I once met a man who told me that he had just heard his first word from the Lord. Quite literally, it really was just one word: syncretism. Sometime later, I met a teacher to whom the Lord had given exactly the same word. Both were startled by the clarity with which they heard the Lord speaking to them, and both had to reach for their dictionaries in order to find out what He was talking about. If we do the same – and I am quoting from ‘The Chambers Dictionary’ here – we discover that syncretism is the

reconciliation of, or attempt to reconcile, different systems of belief; fusion or blending of religions, as by identification of gods, taking over of observances, or selection of whatever seems best in each. [1]

It follows from this that, if syncretism is a legitimate desire, then we are free to design our own belief system by adding into and onto our own faith, whatever aspects of another we choose. In essence, syncretism boils down to the idea that all religions are equally valid (or invalid), and that all are equally true (or untrue). In other words, we are claiming all religious beliefs are, effectively, human constructs.

Because this view accords pretty well with most people’s ideas – even with many believers – it is really important that we examine this in some detail. You will see why I am focusing on it now, but may I recommend that you read this article right through to understand why neither syncretistic nor universalist beliefs hold water when holding them up the light of either logic or Scripture.

For those of us who love and serve the Lord God – and, no doubt, for those who worship Allah, or who give themselves to the pantheon of Hindu gods – our belief is in a ‘supreme Being’ far above and beyond ourselves. Our faith is grounded not in our own good ideas and moral concepts, not in an ideal or story that we write for ourselves, but in the knowledge that we are created and chosen, and that there is a Way determined for us rather than by us.

To the world, it might look as though all religions are variations on a theme in the search for truth and meaning – so why should there be any problem with attempts to syncretise them? For us as Christians, however, the very suggestion that we are basically all worshipping the same god is anathema. Any talk even of other gods being equal to Yahweh contradicts the very heart of our faith, and dishonours the true Father of Lights.

Isaiah was doing more than posing a major rhetorical question when he asked, ‘Who is like unto Him?’ Those of us who have come to know Him cry out without hesitation, ‘No-one!’ We have come to the Lord God through Jesus, His own divinely conceived, resurrected, and glorified Son, and whether we be little children or long-term Bible scholars, our hearts sing with the truth contained in His own answer to that question: ‘For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour; . . . I, yes I, am the LORD, and there is no Saviour but Me.’ (Is. 43:3,11)

“Salvation exists in no one else,” our hearts concur. “For there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

This point is so important. Syncretism says we can pick and choose what we believe, and that one god is as good as another – but this is not true! The attempt to syncretise Christianity with other faiths is not only a dangerous theological error, but something that deeply grieves the Lord. He did not make the immense sacrifice of sending his Son into the world to live, suffer and die for our sakes to be just one way to salvation amongst many. No other belief or philosophy can possibly be of equal worth in His sight, and He is angered when those in His Church – who should know better – suggest that they are.

It was Pope Francis’ recent death, and all the coverage about his papacy, that brought this matter of syncretism back under the spotlight for me. I was blessed to hear a whole string of testimonies from people who had been deeply touched and helped by Pope Francis’s life and example, including his small Catholic flock in Gaza, whom he faithfully Face-timed every evening throughout the war with Israel. Equally admirable was his emphasis on caring for the poor, on mercy, and his deep commitment to humility which led to him removing much of the ceremonial ‘pomposity’ that has characterised so much of the papacy for so many centuries.

His generous respect for other faiths went too far, however. While it is right to give dignity to another person’s genuine conviction, convictions do not equate to absolute truth. The Qur’an, for instance, will certainly contain truthful insights, but that does not mean it is inspired. For instance, it teaches that God is the ‘merciful one.’[2] But since Allah is worshipped as the one who has no son, it cannot be referring to the God whom Christians worship. What would be more true to say is that the Qur’an teaches that Allah is the merciful one, and the Bible teaches that Yahweh is the merciful one.

