truth. If there is a God, then what he is like is not up to our opinion. It is a fact to be discovered, and we invite you to look at the evidence of history.

What Jesus says

Jesus does not offer a path to climb or a self to dissolve. He offers himself. "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28, ESV). To those who are exhausted by striving, he says "it is finished" (John 19:30, ESV). He promises, "I came that they may have life and have it abundantly" (John 10:10, ESV).

Questions to sit with

If you follow an Eastern path or a spiritual path of your own, we invite you to read the Gospel of John slowly and ask yourself: who is this person, and what is he asking of me? You do not have to leave behind what is good in what you have learned. Just look at Jesus. If you are a Christian reading this, listen first, ask good questions, and speak "with gentleness and respect" (1 Peter 3:15, ESV).

Read what we believe.

 

Jesus the Messiah: A conversation with our Jewish neighbours

Jewish people were the first to receive God's word. Through them came the Scriptures, the prophets, the covenants, and, as Christians believe, the Messiah himself. Christians owe a debt to Israel that can never be repaid. This article is written with respect and gratitude, for our Jewish neighbours and for anyone who wants to understand how Christians read the Hebrew Scriptures, the Tanakh. We begin with what we share, speak honestly about where we differ, and invite you to look at Jesus for yourself.

What we share

We share the Law, the Prophets and the Psalms as God's word. We confess that the Lord is one (Deuteronomy 6:4), that he made heaven and earth, that he chose Abraham and made covenants with Israel, and that he will one day put the world right. Jesus, his first disciples and the writers of the New Testament were all Jewish. Paul wrote: "to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises" (Romans 9:4, ESV).

A word of sorrow

We must also say plainly that Jewish people have suffered terribly, at times at the hands of people who called themselves Christians. The charge that "the Jews killed Christ" is false, and the persecution it fed was a grave sin and a betrayal of Jesus, who was himself a Jew. Jesus said that no one takes his life from him, but that he lays it down of his own accord (John 10:18). We are sorry for those who have done this, and we reject anti-Jewish hatred in every form.

Why Christians believe Jesus is the Messiah

The New Testament presents Jesus as the fulfilment of promises already made in the Hebrew Bible. We invite you to read these passages for yourself, in your own Bible:

The Messiah would be born in Bethlehem

"But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days" (Micah 5:2, ESV).

He would suffer for others

Psalm 22 describes a righteous sufferer whose hands and feet are pierced. Isaiah 53 says of the Servant: "he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5, ESV). Many Jewish interpreters read the Servant as the people of Israel, and we respect that reading. Yet the passage speaks of the Servant bearing the sins of "my people", which is hard to read of Israel itself, and some ancient Jewish writers, such as the Targum of Jonathan, applied it to the Messiah.

He would bring a new covenant

"Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah... I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts... for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more" (Jeremiah 31:31-34, ESV). Jesus took the cup at his last Passover meal and said, "This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood" (Luke 22:20, ESV).

The timing

Daniel 9:24-26 speaks of an anointed one who would be "cut off" after a set period and before the destruction of the city and the sanctuary. Christians see in this a pointer to the time of Jesus. Interpreters differ on the details, and we invite you to weigh them for yourself.

The honest objections

Jewish people raise serious objections, and they deserve a serious hearing. Some say that the Messiah is to bring world peace, and that this has not happened. Christians reply that the prophets describe two comings, a suffering Servant and a reigning King, and that Jesus will return to complete what he began. Some say that a Messiah cannot be divine, because God is one. Christians believe that the one God has revealed himself as Father, Son and Spirit, and we point to passages such as Isaiah 9:6, where the promised child is called "Mighty God", and Psalm 110:1, where David calls his descendant "my Lord". These are real disagreements, and we have no wish to hide them or to pretend they are small.

What Jesus says

"I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6, ESV). Jesus did not come to abolish the Law and the Prophets but to fulfil them (Matthew 5:17). Paul says that God has not rejected his people: "the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable" (Romans 11:29, ESV).

