A few years ago, a really big question on the minds of a lot of people, especially around 9/11 (September 11, 2001), was about Islam: Is Islam a religion of peace or is it a religion of war? And honestly, it’s a complicated answer. The word Islam doesn’t mean peace (that’s a misconception). Instead, the word Islam means submission. And there are verses in the Koran that seem to encourage Muslims to fight unbelievers, and even slay them. But then there are also verses in the Koran that encourage Muslims to be kind and gracious, and that you shouldn’t force religion on people. Yes, there are radical Muslim terrorists, but there are also peaceable Muslims who make wonderful neighbors. So, is Islam a religion of peace or war? Good question, but a complicated answer.
Another question: Is Christianity a religion of peace? Good question, but a complicated answer. Are we talking about peace with God? If so, then the answer is yes.
“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:1, NIV)
Are we talking about peace with other people? If so, then again the answer is yes: Christianity absolutely encourages peace with other people.
“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” (Romans 12:18, NIV)
We Christians are told by Jesus to love our enemies, pray for those who persecute us, and never take our own revenge. So, is Christianity a religion of peace? When it comes to peace with God, yes. When it comes to peace with people, yes. As a Christian, I am to be at peace with the people who drive me crazy, at peace with the people who vote opposite me, with the people of other religions, with all ethnicities and nationalities.
What about peace with other belief systems?
What about when it comes to peace with other belief systems, other religions, other philosophies, other worldviews? Now, again, let’s be very clear: When it comes to the people, our job is to love and even sacrifice for people of other religions, philosophies, and worldviews. But what about the belief systems themselves? Does Christianity have peace with Islam? Does Christianity have peace with Buddhism? Does Christianity have peace with Humanism? Of course, Christians try to be at peace Muslims, Buddhists, Humanists, etc. But is Christianity’s relationship with other religions, other philosophies, other worldviews a relationship of peace? We will find our answer to this question in Colossians 2:8:
“See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.” (Colossians 2:8, NIV)
Christianity teaches that it matters what we believe. We aren’t called to have a generic faith in faith, or even just a generic faith in religion. It’s faith in Jesus, who is a real person who did real things in history.
In Colossians 2:8, Paul is saying there are belief systems and philosophies which are empty. Why are they empty? It’s because they are based on human tradition, instead of rooted in Christ. And those empty belief systems, if you’re not careful, can take you captive.
Is Jesus the only way? “Those empty belief systems, if you’re not careful, can take you captive.”
Does “see to it that no one takes you captive” sound like the language of peace? No, that’s more the language of war.
Peace with God? Absolutely. Peace with people? Yes. But is Christianity’s relationship with other religions, philosophies, worldviews a relationship of peace? No, it’s actually more like war.
A word on philosophy
In Colossians 2:8, Paul mentions philosophy. Now, philosophy can be incredibly weird, but it can also be helpful. Plato, Aristotle, Confucius—they had some really helpful things to say. And there have been some impressive Christian philosophers along the way, such as Augustine, Anselm, and Aquinas. Nowadays, some of the finest philosophers in the world are Christians. Philosophy isn’t bad in and of itself. In fact, the word philosophy simply means “the love of wisdom.” Philosophy is a matter of asking hard questions, and philosophy can be really helpful in getting us to ask important questions. But—and here’s Paul’s point—if the philosophy is not rooted in Christ, if it’s based on the tradition of men and not the revelation of Christ, it will eventually lead you astray, and will inevitably leave you empty. Again, let’s look at Colossians 2:8:
“See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.” (Colossians 2:8, NIV)
Christianity’s relationship with God and other people is one of peace. When it comes to belief systems which take us captive and lead us away from Jesus, the relationship is one of war.
Is Jesus the only way? “When it comes to belief systems which take us captive and lead us away from Jesus, the relationship is one of war.”
Can’t we have our own truth?
You might listen to Colossians 2:8 and be thinking, Look, I believe in Jesus, and I believe Christianity, but when it comes to other religions, maybe their path works for them. Maybe Buddhism is their path, and it will lead them to nirvana. Or maybe Islam is their path, and it will lead them to paradise. I believe in Jesus, but I don’t necessarily want to see my religion as at war with other belief systems. Can’t our belief systems just all get along? I’ll just believe my thing, you believe yours, and hopefully in the end we’re all right. Hopefully, in the end all our religions have helped us be better people.
Here’s a helpful response to the idea that multiple religions are basically all true: If you want all the religions to be basically true, then that actually goes against the teachings of all the major religions—Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, etc. You can’t believe that there’s one God (that’s Judeo-Christian monotheism), and yet believe that there are 330 million gods (that’s Hinduism). You can’t believe that you are saved by grace through faith (that’s Christianity), and yet believe that you bring yourself salvation through mastering meditative techniques (that’s Buddhism). You can’t believe that Jesus is the Son of God (that’s Christianity), and believe that he’s not the Son of God, and that to say he’s the Son of God is blasphemy (that’s Islam). You getting the picture? Christians play well with other people. But when it comes to other belief systems, Christianity means seeking to persuade people to accept Jesus as Savior and reject all other claims to lordship.
Is Jesus the only way? “When it comes to other belief systems, Christianity means seeking to persuade people to accept Jesus as Savior and reject all other claims to lordship.”
It matters what you believe!
