True Christianity is Unique Among all Religions...

If one is to look at the various world religions one finds a common core.  It is centered upon the notion that one must perform in a certain fashion and in doing so work their way into the good graces of their particular deity.  Of course this notion in Buddhism is that such leads to good karma in the next life.   

This is often described as a works theology.   Of the many problems attendant to such a notion, three are as follows.  To begin with if acceptance is based upon good works, then those incapable of same are immediately eliminated.  Second, is the matter of what constitutes an acceptable good work.  Who really knows?  Then there is the quantity problem in that no one is quite sure how much is necessary.

There is but one exception.  That exception is found in genuine Christianity. 

To be sure there are many facsimiles of Christianity which in reality are distortions of the genuine.  The problem is not with what Jesus Christ taught and lived nor is it with what the Bible teaches.  The problem lies with what man has attempted to add.   In some sense it is the idea that one can improve upon genuine Christianity.

This amalgamated "christianity" does two things.  First, it simply does not work as God had intended and thus eventually will self destruct and fail.  History teaches such is so.  Second, it presents a wrong picture of what Jesus was all about and thus gives much fodder to His critics such as Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, and the like. 

Mahatma Gandhi was such a critic.  Upon his departure from South Africa he said, “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”   Jesus Christ was genuine, while the Christians Gandhi had in mind were the facsimile. It is said that he frequently read the Sermon on the Mount and had in his immediate possession a copy of the New Testament.

What sets the unique and genuine Christian faith apart is this.  One does not add some performance or another in order to work his way into a right relationship with God (salvation).   Such is quite impossible and most certainly leaves a wrong impression of what being a Christian is all. 

However, having said that,  there are expected changes in behavior.  One such change is the move from "selfishness" to "otherness."  As a part of that change a person begins to look outward from himself.  In that "otherness" one sees and is touched by the needs of others.  Thus his behavior toward other people moves from a selfish intention to that of the best interest of the other.  History is replete with example of those who gave their all in service of another.

A study of such things will reveal that almost all of the helping agencies and social movements are the result of such Christian "otherness."  Even leaving Christian "otherness" aside for the moment, few if any helping organization start without a concern for the needs of others.  They all pretty much began with an "otherness" attitude. 

The summary is this. The performance of good works is not to earn one’s way into the good graces of the Divine but it is the expected outcome, indeed the change that takes place when one enters into that right relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ.

More to follow...