IS CHRISTIANITY THE ONE TRUE RELIGION?
                   by Matthew J. Slick, B.A., M. Div.

Yes, Christianity is the One True Religion. That may sound awfully
dogmatic and narrow-minded, but the simple truth is that Christianity is
the only true religion. Jesus said that He alone was the way to the Father
(John 14:6), that He alone revealed the Father (Matt. 11:27; Luke 10:22).
Christians do not go around saying Christianity is the only way because
they are arrogant, narrow-minded, stupid, and judgmental. They do so
because they believe what Jesus said. They believe in Jesus, who claimed
to be God (John 8:58; Exodus 3:14), who forgave sins (Luke 5:20; 7:40),
and who rose from the dead (Luke 24:24-29; John 2:19f). Jesus said that He
was the only way. Jesus is unique. He was either telling the truth, He was
crazy, or He was a liar. But since everyone agrees that Jesus was a good
man, how then could He be both good and crazy, or good and a liar. He had
to be telling the truth. He is the only way. 

Christianity is not a religion; it is a relationship with God. It is a
trust in Jesus and what He did on the cross (1 Cor. 15:1-4) not on what
you can do for yourself (Ephesians 2:8-9). 

Buddha didn't rise from the dead, nor did Confucius or Zoroaster. Muhammed
didn't fulfill detailed prophecy. Alexander the Great didn't raise the
dead or heal the sick. And though there is far less reliable information
written about them, they are believed in. 

The scripture is right when it says in 1 Pet. 2:7-8, "This precious value,
then, is for you who believe. But for those who disbelieve, 'The stone
which the builders rejected, this became the very corner stone,' and, 'A
stone of stumbling and a rock of offense'; for they stumble because they
are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed."
(NASB). 

The Mathematical Odds of Jesus Fulfilling Prophecy

     "The following probabilities are taken from Peter Stoner in
     Science Speaks (Moody Press, 1963) to show that coincidence
     is ruled out by the science of probability. Stoner says that
     by using the modern science of probability in reference to
     eight prophecies, 層e find that the chance that any man
     might have lived down to the present time and fulfilled all
     eight prophecies is 1 in 10(17)." That would be 1 in
     100,000,000,000,000,000. In order to help us comprehend this
     staggering probability, Stoner illustrates it by supposing
     that "we take 1017 silver dollars and lay them on the face
     of Texas. They will cover all of the state two feet deep.
     Now mark one of these silver dollars and stir the whole mass
     thoroughly, all over the state. Blindfold a man and tell him
     that he can travel as far as he wishes, but he must pick up
     one silver dollar and say that this is the right one. What
     chance would he have of getting the right one? Just the same
     chance that the prophets would have had of writing these
     eight prophecies and having them all come true in any one
     man." Stoner considers 48 prophecies and says, "we find the
     chance that any one man fulfilled all 48 prophecies to be 1
     in 10(157), or 1 in 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
     000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
     000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
     000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 000,000,000."

(This information was taken from the book Evidence that Demands a Verdict
by Josh McDowell.)

The estimated number of electrons in the universe is around 10(79). It
should be quite evident that Jesus did not fulfill the prophecies by
accident. He was who He said He was: the only way (John 14:6). 

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Matthew J. Slick, B.A., M. Div.
I welcome your comments via E-mail at mslick@connectnet.com