VARIOUS RELIGIONS RELATE TO EACH OTHER VARIOUS RELIGIONS RELATE TO EACH OTHEROne of the most disturbing and discouraging aspects of religion is the strife and conflict that exists between various religions. Most religions speak about love, because their revelations speak about love. And yet, this idea of love is somehow lost somewhere.
When we probe for the reasons we discover that most religions have people who believe in the concept of exclusivity, separation and aloneness. Reality is divided into two areas, the religion and the outside world. For each religion the outside world then includes all other religions.
In each religion there then is the idea that the way to heaven is known only to that religion and not to the outside world. There is the concept of the chosen people, and the concept of the heathen or pagans in the outside world. There is also the idea that all other religions are wrong. Sometimes there is the feeling that salvation is only available to one religion, and all others need to be converted before they can be saved.
In the New Church, the church of the Second Coming, which is based on the Theological Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg, we find a different viewpoint. In the New Church we believe that people from all kinds of religions can reach heaven. The Lord sees all religions or churches as ONE MAN (Grandman). The various churches all play a useful part in the spiritual history of man, and in the total composition of the heavens.
The Lord does not see the concept of the "only" church or religion. He sees the churches in terms of the various revelations He has given. In the spiritual body of the heavens the church with the latest revelation plays the role of the heart and lungs. The "lungs" absorb divine truth from the latest revelation and the "heart" moves this truth to all the heavens.
In the New Church, following the Lord's example, we respect all religions if they follow the Lord, contribute good to the Grandman of heaven, and lead people to heaven. If all religions could come to cultivate respect and tolerance towards each other, religions we would see a great deal more peace in the world.
For example, if Christians would respect Jews and Mohammedans, and there
would be mutual respect between Jews and Mohammedans, all kinds of conflicts
would be resolved, and could be avoided.
