If There Is One God, Why Are There So Many Religions?

“If there is only one God, doesn’t that mean all people should have the same visions or experiences of Him? Why doesn’t a Muslim receive messages from the Jewish God? Also, what fault is there in a non-Jew who did not receive the Torah? I’d like to understand Judaism’s explanation for this.”

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Both Christians and Muslims believe in the God of Israel as the Creator of the world, and the One who took the Jewish people out of Egypt. The difference is that they ascribe to Him additional qualities or accept false prophets who claimed to speak in His name. At the foundation however, they acknowledge the same God who created the world and gave the Torah to Israel.

God does not expect the same spiritual attainments from non-Jews as He does from His chosen people. He responds to each according to their level and capacity, for as the verse says: “His compassion is upon all His works.”

The Path a Person Chooses

Our sages taught that God leads a person along the path he truly wishes to follow: “In the way a person desires to go, Heaven leads him” (Talmud Yoma 38b).

Someone who seeks excuses to deny God, will always find justifications for disbelief. Someone who wishes to deceive himself will always manage to find rationalizations to maintain the lie. Conversely, one who seeks truth and purity will find divine assistance guiding him toward it: “One who comes to be defiled, they open the way for him; one who comes to be purified, they help him.”

How Non-Jews Can Reach the Truth

A non-Jew (like a Jew) who sincerely wishes to find the true God will be guided by God Himself toward the truth of the Torah.

It is no coincidence that the Torah is the most widely printed, influential, and studied book in the world. At the time of the final redemption, no person on earth will remain unaware of it. Every human being has the capacity to reach the truth, if they genuinely search for it.

Those who truly seek truth in life will be led by God to find it, while those who seek “messages” to justify their own chosen path will receive self-confirmation of their desires. What a person requests in his heart from God is what he will receive. This is the essence of free will.