There is an enormous need now for clarity of teaching on this point, as well as for integrity within the hearts of those teaching, so that the Truth is taught and known, and the great raft of heretical ideas, fuelled by comments from highly influential teachers such as Pope Francis, be challenged. [3]

When Pope Francis issued a joint statement with the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar called the Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together, it included a statement suggesting that it is God’s will that there be a diversity of religions on earth. [4] This represents a head-on challenge to the very core of everything the Bible teaches about the uniqueness of God. The edges of God’s truth and love are sharp, not fluid and fuzzy:

Know therefore this day and take to heart that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other. (Deut. 4:39)

Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent. (John 17:29)

There is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we exist. (1 Cor. 8:6)

Our faith in the one and only true God goes far beyond what the world recognises as a religion for He invites us into not simply adherence to a set of rules and beliefs, but into a living relationship. Praise Him!

Where syncretism leads to universalism 

If, like both Pope Francis and the Grand Imam, we believe there is a supreme being (or beings), we are perhaps likely also to believe that life on this Earth is not all there is and that death is not the end. If, however, we have convinced ourselves that all religions and their gods are effectively equal, well, does it not follow that all faiths have the same eternal destination? Are we not all bound for one, universal Heaven? This would be the logical outcome of such a belief. And once we get to that point, it is but a small step to thinking that everyone will get to go to Heaven eventually, whether they were religious or not, unless, perhaps, they are really, really evil.

Who determines who is evil? Indeed, who gets to define good and evil . . . ? Randy Alcorn, author of the excellent book Heaven goes so far to claim that the majority of American Christians now believe in a universal heaven.[5] Do you?

This is important because all religions do not lead to the same destination, any more than all the trains at a mainline station set off in the same direction. The Bible is very clear that evil exists, and that our sin, as human beings, has eternal consequences. (Rom. 3:22-30, 6:19-23) Here is a key thought to bear in mind: if there had been a way to save the world other than through the death of Jesus, surely God would have provided it, and confirmed it in many ways. Would He not have spared His own son from having to drink that cup of such immensely deep suffering? Would He not have delivered the One He delighted in?

Universalism takes away the need for the cross, and with it the wonders of what Jesus has accomplished for us. It is a heresy that entails terrible consequences.

Alongside Pope Francis’s unmistakable syncretistic beliefs, we must also note his expressed but unsubstantiated hope that there will be ‘nobody in hell’. However understandable the wish behind it, it stands in complete contradiction to Jesus’ clear teaching that narrow is the way that leads to heaven – along with a long series of warnings about the intense reality of hell and the crucial need to avoid it by believing in Him.

Of course the idea that all roads lead to God is immensely attractive, but the Scriptures speak with confidence of ‘that which we know,’ that ‘there is one God, the Father, and no other besides Him,’ ‘and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus.’ (John 3:11; 1 Cor. 8:4-6; 1 Tim 2:5)

Those who deny the uniqueness of Christ are left to construct their own belief system, and that without the very One who is deeply interested and involved in their lives. Instead, they are left with some notional impersonal abstraction, which, however supposedly beneficent towards them, owes nothing to the real divine person and presence of the one true God.

Jesus (Yeshua) came to show us the way to the Father (Yahweh) and to save us. But when He declared that He and His Father ‘are one’ (Jn 10:30), He made a claim that represents a major stumbling block to a number of other world religions. His message to them, as to His own disciples is, “You believe in God, [a good first step but one that requires the immediate follow up that the rest of the verse provides:] believe also in Me.” (John 14:1) Good deeds can never be enough, nor even just the intellectual study of His life and words.

The path to eternal life lies knowing the only true God, and Jesus Christ, his Son, whom He has sent. (John 17:3) Jesus did not say that He came to show a way through life and to Heaven: He said declared categorically that He was the way. Neither did He seek to reassure people that if they were only sincere about whatever they believe and practise that this would be sufficient to gain access to His Father’s Kingdom; rather He declared that He alone is the door to the sheepfold. (John 10:8). This is not the language of someone who believes that all approaches to life are equal in God’s sight.

