There are so many different types of religions in this world: Atheism/Agnosticism, Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Druze, Gnosticism, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Rastafarianism, Shinto, and Sikhism just to name a few. In Christianity alone, there are over +10K different denominations all with a belief system, doctrine, and traditions slightly or vastly different from each other. Why? If Christians read from the same book (The Holy Bible), then why are there so many differences? I'm confused, and perhaps most people who WANT to believe in God are too. How did we get here? Why are we so spreadout and varied with doctrine? How do we find our way back to what pleases God?

Syncretism

As defined by the American Heritage Dictionary, syncretism is: “the reconciliation or fusion of differing systems of belief.” This is most evident in the areas of philosophy and religion, and usually results in a new teaching or belief system. Religious syncretism often takes place when foreign beliefs are introduced to an indigenous belief system and the teachings are blended. For example, the Roman Catholic Church’s proselytizing of animistic South America. Threatened with the fear of death, natives were baptized into the church by the tens of thousands without any preaching of the Gospel whatsoever. Their pagan temples were destroyed and replaced with Catholic shrines or chapels. Natives were allowed to substitute praying to saints instead of gods of water, earth and air, and they replaced their idols with new images of the Roman Catholic Church. Yet, the animistic religion the natives had formerly practiced was never fully replaced--it was adapted into Catholic teachings, and this new belief system was allowed to flourish.

More recently, religious syncretism can be seen in such religious systems as the New Age, Hinduism, Unitarianism, and Christian Science. These religions are a blending of multiple different belief systems, and are continually evolving as the philosophies of mankind rise and fall in popularity.

Eclecticism

If something is “eclectic,” it is comprised of things from various sources. Eclectic music, for example, includes many different musical styles in a unique combination. Eclectic things usually defy labels or particular stles. Have you ever seen livingroom furniture decorated with many different types of wood, or the style of each piece is different than the next? In religion and philosophy, eclecticism is the pasting together of various and diverse doctrines and practices.

Eclecticism draws from many different belief systems to create a personalized pastiche of religion. An eclectic (an advocate of eclecticism) might start with Judaism, add a belief in reincarnation, throw in Gaia and a sprinkling of shamanism, and use the novels of Robert Heinlein as sacred texts. Usually, eclecticism strives to be pragmatic; if it “works” on a personal level, the eclectic is satisfied.

Eclecticism sees various sacred texts as being equally valid. The Bible also addresses this issue: Scripture is God-breathed and therefore set apart from other writings (2 Timothy 3:16–17). God warns us not to add to or remove from Scripture: “Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you” (Deuteronomy 4:2; cf. Revelation 22:18–19). Therefore, eclecticism is not biblical. The eclectic considers the idea of many different gods as a real possibility. The Bible is clear on this point: “This is what the Lord says—Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God” (Isaiah 44:6). We cannot combine different ideas of what a god is and still hold to the truth.

Eclecticism takes a utilitarian approach to religion and truth. If it “works”—if it makes me happy, if it brings a sense of serenity, if it helps me get off drugs—then it is “true for me.” Once more, the Bible is clear on the subject. God’s Word is truth (John 17:17), no matter how it makes us feel. Truth is objective, not subjective; truth does not depend on our choosing it to be true. “The faith . . . was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people” (Jude 1:3), and God has issued a stern warning against changing His gospel (Galatians 1:9–11). There is only one gospel, and we don’t get to adapt it to fit what we think works. We are on a narrow path that is determined by God, and we should not stray off of that path simply because we think we’ve found a better way (Matthew 7:13–14).

Eclecticism is a false teaching which relies on subjectivity, relativism, and “itching ears” (2 Timothy 4:3). Eclecticism brings confusion and compromise and leads to destruction. We will never find the truth as long as we’re standing at a religious smorgasbord and piling our plates with a bit of whatever looks good to us. We will only find the truth when we come to Jesus: “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

Pluralism

Religious pluralism generally refers to the belief in two or more religious worldviews as being equally valid or acceptable. More than mere tolerance, religious pluralism accepts multiple paths to God or gods as a possibility and is usually contrasted with “exclusivism,” the idea that there is only one true religion or way to know God.

While religious pluralism has been in existence since at least the seventeenth century, the concept has become more popular since the latter half of the twentieth century in Western Europe and North America. Specifically, the idea of religious ecumenism (religions working together as one) and the recently popularized interfaith movement have led to the increased acceptance of religious pluralism in popular culture.

Studies by the Barna Group and others have noted the growth of ideas related to religious pluralism in American culture in recent years. In many cases, even significant numbers of people identified as Christians believe there is more than one way to heaven.

Pluralism is more than the sharing of certain values or agreement on some social issues. Buddhists and Christians both agree that helping the poor is important, but such limited concord is not pluralism. Pluralism has to do with lending credence to competing truth claims and accepting diverse beliefs regarding God and salvation.

