Can We Find the Right One?

WHEN we know where all this religious diversity started, it becomes easier to answer this question: Which is the right religion? Clearly, the true religion is the one that cannot be traced back to that ancient rebellion against the true Source of life.

The Encyclopedia of World Religions makes an interesting comment that can help us here. It says: “The religions of the world may be roughly divided into two types​—the prophetic and the mystical. . . . the prophetic [ultimately derives] from the Jews.”

According to the Biblical record, the ancestors of the Jews did not join in the rebellion at Babel against the true Source of life. Their ancestral line includes such men as Shem, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who were known for sticking to the pure worship of God. In fact, Abraham is called “Jehovah’s friend.” “Jehovah” is the name of the true God, as specifically stated in the Bible. (Exodus 6:3; Psalm 83:18; James 2:23) Do any people today worship Jehovah in the way that Abraham did?

A Line of True Worshipers

Because of Abraham’s faithfulness, Jehovah God promised that his descendants would eventually become a special nation in His eyes. This promise was fulfilled in the ancient Israelites. They heard God say: “If you will strictly obey my voice and will indeed keep my covenant, then you will certainly become my special property out of all other peoples, because the whole earth belongs to me.”​—Exodus 19:5.

For many years the worship of Jehovah was kept alive on earth by means of the Jews, although they often fell into sin and apostasy. Nevertheless, Jehovah repeatedly told them that he was going to send a special messenger who would bring salvation to mankind. After 1,500 years, this one appeared. He was Jesus Christ.

Unfortunately, by the time Jesus arrived, the Jews had strayed a long way from Jehovah. They still claimed to worship him, but, as Jesus told some of their religious leaders: “You have made the word of God invalid because of your tradition.” (Matthew 15:1, 6) Because the Jews opposed Jesus, they were rejected by God. Jesus warned them: “The kingdom of God will be taken from you and be given to a nation producing its fruits.”​—Matthew 21:43.

Christianity

That “nation” turned out to be the Christian congregation. These were the ones who accepted Jesus Christ when the Jews, as a whole, rejected him, and God blessed the loyal ones for their faith. Not long after Jesus’ death, God miraculously empowered Jesus’ true followers to speak in foreign tongues​—not in senseless gibberish, but in actual languages that others could understand. Healings, resurrections and other miracles added weight to the fact that here, indeed, was the “nation” that God was using.​—Hebrews 2:4; compare Acts 2:1-4; 3:1-10; 9:32-41; 20:7-12.

‘But surely,’ you might say, ‘Christianity is as confused today as the rest of the world’s religions. Hundreds of groups call themselves Christian, yet they all differ from one another and contradict one another. How did this come about?’

History shows that many Christians did exactly the same as the Jews had done. They apostatized. They mixed Jesus’ message with doctrines from other religions. Thus they started to teach doctrines, such as three persons in one god (the Trinity), that originated from non-Christian and non-Jewish sources.

From where, actually, did those teachings come? Regarding the Trinity, one scholar wrote: “Nowhere in the New Testament does the word ‘Trinity’ appear. The idea was only adopted by the Church three hundred years after the death of our Lord; and the origin of the conception is entirely pagan.” (The Paganism in Our Christianity, by Arthur Weigall) The same can be said for the doctrine of the immortal soul, the widespread use of images, the popularity of astrology and many other familiar teachings and practices of Christendom. They can be traced not to the original worship of the true Source of life but to that ancient religious rebellion in Mesopotamia.

However, not all Christians were corrupted. Jesus himself warned of this very apostasy, but promised that true religion would survive right to the end. (Matthew 13:18-30) How, then, can we locate it today?

Finding the True Religion

Jesus gave a rule for recognizing true religion. He said: “Every good tree produces fine fruit.” Bad fruitage would identify the false religion, and good fruits would reveal the true.​—Matthew 7:15-20.

What is the fruitage that the true religion will bring forth? The accompanying box contains a list of some such fruits, as told to us in the Bible. If you compare this list with all the religions you are acquainted with, we are sure you will quickly recognize which does and which does not have the truth.

However, you will need to examine the list carefully. For example, you will note that one mark of true religion is ‘having genuine love.’ Now, most religions say they have such love. But if cheating in business, immorality, or selfishness are widespread among the members of a religion, do they really love one another? And if they are prepared to kill one another in revolutions or wars, how genuine is their love? Similarly, another mark is that “all their beliefs are based on the Bible.” Of course, members of most religions in Christendom think that theirs is. But do you know a religion where all members have taken the trouble to open their Bibles to see if this is true of their beliefs?

If you have any problems in your search, Jehovah’s Witnesses will be glad to help you.

It is, indeed, worth the effort to seek for the true religion. Man instinctively feels the need of a better life than he now enjoys. The true religion can point us toward that life. We naturally ask such questions as these: “Why are we here?” “What is the purpose of life?” True religion can put us in touch with the Source of all life, Jehovah God, who will answer those questions for us. Moreover, sometimes all of us desperately need guidance in solving the problems we face from day to day. True religion can give us that guidance.

Yes, there is a true religion, and we can find it. Our doing so will bring eternal benefits, for the Bible promises us: “As for those seeking Jehovah, they will not lack anything good.”​—Psalm 34:10.

[Box on page 8]

IDENTIFYING MARKS OF TRUE RELIGION

□ Those who practice it have genuine love among themselves.​—John 13:35.

□ All their beliefs are based on the Bible.​—John 17:17; 2 Timothy 3:16, 17.

□ They pray for God to sanctify his name.​—Matthew 6:9; Psalm 83:18.

□ They proclaim God’s kingdom in all the earth.​—Matthew 24:14.

□ They keep separate from the world’s affairs.​—James 1:27; John 17:14.

□ They put God’s kingdom and righteousness first in life.​—Matthew 6:33.

□ They cultivate the fruitage of God’s spirit.​—Galatians 5:22, 23.

□ They obey all human laws not contrary to God’s law.​—Romans 13:1-7.