To Christians--do you try to learn about other religions?

[FallOfFingolfin]

I think I have decided that, I am by definition a "Christian", though I am in many ways dissimilar to others of the title.

For the past week or so, I have been reading and studying other religions besides Christianity and Judaism, the two which we probably all know well. This is of great interest to me, and I was wondering if any of the Christians here find it acceptable to take some of the virtue in the teachings of others.

For example, I plan on reading the Koran someday. It would be of great interest to me.

Today, I was reading about Buddha and I realised that he really was (for lack of a better word) "cool". Many of his teachings and beliefs are, I believe, valuable to mankind and I think in many ways a Christian can incorporate his teachings into one's own philosophy as much as, say, Confucius or Socrates.

I think that nearly each of the major religions has value to it, and many of the values taught in different faiths can easily be applied to anything "Christian".

Has anyone studied religion in this way?

[Basilides]

Yes, I have. The Koran is really interesting, the more so if you read it knowing how it was transmitted to Mohammed, the background of his life, and so on. There reallyis some good reading there, and of course a lot of truth. The same with Buddhism (I agree that Siddhartha Gautama was cool) and Taoism. My favorite is Confucianism...I love reading those proverbs.

Judaism is in a different class altogether. In my opinion, truth exists in the other religions because the founders and adherents did a good job of discovering a certain amount of truth on their own. Judaism, on the other hand, is revelatory. They didn't discover much at all...it was actually given to them. Christianity is not a departure from Judaism, but an extension of it - the fulfillment of it.

A Christian, if he were to realize it, belongs to one of the very few religions which is at liberty to say that truth exists in virtually every other human religion. But where the other religions disagree with what God has actually revealed, of course I side with Christianity.

It is interesting to read a lot of that stuff from other religions. I did it. But nowhere near as useful as reading the Scriptures, in my opinion. Almost infinitely less so.

[kirke]

like i have said in another thread i work on my school newspaper and my job is religion. My articles are all supposed to have some sort of religious value and anything anyone writes about religion must go through my hands before its printed. I must agree, it is very important to study other religions. Each have great values and philosophies.

I must also agree with what you seem to imply (christians often dont study other religions) I cannot stand when people say a religion is wrong or dumb without knowing about it. Especially with christians, it seems as if they say its wrong because its different.

[kirke]

A Christian, if he were to realize it, belongs to one of the very few religions which is at liberty to say that truth exists in virtually every other human religion.

that is very interesting. I have never thought about it quite in those words, but i must agree. I think even satanism offers some respectable values such as zeal and passion that often times Christians (and those who are saved) lack. By seperating Christians from those who are saved i mean that Christian means like Christ and most people who are saved are not like Christ and dont try either.

[Basilides]

Don't be so hard on Christians who do not study other religions. When you think about it, it is not really so narrow-minded at all. It is hard to get a man to go back to eating spam once he has tasted honey-baked ham.

[EveningStar]

A person's religion tells you a lot about themselves. By learning about their religion you learn about them. If, of course, they actively adhere to it. :)

[Basilides]

A person's religion tells you a lot about themselves. By learning about their religion you learn about them. If, of course, they actively adhere to it

Yes, and the fact that no one perfectly adheres to any religion tells you a lot about humans in general.

[Warrior-Poet51088]

I need to go to bed, but here's a short answer to the title of the thread: Yes.


I'm in my last year of a three-year senior high honors course that studies the basic worldviews of modern man--the tenets of such worldviews, but more importantly, the origin of these tenets, and even more importantly, the line of thinking that caused man to draw these conclusions.

[kirke]

Christians have to learn about other religions! how do you wittness to a Jew about Jesus if you dont know what a jew believes? How do you tell a Taoist about God if you dont know that they believe "god" is a power within all living things?

A christian who does not study other religions can best be described as the ghost of Christmas Present in A Christmas Carol; they hide the orphans "arrogance" and ignorance" under their coat. It makes no sense, like i said for atheists in that forum, to say another religion is wrong unless you know about it; and it makes no sense to say a religion is wrong if you dont know it; you could only say it doesnt agree with the bible and that is ignorance and arogance. The bible is the worst tool to use to tell someone what they believe is wrong if they dont believe the bible to be right!

[FallOfFingolfin]

Christians have to learn about other religions! how do you wittness to a Jew about Jesus if you dont know what a jew believes? How do you tell a Taoist about God if you dont know that they believe "god" is a power within all living things?

A christian who does not study other religions can best be described as the ghost of Christmas Present in A Christmas Carol; they hide the orphans "arrogance" and ignorance" under their coat. It makes no sense, like i said for atheists in that forum, to say another religion is wrong unless you know about it; and it makes no sense to say a religion is wrong if you dont know it; you could only say it doesnt agree with the bible and that is ignorance and arogance. The bible is the worst tool to use to tell someone what they believe is wrong if they dont believe the bible to be right!

For the most part, I agree with you.

[Basilides]

Christians have to learn about other religions! how do you wittness to a Jew about Jesus if you dont know what a jew believes? How do you tell a Taoist about God if you dont know that they believe "god" is a power within all living things?

A christian who does not study other religions can best be described as the ghost of Christmas Present in A Christmas Carol; they hide the orphans "arrogance" and ignorance" under their coat. It makes no sense, like i said for atheists in that forum, to say another religion is wrong unless you know about it; and it makes no sense to say a religion is wrong if you dont know it; you could only say it doesnt agree with the bible and that is ignorance and arogance. The bible is the worst tool to use to tell someone what they believe is wrong if they dont believe the bible to be right!

