Christianity
vs. the World Religions
Many people, desiring to be open-minded
about all religions, have entertained the assumption that the brand of religion
you choose doesn’t really matter since all paths will ultimately lead to the
same God.
However, upon a careful examination of the
teachings of popular world religions, we are confronted with some startling
differences in beliefs that can not be passed over lightly, but must be
carefully considered.
|
HISTORIC CHRISTIAN DOCTRINES TAUGHT IN THE BIBLE FOUNDED 30 A.D. (in the millions) |
HINDUISM FOUNDED 2000 B.C. 700,000,000 people |
BUDDHISM FOUNDED 560 B.C. 300,000,000 people |
ISLAM (Muslims) FOUNDED 610 A.D. 1,000,000,000 people |
|
BAHAI FOUNDED 1844 A.D. 2,000,000 people |
HARE KRISHNA FOUNDED 1965 A.D. (in the 1000’s of people) |
TRANSCEN-DENTAL MEDITATION FOUNDED 1959 A.D. 1,000,000 initiated in |
BLACK MUSLIMS FOUNDED 1931 A.D. 100,000 people |
GOD
OR GODS?
|
CHRISTIAN There are three persons in one God.
All of the same substance and nature, co-equal and co-eternal. |
HINDUISM Three main impersonal gods, and millions of lesser gods. |
BUDDHISM One impersonal god. |
ISLAM One personal God. |
|
BAHAI One personal God. |
One Supreme God and many lesser
gods. |
T.M. Each individual is, in his true
nature, the impersonal God. |
BL. MUSLIMS One personal God. |
THE HOLY BIBLE TEACHES THAT:
“…there is one God and one Mediator between
God and men, the man Christ Jesus” – 1
Tim. 2:5.
“For even if there are so-called gods,
whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords), yet for
us there is only one God, the Father of whom are all things, and we for Him;
and one Lord Jesus Christ…” – 1 Cor. 8:5,
6.
“…the things Gentiles sacrifice they
sacrifice to demons, and not to God” – 1
Cor.
GOD’S NAME
|
CHRISTIAN God the Father, God the Son (the
Lord Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit. |
HINDUISM Vishnu, Brahma, and Shiva are the
three major gods. |
BUDDHISM None. |
ISLAM Allah is the only name of God. |
|
BAHAI All religions are one in essence. |
|
T.M. Vishnu, Brahma, and Shiva are the
three major gods. |
BL. MUSLIMS Allah and W.D. Fard
was his incarnation. |
THE HOLY BIBLE TEACHES THAT:
“Therefore God also has highly exalted Him,
and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those
under the earth. And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is
Lord, to the glory of God the Father” – Phil.
2:9-11; Acts
PROPHET’S NAME
|
CHRISTIAN There have been many true &
false prophets, but Jesus Christ is the only name by which we can be saved. |
HINDUISM Numerous Gurus, Avatars, Teachers,
and Prophets |
BUDDHISM Buddha is their great teacher. |
ISLAM Muhammad is above all others. |
|
BAHAI Baha’u’llah is above all other
prophets. |
Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada has
been their primary teacher. |
T.M. Marharishi Mahesh Yogi was a
disciple of Guru Dev (Divine teacher). |
BL. MUSLIMS (Until his death in 1977) Elijah
Muhammad, who was a disciple of W.D. Fard. |
IN THE BIBLE JESUS SAID:
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life,
no one comes to the Father but through Me” – Jn. 14:6.
WHO IS JESUS CHRIST?
|
CHRISTIAN God and the Son. 2nd
Person of the Trinity. On earth He was 100% God and 100% man. He was the only
sinless man. |
HINDUISM Not God. Not the Son of God. One of
the many sons of God. |
BUDDHISM Not God. A mere man who was beneath
Buddha in importance. |
ISLAM Not God. A mere man who was beneath
Muhammad in importance. He did not die for man’s sins. |
|
BAHAI Not God. There is no Trinity. A
prophet beneath Baha’u’llah. |
Prabhupada was greater than Jesus.
