Omnism
Omnism is the belief in all religions. Those who hold this belief are called omnists. The Oxford English Dictionary quotes the term’s earliest usage of the 1839 long poem “Festus” by English poet Philip J. Bailey: “I am an omnist, and believe in all religions.”
Recently, the term has been revived, because of the attention of modern-day self-described omnists who have started to reuse and redefine it. Their efforts are considered attempted amalgamation of the different religions. And it can also be viewed as a way to acknowledge the different religions without believing in all what they teach.
The Oxford English Dictionary teaches that an omnist believes “in a single transcendent purpose or cause uniting all things or people.” Some omnists explain this to mean that all religions have different components of a shared truth, or place omnism in opposition to dogmatism, in that omnists are willing to accept truths from all religions. Omnists don’t believe that there is a single supreme truth but rather there may be an infinite number of possibilities.
Omnism does have a structure of theology, as it neither embraces nor rejects certain beliefs about God. Instead, it confirms the need to search and reach an understanding of the reality based on personal experience, study, accepting the logic and validity of the various interpretations of others.
Omnsim is reflected in the theme of the campaign “Coexist” where the different religions and faiths form the letters C-O-E-X-I-S-T. This sign on T-shirts and pumper stickers promote the end of discrimination against all religions, as well as all discrimination for Jews, Buddhists, Christians, Atheists, Blacks, Whites, Homosexuals – everyone should get along and coexist.
A False Teaching
While it is true that there are some elements of truth in most religions, these religions differ in basic, fundamental and important ways. Different religions may be apparently alike but they are essentially conflicting.
The Bible teaches that there is an absolute truth. Jesus declared, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). Christ is qualified to be the WAY because He is the CREATOR (Colossians 1:16) and REDEEMER of mankind (Titus 2:14). No other leader of religion in the world throughout the ages was able to say such words and back it up with supernatural works as Jesus did.
Christ healed all sickness (Luke 5:15-26), fed thousands of people (Luke 9:12-17), had authority over nature (Luke 8:22-25), cast out demons (Luke 4:33-37), raised the dead (Luke 7:11-16), lived a sinless life (1 Peter 2:22), sacrificed His life for humanity (1 John 3:16), and then was resurrected from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). No other man on earth ever did such mighty works.
An omnist is utterly wrong in his thinking because not all the roads lead to God. The Scriptures affirm that there is “one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all” (Ephesians 4:5). Therefore, when two different religions teach different truths about God, salvation, nature of man, heaven, the judgment…etc., we can’t accept them and ignore the truths of God’s Word for the sake of being politically correct.
In His service,
BibleAsk Team
