Syncretism

“Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.”
(Isaiah 45:22, ESV)

When I was younger, our family would take an annual vacation for two weeks in Cape Cod, primarily to fish for striped bass. On one occasion, someone suggested that we go to a certain place near Chatham and walk out to a small Island where we could catch some fish. When we got to the location, there was only one island and only one way to walk there, which we could only see at low tide. The walkway was a small easy to overlook bridge of small stones. It was a narrow way passable at both high and low tides, though at high tide you needed to know where it was. There was one island and one narrow way. To me this metaphor illustrates the verse in Isaiah. There is one true God and only one narrow way, which is faith in Christ.

Today, there is a prevailing attitude that we call syncretism. Syncretism is the combination of different forms of belief or practice. I often have heard this philosophy espoused. Even as I speak with those who profess to believe in Christ, I often hear the same things. Here are some of these syncretistic ideas.

• There are many gods.
• We all worship the same god, just in different ways.
• Jesus is a way, but not the only way to God.
• All religions are in basic agreement.

Does the word hogwash ring a bell? Those who hold to such views have never thoroughly investigated the premise of their assumptions. The Bible declares that syncretism is heresy. Let us quickly look at the two precepts presented in this verse in Isaiah.

There is one true God, and there is no other. Consider the Muslims who believe that god is Allah and is unknowable. Consider the Hindu who thinks god is a universal spirit, and who worships the manifestation of this spirit in many gods and goddesses. Consider the Buddhist who often speaks of Buddha as a universal enlightened consciousness or as a god. Consider the Animist who worships nature spirits and ancestral spirits. Then consider Christianity where God is the infinite creator of all things, who eternally exists in three persons, God the Father and God the Son and God the Spirit. It is clear that each of these religious concepts defines god differently. Not all worship the same god. There is one true God, who is the eternal creator of all and there is no other.

There is one salvation and there is no other. Consider the Muslim who through good works must tip the balance of good and bad deeds to save himself. Consider the Hindu who must go through multiple reincarnations to hopefully achieve a better status through good works until he might find oneness with the universal spirit. Consider the Animist who lives in fear of crossing the spirits of nature and ancestors. Then consider the salvation that God offers to lost sinners by His grace alone, apart from any works of righteousness. Not all religions are in basic agreement. There is only one way to salvation.

The way of salvation cannot be human works. One can only realize salvation through faith in Christ and His finished work on the cross. The Lord calls out, “Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.” Jesus stated it, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Religious syncretism is a self-defeating postulate.