Is it o.k. to study other religions?

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Crazyjmill said:
I talked to a devout Christian in a hospital about the bible and religion and I brought up the topic I take an interest in studying other religions and he seemed to take it that I was not 100% Christian. My thought on the matter if you are devout there is no worry of another religion 'stealing you away'. Any thoughts on the matter would be greatly appreciated.
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Mormonism is a pretty big religion in America. You will likely have them knock on your door and try to persuade you to interact with them in Bible studies. God forbids this strongly and repeatedly throughout the Bible.
I will provide classes that describe their beliefs from Matt Stucky .

Intro to Mormonism

Myths of Mormonism

Grace + Works = No Salvation
Many "Christians" do this too.

Burning in the Bosom
You'd be surprised how many people fall for this lie.

What About Modern Day Prophets?

What Brigham Young Taught About Jesus

Why Are Mormons Cursed? (1 Minute)

The little bit of time spent listening to the short classes on Mormonism is more than you would get at the religion department of a major university.
 
ThyKingdomComeSoon said:
Hi Angela, I have a basic question about bibles. I am currently using for this forum the KJV as many here use this version, I think the old English is a bit difficult for me being born in the province of Quebec, my mother tongue is french language, I find the wording or vocabulary of the KJV is sometimes ancient and the meaning or usage of certain words was sometimes different than today. Could you recommend a version that is more modern but reflects well the original texts? this would help me greatly.

I liked your post, i have had a similar path. I agree with what you said about theosophy, it is demonic and dangerous, it corrupts the mind.

Peace be upon you.
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This suggestion may help.
Keep in mind that this is a response to one of the top modern bible scholars. Scholarship is not what it was at the turn of the 17th century. Listen to the end for a memorized sample of old English.

Bible Scholar James White "Exposes" KJ Archaic Words
 
ThyKingdomComeSoon said:
Hi Angela, I have a basic question about bibles. I am currently using for this forum the KJV as many here use this version, I think the old English is a bit difficult for me being born in the province of Quebec, my mother tongue is french language, I find the wording or vocabulary of the KJV is sometimes ancient and the meaning or usage of certain words was sometimes different than today. Could you recommend a version that is more modern but reflects well the original texts? this would help me greatly.

I liked your post, i have had a similar path. I agree with what you said about theosophy, it is demonic and dangerous, it corrupts the mind.

Peace be upon you.
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I have read a number of Bibles. If you want formal word to word, then probably the NASB, or the ESV. Although they are rehashes of the KJV. Updated though. So not so many questions about the vocabulary or grammar. I read the NASB for 25 years. It is very formal and wooden, and it became tedious after a lot of repetitions. That is when I read HCSB, which really rejuvenated me. Although, it is about more on the dynamic side, more thought for thought. I have really enjoyed the NET, which has 66k footnotes! And uses the original letters for Hebrew & Greek, although it also transliterates. If you want a good study Bible, I found it largely unbiased, and sometimes I ignored the footnotes, and sometimes they were interesting to read. However, I found I was having issues with the small print, I found out I am in the early stages of Macular Degeneration. I did go back to my Study HCSB, which has greater contrast and bigger type. I miss the NET, a lot! But, big print is sadly my future.

I generally use NIV when I post Bible verses in forums. Mostly because it communicates well in English, and doesn't have all the footnote notations, that NET does. I do delete all of the footnote marks, unless I am planning to actually copy and paste the footnote, as sometimes they refer to the original languages and are relevant to a discussion.

Moi, je suis Canadienne, aussi. Ma grandmère ést née à France. Je suis née en Alberta, et maintenant, j'habit en Columbie Britannique. J'ai étudié le français depuis longtemps, et j'ai lu la Bible en français, il y a longtemps. Je suis enchantée de vous rencontrer.
 
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Angela53510 said:
Moi, je suis Canadienne, aussi. Ma grandmère ést née à France. Je suis née en Alberta, et maintenant, j'habit en Columbie Britannique.
J'ai étudié le français depuis longtemps, et j'ai lu la Bible en français, il y a longtemps. Je suis enchantée de vous rencontrer.
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J'ai tout compris mais pour le tout dernier mot .:D
 
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Angela53510 said:
I have read a number of Bibles. If you want formal word to word, then probably the NASB, or the ESV. Although they are rehashes of the KJV. Updated though. So not so many questions about the vocabulary or grammar. I read the NASB for 25 years. It is very formal and wooden, and it became tedious after a lot of repetitions. That is when I read HCSB, which really rejuvenated me. Although, it is about more on the dynamic side, more thought for thought. I have really enjoyed the NET, which has 66k footnotes! And uses the original letters for Hebrew & Greek, although it also transliterates. If you want a good study Bible, I found it largely unbiased, and sometimes I ignored the footnotes, and sometimes they were interesting to read. However, I found I was having issues with the small print, I found out I am in the early stages of Macular Degeneration. I did go back to my Study HCSB, which has greater contrast and bigger type. I miss the NET, a lot! But, big print is sadly my future.

