I may say that for 40 years, as at the University of Oxford I carried out my duties as professor of Sanskrit, I devoted as much time to the study of the holy books of the East as any other human being in the world. And I ventured to tell this gathering what I have found to be the basic note, the one single chord, or all these holy books- be it the Veda of the Brahmans, the Putans of Siwa and Vishnu, the Qu’ran of the Muslims, the Sendavesta of the Paris etc-the one basic note or chord that runs through all of them is salvation by works. They all teach that salvation must be bought and that your own works and merits must be the purchase price. Our own Bible, our sacred book from the East, is from start to finish a protest against this doctrine. True, good works are also required from this holy book from the East, but the works referred to are the outflow of a grateful heart.  They are the thank offerings, only the fruits of our faith. They are never the ransom of the true disciples of Christ. Let us not close our eyes to whatever is noble and true and pleasing in these holy books. But let us teach Hindus, Buddhists and Muslims that there is only one book from the East that can be their comfort in that solemn hour when they must pass, entirely alone, into the invisible world. It is that holy book which contains the message- a message which is surely true and worthy of full acceptance, and concerns all humans, men, women and children- that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.

Max Muller, from a speech delivered before the British and Foreign Bible Society 1901, as cited by Dr Daniel Strange, ‘For Their Rock Is Not as Our Rock’ an evangelical theology of religions.