COMPARING THE RELIGIONS OF THE WORLD
WITH TRUE CHRISTIANITY
Duane Giles, 10-19-02
IS THERE A GOD, ANYWAY?
The first step in our search for reason and truth should be for us to prove to our own satisfaction, whether or not God really exists. We were raised up as children to believe in God. Most assume that, either their God is the true one, or religion is all a fairy tale anyway. Don’t we all worship the same God, just under different names? If God did not exist, would it matter how we live? Is it all just a “fairy tale?”
THE GOD OF THE RELIGION CALLED ISLAM
As many as 750 million to one billion people adhere to the religion of Islam.
In about the year 610, Mohammed claimed to have been visited by the angel Gabriel with a message from God for him to bring to the world.
Most historians believe that the majority of the people who are Muslims are descendents of Ishmael, the son of Abraham and his handmaid Hagar.
They call their god “Allah,” and say that he is the creator and sustainer of the universe, the God of Abraham, Mohammed, and Jesus.
They also believe in the existence of an evil being called Satan the Devil.
They believe that those who do what they call "good" are rewarded with an existence in Heaven after their death, and that those who do evil will be punished forever in Hell.
The word “Islam” means “submission.”
Their creed: “There is no God but Allah, and Mohammed is his prophet.”
Islam has a book of teachings, called the Koran, and they believe that Allah inspired everything Mohammed said or did.
They believe in the brotherhood of all Muslims, and that they should try to take their message to the rest of the world by gaining control of the governments of the world.
They worship on Fridays, with prayer, (5 times a day) with specific positions and posture, chanting, and listening to or giving sermons.
They are all expected to take a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once during their lifetime.
In the history of Islam, some extremists have used force to gain control of others, although the Koran appears to condemn forcing anyone to be a Muslim. They call this force “jihad,” or “holy war.”
Islam believes that Jesus was a prophet of God, who taught good things. But, they don’t believe that he was, or is the Son of God.
THE RELIGION AND GOD OF BUDDHISM
About one eighth of the people of the world are Buddhists. Buddhism is based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, who lived 2,500 years ago in India.
“Sid” had led an indulgent life as a young man, and was pursuing a course of self-denial.
He sat under a tree, called the “Bo” tree, for 49 days, where he attained enlightenment.
This religion has no single Bible, but all Buddhists share beliefs.
They have 5 basic laws of behavior, including not killing, stealing, lying, drinking intoxicants, or committing sexual offenses.
In order to escape the self, which is said to be the cause of all suffering, an eight-fold path of (?) was established, to relieve them of their individual self.
The image of Buddha is supposed to show people what it is like to achieve total bliss.
He is said to have once offered himself as a meal for a hungry tiger and her cubs, because of their need for food.
BUDDHISM has even been modified to fit 21st century American culture and ideas.
HINDUISM
It is the major religion of the Indian subcontinent, dating back to more than 3,000 years.
Hinduism has no founder, no one holy book, but several, and there is great diversity of beliefs which are tolerated among them.
Their God is called Brahman. All other deities are said to be a part of the one absolute and unknowable Brahman.
What sets the Hindus apart is their belief in reincarnation.
What a person does in one life is said to cause an effect in the next. This is called “karman.” The goal of the individual is to escape this cycle, and become part of the absolute soul, or Brahman.
Hindu people have a caste system, which divides their people into classes, from priests, warriors and merchants, to the servants at the bottom, which are called “untouchables.”
In their history, Hindus have performed sacrifices, including the practice of the burning of widows on the funeral pyre of her their dead husband.
To Hindus, God is both destroyer and restorer. Sometimes he is depicted as a beggar, half man half female, or a dancer. They also have a monkey-god and a god of snakes.
Many plants and animals, especially the cow, are considered to be sacred.
The Hindus worship with festivals, rituals, and fireworks to frighten away the dead.
JUDAISM
What we call the Old Testament, is the Bible of the Hebrews, sometimes called “Jews.”
