The Advantage To Growing Up In A Christian Home
part 1

In Matthew 20:1-16 Jesus tells the parable of the “Laborers in the Vineyard.” In the parable he tells of laborers who were hired early in the morning and others who were hired midday and still others who were hired late in the day. When it comes time to pay them, they are all paid the same amount. The owner paid those who worked the shortest time first and those who had worked the longest were paid last. They, of course, complained about not getting paid more since they had worked all day long and the others had worked only a short while. The owner told them that they should be satisfied that they received what they had agreed to work for the day. He had the right to pay the others what he wanted.

When we apply that to our Christianity, we conclude that those who are brought up in Christian homes and become Christians early in life and live their whole life as Christians get the same reward on judgment day as those do who became Christian late in life and labor a very short time in the kingdom. 
We, also, may conclude that it is not fair for those who lived their life as they wanted until late in life, receive the same reward as we who have lived whole lives of faithfulness to God

The older brother in the parable of the “Prodigal Son” in Luke 15:29-31 seemed to have the same problem. He complained that he had served his father all these many years and had never transgressed his commandment at any time; but his father had never thrown a party like that for him as he did with the younger brother. The father’s response is significant for those who have been a Christian since an early age and have served God all the rest of their lives. He said, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. The older son had been blessed much more that the younger who had suffered the results of his sin for all that time.

Paul dealt with a similar problem in Romans 2 & 3 where he talked about the gentiles and compared them to the Jews. He asked in Romans 3:1-2 “What advantage then has the Jew, or what is the profit of circumcision? [2] Much in every way! Chiefly because to them were committed the oracles of God. “

If we ask that same question (What advantage?) about those who have been brought up in the church and those who became Christians late in life; the answer is the same, “Much in every way.”
Next week we will look at the advantage in detail. - LP

CLERICALISM - CLERICAL POWER IN THE GOVERNMENT 

Here is one we don’t have to worry about much in America; unless you count humanist and atheistic leaders as clergy of their respective religions. Our government was founded with the idea that one church not have control of the state. The intent by our founding fathers was to limit government's role in religion and to keep one religion from controlling all the others. What has happened instead is that government has so restricted religion that those claiming Christianity in Alabama were lambasted when they joined forces to defeat the lottery. We were accused of violating the separation of church and state. Isn’t that amazing. Individuals are not even allowed to vote their religious beliefs. We aren’t supposed to let our faith interfere with politics. The alternative is to allow politics to interfere with our faith. We find ourselves today right where Peter and John found themselves in Acts 4 and we must decide whether to obey God or man. 

We are all concerned about the lack of morals and mocking of values that goes on in our country and our government, but the opposite extreme wouldn’t really be any better. If our government were to be controlled by a religion, which one would it be? You might say, “Christianity”. Great, now which version of Christianity; Catholic, Baptist, Jehovah’s Witness, etc.? You would obviously want what you believe to be the ruling law. Therein lies the problem. England had a system like that and what the King believed was the law, and you believed what the King believed or else. Just look at the atrocities of the Holy Roman Empire under the rule of a “Pope” who decided what everyone would believe. No, we don’t want the clergy ruling our land. 

Aside from a Theocracy where God plays an active part in governing like he did with the children of Israel there is no better form of government known to man than the one we HAD in this country. A law under which religion is allowed to be religion and government is not supposed to interfere. Oh, if we could only get back to that. 

Let us pray that our nation will halt its destructive way of thinking and return to God. We must reach one person at a time, we can’t vote people into obedience to God, nor should we want to do it by force. (Psa 33:12) “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.”   (Isa 1:4-6) “Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. {5} Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. {6} From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.”  (Prov 14:34) “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.” 

CELTICISM - A CELTIC CUSTOM
 Customs as long as they don’t interfere with obedience to the Word of God are not a problem. The danger occurs when we allow customs to be intermixed with or even to replace the doctrines that the apostles gave. I don’t suppose that Celtic customs are any more likely to do that than any other kind.

 The Celtic religion is a pagan religion and thus the customs of that religion like any other non-Christian religion should be shunned. We should never allow the customs or traditions of men to interfere with our obedience to God whether it be a family tradition, a religious doctrine, or a national, ethnic, or cultural custom.

 Some Celticisms that we should watch out for are Easter, Christmas trees, and St. Patrick’s Day. Although all of these things have become associated in one way or another with religious activity, we need to watch out that they don’t get in the way of the truth. I am not saying that we should not have anything to do with these three things or any other custom as long as it does not cause sin. We must, however, remember that these pagan oriented traditions have no more place in our assemblies than do Halloween, Valentine’s Day, or July 4. The time that we are assembled together is a special time set aside for praising God in song, studying His Word, praying, observing the Lord’s Supper, giving of our means, and exhorting and encouraging our fellow Christians.

