by Orestes J. Gonzalez

Created on: December 26, 2008   Last Updated: May 24, 2012

There is a great deal of evidence that no matter how far one may reach back into history, religion has been present in every culture. (1) But, as the title asks, "Is there one, true religion which is better than all the others?" Here is what I take to be the correct view on the issue of the one true religion.

The concept of "true religion" emerged with the revelation of Jesus as the one true God. This is corroborated in the writings of two early Christians, Tertullian (ca. 160-225 AD) and Saint Augustine (354-430 AD.)

And in the book "On Christian Belief" (2005, New City Press,) Michael Fiedrowicz addresses this issue directly. Thus he writes:

"In the Christian tradition the concept of 'true religion' occurs for the first time in Tertullian. Inasmuch as the Christian apologists took the nonbiblical term 'religion' from the vocabulary of the pagans, their aim, on the one hand, was to locate Christianity within a non-Christian intellectual horizon.

"But, when they simultaneously modified 'religion' with the adjective 'true,' they were avoiding an identification of Christianity with elements of a pagan religious outlook. When described as 'true religion,' Christianity was claiming to overcome the defects of all pre-Christian and non-Christian religions and to ensure the fulfillment of their deepest aspirations."

Saint Augustine wrote a treatise with the title "On True Religion" ("De Vera Religione," in the original Latin.) Saint Augustine explains that the concept of true religion is inseparably linked to the credibility of an authority.

In the case of religion, the authority to be trusted and believed can ultimately be no other than God Himself.

"I have met many who wanted to deceive, but none who wanted to be deceived," Saint Augustine wrote with reference to the value of "knowledge acquired through belief" ("Fides et Ratio," no. 25.)

Knowledge acquired through belief is another kind of rational knowledge. It is true and authentic knowledge based on trusting an authority.

That is the way children learn. Children trust their parents and teachers.

But God neither deceives nor wishes to deceive. That would be contrary to His nature. And as we shall see shortly, through Jesus, the authority of God has been handed down to us in a way that resembles the way we learn by trusting human and earthly authorities as the source of knowledge.

At the outset I want to stress that these random comments in answer to the question "Is there one, true religion which is better than

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