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Christainity
Is there room in Christianity for other beliefs?
Christianity is none but "belief". John spells out the essence of Christianity in 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever "BELIEVES" in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life".
All others too claim exactly the same of none but "belief". Buddhism, Mormonism, Unitarianism, Christian Science, Jehovah's Witnesses, Islam, Hinduism, Judaism, and even atheism have all boiled down to their central teachings of none but "belief".
My grand mother dreamed and "believed" in her dream that she had to leave for Bangkok immediately right in the middle of the night or face death. She packed up, left a note on the table and took a midnight coach leaving for Bangkok alone and died in a car accident 10 years before I was born in 1941.
My rough educational guess is there are at least 200,000 people die in a year out of their "beliefs" through committing suicide, protest, strike, fights, war and the like. I read often in the newspaper that football fans killed each other because they "believe" their team would win and started fighting that lead to death before the ball being kicked off. Even family members killed each other because they "believe" the other member of the family is backing the wrong political party.
Is there room in Christianity for other beliefs? The answer is indeed a "believing" issue. You either "believe" it as a Yes or not "believing" in it as a No. There is no room for a "believing" - Yes and yet leaving room for a not "believing" - No.
Jesus makes it plain and clear that "I am, the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me", John 14:6. His disciples witnessed His saying too in Acts 4:12, "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be save."
My answer is clear here that there is no room for other "belief" in salvation. How about some other Christianity "beliefs"? Is there extra room? Can we compromise? Can we believe that it is OK to bribe our way through in certain countries because their laws permit so? Can we believe that it is correct for military to take over a civilian government because constitution permits so? Is cannibalism OK? Can we give room for other "beliefs"?
I think it would be appropriate to apply Paul's teaching in idol food to the situation, See 1 Corinthians chapter 8 and 10:14-32. Paul puts it this way, since we are not living in this world alone, we have to be diplomatic, flexible, adaptable, adjustable, loving, caring, understanding, merciful, concern, kind and so on and so forth to other "beliefs". We can eat or do anything of and with other "beliefs". But what ever you do, do it for the glory of God, 1 Corinthians 10:3.
This, however, does not amount to compromise, conciliation, riding 2 boats at a time, or changing colors under various circumstances like a lizard. We must still stand firm on all our other Christian "beliefs". We can not "believe" in any other "beliefs", not one, which runs against Biblical teaching.
And in our tender loving care to other "beliefs" as instructed by Jesus to love our neighbors just like ourselves, we must also take heed, protect and guard ourselves against poisonous "belief" of all forms. Beware, other "believes" do not just appear before you. They creep in and eat away slowly but fatally like a malignant tumor. Did not Jesus allegorize that we are sent as sheep among wolves and so be as shrewd as snake and as innocent as dove - Matthew 10:5-16.
Is there room in Christianity for other beliefs? Again, my answer is a clear "No".