Religious Differences

Q: Aren't all religions pretty much the same? I mean, does it really matter whether you're a Catholic or Hindu or Lutheran or Baptist?

A: Oh no, all religions are not "pretty much the same!" People often evaluate religions based on their differences --- because there are often fundamental differences in what they believe, how they live, etc. But the biggest difference is in who they worship. In other words, not all religions have the same definition of God.

Some religions add to the deity of God and some subtract from the deity of God. For example, the Catholics give deity (god-like powers) to the Virgin Mary and even to some people whom they recognize post mortem as saints. Or the Hindus have over 600,000 gods whom they worship. So even if they start with the same true God (as in the Catholics) --- they're worshipping a different God because their definition of God is larger than the Bible indicates is true.

Some religions subtract from the deity of God when they fail to recognize certain aspects of His being. Islam and Judaism, for example, both refuse to recognize Jesus as the Messiah. They don't believe He is who He says He is (God). So even though they both recognize the heritage of Abraham and started with the Old Testament God, the god they're worshipping today has a smaller definition than the Bible indicates is true.

When picking a religion, it is not so important as to focus on their different styles of worship, etc. But it is very important to focus on how they define God.