Christianity doesn’t teach that we’re all right in our own way. Christianity’s view of where salvation comes from is summarized in Jesus’ words in John 14:6 and Peter’s words in Acts 4:12:
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6, NIV)
“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, NIV)
Since Christianity sees itself in competition with other philosophies and religions for people’s souls, then when talking about other “gods,” Christianity doesn’t usually use the happy genre of small talk. Rather, it uses the genre of smack talk. In Jeremiah 10, God is making fun of idols. He talks about how a woodsman cuts down a tree and makes an idol, and listen to how God makes fun of it:
“They adorn it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so it will not totter. Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field, their idols cannot speak; they must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them; they can do no harm nor can they do any good.” (Jeremiah 10:4-5, NIV)
“Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field, their idols cannot speak; they must be carried because they cannot walk.”
Back in Colossians 2, Paul is talking about philosophies and empty deceptions, and he explains that behind the deceptions are demons. Let’s notice what Jesus does to the demons who are behind all this deception. Again, this is war language:
“And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” (Colossians 2:15, NIV)
In the ancient Roman world, after a general would win a war, he would lead his troops in a triumphal procession. In the procession would be the prisoners of war disarmed, humiliated, and made a public display so that everyone could see they lost. According to Colossians 2:15, Jesus will do that to the demons behind all the deception.
Why such serious language?
Why is the Bible so serious about warning us about other belief systems? Why use war language?
There are 2 reasons that Paul gives.
- Belief systems not rooted in Christ are exhausting.
- Belief systems not rooted in Christ are empty.
How are they exhausting? The church in Colossae in modern-day Turkey was struggling because there were teachers around them teaching them things contrary to Christ. The teachers were trying to delude the Colossian believers with persuasive arguments and philosophies not rooted in Christ. And these philosophies were exhausting. Piecing together what we can from the book of Colossians, it sounds like these philosophies taught that you’ve got to please the gods—which were often connected to physical things, such as the moon and the sun. Paul talks about the elementary principles of the world. How did one please these deities? In chapter 2, Paul implies that the teachers were prescribing the following:
- Make sure to eat and drink this not that
- Make sure to keep these festivals
- Make yourself have visions of angels
- Make sure you don’t touch or taste certain things
Not only were all these rules exhausting, but, at the end of the day, they were empty.
“Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.” (Colossians 2:23, NIV)
Exhausting and empty makes for a rough combination. It’s like exhausting yourself to impress a group of popular kids who will only end up making fun of you more. It’s a very cruel combination.
“Exhausting and empty makes for a rough combination.”
We find an example of exhausting and empty in the Thaipusam festival. Celebrated in countries such as Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and Singapore, Thaipusam is a festival celebrated by Hindus of Tamil descent. A major part of the festival is when some of the people perform a worship offering to the god Murugan. Often how it works is that they fast for 2 days before undergoing a trance, during which they are pierced through, sometimes all over, by skewers. The skewers are often used to support a heavy burden that they can carry for a distance. This is done so that they can ask for help from the god Murugan.
The combination of exhausting and empty is cruel. But that’s how it works with belief systems not rooted in Christ. You end up exhausting yourself. Perhaps you are told you have to master meditative techniques enough to not have to be reborn as something bad. Or by hoping you can do more good deeds than bad deeds so that on Judgment Day when you meet Allah, you are allowed into paradise. Or you end up exhausting yourself trying to have enough pleasure in order to escape the meaninglessness. Or you end up exhausting yourself trying to get enough money or earn a respected-enough position so that you can finally become a somebody. Or exhausting yourself trying to be good enough for people to notice you and like you and for God to love you. It’s exhausting, and in every case it ends up being empty.
3 reasons Christianity is neither exhausting nor empty
Scamming people on what is both exhausting and empty is cruel, and that’s why Jesus declares war on belief systems that lead you away from him and into what is ultimately exhausting and empty.
You see, there is an invitation to a path that is neither exhausting nor empty. Here are 3 reasons Christianity is neither exhausting nor empty:
1. In Jesus, what is empty is filled.
“See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ. For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority.” (Colossians 2:8-10, NIV)
In Jesus is all the fullness of God, God in human form. When you place your faith in Jesus, the Holy Spirit—God the Spirit—indwells you. That’s the opposite of emptiness, that’s fullness.
Is Jesus the only way? “In Jesus is all the fullness of God, God in human form.”
2. In Jesus, what is dead is raised.
“In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins…” (Colossians 2:11-13, NIV)
Here, Paul uses circumcision as a metaphor. Circumcision is the cutting off of a particular piece of flesh. The Jewish men were to do this as a reminder that they were to be unlike the other nations. Paul’s going to use circumcision as a picture of how God cuts away our fleshly nature—the nature that just wants to sin all the time. He puts to death the old self ruled by the fleshly nature and raises us to a new life.
3. In Jesus, what is owed is forgiven.
“He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.” (Colossians 2:13b-14, NIV)
What is owed is forgiven. In the song “It Is Well with My Soul,” Horatio Spafford writes,
“My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, o my soul.”
In Minersville, Pennsylvania, a guy paid a parking ticket. What made it newsworthy was that the ticket was from 1974. The police department received the following letter: “Dear PD. I’ve been carrying this ticket around for 40 plus years, always intending to pay. Forgive me if I don’t give you my info. With respect, Dave.” Even though it was for only $2, Dave included $5 apparently for interest. The return address was “Feeling Guilty, Wayward Road, Anytown, California.” For 40-plus years, that ticket was accusing him until it finally got paid.
There’s a record of our sins too. It’s a pretty extensive record, and it accuses us. But guess what Jesus does to this record—to the reason after reason that we’re guilty? He takes it away and nails it to the cross.
“Guess what Jesus does to this record—to the reason after reason that we’re guilty? He takes it away and nails it to the cross.”
In Jesus, what is empty is filled, what is dead is raised, and what is owed is forgiven. And 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, NIV).
It really, really matters what we believe. So, let’s commit to trusting and following Jesus, not just in our character, but in our convictions as well.
