By Alan Bailey
SOME people eat very simply. Perhaps because they have no choice. Others have a great array of possible delights in front of them, especially at times of celebration. Decisions, decisions. What looks nice? What tastes good? What is actually good for me? Will this upset my diet? So the questions flood through the mind.
These days the whole of life seems like a smorgasbord. So much is available and accessible. Just look at the stock in a thousand shops. Think of the devices available to us and the maze of things on offer on the Internet. Take your pick—if you can afford it.
I often hear people say, when talking about beliefs, that it is a matter of “take your pick.”
It is as though we have spread before us an array of religious ideas and if one suits you, go for it. So what we believe becomes like what career I chose, or what hobby or sport I follow.
It is assumed that all are equally valuable (or valueless). How superficial is that judgement!
The idea that all religions say much the same thing and are determined by race and upbringing, is an attractive notion but is seriously wrong. The idea is usually accompanied by the belief that devotees have no evidence, nothing factual, but believe because it makes them feel better.
The truth is that religions differ enormously. Contradictions abound. Not all could possibly be based on truth. Absurdities have lived on through the ages. People have believed lies and died for them. But something surely stands out. The uniqueness of Christ. Who else could claim to be equal with the Almighty and live to prove His genuineness? Who else could claim sinlessness? Who could say that he was the Saviour of the world, die a death of the kind that was predicted and then rise from death as He promised He would? It has all happened.
No one in history comes near nor ever could. The Christian challenge is to seek the truth and follow it. Not to cover one’s eyes and make a choice to be regretted. Jesus is Lord.•