Scripture is central for doing theology as it roots us as creatures made in God’s image. Our creaturely nature is a reminder that we are fully dependent on our Creator God and upon His self-disclosure. Therefore, when the question of ‘multiple ways to heaven’ or the claim that all religions lead to the same god arise, we are called upon to respond based on what God has spoken. God’s word is authoritative, sufficient, and perspicuous, declaring that there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12). As such, from Scripture we can demonstrate that we are to have no other gods and Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven. Therefore, when we approach this contemporary view of unbelief, we must examine its underlying assumptions in order to carefully respond, showing that they have no solid ground to stand on if they are not utilizing God’s Word. We must, as Paul declared to the Corinthians, destroy arguements and lofty opinions raised against the knowledge of God and take every thought captive to obey Christ (2. Cor. 10:5).

This modern view of unbelief is comprised of a mix of universalism, pluralism, moralism and possibly all the other 'isms' we can think about. While the labels of the view is not of the greatest significance, it is important that we understand that these views in itself built are on a foundation that denies the Triune God and what He has said.

This modern view can be best described as those who say that all religions lead to one god and believes that they are all geared towards the common pursuit of a good life. They all point to the universal teachings of a god who accepts people into heaven by following certain steps and obeying certain laws to the best of their ability. Various religious texts all give us the same rule of a divine being that teaches us as humans how to live peacefully among one another. God is good, therefore if I am good, I can make it into heaven. A prominent figure that helped shaped this view was Mahatma Gandhi, who said, “For me the different religions are beautiful flowers from the same garden, or they are branches of the same majestic tree. Therefore, they are equally true, though being received and interpreted through human instruments equally imperfect.”[1]

They claim they know God and His character. However, where does that knowledge come from? On what basis are they able to make the claim that all religions lead to one god or there are many ways to heaven? On whose authority are they standing on? As God’s creatures made in His image, our thinking is never a neutral activity, our thoughts are either against Him or inclined to Him.

After the fall, humanity now suffers from the noetic effect of sin which shapes our view of God. Our thinking is connected to what drives our hearts and our ability to think clearly begins with our posture toward God as Proverbs 1:7 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” Any true knowledge comes from the God who created all things. Christ is the image of the invisible God, and by Him all things were created– all things were created through Him and for Him. In Him all things hold together (Col.1:15-17). Therefore, when this authoritative creator God speaks, He demands our attention. Through the illumination of the Holy Spirit, we are able submit ourselves to God’s revelation to think God’s thoughts after Him. John Frame said, “we cannot know God without knowing His Word and we cannot know the Word without knowing God.”[2]

The unbeliever knows God’s existence through creation but supresses the truth about God in unrighteousness. Romans 1:21-23 accurately describes how the unbeliever's way of seeking to understand God leads to futile thinking and faulty assumptions, which then becomes the basis for “many ways to God.” Although they know of God’s existence, their denial to submit to Him causes their thinking to become futile, and their hearts darkened.

Cornelius Van Til said the absolute authority of God speaking directly to man through the words of Scripture has virtually been replaced by the self-sufficient, autonomous man putting his own ideal self on a pedestal and bowing down before it.[3] So, they create their own gods, i.e. they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images derived from their own futile minds. Their own autonomy is the foundation on which they built their belief on. It is no longer what God has said, but what they think. They have lowered their gaze from the self-attesting God and focused it on themselves. Dr. David Garner says that part of what it means to be made in the image of God means that we’re gazers. We are always staring at something. The question isn’t, “Is my heart staring at something?” The question is “What is my heart staring at right now?”[4]

Secondly, their denial of God’s own self-attestation is the basis of all faulty reasoning. God reveals Himself both in nature and Scripture. All facts that can be known about God in creation must be revealed by God Himself. Van Til says that all of man’s interpretations in any field are subject to the Scriptures given to him.[5] Even as both point to the Triune God, only through God’s special revelation can we properly interpret or make any sense of His general revelation. Humanity’s claim of autonomous knowledge is an attempt to reject their status as the creature to usurp the position of the Creator.

God who has spoken in many ways in the past has, in these last days, spoken to us in His Son and revealed to us the truth of the gospel that we may know the way to eternal life (Isa. 45:5, 1 John 5:12, John 14:6, 1 Tim. 2:5).

The wellspring of God’s thoughts planted in His word is the sure foundation on which all our life should be built upon. Anything else is sinking sand. Therefore, Scripture is central in doing theology, for without it, we would be lost in the darkness of our own futile thinking. As we consider that God in His kindness has chosen to disclose Himself to us, may this be a sobering reminder of His grace. Let us remember as we plant the seeds of pointing others to God’s revelation that God, by the illuminating work of His Spirit, brings forth the growth for those to obey that which He has spoken. May we humbly pray to continue to trust in the Lord and lean not on own understanding (Prov. 3:5).

[1] M.K. Ghandi, Truth is God, Gleanings from the writings of Mahatma Gandhi bearing on God, God-Realization and the Godly Way (Ahemadabad, India:Navajivan Trust: 1995), 61.

[2] John Frame, The Doctrine of The Knowledge of God, (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 1987), 62.

[3] Cornelius Van Til, A Christian Theory of Knowledge, (Glenside, PA: Westminster Seminary Press, 2023), 188.

[4] David B. Garner, “The Darkness of Individualism,” Westminster Theological Seminary – Point of Contact, accessed May 7^th, 2024, https://wm.wts.edu/point-of-contact

[5] Cornelius Van Til, A Christian Theory of Knowledge, (Glenside, PA: Westminster Seminary Press, 2023), 7.