We all want to make it through life with success,
some sense that we did it right. So what about the
major world religions? Is there anything in them
that might give our lives greater depth and
direction?

The following looks at the major world religions...
Hinduism, New Age, Buddhism, Islam, and
Christianity.* There is a brief description of each,
their view of God, and what a person can gain from
that religion. The ending explains how Jesus'
teaching differs from the major religions.

*Each of these religions has sects with differing
beliefs. The description given here focuses on the
core beliefs of each religion. Other major religions,
such as Judaism, could be discussed, but for
brevity, we have chosen these.



Hinduism and its beliefs

Most Hindus worship one
Being of ultimate oneness
(Brahman) through
infinite representations of
gods and goddesses.
These various
manifestations of gods
and goddesses become
incarnate within idols, temples, gurus, rivers,
animals, etc.

Hindus believe their position in this present life was
determined by their actions in a previous life.
Hinduism therefore provides a possible explanation
for suffering and evil in this life. If a person’s
behavior before was evil, they might justifiably
experience tremendous hardships in this life.
Pain,
disease, poverty or a disaster like a flood is
deserved by that person because of their own evil
actions, usually from a previous lifetime.

A Hindu's goal is to become free from the law of
karma...to be free from continuous reincarnations.
Only the soul matters which will one day be free of
the cycle of rebirths and be at rest.
Hinduism gives a person freedom to choose how to
work toward spiritual perfection.
There are three
possible ways to end this cycle of karma: 1. Be
lovingly devoted to any of the Hindu gods or
goddesses; 2. Grow in knowledge through
meditation of Brahman (oneness)...to realize that
circumstances in life are not real, that selfhood is
an illusion and only Brahman is real; 3. Be
dedicated to various religious ceremonies and
rites.



New Age and its beliefs

New Age promotes the
development of the
person's own power or
divinity. When referring to
God, a follower of New
Age is not talking about a
transcendent, personal
God who created the
universe, but is referring to a higher consciousness
within themselves. A person in New Age would see
themselves as God, the cosmos, the universe.
In
fact, everything that the person sees, hears, feels or
imagines is to be considered divine.
Highly eclectic, New Age presents itself as a
collection of ancient spiritual traditions. It
acknowledges many gods and goddesses, as in
Hinduism.
The Earth is viewed as the source of all
spirituality, and has its own intelligence, emotions
and deity. But superseding all is self. Self is the
originator, controller and God of all.
There is no
reality outside of what the person determines.
New Age teaches a wide array of eastern mysticism
and spiritual, metaphysical and psychic techniques,
such as breathing exercises, chanting, drumming,
meditating...to develop an altered consciousness
and one's own divinity.
Anything negative a person experiences (failures,
sadness, anger, selfishness, hurt) is considered an
illusion. Believing themselves to be completely
sovereign over their life, nothing about their life is
wrong, negative or painful.

Eventually a person
develops spiritually to the degree that there is no
objective, external reality. A person, becoming a
god, creates their own reality.


Buddhism and its beliefs

Buddhists do not worship
any gods or God. People
outside of Buddhism
often think that Buddhists
worship the Buddha.

However, the Buddha
(Siddhartha Gautama)
never claimed to be
divine, but rather he is viewed by Buddhists as
having attained what they are also striving to
attain, which is spiritual enlightenment and, with it,
freedom from the continuous cycle of life and
death.
Most Buddhists believe a person has
countless rebirths, which inevitably include
suffering. A Buddhist seeks to end these rebirths.
Buddhists believe it is a person's cravings, aversion
and delusion that cause these rebirths.
Therefore,
the goal of a Buddhist is to purify one's heart and
to let go of all yearnings toward sensual desires
and the attachment to oneself.
Buddhists follow a list of religious principles and
very dedicated meditation. When a Buddhist
meditates it is not the same as praying or focusing
on a god, it is more of a self-discipline.
Through
practiced meditation a person may reach Nirvana
-- "the blowing out" of the flame of desire.
Buddhism provides something that is true of most
major religions: disciplines, values and directives
that a person may want to live by.




Islam and its beliefs

Muslims believe there is
the one almighty God,
named Allah, who is
infinitely superior to and
transcendent from
humankind. Allah is
viewed as the creator of
the universe and the
source of all good and all evil.
Everything that
happens is Allah's will. He is a powerful and strict
judge, who will be merciful toward followers
depending on the sufficiency of their life's good
works and religious devotion.
A follower's
relationship with Allah is as a servant to Allah.
Though a Muslim honors several prophets,
Muhammad is considered the last prophet and his
words and lifestyle are that person's authority.
To
be a Muslim, one has to follow five religious duties:
1. Repeat a creed about Allah and Muhammad; 2.
Recite certain prayers in Arabic five times a day; 3.
Give to the needy; 4. One month each year, fast
from food, drink, sex and smoking from sunrise to
sunset; 5. Pilgrimage once in one's lifetime to
worship at a shrine in Mecca.
At death -- based on
one's faithfulness to these duties -- a Muslim
hopes to enter Paradise. If not, they will be
eternally punished in hell.
For many people, Islam matches their expectations
about religion and deity. Islam teaches that there is
one supreme God, who is worshiped through good
deeds and disciplined religious rituals.
After death a
person is rewarded or punished according to their
religious devotion. Muslims believe that giving up
one’s life for Allah is a sure way of entering
Paradise.




Christianity and its beliefs

Christians believe in a
loving God who has
revealed himself and can
be known in a personal
way, in this life. With
Jesus Christ, the person's
focus is not on religious
rituals or performing good
works, but on enjoying a relationship with God and
growing to know him better.

Faith in Jesus Christ himself, not just in his
teachings, is how the Christian experiences joy and
a meaningful life. In his life on Earth, Jesus did not
identify himself as a prophet pointing to God or as
a teacher of enlightenment. Rather, Jesus claimed
to be God in human form.
He performed miracles,
forgave people of their sin and said that anyone
who believed in him would have eternal life. He
made statements like, "I am the light of the world;
he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but
will have the light of life." 1
Christians regard the Bible as God's written
message to humankind. In addition to being an
historical record of Jesus' life and miracles, the
Bible reveals God's personality, his love and truth,
and how one can have a relationship with him.

Whatever circumstances a Christian is dealing with
in their life, the Bible teaches that they can
confidently turn to a wise and powerful God who
genuinely loves them. They believe that God
answers prayer and that life takes on meaning as
they live to honor him.


which do you belong?

i belong to christ

i am called a christian

am proud to be known with my belief

i believe JESUS died for me, so i can live

Well, Jesus did not claim to be God in human form. It's trinitarians who are making that claim. He's the SON of God.

Religion has brought more evil and bloodshed to mankind than good...the world would be a better place without it.

Islam

CrazyMan:
Religion has brought more evil and bloodshed to mankind than good...the world would be a better place without it.

so is Christianity

Christianity is not a religion.