1. All Religions Worship the Same God and Serve His Great Will
World Scripture
The Hindus and the Muslims have but one and the same God; What can a mullah or a sheikh do?
Adi Granth, Bhairo, p. 1158 (Sikhism)
For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name is great among the nations, and in every place incense is offered to my name, and a pure offering; for my name is great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts.
Malachi 1.11
Those who worship other gods with faith and devotion also worship Me, Arjuna, even if they do not observe the usual forms. I am the object of all worship, its enjoyer and Lord.
Bhagavad-Gita 9.23-24 (Hinduism)
Lo! We did reveal the Torah, wherein is guidance and a light, by which the prophets who submitted to God judged the Jews, as did the rabbis and the doctors of the law, because they were required to guard God’s Book, and to which they were witnesses. So fear not mankind, but fear Me. And barter not My revelations for a little gain. Whoso judges not by that which God has sent down—such are disbelievers…
And We caused Jesus, son of Mary, to follow in their footsteps, confirming the Torah before him, and We bestowed on him the Gospel, wherein is guidance and a light, confirming that which was revealed before it in the Torah—a guidance and an admonition for those who ward off evil. Let the People of the Gospel judge by that which God has revealed therein.
Whosoever judges not by that which God has revealed—such are those who live in evil. And unto thee We revealed the Scripture with the truth, confirming whatever Scripture was before it, and a watcher over it. So judge between them by that which God has revealed, and follow not their desires apart from the truth which has come unto thee.2
For each We have appointed a divine law and a traced-out way. Had God so willed, He could have made you all one community. But He willed it otherwise in order to test you by that which He has given you. So vie one with another in doing good works! Unto God you will all return, and He will then inform you of that wherein you differ.
Qur’an 5.44-48
This is the land of the gods. The people should revere them. In my essence I [Amaterasu] am the Buddha Vairocana. Let my people understand this and take refuge in the Law of the Buddhas.3
Revelation of Amaterasu to Emperor Shomu (Shinto)
There can be no doubt that whatever the peoples of the world, of whatever race or religion, derive their inspiration from one heavenly Source, and are the subjects of one God. The difference between the ordinances under which they abide should be attributed to the varying requirements and exigencies of the age in which they were revealed. All of them, except for a few which are the outcomes of human perversity, were ordained of God, and are a reflection of His Will and Purpose.
Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh 111 (Baha’i Faith)
As the different streams having their sources in different places all mingle their waters in the sea, so, O Lord, the different paths that men take, through various tendencies, various though they appear, crooked or straight, all lead to Thee.
Sanskrit hymn (Hinduism)
In whatever way and path humans worship Me, in that same path do I meet and fulfill their aspirations and grace them. It is always My Path that humans follow in all their different paths and journeys, on all sides.
Bhagavad-Gita 4.11 (Hinduism)
Those who believe in the Qur’an, those who follow the Jewish scriptures, and the Sabeans and the Christians—any who believe in God and the Last Day, and work righteousness—on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.
Qur’an 5.69
There are righteous men among the Gentiles who have a share in the world to come.
Tosefta Sanhedrin 13.2 (Judaism)
And Peter opened his mouth and said, “Truly I perceive that God shows no partiality, but in every nation any one who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.”
Acts 10.34-35
And nearest to them in love to the believers you will find those who say, “We are Christians,” because among them are men devoted to learning and men who have renounced the world, and they are not arrogant. And when they listen to the revelation received by the Apostle, you will see their eyes overflowing with tears, for they recognize the truth. They pray, “Our Lord! We believe; write us down among the witnesses.”4
Qur’an 5.82-83
Other religions found everywhere try to counter the restlessness of the human heart, each in its own manner, by proposing “ways,” comprising teachings, rules of life and sacred rites. The Catholic Church rejects nothing that is true and holy in these religions. She looks with sincere reverence those ways of conduct and of life, those precepts and teachings which, though differing in many aspects from the ones she holds and sets forth, nonetheless often reflect a ray of that Truth which enlightens all men.
Vatican II, Nostra Aetate (Christianity)
Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
Although different religions have different names for God and different ways of worshipping Him, the central Being worshipped by each religion is the one and only God.
(140:11, February 1, 1986)
All people know Jesus, Buddha, Confucius and Muhammad as the founders of the world’s great religions. We revere them as the guides of humankind. There can be no objection to believing their teachings.
Why should people follow them? They came to this world as our guides. Each takes responsibility for one religion and guides his people to advance toward the summit. When they reach the summit and find that they are only on a low peak among a great range of mountains, these founders will lead them to another trail, and then another, as they advance upward towards the highest summit.
God does not choose only the path to the summit from the East. If God did, people from the West who cannot come around to the East would have no path. Therefore, God established religions in every direction—East, West, South and North—and revealed the major routes to reach to the peak from each direction. On the way, they each absorbed numerous peoples, as God furthered their progress towards one unified world.
(81:181-82, December 28, 1975)
All four great founders of religion were centered on God. They were not their own lords, for above each was God, their Lord. God is above Jesus; likewise God is above Buddha, Confucius and Muhammad. These men knew God; that is why they could become the founders of religion. That is why they taught a common message—that message was one of righteousness, peace and justice. They worked to spread that message and to establish a world of goodness. They all lived many centuries ago, yet their teachings guide people to the present day.
(130:146-47, January 8, 1984)
There are numerous religions on the earth today. God needed to set up different religions in order to gather the peoples scattered all over the world. Each people has a religion suited to its distinct history, circumstance, cultural background and customs, yet these religions are all headed towards one goal.
They are like the streams of a single river. As you go downstream, the number of streams decreases as they merge into larger and larger tributaries, until finally they merge into a single great river. Likewise, all the religions are to unite as they flow towards the place where they can capture God’s love; there they will stay.
(23:125, May 18, 1969)
Religion provides training as we seek for God’s love and ideal. The world’s religions were given different responsibilities to raise people level by level back to the original state.
(87:177, June 2, 1976)
The world in which we live is not the world of goodness; it is a fallen world where evil holds sway. Hence, many barriers block our relationship with the God of goodness. To remove these barriers, God needs human beings to play a mediating role. Therefore, throughout history and all over the world, God has been developing movements based on religion to transform this evil world to the world of goodness.
Among every people of the world, God developed a religion suitable to its unique culture and customs. God expanded the scope of these religions according to their suitability, from local beliefs to worldwide faiths. Today these religious roots have spawned four great civilizations: Christian civilization, Islamic civilization, Indian [Hindu] civilization, and the Far Eastern civilization rooted in Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism.
Looking at the world today, what would be God’s wish? His desire is that these four religions not remain separate; He would unite them and present one religion on the world stage. That religion should represent God’s true Will to the world.
(113:313, May 10, 1981)
There is not a single person whom Thou hast not touched,
or country that Thou hast not guided in hope.
Thou hast been leading all peoples,
transcending national borders,
to the present point on the path to the original world,
Thine eternal ideal.
(76:86-87, February 1, 1975)