Questions to sit with

If you are Jewish and reading this, we invite you to read Isaiah 53, Psalm 22 and Jeremiah 31 side by side with the Gospel of Matthew, and to ask your own questions of both. You are always welcome to ask us. If you are a Christian reading this, remember that the people of Israel are those to whom God made promises he will keep. Speak with our Jewish neighbours "with gentleness and respect" (1 Peter 3:15, ESV).

Read what we believe.

 

Is faith reasonable? A conversation with sceptics

If you are an atheist, an agnostic or simply a sceptic, you are not the enemy here. Many of the best questions about God come from people who refuse to accept easy answers, and we respect that. This article gives a few reasons why we think the evidence points to a Creator, and then to Jesus Christ. We invite you to test every one of them.

What we share

We share a love of truth, a respect for science and a conviction that beliefs should be tested by evidence and reason. Modern science grew in large part from Christians who thought that a rational Creator would make a world that could be understood. We are not afraid of your questions.

1. DNA is a code, and codes come from minds

DNA is not merely a chemical. It stores information in a four-letter alphabet (A, C, G and T). Cells read that information in three-letter "words" and translate it, using a precise system of molecular machines, into the proteins that build and run every living thing. That is the language of codes, instructions and translation.

In every case where we know the origin of a code, whether a written language, a computer program or Morse code, it comes from an intelligent mind. We never observe a code, with its alphabet, grammar and translation system, writing itself. So when we find the genetic code, with a "codebook" and translation machinery that themselves have to be coded, the reasonable inference is that it too came from a mind. Several scientists and philosophers have made this case, including Stephen Meyer in Signature in the Cell.

2. The laws of logic and mathematics point to a rational mind

You use logic every time you reason, including when you argue against God. The laws of logic, such as the law of non-contradiction (something cannot be both true and false in the same way at the same time), have remarkable features:

They are universal: they hold everywhere and at every time. They are unchanging: they never vary from place to place or age to age. They are immaterial: you cannot weigh, measure or see them, because they are not made of matter. And they are necessary: you cannot even deny them without using them.

These features are hard to explain if the world is only matter and energy produced by blind, mindless processes. Matter does not produce immaterial, universal, unchanging laws, and a process that changes over time cannot produce something that never changes. Nor can the laws of logic have "evolved", because any claim that they evolved already relies on them being true and fixed. Mathematics works in the same way. It is abstract and immaterial, and yet it describes physical reality with astonishing precision. The physicist Eugene Wigner called this "the unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics in the natural sciences" (1960). Why should abstract mathematics fit the real world so exactly?

The Christian answer is that the universe was made by a rational God, whose own consistent and unchanging nature is the source of the logic we use and the order we observe. "In the beginning was the Word [Logos]" (John 1:1, ESV). This line of reasoning is sometimes called the transcendental argument: the very possibility of reasoning requires a foundation that only the biblical God supplies.

Where to learn more: Dr Jason Lisle, an astrophysicist, develops these arguments clearly in his book The Ultimate Proof of Creation and in a number of talks that can be found on YouTube by searching for his name. We recommend you watch them with an open mind.

3. The universe had a beginning, and whatever begins has a cause

This is the Kalam cosmological argument, developed by medieval thinkers such as al-Ghazali and defended today by philosophers such as William Lane Craig. It runs like this:

1. Whatever begins to exist has a cause. 2. The universe began to exist. 3. Therefore the universe has a cause.

The first step is the most basic principle of all science and everyday life: things do not pop into existence from nothing, uncaused. The second step is supported by the best evidence we have. The expansion of the universe and the Big Bang point to a beginning of space, time and matter. The Borde-Guth-Vilenkin theorem (2003) shows that any universe that has been expanding on average cannot extend back forever. And an infinite past of real events cannot be completed, any more than you could finish counting down from infinity.

If the universe had a beginning, its cause must be outside space and time, immaterial, and enormously powerful. It must also be personal: only a mind can choose to create when nothing existed before. That is a strikingly close description of the God of the Bible. "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1, ESV).