 We don’t need to celebrate Easter as a religious holiday (holy day), but if we enjoy hunting Easter eggs and giving candy that is all good and fun. We remember Christ’s resurrection each week when we partake of the Lord’s Supper, and that is sufficient. Christmas trees are fun to decorate, pretty to look at, and a good place to store presents, and there is nothing sinful in that. There have been sins associated with trees in times past, and the custom does come from a pagan form of worship, but as long as we recognize God’s creative power and don’t fall to worshiping the created rather than the Creator we are not sinning with them. (Jer 10:3-5) “For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the ax. {4} They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not. {5} They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good.” Jeremiah points out the sin of worshiping or attributing some special powers to a tree, but not the use of it as decoration.

 (Gal 4:8-11) “Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods. {9} But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? {10} Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. {11} I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.” Paul makes it clear to the Galatians that there is only one God and only the commandments that He makes are to be heeded. If we like these Galatians observe all of these “holidays” and think that we are in some way better for it, we are mistaken. They are fun and enjoyable, and we get to be with family, but there is nothing HOLY about our Holidays.

 There are many that use these traditional gatherings as well as others like family reunions as an excuse to miss the assembly of the saints. When we allow that to happen we have sinned. Let us put forth every effort to observe God’s Holy will and not man’s holy days.

CATECHISM - A BOOK CONTAINING A SUMMARY OF THE PRINCIPLES OF A RELIGION, IN THE FORM OF QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS.
 Unless I am mistaken, there is a book that contains the principles of Christianity. Last I knew it was called the New Testament, and had references to prophecies in the Old Testament as well as the teachings of Christ and the Apostles. I would hope that we would all study the scriptures in order to answer any questions we have. (1 Pet 3:15)  “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:” One of the problems with a system like a catechism is that those involved are not encouraged to study the Word for themselves, in fact, in many instances they are told not to or that there is no need. ‘Why study when you have all the answers right here?’ They don’t think about the fact that the Bible is inspired of God and a catechism is written by fallible men.  Even if I had a book that gave me a pat answer for all these questions, and I had memorized the answers, I would still not have an understanding of why that was the answer. 

How many religious people believe what they believe for the following reasons:

1) My parents told me that was the way it was - What if your parents were wrong?
2) The ‘pastor’ told me - What if the ‘pastor’ was taught the wrong thing?
3) I read it in a book - What if the author was mistaken?
4) That is what my church teaches - What if the church isn’t founded by and on Christ and his teachings as it should be?

The problem with all of these and many other reasons for us believing something is that we are depending on someone else to get us to Heaven.  (Phil 2:12) “Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” You see we alone are responsible for what we believe. Our salvation is far too important for us to leave it to someone else. I am taking my car to the shop on Friday to have it worked on, I have to go to the dentist to get my teeth taken care of, I had to study books to learn to read and write and do math, but I better not go to anyone besides Jesus to find salvation.

 Here is an answer that is much better than the others. I believe it because the Bible teaches it in such and such book, chapter, and verse. Let us all strive to have a biblical answer for what we do, believe and teach.

BRAHMANISM - RELIGIOUS SYSTEM OF THE HINDUS CHARACTERIZED BY PANTHEISM
Brahmanism like Christianity teaches that there is only one true God. Unlike Christianity it teaches that God IS the universe, the earth, the plants, the animals, and even us. That’s right, they don’t believe God created it all, they believe God is all. Their god is called Brahman, which is the name Americans have given to the cattle from India that is sacred to them, and a belief in Brahman is part of Hinduism (to be covered in the H’s).

The Brahmans hold the belief of animism - that all things have a spirit, and they consider many things sacred as a result. When you couple this with the belief that we come back in another animal form if we have not lived well enough, reincarnation, you have people who can’t help but be vegetarians for fear not only that they are eating God, but also that they might be eating grandma if they eat any animals.

