Growing up and being an elementary school-age child, I was told by a much wiser and older friend (a whole 2 grades ahead of me) that there was one God, but with several different names: God, Buddha, Allah, etc. This made perfect sense to me in my understanding of languages and the belief that there was only one God anyway.
Interestingly enough, now, many adults will tell you nearly the exact same thing, without giving it any more thought than a fourth grade student would. In fact, a former President, leader of the United States, in reference to Christians and Muslims, said: “…I believe we worship the same God.”
Within some religions, the god that is the main character, is defined as war-like, arbitrary and unknowable. Others will tell you that Jesus did not come, die and rise from the dead. Even within some of the so-called Christian religions, there can be a vast difference in the description and character of the god being worshipped. In the name of their god, they condone carved images, the killing of unborn babies, situational lies, and “justifiable” murder in war.
But the Bible defines God in a completely different way. God is a Family, consisting of God the Father and God the Son. Both are unified–they are “one.” They are of the same one mindset and have the same one purpose and goal. God is peaceful, trustworthy, and personal. God the Father sent His only-begotten Son to us, who did die and was raised from the dead. God is explicit in His instructions not to have idols, kill, or lie.
What we have then are competing versions of the God or gods that are being worshipped. The plain and simple fact is that they all cannot be true. Rather, only one characterization can be true. For example, either God says it is permissible to steal, or “do not steal” means, do not steal! It cannot be both, because God–both the Father and the Son–is the same always (Hebrews 13:8). God does not change, nor is there any variation or shadow of turning with Him (James 1:17).
There is no moral relativism when it comes to God and His Ways. Instead, He is defined by one specific set of doctrines in the Bible. If we are to be assured that we are worshipping the only true God who is worthy of our reverence and that we are reflecting Him in our lives and actions, we must do it in truth (John 4:24).
