Apologetics: Should Christians Study Other Religions?

One of the problems that the modern church has had for a very long time is that it’s incredibly ignorant of what else is out there. That doesn’t mean that they don’t know about other religions existing, but rather that they don’t know what these religions teach. Some of this is accidental, with people just growing up in church feeling never being taught about other religions. However (and most egregiously), much of it is willful ignorance, with many Christians and even pastors thinking that we just shouldn’t study other religions because we have the only true one and that’s all that matters. Though I can see why they would think this, this line of thinking has unfortunately led many churches and Christians to get horribly sidetracked. When encountering new religions and belief systems that seem like they could maybe be compatible with Christianity, many churches have unfortunately embraced those religions without giving them a thorough lookthrough. Thus, it becomes imperative for Christians – clergy and laymen alike – to study other religions than Christianity and think through them logically for these three reasons.

The first reason why Christians should study other religions is because false teachers thrive in an environment of ignorance. If we don’t know what to look for, it becomes incredibly easy to fall into some very damaging beliefs that are antithetical to Christianity. If you guys are at all familiar with my experiences with the church and my testimony, you’ll know that at my first church, their spiritual formation classes were teaching a mix of Christianity and Sufism. If you’ve never heard of Sufism, that’s my point. Most people haven’t. It’s a mystical sect of Islam that’s not mainstream and really puts an emphasis on ascetism and has some esoteric practices (practices meant to find deeper, hidden spiritual meanings) thrown in there for funsies. Thus, it was very easy for many of the self-proclaimed Christians at this church to go to these spiritual formation classes thinking that everything was fine when it really wasn’t.

The second reason why Christians should study other religions is because it becomes easier to reach people in those religions if you know what they teach. To quote G.I. Joe, “Knowing is just half the battle.” False teachers thrive where ignorance is abundant. To be able to study other religions and take a close look at them and question them logically, then point out the contradictions is to take away these false teachers’ greatest tool. If you can understand what is being said by these false teachers and point it out to people, while they may not convert immediately, you will be leaving them with a myriad of uncomfortable pebbles in their shoes that they’ll sooner or later have to pick through. It can also lead to some very interesting conversations.

The third reason is in the Bible, Jesus tells his disciples, “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.” (Matthew 10:16) We’re also told in 2 Corinthians 10:5, “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God and take every thought captive to obey Christ.” By knowing what other religions claim and comparing that to the Bible, we can better live according to these verses as we’ll know how to better defend our faith. For example, Islam is one of the few religions in the world that has apologetics, and it makes quite a few claims against Christianity that, to those without discernment, may seem convincing. However, if you actually start looking through the Quran and studying it, it becomes quite clear very quickly that Islam is actually one of the most nonsensical, unreasonable religions ever created that will absolutely insult your intelligence (this is foreshadowing for Friday’s post).

Now, does this mean that you have to read every religious text out there for every religion and basically become a scholar on all of them?

No.

That would take forever.

What I would instead recommend is read some of their basic texts if you have time. Even if it’s in small sections, read them and take notes as often as possible. Alongside it, learn what everyone on all sides of the spectrum have to say about it. Listen to the people who are for it and against it. This is where podcasts, videos, and audiobooks come in handy since you can listen to them anywhere.

Until next time,

M.J.