There are a multitude of problems with this idea, but let us focus on just two. If this Brahman is God and we are all part of him, why don’t most of us know it? And, secondly, If we and all the universe are all God, how can there be evil, and more specifically, how can we be or do evil? As far as I know Brahmanism has never answered these two problems. The Brahmans, continue in their pursuit of living well enough that they will become literally part of Brahman and not have to come back to this life again. I guess the old saying, ‘if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again’ would certainly be their motto. Unfortunately, we only get one life in which to obey God. It seems that even though they say we are all supposed to be part of God, we must have some sort of amnesia, and can’t remember who we are. I don’t know how part of an all-knowing God could not know something that basic, but that is the logic behind Brahmanism. Secondly, the evil; most of the adherents to Brahmanism or its like have historically denied the existence of evil. Well, that’s easy enough, if you can’t explain it just deny it. As Christians, we understand that God often works so that even the evil is overcome with a good result, i.e. Jesus’ crucifixion, or trials that strengthen us. God and the Bible, however, never deny the existence of evil. How could anyone who has even heard of the planet earth, much less someone who lives here be so suckered in as to believe that there is no evil? It is clear to anyone who will examine the evidence that there is evil here. So, if the entire universe is God, or Brahman, and there is evil in the universe, then, Brahman must be at least partially evil. Ouch! I for one am glad that I am neither part of a god, nor do I serve a god that is evil. Let us praise the Creator, not the created. (Rom 1:22-25) “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, {23} And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. {24} Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: {25} Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.”

BARBARISM - A BARBAROUS OR UNCIVILIZED STATE OR CONDITION
We live in a civilized land and of course, consider ourselves to be civilized. Oddly enough though, we often do things that the barbarian would never do. Let’s be realistic the heathen of the South American or African jungle would never even think of doing some of the things we do in this civilized country. When was the last time you heard of a barbarian killing his wife and their children and then fighting off others for hours before finally taking his own life. It happens several times a year in this country. Even though the barbarians as we call them will fight viciously against an enemy tribe, they do not make a habit of fighting among themselves like we do. Even those battles between tribes with spears and bows and knives over such petty things as tribal boundaries can't compare with our civilized wars with guns, tanks, bombers and missiles.

Spiritually we find some of those same human weaknesses in us as Christians. While the barbarian would shout a warning or possibly even physically intervene to stop a companion from going over the edge of a cliff, we are too civilized to do that. Everyday somewhere around 8 - 10 million people die in this world and the vast majority of them do it outside of Christ. Right near us the local papers are filled with obituaries of people who have stepped off the cliff into the great eternal abyss, and what are we doing about it? Nothing. How barbaric. We haven’t seen the worst yet. There are often Christians who begin drifting away from Christ in one way or another, and do we help hold onto them to bring them back? Do we even shout a warning to them? The fact is that in many cases we help push them off the edge. It happens with the new Christian who doesn’t say or do something just right and instead of exhorting them to continue to grow and encouraging their willingness to try, we jump on them and condemn them for not knowing everything we know. Or we see someone do something and immediately tell everyone in the congregation how wrong they were for what they did instead of going to them. In neither of these cases do we ever think that it has taken us a number of years to grow beyond the stage this individual is. In neither of these cases do we stop to first examine our own life, attitude, and motives.

I wish I could say I never faltered in this area. I know as well as you do how difficult it is to have the courage to say or do something, and how much more difficult it is to be sure to say or do the RIGHT thing. We don’t have the ability to see others’ hearts and minds to know just what will get through to them the way Jesus could, but we do each have the ability to look at our own lives and attitudes and to control the way we react. If we will go as we should the blood of those going over the cliff will not be on our hands, but if we fail to warn them we will be to some degree responsible. (Ezek 33:7-9) “So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me. {8} When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. {9} Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.”

Are you your brother’s keeper? If not you should be.

BAHA’ISM - RELIGION FOUNDED IN IRAN IN 1863 BY HUSAYN ‘ALI BAHA’U’LLAH. IT  TEACHES THE  ESSENTIAL WORTH OF ALL RELIGIONS, THE UNITY OF ALL RACES, AND EQUALITY OF  THE SEXES.
This religion has some admirable characteristics, and most religions do.  The problem is exactly that. As we look at the world religions, we see many  of them teaching some good things. This is one of Satan’s best tricks if he  can get us to look at the similarities in all the religions instead of the  distinctiveness of Christianity, he can keep us confused. Is unity of all  races a good goal? Yes, if it is unity in the truth of God’s word. Is  equality of the sexes an admirable thing? Yes, if by that one means that  neither sex is mistreated and that they are considered people with human  rights as opposed to property. But is that what is meant by such teachings  or is there something else taught that would violate God’s word.

Are all religions essentially worthwhile? What about the Satanic religion?  What about the religion of humanism? While many religions have some good  teachings, they also have some bad. Are we supposed to swallow the poison  along with the medicine? From a secular standpoint religions are all pretty  much the same. They all have some type of moral code. Isn’t that good? They  all give a portion of their time and material resources to “worthy causes”.  Isn’t that admirable? The point is though that we are not talking about  religion from a secular standpoint. We are talking about religion from a  spiritual standpoint. While society may receive some of the same benefits  from many different religions, The human soul can only truly be benefitted  by a religion that can redeem one from sin and make reservations for  eternity.