Replies, and why we find them wanting

Thoughtful sceptics do reply to these arguments, and we want to describe their replies fairly. Some say that research may one day explain the origin of life and the genetic code. Some say that logic and mathematics are human conventions. Some say that the universe could have come from "nothing" through quantum processes.

We do not find these replies convincing, and here is why. The claim that the universe, with all its order and information, came from nothing, by nothing, for no reason, asks us to believe something far harder than the Christian claim. What physicists call "nothing" (a quantum vacuum with energy, laws and fields) is already something. A hope that science will one day explain the origin of life is a promise, not an explanation. Even Francis Crick, a Nobel laureate and no friend of religion, wrote in Life Itself (1981) that the origin of life "appears at the moment to be almost a miracle". And to say that logic and mathematics are mere conventions undermines the reasoning used to say it.

It also helps to separate what we observe from what we infer. Science can observe variation within kinds, natural selection and mutation. The origin of life, and the claim that all living things descend from a single common ancestor, are inferences about a past that nobody witnessed. They should be presented as theory, with the evidence and the difficulties set out openly, and not as settled fact. For a short summary of the scientific case that questions the theory of evolution, see "The Scientific Case Against Evolution" by Dr Henry M. Morris of the Institute for Creation Research. It comes from a Christian creationist perspective, and we encourage you to read it alongside other views and to weigh the evidence for yourself.

Suffering, morality and the resurrection

Other questions matter just as much. Why is there suffering? Why do we feel that some things are truly right or wrong? The Bible does not offer a glib answer to suffering. It tells us that God entered it himself in the person of Jesus. And if there is a real moral law, it points beyond us to a moral Lawgiver. Finally, the central claim of Christianity is historical: that Jesus rose from the dead. Paul says, "If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile" (1 Corinthians 15:17, ESV), and he invites us to check the witnesses (1 Corinthians 15:3-8). We will say more on each of these in future articles.

What Jesus says

"I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6, ESV). Jesus did not ask people to stop thinking. He asked them to follow the evidence to its source: "If you abide in my word... you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (John 8:31-32, ESV).

An invitation

If you are an atheist or sceptic reading this, we invite you to read the Gospel of John from start to finish, and then ask yourself the question the apostle Thomas finally answered. If you are a Christian reading this, speak with those who doubt "with gentleness and respect" (1 Peter 3:15, ESV).

Read what we believe.

 

Who is Jesus? A conversation with Jehovah's Witnesses

Jehovah's Witnesses are known for their courtesy, their seriousness about the Bible and their willingness to talk about God with anyone. Many of them have knocked on our doors, and many of us have closed them too quickly. This article is written with respect, for Witnesses and for anyone who wants to understand the conversation fairly. Its question is the one Jesus asked his disciples: "Who do you say that I am?" (Matthew 16:15, ESV).

What we share

We share a deep respect for the Bible as God's Word, a love for God's name, a belief that Jesus died as a ransom for sinners, and a longing for the day when God will make all things new. We thank God for the sincerity and discipline we see in so many Witnesses.

Where we differ, and why it matters

We describe each difference as the Watch Tower Society itself teaches it, and then we ask what the Bible says.

1. Who Jesus is

Jehovah's Witness teaching holds that Jesus is a created being, the first creature God made, and that he is the archangel Michael. The New World Translation renders John 1:1 as "the Word was a god." We believe the Bible presents Jesus as fully God. John 1:1 says "the Word was God," and then continues: "All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made" (John 1:3, ESV). A created being cannot be the one through whom everything was created.

The rest of the New Testament says the same. Thomas worships Jesus: "My Lord and my God!" (John 20:28, ESV). Jesus claims the divine name for himself: "Before Abraham was, I am" (John 8:58, ESV), and his hearers understood exactly what he meant. Paul calls him "our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ" (Titus 2:13, ESV) and says "in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily" (Colossians 2:9, ESV). The angels are told to worship him (Hebrews 1:6), yet angels themselves refuse worship (Revelation 22:8-9). Jesus is not an angel.