Peter reiterated this same truth to the rulers in Jerusalem when he declared of Jesus that “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

We live in inclusive times, and fight shy of any kind of exclusivity, but the Scriptures are what we might call dogmatic about the exclusivity of Jesus. ‘Dogmatic’ is a term that has become associated with rather repellent rule-followers who seek to impose their beliefs on others, but when there is only one way to achieve an end, exclusivity is necessary. Suppose you were trapped in a room and you could not find a way to open the door. You pushed, you shoved, you tried all you could but the door would not open. But then you spotted a notice that read, ‘If door does not open, press this button.’ Would you not then be grateful beyond words that there was an ‘exclusive’ way of getting out? It is infinitely wonderful that God has provided a way that ‘works’ and that leads us into a fullness of relationship with the God of Gods!

Syncretism and universalism in the Church

Sadly however, many in the Church, Pope Francis among them, have tied themselves in knots in the effort to be seen as inclusive. To some extent – and unfortunately in many cases it is to a very large extent – all the historic Christian denominations have been infiltrated by syncretistic tendencies. The Quaker movement, for example, which began with the fire of the Spirit and a passion for the word of God, today includes seminars on themes such as ‘The Inner Light of Buddhist Teaching,’ and ‘Universalism: a unifying influence in the Society of Friends’ in its annual gathering.

People will understandably expect the new Pope to address the painful issue of sexual abuse by clerics, and we do well to pray for him concerning these things. But it is also important to pray for the Church across every denomination concerning the crucial heresies that syncretism and universalism represent. Otherwise, countless people will continue to be fooled into believing that their good deeds, or their own decisions about who God is, will be enough to open the way to Heaven, instead of understanding and responding to the Bible’s clear message to put their belief and trust in the Lord Jesus.

The Church was not formed to be one amongst many entrances into eternity, just as it was never intended to be a social hub. The Church was created from Christ, like Eve from Adam, through His own flesh and blood. We are His witness and ‘helpmate.’ We have a relationship with the living God through Jesus from which infinite number of good initiatives can follow. But Jesus’ own testimony in John 14:6, that He is the only way to the Father, remains the crucial litmus test.

God has no equal

In His Revelation to John, the risen Lord Jesus says,

“Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last, the Living One. I was dead, and behold, now I am alive forever and ever. And I hold the keys of Death and of Hades.

“Behold, I am coming soon, and My reward is with Me, to give to each one according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the bright Morning Star.” (Rev. 1:17-18; 22:12, 13, 16)

These verses themselves take up Isaiah 41:4,44:6 and 48:12: ‘Who has done such mighty deeds, summoning each new generation from the beginning of time? It is I, the Lord, the First and the Last. I alone am He.”. . . Listen to Me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I have called: I [the LORD] am He; I am the first, and I am the last.

Let’s soak ourselves in the glorious reality of these promises, and in the comforting presence of the Father, the Son, who has sat down next to the Father and who reigns with Him, and the Holy Spirit, who leads and inspires all who look to Him.

Thank You Jesus that You are the way, the only truth and the life. We confess that large segments of the Church are no longer placing sufficient emphasis on this, with the result that many people are swallowing whole beliefs that appear to be more inclusive and comforting, but which are ultimately deluded.

Lord, we have fashioned a god after our own convenience and imaginings. We ask You to raise up many more true teachers who will declare clearly who You are, and who affirm by both their words and their lives that what You have to say about salvation is not the narrow-minded bigotry that detractors see it as, but is rather the truest and most wonderful declaration of eternal truth.

Jesus, we are more grateful than words can say that You have opened up the way for us to come to know You. Thank you for the millions upon millions who have entered into a heart relationship with You. Thank You for destroying the works of darkness and setting us free from the grip of satan’s hosts. Thank You for the joy You take in being our Shepherd, and in guiding us step-by-step through life, and for being the One who will greet us when our time comes to stand before You and to enter into Your heavenly realm. From the bottom of our hearts, we thank You.