Of all these “worthwhile religions”, not a single one of them has as its  founder anyone who can save them from their sins, raise them from the dead, or assure them happiness for eternity. So when we measure the true value of these religions we find them worthless. (John 14:6) “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” You have heard it before most likely, but it is good to remember. Jesus didn’t claim to be part of the truth, or one of many ways, or one of several that could bring life. Quite to the contrary of teaching the essential worth of all religions Jesus taught the worthlessness of any other religion. Do you want the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth? Do you want to go THE way that leads to eternal joy and salvation from sin? Do you want life in this world and the next? Jesus is the only one who can provide any of these three, much less all of them.

Don’t be fooled by the devil when he puts a candy coating on his poisonous lies. All religions outside of Christ are the same, but they are not the same as Christ’s.

Time for a short quiz for all of you English scholars out there. Since most of us have been speaking and writing in English all of our lives, this should be really quite simple. I’ll put some sentences and you just pick the one that sounds right to you. Ready or not here we go. 

On this first one imagine you called me on the phone and asked, “Is this James Pasley?”. Which of the following would be the right way for me to answer? (1) That’s me., (2) This is he., or (3) This is him. 

Okay, let’s just do one more and then we’ll check our answers and see what we’ve learned. This time suppose I ask you, “Didn’t I see you and the president together yesterday?”. Which answer would be right grammatically? (1) It wasn’t me., (2) It wasn’t he and I together., (3) It wasn’t us., or (4) Maybe it was me, but not him.

Sometimes it is hard to know what sounds right and even more often, at least with grammar, what sounds right is not correct. If you guessed number two on both questions you got the right answer, but those two don’t really sound right to us, do they? Most of us would have chosen any of the other choices before choosing number two. My wife is a certified elementary teacher and a writer and she missed them, so don’t feel too bad. Because of the rampant practice of misusing these pronouns in everyday speech even strict grammarians have begun to accept this usage.

What is the point of all this, you may be asking? The point really is quite simple. If something sounds right to us or we think it is right that doesn’t make it right. Even if the majority of people believe something is right that doesn’t make it right. Now in the area of grammar or even man-made laws like the speed limit if enough people make enough of a fuss those rules and laws can be and have been changed. There are some laws, however, that are beyond our ability to change. Gravity is one example of this kind of law. We can accept it, deny it, or ignore it, we could even all vote to abolish it. Regardless of what we say or do the law of gravity is unchanged, and stepping off of a cliff will still result in a nasty fall. That is the way all of God’s laws are. 

God told Naaman to dip seven times in the Jordan River to cure his leprosy, but Naaman didn’t think that sounded right, so, he headed toward home, rejecting the law God had given for his recovery. He even suggested some alternative rivers that he thought would be better. One thing that he couldn’t change was the fact that he still had leprosy. He continued to have leprosy until he submitted to the will of God. In the same way today we have people denying God’s laws, ignoring them, and suggesting alternatives. Unfortunately, as long as we do so we are lawbreakers and guilty of sin against God.

God established marriage, defined it as one man and one woman, and set it as the only acceptable outlet for sexual expression. Our society has tried to change any and everything to what sounds good to them or what they think should be right. What we have to get through our thick heads is that no matter what laws we pass in our country, no matter what is acceptable to society as a whole, and no matter what churches and their leaders compromise on; God’s laws regarding sexuality and marriage will still remain the same. His laws, not ours, will judge us on the day of judgment.

The congressional delegates of the state of Massachusetts may say that two men can marry, but that does not make them married(Matthew 19:4-5). Our society may accept that two adults who love each other are not wrong to become sexually involved even though they are unmarried, but God still calls it sin(1 Corinthians 6:19-7:3). 

Marriage and sexuality are just the tip of the iceberg. Space doesn’t allow us to deal with all of the moral and religious standards that God has put in place, but we will all stand before Him to give an account of the things we have done(2 Corinthians 5:9-11). Until we understand that God’s laws are immutable (unchangeable) and eternal, we will continue to be in danger of receiving his wrath. How do we think that we can receive God’s promises and blessings while we disregard his warnings, disrespect his ordinances and, in essence, spit in His face like rebellious teenagers. We’d better wake up and realize who is in authority; and who is not!

To all of my religious friends and neighbors I pose the question above. We ask whether one thing is better than another quite often. Is one car better than another? Is one brand of cheese better than the others? Is one kind of cheese better than another? Is one restaurant better than another? Is one school better than another? Is one team better than another? We could go on and on, but let me make this observation about those things: they fall into one of two categories 1) those that are matters of taste or opinion, 2) those that are matters of fact. 