Jesus is not the name given for salvation. |
T.M. Jesus Christ did not suffer. |
BL. MUSLIMS Not God. Jesus was a mere man who
was Black and not White. |
THE HOLY BIBLE SAYS THAT:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word
was with God, and the Word was God … And the Word became flesh” – Jn. 1:1, 14. Additional Scriptures: 1 Tim. 2:5; Phil. 2:6, 7; Jn. 14:9;
SIN
|
CHRISTIAN Sin is breaking God’s Laws. All
people have sinned. The penalty of sin is eternal physical and spiritual
death. |
HINDUISM There is no absolute good or evil. |
BUDDHISM Sin is anything which hinders man’s
progress. |
ISLAM Not following Allah’s commands, and
Islamic Law. |
|
BAHAI Man is basically good and not a
sinner. |
Our sin is that we have forgotten
our relationship to |
T.M. Sin is caused by people who refuse
to look within themselves to find God. |
BL. MUSLIMS The white man is by nature evil.
The black man is by nature good and divine. |
THE BIBLE SAYS THAT:
“…there is
none who does good, there is not even one” – Rom.
“for all have
sinned and fall short of the glory of God” – Rom.
WHAT IS CONSIDERED SCRIPTURE?
|
CHRISTIAN The Holy Bible is 100% the Word of
God, and is the only final authority for doctrine. |
HINDUISM Vedas and Upanishads are the divine
writings. They supersede the Bible. |
BUDDHISM Buddha’s teachings supersede the
Bible. |
ISLAM The Qur’an is Allah’s final word to
man. It supersedes the Bible. |
|
BAHAI Baha’u’llah’s writings
supersedes the Bible. |
The Bhagavad-gita supersedes the
Bible. |
T.M. Falsely claim not to be religious.
Their teachings supersede the Bible. |
BL. MUSLIMS The teachings of W.D. Fard, Elijah Muhammad and certain Islamic Laws. |
SALVATION BY
|
CHRISTIAN None of man’s works can save him.
Only faith in Christ’s death and resurrection can forgive his sins. |
HINDUISM Human effort and repeated
reincarnations. |
BUDDHISM Human works. Only man can save
himself. |
ISLAM Only man can pay for his own sins.
Man’s works can earn him salvation by obeying moral laws and God. |
|
BAHAI Faith in Baha’u’llah and good
works. |
Worshipping and chanting to |
T.M. Becoming conscious of our divinity. |
BL. MUSLIMS They worship a black God who will
return and liberate them. |
THE HOLY BIBLE TEACHES THAT:
“For by grace you have been saved through
faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of
works, so that no one may boast” – Eph.
2:8, 9.
“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be
saved” – Acts
“He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which
we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy…” – Titus 3:5.
VARIOUS TEACHINGS
|
CHRISTIAN Only
Jesus claimed He was the Creator God, and only He said that He had become a
sinless man to die for the sins of His fallen creation. The confirmation of
these statements occurred when He was physically resurrected. |
HINDUISM Reincarnation.
Karma. Life in this world is meaningless. Every man is God. In their sacred
books, there are fantastic descriptions of human sacrifice surrounded by wild
sexual orgies. Reverence animals. |
|
BUDDHISM Reincarnation.
Karma. Universal suffering is caused by craving, which can be eliminated by
Buddha’s “Eightfold Path” of self-righteousness. Though Buddha only claimed
to be man, in time, his followers made him a god. |
ISLAM Encourage
a violent dedication to their religion. They believe that Judas died on the
cross and not Jesus. Their heaven is depicted as a place of eternal sensuous
pleasure. |
|
BAHAI Aims
at the unity of all religions, which are said to be one in their fundamental
principles. Jesus was not physically resurrected. Baha’u’llah is the Holy
Spirit. |
HARE KRISHNA The
Bhagavad-Gita tells of |
|
T.M. In
the T.M. initiation ceremony, bowing down to Guru Dev is mentioned 22 times.
In addition to this, 3 main Hindu gods are glorified. They believe that there
is no difference between God and the creation. |
BLACK MUSLIM The
world since Adam has been white and corrupt. The world of tomorrow will be
black and righteous. |
CONCLUSIONS
The primary belief of all
non-Christian religions is that man can either: 1) be pleasing to God; 2)
become God or a god; 3) find
God-consciousness; or 4) become
righteous – through his own good works. Though the works may consist of
chanting, fasting, meditating, or following religious laws, they ultimately
encourage the belief that man can, of his own initiative, perfect himself.
THE CHRISTIAN VIEW
As presented in the Holy
Bible, man’s self-righteous efforts only bring glory to himself and not to God.
It was God’s intention in creating man to have intimate fellowship with him.
Though man disobeyed God and broke their original relationship, God loved man so
much that He was willing to become a man (God
the Son – the Lord Jesus Christ) and take the punishment upon Himself which
all men deserved. After living a sinless life, Jesus died on the cross for the
sins we had committed.