Footnotes

[1] Collins dictionary adds that it is a combination, reconciliation, or coalescence of varying, often mutually opposed beliefs, principles, or practices, especially those of various religions, into a new conglomerate whole typically marked by internal inconsistencies.

This is entirely different from being willing to delve into different Christian traditions in order to glean insights into truths and practices that may look and sound very different from how we are accustomed to practising our own faith, but which we recognise as being fully Christ-centred, and can therefore profitably benefit from.

The fact that Jesus is the only Way to the Father, does not mean, of course, that there are not many ways to Jesus. He delights to use all kinds of signs and pointers and traditions to help people find the way to Him. The Centre for the Study of Global Christianity estimates that there are currently something like 45,000 Christian denominations in the world. May God use each and every one them to disciple more and more people in these coming days.

[2] TS Flanders points this out very forcefully in the Catholic publication One Peter 5

[3] May the Lord continue to raise up teachers of truth within the Catholic Church. I remember greatly appreciating Ralph Martin’s book ‘Hungry for God’ back in the mid-70s. God used this man greatly to bring renewal to the Catholic Church from America to France. It was only a few weeks ago, however, that I first actually heard him speak, when I discovered that he has produced numerous teaching podcasts, including several that warn very strongly against the galloping (rather than creeping) dangers of the ‘virus’ of universalism, as well as of naively assimilating syncretistic traits.

[4] While this far-reaching statement appears to have gone largely unnoticed in most Protestant circles, many prominent Catholic voices rightly railed in protest against how at odds it is not both from what Jesus Himself taught and from traditional Church dogma. See these articles for example: article one, article two and article three.

It is important to stress that I am not seeking to denigrate Pope Francis here, but rather to warn of an area in which we believe that he was seriously deluded. When the Lord first met the sixteen-year-old Francis ‘with eyes of mercy,’ as he delightfully described it, He endued him with a great desire to share the love of God around the world. Awareness of that mercy – and of God’s love for every person – remained the theme of his ministry to the very end, and sounded forth the heart of God to a world where so many rage against Him and either misrepresent or ignore Him (in every sense of the word ‘ignorare:’ ‘not to know, be unacquainted with; take no notice of, disregard’).

Beginning with Paul’s affirmation in Romans 8:37 that Christians can overcome every adversity “through Him who loved us,” Pope Francis warned to the end of his life against ‘individualism, social and economic disparities, and the indiscriminate ‘uses of technology that threaten our humanity.’ He called for rediscovery of ‘heart’ as a way towards unity, peace, and reconciliation in the modern era.

This call to meditate on various aspects of the Lord’s love, and to show something truly meaningful ‘to a world that seems to have lost its heart’ could hardly be more timely in the light of the complete absence of heart that we see at work in so many influential people and regimes around the world, as they seek to secure and buttress their own fame and fortune

Pope Francis demonstrated this Christ-centred self-giving love admirably, but underplayed the fact that the heart can also be desperately deceiving and in need of redeeming. It was precisely this imbalance that led to two really concerning spiritual heresies also standing out in his ministry to billions, concerning his willingness to engage with other faiths at a syncretistic rather than just a respectful level, and to embrace a universalistic outlook.

[5] See universalism-will-everyone-go-heaven

Error is error, but heresy lies in taking a truth and misrepresenting it, either by leaving some key component of it out, or by pushing some particular aspect of it to extremes. Ralph Martin’s very strong refutation of what he rightly discerned as heresies in the late Pope’s expressed beliefs is well worth listening to. He explains, from his Catholic standpoint, how millions are swallowing the doctrines of demons by taking the truth of God’s mercy and welcoming heart, and then twisting Jesus’ teaching on the subject to make out that it is the path to heaven (rather than to hell) which is broad and easy – and that more or less everyone is on it.

Cf ‘I like to think of hell as empty’

Here is the simplest possible a simple thought

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash