Christianity and world religions

[Ariel82]

It showed that Paul knew their religion enough to show how God reaches out to them.

Also it points out important things about the nature of God...

1. He does not need our worship, but we would be dust without His power and breath.

2. He set the boundaries for the nation's, so that everyone may search and find Him.

3. All humanity is of one blood: Adam and Eve.

4. We are all God's offspring, even those pagan idol worshippers Paul addressed.

5. God allowed the other religions until the coming of Christ when the Gospel proclaim God's truth.

Sometimes I wonder how much the world has changed...there used to be child sacrifices, cannabalism, temple prositutes, slavery.

In some countries where people are not moved by the Holy Spirit and have not accepted Jesus, there are still those things.

 

[Bowman]

My Christ care group is reading a book with that title by Adam Hamilton.

Our hw assignment was to talk to 3 Christians about their views about people of other faiths....specifically Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam and Judaism.

So anyone want to help me with my homework?

Hard to find people in real life willing to discuss other religion and the Bible. They normally only want to talk about one or the,other.

The 'Big 3' monotheistic faiths are Christianity, Judaism and Islam, representing circa half of the earth's population....and are the easiest to compare, as each holds a viewpoint as to whom Jesus is.....furthermore, and perhaps lesser known, is that each faith shares the same scriptures to some extent.

Christianity is the ONLY faith to correctly interpret their scripture set, and arrive at proper worship of The Creator, as Triune. True Christians are Trinitarian. True Christians take Jesus as their God and Savior.

While Christians share the OT scriptures with the Jews, modern-day Jews are unable to see that their scriptures are about Jesus Christ, and thus, are still a completely lost people. Jews believe in Jesus as just another 'nice guy'.

The Koran paraphrases 99% of its material from the Holy Bible (both OT & NT), and is in such disarray that Islam has been unable to properly interpret its contents - thus, like the Jews, while they fully acknowledge that Christ existed, they are unable and unwilling to take Him as their God & Savior.

 

[Willie-T]

Exactly what you said, or what you meant by what you said? Christ never told us to hate anyone.

Could Paul murder people if he didn't create hatred for them in his heart? No, he couldn't. He made himself believe it was God's will that he exterminate them from the face of the Earth. And many of us do nothing less, in the name of "Christianity", when we..... although not going to the extreme of murdering..... treat those we consider perverts and degenerates with the disdain we do.

Shoot, you don't even have to look that far. I have heard many speak of how they treat JW's and Mormons when they come to their door. Or the way they shun homeless beggars.

And why? Because we are "righteous", God-fearing people? Well, many of us THINK so.

 

[Willie-T]

to me the Law doesn't bring or breed hatred, I believe it lives in the hearts of men....
and only by the Grace of God and obedience are we able to over-come this terrible curse....

NOW........ you are bringing the chickens home to roost.

The human race excels at devising ways to righteously justify hating others.

You seem quite sharp (one of you, or two of you? I never have understood that.) So, might I suggest a little study about René Girard? He zeroed in on this propensity we have.

 

[Grace777x70]

Could Paul murder people if he didn't create hatred for them in his heart? No, he couldn't. He made himself believe it was God's will that he exterminate them from the face of the Earth. And many of us do nothing less, in the name of "Christianity", when we..... although not going to the extreme of murdering..... treat those we consider perverts and degenerates with the disdain we do.

Shoot, you don't even have to look that far. I have heard many speak of how they treat JW's and Mormons when they come to their door. Or the way they shun homeless beggars.

And why? Because we are "righteous", God-fearing people? Well, many of us THINK so.

I agree Willie-T.....the religion of Christianity is in direct conflict with the gospel of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. I know this statement will shock or offend some but that doesn't change the truth....

 

[JesusIsAll]

Sometimes I wonder how much the world has changed...there used to be child sacrifices, cannabalism, temple prositutes, slavery.

In some countries where people are not moved by the Holy Spirit and have not accepted Jesus, there are still those things.

What I found to be a very important realization of youth is that the world has not changed in its fundamental predeliction for evil: only the style of evil alters a bit. The weapons of warfare and terrorism are different, more sophisticated, like indoor plumbing now, but the vileness of man has not changed. The behavior has not changed. When you think about it, modern warfare is even more indiscriminate of civilian mass murders. Because we call it "collateral damage" doesn't alter what it really is, that such murder is inherent in what are accepted tactics. In this regard, we're all the more immoral, for sanitizing such evil,

Isaiah 5:20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

Liars are still lying, thieves still stealing. Even theological corruption hasn't changed, your legalists these days Judaizers of the New Testament, a lot of corruptions you see on message boards traced to the basic thinking behind some ancient heresy, some cult. The cults are as alive as ever, with their false prophets and religious market exclusives where they deign they have a lease on God others don't, their god a respecter of persons, whether a Pope, Calvin, et al. Is turning from God to man something new?

1 Corinthians 3:3-4 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?

It's even worse now, where any Joe or Jane Blow appoints themselves a minister on YouTube, then procedes to mangle the gospel, for their very own little cult following of subscribers: cults-a-million, Baskin Robbins error these days in more than 33 flavors! And what is modern man, but his own master, going his own way, your type-A man even admired in the world, people measured by how well they claw out a wealth and power base, carnal achievement, my way, not Thy way, our own little gods. Consider,

Genesis 3:3-4 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die.

The saddest fact of history is that history repeats, over and over, than mankind, as a whole, is much too blind and stupid to learn from an unbroken trail of stinking, premature death. There's no new creature without the Spirit of Christ, in any man. And without Christ, this is story of your world, despite now much people would like to think they're really any better, for having flush toilets and iPads,

Ecclesiastes 1:9 The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.

I always found it a cheerful thought, that it even takes some real faith to not get depressed, when you think you have the same sort of Nimrod sitting behind some desk these days, with their finger on a nuclear button. If you don't have complete faith in the Lord, never study this history of "civilization." You'll get so depressed, when you see it all only gets so much worse as time goes on, a shockingly short interval between WWI and WWII, how, in fact, we now destroy whole cities, every man, woman, child, cat, dog or parakeet, and all over the bad behavior of some man, often enthusiastically elected, who more or less also tells people, "Ye shall not surely die." So much for modern man and salvation by gadgets. Nothing has really changed,

Genesis 6:5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Matthew 24:37-39 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

 

[Ariel82]

*For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; *not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another— *He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. *And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, *so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation. - Hebrews 9:24-28 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews9:24-28&version=NKJV

That happened only once....though people are still corrupt and there is still evil in the world, God's light has shone through His people and has changed the hearts and minds of nations.

We can meditate upon the evils commited upon humanity or we can join hands, hearts and minds with our brothers and sisters in Christ to learn and walk in the works God created us to do.

We focus on Christ.

 

[mpaper345]

I've always been a champion of God's grace. I have no doubt those who never heard of Jesus are afforded an opportunity of His saving grace one way or another.

God's a fair God,and people who have never heard the word of God,or about Jesus,shall be judged fairly,after the millennial reign of Christ,in which they can make it to dwell with God,if they met the conditions.

The Bible says creation testifies that there is a God,or higher power,so they are without excuse,that created all things,for the invisible things of Him,His attributes,are clearly seen in creation,which one of them is love,for He provided food,and the means to make clothing,and shelter,and if that higher power loves people,then people should do the same,which love is the fulfilling of the law.

And we know right from wrong,so God will judge them according to their belief in a higher power,that created all things,that loves people,and if they love people,and do good,and ask God to forgive them if there is anything amiss,they should be able to be with Him.

They cannot be in the millennial reign,for they know not Jesus,but they can be with God after it is over,if they met the conditions.

Of course by the Spirit we have an advantage to perform that which is good to be right with God,and the Bible says the Jews had the advantage because the words of God was given to them.

 

[Daniel_Hoseiny]

The ultimate they (world religions) would have been able to achieve with the human race was changing a bad person into a good person. This is the ultimate these religious figures could have achieved - changing the bad person into a good person. The Lord Jesus did not come to change the bad person into a good person. He came to change a dead person into a living one. In this no one comes anywhere near Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Period! (Mar Mari Emmanuel)

 

[YWPMI]

I realize how "late" I am in replying to your question. But I would still like to... if only for your information.
Islams do know about Yeshua Messiach (Jesus Christ - our Messiah). to them, He "was" a great prophet. But they do not believe He is YHWH's Son.
I live among many Muslim and Jewish people and we do share our faiths with each other.
The Jewish neighborhoods aren't far from me, either. However, these do not believe in Jesus at all. They know He existed, but, according to their orthodoxy, "HE is in 'hell' burning in his own feces"! Many have absolutely no respect for Him. THOSE are the ones we really need to pray for. Commanded from the so called "priests" (rabbi's) the people are not allowed to read Isaiah 53, nor many of the other prophecies - in essence they are not allowed to read the Tanach (Old Testament), but are to rely on the lies the rabbi's teach. If they have any questions, they are only to ask those rabbi's. There are very few Messianic Rabbi's... especially here in America.