THE MESSAGE OF FALSE RELIGIONS By Dr Bilal PhilipsThere are so many sects, cults, religions, philosophies, and movements in the world, all of which claim to be the right way or the only true path to God! How can one determine which one is correct or whether, in fact, all are correct?One method by which the answer can be found is to clear away the superficial differences in teachings of the various claimants to ultimate truth, and identify the central object of worship upon which they call, directly or indirectly.False religions all have in common one basic concept with regard to God: They either claim that all men are gods, or that specific men were God, or that nature is God, or that God is a figment of man's imagination.Thus, it may be stated that the basic message of false religion is that God may be worshipped in the form of His creation. False religion invites man to the worship of creation by calling the creation or some aspect of it God. For example, Jesus invited his followers to worship God, but those who claim to be Jesus' followers today call people to worship Jesus, claiming that he was God.Buddha was a reformer who introduced a number of humanistic principles in the religion of India. He did not claim to be God, nor did he suggest to his followers that he be an object of worship. Yet today most Buddhists who are to be found outside India have taken him to be God and they prostrate themselves to idols made in their perception of his likeness.By using the principle of identifying the object of worship, we can easily detect false religions and the contrived nature of their origin. As God said in the Qur'an:"That which you worship besides Him are only names you and your forefathers have invented for which Allah has sent down no authority; the command belongs only to Allah: He has commanded that you worship Him; that is right religion, but most men do not understand." (Sura Yousuf 12:40)
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