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Thoughts of...The Golden Rule
Every man has a conscience, the moral code of God the Creator, written on his heart (, ). This code is God’s fundamental revelation of right and wrong to His beloved creature. At the core of man’s conscience is how he is to relate to both God and other men.
The basic dynamic in God’s moral code for interpersonal relationships, communicated in many different ways by the religions of man, has become known as The Golden Rule.
Baha’i: Blessed is he who prefers his brother before himself. (Baha u llah)
Buddhism: Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful. (Udana Vargas 5:1 8)
Confucianism: Do not do to others what you do not want them to do to you. (Analects1 5:23)
Hinduism: This is the sum of duty: Do naught unto others which would cause you pain if done to you. (Mahabharanta 5:15 17)
Islam: No one of you is a believer until you desire for another that which you desire for yourself. (The Sunnah, from the Hadith)
Jainism: A man should wander about treating all creatures as he himself would be treated. (Sutrakritanga 1.11.33)
Native American: Respect for all life is the foundation. (The Great Law of Peace)
Secular: We should conduct ourselves toward others as we would have them act toward us. (Aristotle)
Sikhism: You must see in the heart of another the temple of God. (Hazrat Inayay Khan)
Taoism: I am good to the man who is good to me. Likewise, I am also good to the bad man. (Tao TeChing)
The Bible: Therefore all things whatsoever you would that men should do to you, do even so to them, for this is the law and the prophets. (Jesus Christ in )
You shall love your neighbor as yourself. (, )
Are all the above religions saying the same thing? Not at all. Look closely.
Jesus teaches an active lifestyle of denial of self and loving others. His one command to us is “Love,” which is what we do, not how we feel (, ). The acceptable motive for doing what we do is love of others, not of self. Most importantly, Jesus not only teaches us (in word and by example) to love others, He empowers us to do it (, , )!
How do the teachings of the religions of man compare to what Jesus teaches?
The above precepts of Baha’i, Islam, Secularism, and Sikhism dilute the active lifestyle prescribed by Jesus to passive attitudes, suggestions without an imperative. Buddhism, Confucianism, and Hinduism twist the Lord’s positive teaching into a negative. Additionally, Buddhism, Taoism, and Hinduism include the philosophy of relativism in their proverbs, in that the concepts of “hurt” and “pain”, “good” and “bad” lack an absolute standard to clearly define their terms. Hinduism also corrupts the willing motive of love of others by making it a burden, a duty, and an obligation. The maxims of Jainism and the Native American religion are pantheistic. Finally, none of the above religions empower its adherents to keep the Golden Rule; those followers are completely on their own to do that which is contrary to their nature.
Satan is a very subtle deceiver and murderer (, ). He cunningly distorts, denies, and corrupts the Word of God to deceive and destroy men (, , ). His counterfeits, the various un-Biblical forms of the Golden Rule above, lead the spiritually undiscerned to the conclusions that
• one can actually keep the Golden Rule
• all roads lead to God
• one can go shopping for a religion that fits one’s desires and viewpoints to find happiness
Since they are based on a lie from the father of lies, those conclusions are false and result in tragic eternal consequences. The poison is subtle, indeed, and absolutely lethal.
Jesus Christ, the Author of man’s conscience, is
• the difference between the intent to keep God’s moral code and the power to actually keep it
• The only Way to God (, , )
• The only Way to know love, peace, joy, and contentment (, , , , )
• The difference between a healthy, sane conscience and a seared, insane conscience
• The Truth that sets us free (, ).
Pastor Doug
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