In addition, two or more religions can share some doctrinal beliefs yet remain fundamentally different as belief systems. For example, Muslims and Christians agree that there is only one God—yet both religions define God differently and hold many other irreconcilable beliefs.

What does the Bible teach about religious pluralism? First, the Bible acknowledges only one God (Deuteronomy 6:5). Therefore, religious pluralism is incompatible with biblical teaching since pluralism accepts multiple views of God or even multiple gods.

Second, the Bible teaches exclusivism in that there is only one way to know God—through Jesus Christ. John 14:6 notes that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life and that no one comes to the Father except through Him. The apostles taught the same message in Acts 4:12: “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

Third, the Bible frequently condemns other religions as following gods which are not really gods. For example, Joshua 23:16 says, “If you violate the covenant of the LORD your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, the LORD’s anger will burn against you.”

Religious liberty guarantees that multiple religions can worship peaceably, and Christians appreciate such liberty, as it allows for open worship of God. In contrast, religious pluralism teaches that multiple religions are true or equally valid, something the Bible clearly refutes. We encourage religious liberty, but at the same time we communicate the Bible’s teaching of “one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5).

Folk

Folk religion is basically made up of certain ethnic or regional traditions practiced under the guise of an established religion. Their indigenous or native beliefs are held all over the world, with Chinese folk religion as the largest in the world. It has an estimated 400 million followers worldwide or about 6.6 percent of the world’s population. All folk religions combined have more followers than Buddhism or Judaism, claiming about 10 percent of the world population in total. Only Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism have more followers.

Folk religion is heavily infused with magic and superstition. In particular, what is called “sympathetic” magic--the belief that like forces influence like forces. An example is the idea that movements of the stars and planets somehow influence or portend events or tendencies in the human experience. The popularity of astrology and psychics demonstrates folk religion still exists, even in the Western world.

Interestingly, many components of folk religion have found their way into modern mega-religions including Christianity and Islam. For example, some of our Christmas traditions can be traced back to pagan origins, including a pagan feast preceding the advent of the birth of Jesus. At that time it was called the winter solstice. Further, the symbolic consumption of Jesus’ body and blood during the Catholic mass is considered by some as an example of sympathetic magic, whereby he who consumes the magical substance is imbued with some of the sanctity that comes from the divine persona.

Folk religion is employed also by combining some of its practices with those of mega religions. And in so doing, these practices are labeled as “folk Christianity” among Christian countries and “folk Islam” in those of Islamic nations. Without question, folk religion is considered a distorted, if not meaningless, practice of religion by lay people outside of the control of clergy or the supervision of theologians. It lies squarely outside the boundaries of official doctrine and practices. As one would imagine, there is a certain amount of acrimony between the two.

Folk religion attempts in its own way to answer human needs for reassurance in times of trouble, and many of its rituals are aimed at mundane goals like seeking healing or averting misfortune. Actually, the line is often blurry between the practice of folk religion and the practice of magic. Remarkably, those who hold to the practices of folk religion are not even aware their beliefs are distinctive from those of major religions. Here are some examples considered to be aspects of folk religion doctrine:

Some of these practices are consistent with biblical Christianity, such as prayers of thanksgiving and systematic interpretation of biblical prophecy. Wherever folk religion departs from the revealed Word of God, it should be rejected. That would seem to be the vast majority of its doctrine and practices.

Summary

Herein lies the problem: Syncretism, Eclecticism, Pluralism, and Folk religions rely on the whim of man--not the standard of Scripture. The Bible makes it very clear what true religion is (James 1:27). Here are a few more things which are clearly stated in Scripture:

It is quite evident that any religion is influenced by its culture, tradition, social pressure, governments, and associated theological entities. They exist at the behest of a society who will attend, worship, and support them in keeping their doors open. It's only logical--they have building and operating expenses to pay too. Thus, they change/alter what they stand for to exist further. I've asked pastors if they know the truth, and their response is the same, "We just want to save as many as possible."

Many individuals adopt a religion based on where their families have gone in the past. They attend major religious holidays because that is what a good person does. They even decorate their homes and offices in recognition of these holidays. Monkey see monkey do in most cases. No one wants to be an outsider, or the odd-man out. Peer pressure is a huge influencer to what and how we think in terms of religion.

All these types of influences can/do corrupt your religion, or taint your belief system. They each have something that differs squarely in contrast to what Scripture actually says. People want to believe in something that is environmentally and socially friendly, something handed down from from the family--TRADITION. It must be right, we've been doing it this way for YEARS!!!

Why would a congregational leader (Pastor/Father/Minister/Priest/Rabbi) tell us the wrong thing to do, or what/how to believe? Come one, they went to 'faith' school for this stuff... studied for years under others who 'know' Scripture. They can't be wrong, can they? Have we drunk the coolaid? Are we a Pick-N-Choose (PNC) religion, doing what man says and not what God's Word says? Any modification to biblical law and principle for the sake of a “better” religion is heresy (Revelation 22:18-19).

It's your eternity... where will you spend it?

Shalom