CHRISTIANITY IS AN EXCLUSIVE BELIEF SYSTEM - Acts 17:22-23 When we speak in the most general terms Christianity has nearly 2 bill adherents (protestant and Catholic) One tenant that is shared across the gamut of Christian groups is that there is one God, the God of the Bible, this is followed by an acknowledgement that man is need of saving and that can only be accomplished through Jesus Christ the Son of God One question the irreligious pose is whether the God of the Bible is truly any different from the gods of the other world religions One God with Many Names?

CHRISTIANITY IS AN EXCLUSIVE BELIEF SYSTEM - Acts 17:22-23 When we speak in the most general terms Christianity has nearly 2 billion adherents (protestant and Catholic) Christians believe there is one God, the God of the Bible Is the God of the Bible truly any different from the gods of the other world religions?

Major World Religions These five religions make up 70% of the world population Of this 5.3 bill people roughly half of them worship a god other than the God of the Bible Can we be certain that the god we worship is The God? Could it be that we are all worshipping the same God by different names?

GOD MUST BE CONSISTENT WITH THE REVELATION OF SCRIPTURE Scripture’s Basic Description of God Eternal - Gen 1:1 Creator - Is 44:24 One - Dt 6:4 Isaiah 44:24 (NASB95) 24 Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, and the one who formed you from the womb, “I, the Lord, am the maker of all things, Stretching out the heavens by Myself And spreading out the earth all alone, Deuteronomy 6:4 (NASB95) 4 “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!

GOD MUST BE CONSISTENT WITH THE REVELATION OF SCRIPTURE Many World Religions are Polytheistic Hindus recognize 300,000,000+ gods They recognize one particular god - Brahman - but they also recognize “higher” gods (Shiva, Ganesh), and “lower” gods (local deities) The Same God Cannot Be Both

GOD MUST BE CONSISTENT WITH THE REVELATION OF SCRIPTURE The God of the Bible is Revealed as a Person not a Concept The Hindu’s believe that nothing we see is real, it is all a manifestation of Brahman “God” becomes the highest good we can achieve or some “spirit” that permeates humanity

GOD MUST BE CONSISTENT WITH THE REVELATION OF SCRIPTURE The God of the Bible cannot be the God of Polytheism Acts 4:12 (NASB95) 12 “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”

GOD MUST BE CONSISTENT WITH THE REVELATION OF SCRIPTURE The creation reveals the nature of the creator His invisible attributes -the transcendence of God The God that created is distinct from His creation The creation can be “seen” in the scientific sense of “observed” The God who created is different in that He cannot be observed Romans 1:19–20 (NASB95) 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.

GOD MUST BE CONSISTENT WITH THE REVELATION OF SCRIPTURE The creation reveals the nature of the creator Eternal Power and Godhead The Universe is finite, it had a beginning and will have an end The universe operates with an amazing degree of precision Points to a powerful God and a single motive Romans 1:19–20 (NASB95) 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.

GOD MUST BE CONSISTENT WITH THE REVELATION OF SCRIPTURE The creation reveals the nature of the creator Beings with a nature like ours could not hope to create such a universe The polytheistic gods are a reflection of human nature Romans 1:19–20 (NASB95) 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.

GOD MUST BE CONSISTENT WITH THE REVELATION OF SCRIPTURE The creation reveals the nature of the creator Beings with a nature like ours could not hope to create such a universe The polytheistic gods are a reflection of human nature Eliminates all but two religions

RELATIONALITY DEMANDS A RELATIONAL GOD The nature of man eliminates a unitarian god Only one being, or person, who is god For Muslims this one being is Allah For Jews this one being is Jehovah Romans 1:19–20 (NASB95) 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.

RELATIONALITY DEMANDS A RELATIONAL GOD The nature of man eliminates a unitarian god The creation is a reflection of the creator The creation has an intrinsic need for relationship Romans 1:19–20 (NASB95) 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.

RELATIONALITY DEMANDS A RELATIONAL GOD The Bible reveals a triune God Gen 1:26 - “Let Us make man in Our image” The Bible presents creation as a collaborative effort between Divine persons (Jn 1:1-13; Job 26:13) The Salvation of man is a collaborative effort - Phil 2 Romans 1:19–20 (NASB95) 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.