2. The Holy Spirit

Witness teaching describes the Holy Spirit as God's active force and not as a person. We believe the Bible presents the Spirit as a divine Person who teaches, speaks, grieves and can be lied to. When Ananias lied to the Spirit, Peter said "you have not lied to man but to God" (Acts 5:3-4, ESV).

3. The name of God

We honour Witnesses' love for God's name, "Jehovah" (the Hebrew Yahweh, rendered "the LORD" in most English Bibles). We also notice that the New Testament applies Old Testament passages about the LORD to Jesus (compare Joel 2:32 with Romans 10:9-13).

4. Assurance and salvation

Witness teaching holds that salvation depends on faithful association with the organisation and on continuing works, and that only a limited number will reign with Christ in heaven. We believe the Bible offers a sure hope to every believer: "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life" (John 3:36, ESV), and "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1, ESV). Salvation is a gift of grace, received by faith and not earned (Ephesians 2:8-9). This is why Article 11 and Westminster chapter 11 say what they do.

What Jesus says

"I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6, ESV). Jesus invites everyone to come to him directly: "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28, ESV).

Questions to sit with

If you are a Jehovah's Witness reading this, we invite you to read John 1, Colossians 1 and Hebrews 1 slowly, and to ask: who does the text say Jesus is? You are welcome to compare several translations, and to ask the same question of the Greek text itself. You do not have to take our word for it. Look at the Bible, and look at Christ.

If you are a Christian reading this, be gracious when a Witness comes to your door. Listen first, ask questions, and speak "with gentleness and respect" (1 Peter 3:15, ESV).

Read what we believe.

 

Which Jesus? A conversation with Latter-day Saints

Latter-day Saints are known for their kindness, their families, their service and their sincere love for Jesus Christ. The Church asks to be called The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and we are glad to use that name here. This article is written with respect for them, and for anyone who wants to understand the conversation fairly. Its question is one that Latter-day Saints themselves take seriously: which Jesus are we talking about?

What we share

Latter-day Saints honour Jesus as Saviour, believe in his resurrection, and try to live lives shaped by his teaching. We share a high view of family, honesty, generosity and moral seriousness. We are thankful for these things.

Why the question "which Jesus?" matters

The apostle Paul warned the early church about "another Jesus" (2 Corinthians 11:4) and "a different gospel" (Galatians 1:6-8). Latter-day Saints cite these verses too. So the honest question for every tradition is: does our Jesus match the Jesus of the Bible? We think the differences below are serious, and we describe them as the Church's own teaching presents them.

1. Who God is

The Bible teaches that there is one God, eternal and unchanging. "Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me" (Isaiah 43:10, ESV; see also Isaiah 44:6-8). Jesus said "God is spirit" (John 4:24, ESV). Latter-day Saint teaching holds that God the Father has a body of flesh and bones (Doctrine and Covenants 130:22) and that God was once a man who progressed to godhood, a teaching the Church's own essay "Becoming Like God" discusses. We believe the Bible presents God as the one Creator, not as one among many gods in progress.

2. Who Jesus is

The Gospel of John opens: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God... All things were made through him" (John 1:1-3, ESV). Paul says "all things were created through him and for him" (Colossians 1:16, ESV). Jesus is the eternal Creator, not a created being. Latter-day Saint teaching presents Jesus as the first-born spirit child of the Heavenly Father, and as a spirit brother of every human being and of Lucifer. We believe this makes him different in kind from the Jesus of Scripture, who is God himself, the Maker and not the made.

3. How we are saved

The Book of Mormon says "it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do" (2 Nephi 25:23). The Bible says "by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works" (Ephesians 2:8-9, ESV). We believe salvation is a finished gift received by trusting Christ, and not something we complete by our own effort, ordinances or temple work. This is why Article 11 and Westminster chapter 11 say what they do.