Those that are matters of opinion we accept that we will disagree about. Some people will like Colby, Mozzarella or Monterey Jack, some will like Cheddar, American or Swiss, still others prefer Bleu, Limburger or Parmesan. Some of the kinds that others like we may find disgusting, or maybe we just don’t like cheese at all. Is that the way it is with religion? Some say that it is. Many will say ‘well there are different churches because people need to find one that fits them and makes them comfortable’. Some would even go so far as to say the same thing about the different world religions. Is Hinduism better than Islam? Is Judaism better than Buddhism? Is Christianity better than Atheism? 

According to a study by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life 70% of religious Americans believe that one is as good as another, and that many different religions lead to eternal life. I don’t know who these 70% are, but I know they are not really Christians even if they claim to be. One of the foundations of Christianity is faith in Jesus Christ as the only Son of God and the only Savior. Jesus himself says,   “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me”(John 14:6). At another time He proclaims,   “for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins” (John 8:24). Peter also explains in Acts 4:10-12, “Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. {11} This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. {12} Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”

When it comes to the religions of the world there is little difference among most of them, but Christianity is better. How can I make such a judgmental statement. Notice, I did not say I like Christianity better. That is what I would say of matters of opinion as in ‘I like Cheddar better than Swiss.’ This is the way we deal with things that are subjective. However, when I say that something is better, I must have some evidence or facts that can be weighed and judged objectively. So, why do I have the audacity to say Christianity is better, not just better, but I say it is undoubtedly the best religion there is or ever has been? Because I believe the evidence demands that verdict. This short article can’t present all of the evidence available, but consider the following:

1) It is better because of the principles that it preaches. 
2) It is better because of the promises it provides. 
3) It is better because of the people it produces. 
4) It is better because of the providence of the God who protects it. 
5) It is better because of the price that was paid to begin it. 
6) It is better because of its plan to save from the penalty of sin. 
7) It is better because of the permanently empty tomb of the perfect author and perfecter of the faith. 
8) It is better because of the prophecy that promised it centuries before it came. 
Christianity is the only religion in the world that has a God who made, loves, carries, washes, feeds, cares for, protects, and sacrificed for His people. Other religions do those things for their gods.

Weigh the following and see which is better. Which one will make for a better world to live in? What would the world be like if everyone lived by the first? The second? Etc.

1) Love yourself and look out for number one.
2) Love your family and hate everyone else.
3) Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
4) Love those who share your religious belief and destroy everyone else.
5) Love even your enemies and do good to them that hate you.
Not everyone lives by any one of these, but if they did the last would obviously lead to a better world. Just remember that not all who claim Christianity live by its teachings.

One more set of principles to compare:

1) Do to others what you want done to you.
2) Don’t do anything to someone that you wouldn’t want done to you.
3) Do whatever feels good to you.
4) Do what is best for the biggest group.
5) Do what is best for the richest.

Many religions are based on the second or even the fourth and these are lauded as great principles, but when compared to the first they fall short. Imagine someone with a disease of some kind. The fourth says kill him so he won’t be a burden on the rest. The second says don’t kill him, but let nature take its course if he lives fine, if he dies fine. But Christ says what would you want if you were sick? Someone to care for you, make a medicine that would help you, love you, talk to you. 

Unfortunately, we live in a society that used to value individual human lives, but that now is more interested in the ‘greater good’ which calls for more abortion, euthanasia, assisted suicide, drug-controlled children, and government regulations on everything. I am reminded of Asimov’s robot stories about the three laws of robotics (Some of you are more familiar with Will Smith’s movie I Robot). The first law was that a robot could not harm a human. Sounds like a good idea, but the robots quickly found that humans harmed themselves and began to imprison them to keep them safe from everything from murders to car wrecks to high cholesterol. Christianity teaches the highest moral code in existence, but it also proclaims individual freedom and responsibility. True Christianity understands that God has given each individual the freedom to destroy his own life even though it is against God’s will, but no individual is given the freedom to harm others. We desperately need to balance freedom with responsibility and only Christianity provides for that possibility.

Christianity converts by teaching, while most other religions convert by birthright, edict, force, or threat of death. In the Old Testament God’s people wanted to be like the nations around them and that is exactly what they became. They became wicked and suffered God’s wrath and our ‘Christian’ nation wants to follow that same pattern. More than half (57%) of ‘evangelical Christians’ believe other religions are just as good as Christianity for getting someone to eternal life. So many think that tolerance is king. Those who believe that don’t have Christ as King, because He will never share the throne with the false religious founders and leaders of the world.