Are they heading in the same direction?

On one level this question feels easy to answer: No, all religions are not the same. But it’s also common to find people who might say that it doesn’t really matter which religion a person believes, as long as they are all reaching for the same purpose - to some sort of greater good for everyone. In this person’s mind, all religions are kind of the same in the end, and as long as we accept and tolerate each other’s beliefs it will be ok. Everyone is entitled to their own religion.

The problem with this idea is that when you look beyond a surface level, most religions directly contradict each other. For example, Judaism says that there is only one God, but Hinduism teaches that there are millions of gods. Buddhism teaches that humans die and are reincarnated to live again, and that the goal of this cycle is to cease existing, but Islam teaches that everyone lives and dies once. These religions teach distinctly different things, so to say that they are all the same ignores the important ways that they are different. It’s a bit insulting to claim that they could all be the same, really.

Jesus said that there is only one way to have a right relationship with God, and it wasn’t gained by anything that humans could do.

Jesus said that believing in him was the only way to have a good relationship with God. 

“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” - John 14:6

This is a huge claim to make.

All religions cannot be the same. The challenge for each of us is to investigate them, decide which has the best grounds for truth and makes the most sense of life, and then make a choice.

The great difference found in the Christian faith is that it is grounded on a real historical person and eyewitness records about him. The other outstanding aspect of Christianity is that it provides a way to have a right relationship with God, forgiveness for wrongs we’ve done, and hope for the future. All of these good things are offered to us freely, when we trust that Jesus has paid for and achieved them for us. Most religions require us to work hard to get right with God. Christianity offers the gift of being right with God, and having a right relationship with God, because Jesus has done the hard work for us.
If you want to check out some of the claims of Jesus, why not read one of the eyewitness accounts written about him? Going straight to the source will give you the best sort of information. This link will download a copy of Luke’s biography of Jesus.

We hope this helps you a little,
The CNET Team