The main difference between Judaism and Christianity is that the Jews reject Jesus as the prophesied Messiah and as the Son of God.
Judaism also has many added traditional writings and practices that they follow, which are not in the Bible, and are not a part of most Christian worship. Everyday practices, dress, and worship services, are usually very different between Jews and Christians.
In addition to those differences, the Christians worship God with the knowledge that some of the requirements of the O.T have been altered or fulfilled because of the coming of Jesus the Christ (Messiah).
When properly understood, the basic principals of the O.T., including the spiritual laws and concepts and the weekly day of worship, are the same for Christians and Jews.
Jesus Christ was born of the tribe of Judah, which is one of the 12 tribes of Israel.
HOW DO THESE OTHER RELIGIONS COMPARE TO CHRISTIANITY?
They all have some good teachings, as well as some that seem mighty strange to us.
The other religions trust in what is said to have been revealed to their prophets, by an angel of their God, or “Allah,” and passed from generation to generation, to be written down much later.
On the other hand, the Bible of the Jews and Christians is protected from major error by the thousands of old manuscript copies available to the scholars.
When properly understood, the Bible always agrees with true science. The origin and reason for the weekly cycle is given in the Hebrew Bible.
True Christianity does not rid the individual of himself.
In true Christianity, a person repents and is transformed into a new person by receiving power and eternal life from God through his Son Jesus Christ.
In Christianity, we are converted to a right way of thinking with a sound individual mind that has a deep love for God and his Son, and we are to love others as ourselves.
The origins of Christianity are very different from the rest.
The first book in our Bible starts out “In the beginning…”
Our God is totally good and has no evil within his being at all.
Christian religion recognizes that both good and evil exists within the universe, and that there is also an evil personal being, called Satan, the Devil, our enemy.
God and good are stronger than Satan and evil. God and good will prevail.
In true Christianity, death is seen as an enemy, not a goal to be reached.
The true God gives us hope that each individual person can reach his full potential.
The eternity that the true God offers us is one of growing in knowledge, achievement and love for each other.
God used a man named Abraham, to be the “father of the faithful.” From Abraham, he raised up the nation of Israel, to be an example and savior of other nations.
From Israel, God raised up the Messiah, Jesus. (Acts 7:37)
After his death and resurrection, Jesus went to his followers and taught them the things that he wanted them to teach us. (Acts 1:1-2)
Men were inspired to write the history and message of the church, which Jesus Christ founded, in collections of writings, which are called “The New Testament.”
THE GOD OF THE CHRISTIANS
What is God like?
Moses wanted to see God’s glory:
Exo 33: 18 And he [Moses] said, I beseech thee, show me thy glory.
Here is what Moses saw:
Exo 34:6 And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,
He has always been a merciful God:
Psa 103: 17 But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children;
EXERCISING OUR FREEDOM OF CHOICE
Christianity is the only religion that offers the individual person a life of learning and exploring and growing in character for a lifetime with an unending future!
God does not require that we pray five times a day, while prostrating ourselves and chanting repetitive prayers, out of fear of him.
Christians consider all races of men to be equal, and know that all have the potential to be born into the family of God.
Christians do not degrade and mistreat women, as some other religions do.
Only Christians know God as a totally good and loving Father. Only our God allows us to make mistakes over and over again, but still forgives us when we really repent. Only our God is patient enough to bear with us until we grow out of our selfishness and greed.
God does not ask you to do anything weird or crazy.
God wants us to work to provide for others and ourselves.
THE CHOICE IS YOURS!
The world offers weird religions, which worship gods that are both good and evil. They want to destroy the individual, and freedom of choice.
This idea was inspired by Satan. He wants to destroy the entire human race! He wants us to achieve what some of them strive for, the eternal total bliss of death.
The more I learn what the Bible really says, and the more that I follow God’s instructions for me, the more I know that it could have only come from God.
God only asks you to do what is right anyway and promises to supply you with the love and power to do it. He has even paid for all you failures, with the life of his very own Son, Jesus the Christ.
Duane F. Giles