4. Authority

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints holds that additional scripture and a living prophet carry authority alongside the Bible. We believe the Bible is God's complete written Word (Article 6; Westminster chapter 1). We also invite Latter-day Saints to look openly at the evidence behind the Book of Mormon, and at the Church's own published essays on its history, and to test everything as the Bereans did (Acts 17:11).

What Jesus says

"I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6, ESV). Jesus asks us to come to him as we are: "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28, ESV). He offers forgiveness and rest, not a ladder.

Questions to sit with

If you are a Latter-day Saint reading this, we invite you to read John 1, Colossians 1 and Ephesians 2 slowly, and ask: who is the Jesus these chapters describe, and on what do I rest my hope before God? You do not have to take our word for it. Look at the text, and look at Christ.

If you are a Christian reading this, remember that the Latter-day Saint families next door are neighbours to love. Speak with them "with gentleness and respect" (1 Peter 3:15, ESV).

Read what we believe.

 

Roman Catholicism and the gospel: a conversation between friends

Many of the people we love most are Roman Catholics. They pray, they serve, and they trust Jesus Christ as Lord. This article is written for them, and for anyone who wants to understand the conversation between Catholics and Protestants fairly. We want to begin with what we share, say honestly where we differ, and then point to Jesus.

What we share

Catholics and Reformed Christians confess the same great truths: one God in three Persons; Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man, born of the Virgin Mary, crucified, risen and coming again; the inspiration of the Bible; and the call to love God and our neighbour. We say the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed together. Where Catholics defend the unborn, care for the poor and teach that Christ is Lord, we are glad.

Where we differ, and why it matters

The differences are serious, and they are not about people's sincerity. They concern how we are made right with God. Here are the main ones, described as the Catholic Church itself teaches them.

1. Authority

The Catholic Catechism teaches that Scripture and Sacred Tradition, interpreted by the Church's teaching office, together carry God's revelation (Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 80 to 82). We hold that Scripture alone is the final authority, because Jesus himself tested every tradition against the written Word (Mark 7:6-13) and Paul says Scripture can make us "complete, equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16-17, ESV). Article 6 of the Thirty-Nine Articles and chapter 1 of the Westminster Confession say the same.

2. How a sinner is justified

Catholic teaching, following the Council of Trent, holds that justification is God's gift, but that it is received and increased through the sacraments and cooperation with grace. We believe the Bible teaches that God declares us righteous the moment we trust Christ, on the basis of his righteousness and not ours: "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works" (Ephesians 2:8-9, ESV; see also Romans 3:28 and 5:1). Article 11 and Westminster chapter 11 teach that we are justified by faith alone, and that good works are its fruit. This difference touches the heart of the gospel, because it decides where a person's assurance rests.

3. The sacrifice of Christ

The Catechism teaches that the Mass is not a new sacrifice but makes present the one sacrifice of Christ (paragraph 1367). We rejoice that Catholics honour the cross. Yet we hold that the Bible presents Christ's offering as finished and never to be repeated or re-presented: "by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified" (Hebrews 10:14, ESV). That is why Articles 28 and 31 and Westminster chapter 29 speak as they do.

4. Mediators and prayer

Catholic devotion asks Mary and the saints to pray for us. We believe Scripture directs us to one Mediator: "there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 2:5, ESV), and invites us to come to him boldly (Hebrews 4:16).

What Jesus says

When Jesus was asked what God requires, he answered, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent" (John 6:29, ESV). He promised, "Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life" (John 5:24, ESV). He offers rest, not a ladder: "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28, ESV).

Questions to sit with

If you are a Catholic reading this, we invite you to read Romans 3 to 5 and the letter to the Hebrews slowly, with an open Bible, and to ask: on what do I rest my hope before God? We would not ask you to take our word for it. Look at the text, and look at Christ.

If you are a Protestant reading this, remember that these are our neighbours and family. Speak with them the way Peter says to: "with gentleness and respect" (1 Peter 3:15, ESV).

A closing invitation

Whatever your tradition, Jesus says, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6, ESV). He is enough. Read what we believe.