I generally use NIV when I post Bible verses in forums. Mostly because it communicates well in English, and doesn't have all the footnote notations, that NET does. I do delete all of the footnote marks, unless I am planning to actually copy and paste the footnote, as sometimes they refer to the original languages and are relevant to a discussion.

Moi, je suis Canadienne, aussi. Ma grandmère ést née à France. Je suis née en Alberta, et maintenant, j'habit en Columbie Britannique. J'ai étudié le français depuis longtemps, et j'ai lu la Bible en français, il y a longtemps. Je suis enchantée de vous rencontrer.
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Thank you very much for the bible references, I will check them out, I am certain it will help with my studies.
Je suis également heureux de faire votre conaissance. Merci encore et a bientôt.

Que Dieu vous garde!
 
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Crazyjmill said:
I talked to a devout Christian in a hospital about the bible and religion and I brought up the topic I take an interest in studying other religions and he seemed to take it that I was not 100% Christian. My thought on the matter if you are devout there is no worry of another religion 'stealing you away'. Any thoughts on the matter would be greatly appreciated.
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Other religions bore me, so I'd never want to "study" them in any depth..:)-
"Thus says the Lord, 'Learn not the way of the heathen"(Jeremiah 10:2)

rel-Scarecrow.jpg
 
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The bible is inspired by our God who is not fleshly, but a spiritual God. When our scriptures speak of food, it is not only food for the body, but food for our spirit and mind. We are often told that food needs to be clean. We are not to fill our minds with dirty food, and to study other religions is to study about idols, for the gods they speak of are not true gods, they are idols.
 
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Crazyjmill said:
I talked to a devout Christian in a hospital about the bible and religion and I brought up the topic I take an interest in studying other religions and he seemed to take it that I was not 100% Christian. My thought on the matter if you are devout there is no worry of another religion 'stealing you away'. Any thoughts on the matter would be greatly appreciated.
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Hello! I have met several believers who say they have studied other religions to help them better understand other people and be able to Evangelize them. It's a laudable goal, to be able to Evangelize better.

On the other hand I heard a Pastor speak, he used to work in a bank. He said the best way to spot a counterfeit is to study the genuine banknote, not all the forgeries. If you know the genuine note well you will never be fooled by counterfeits, which other religions are. I don't think there is anything good to be found in them and effective Evangelism is in sharing the true gospel, not understand false gospels:

Galatians 1: 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse!

God Bless You :)
 
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Crazyjmill said:
I talked to a devout Christian in a hospital about the bible and religion and I brought up the topic I take an interest in studying other religions and he seemed to take it that I was not 100% Christian. My thought on the matter if you are devout there is no worry of another religion 'stealing you away'. Any thoughts on the matter would be greatly appreciated.
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There is a great book out there called Kingdom of the Cults by Walter Martin.
When I became a believer I wanted to know about these other religions. I'm glad I investigated. I learned how far off JWs and Mormons for example are.

The importance in studying other religions (not to be confused with practising them) is to learn about the subtleties. For example mormons will make numerous claims that on the surface appear scriptural and christian if you will. Do a deep dive into Mormon beliefs and you see how far off base they really are.

Learning about the Islamic, Jewish, Buddhist and Sikh faiths for example helped me to better understand.
I believe even the apostles who spread the gospel knew by becoming informed ( studying?) About the Roman religious practices. This knowledge did not make them less Christian.
 
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Fillan said:
Hello! I have met several believers who say they have studied other religions to help them better understand other people and be able to Evangelize them. It's a laudable goal, to be able to Evangelize better.

On the other hand I heard a Pastor speak, he used to work in a bank. He said the best way to spot a counterfeit is to study the genuine banknote, not all the forgeries. If you know the genuine note well you will never be fooled by counterfeits, which other religions are. I don't think there is anything good to be found in them and effective Evangelism is in sharing the true gospel, not understand false gospels:

Galatians 1: 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse!

God Bless You :)
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The problem I have with the counterfeit analogy is that to spot the counterfeit you need to know what to look for. Otherwise even counterfeits look like the real macoy.
 
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Why would ya study other religions? What good purpose would it serve?
 
beaglehound said:
The problem I have with the counterfeit analogy is that to spot the counterfeit you need to know what to look for. Otherwise even counterfeits look like the real macoy.
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It's a great analogy because they spend so much time with the real thing and become so familiar with it, the counterfeit is known by lacking characteristics of the real. Likewise, when we spend so much time with truth, we recognize what deviates from it.
 
Crazyjmill said:
I talked to a devout Christian in a hospital about the bible and religion and I brought up the topic I take an interest in studying other religions and he seemed to take it that I was not 100% Christian. My thought on the matter if you are devout there is no worry of another religion 'stealing you away'. Any thoughts on the matter would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Matt. 10:16; "Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. " It's important to understand the perspective from other people's views and convictions, but Luke 21:15 says, "I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.", There is only one Holy Spirit, and He's the Spirit of Truth.
 
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