Now understand, Kirke, this is from someone who actually has studied the other religions, and I'm glad I have. I continue to do so. I find it helpful.

But I respectfully disagree that it is necessary to study other religions to tell people with other religions about God. As a matter of fact, when I witness to Buddhists or Muslims, I try to make a point not to show off my knowledge of their religion. Instead I focus on the things humans have in common regardless of religion (such as the fact we know what we ought to do but often don't do it). Usually, their religion doesn't come into the conversation at all because I don;t believe in pointing out the fallacies of a person's religion to them unless they are proselytizing among my friends. In that case they are fair game. But otherwise, if I mention their religion at all, it is to point out where it agrees with Christianity. A person ignorant of that religion could do the same just by pointing out the truth and letting the hearer connect the dots.

If you present the gospel honestly, and with love and respect, I think that is all God asks. Commands, in fact. So much so that if a Christian refrains from sharing the Gospel because they don;t know enough about the other person's religion, that Christian is not following through on the command.

Learning about other religions is helpful in many cases, Kirke, but we must be careful not to make a helpful thing a religious obligation when God Himself did not do so.

[kirke]

It is not in any way an obligation to learn about other's religion, thats not what i am trying to say. I do find it odd that you say god didnt lean about others religion for the fact that he knew every detail of what they believe before it was founded. What i am saying is that it is arrogant to not learn about other religions. You cannot be more arrogant not too.

One does not have to point out fallicies within someone else's religion to convert them, but why tell them what they believe is wrong if you dont know what they believe (when you wittness that is what your doing), if you dont learn about it you dont know that its wrong; someone just told you it was wrong and you believe off of blind faith. It is like being a Christian who doesnt read the bible to make sure what their pastor says is what the bible says.

I could tell you the story about king david like this. He was the worst king of Israel. God blessed his life because of his wise son Jonathan. David overthrew almost the entire world until he came face to face with the Prussian army. After a long stand off David challenged any Prussian. a dwarf named Goliath challenged David and with one slice of his sword chopped David's head off.

If you didnt read the bible you would know that not only does that story go backwards in the time of events but just about every character is different and every detail the exact opposite from what the bible says. To tell me i am wrong with my story is the same as to try to wittness to a druid... you dont know that its wrong because you havent read anything about it.

[Basilides]

It is not in any way an obligation to learn about other's religion, thats not what i am trying to say. I do find it odd that you say god didnt lean about others religion for the fact that he knew every detail of what they believe before it was founded.

Sorry for putting that in an unclear way. I meant that God did not make it an obligation for us to learn about other religions. Of course God knows all about them :)


What i am saying is that it is arrogant to not learn about other religions. You cannot be more arrogant not too.

I like to cook. I can tell a Greek Chef all about my delicious beef stroganoff without being arrogant just because I have no idea how to cook Pastitso. Sharing something good is not arrogant.

but why tell them what they believe is wrong if you dont know what they believe (when you wittness that is what your doing), if you dont learn about it you dont know that its wrong;

I don't tell them they are wrong at all. I simply try to share the truth. I know a lot about many religions, but I don;t know all the ins and outs of all of them. This will not prevent me from sharing Christianity with them. If a Theosophist (I know only a little about them) were to ask me about my faith, I'm not going to say, "No...wait until I've read up on yours." I'll gladly share the Gospel story. And it would not be arrogant to do so...it would be obedient to do so.

I think you may be making the mistake that if one does not fully understand a falsehood, one cannot know for sure that it is false. That's not how it works. In my business, there is a very serious problem with counterfeiting. Many experts have tried to spot counterfeits by studying every known variation...with mixed success. The real trick is to become so utterly familiar with the genuine product, that the counterfeits stick out like a sore thumb. This is how the true experts do it. This approach has saved my job more than once.

This is how truth and falsehood works. The best way to recognize falshood is to study the truth. A little study of the falshoods can be helpful too, but if you sacrifice time studying the truth to study falshoods, you are not going to be as effective a counterfeit detector.

Don't be so hard on Christians who are reading the right material. I think a bigger problem is how many Christians approach people of other religions in their ignorance. If a Buddhist hears a Christian say, "I don't know what you believe but I do know you're wrong and going to hell", then obviously we have a seriously sinful, arrogant approach. But if the same Christian says, "Look, I don't know anything about Buddhism, but may I tell you about the Good News I've received?" This is not arrogant at all. It is honest and humble.



someone just told you it was wrong and you believe off of blind faith. It is like being a Christian who doesnt read the bible to make sure what their pastor says is what the bible says.

Not exactly. If someone doesn't believe that Jesus is God in the flesh, who redeemed us from our sins from the cross, I don't have to study all their religious writings to know that they are missing some truth.

I could tell you the story about king david like this. He was the worst king of Israel. God blessed his life because of his wise son Jonathan. David overthrew almost the entire world until he came face to face with the Prussian army. After a long stand off David challenged any Prussian. a dwarf named Goliath challenged David and with one slice of his sword chopped David's head off.

Now this is something different. Any time someone quotes from the Koran, for example, in order to show how false it is, then it is incumbent upon me to check out the reference. I have unfortunately found that most of these quotes are taken outof context, just as many skeptics do with the bible. But this is not the same as witnessing to someone who is Muslim before reading the Koran through. I don't think that's necessary at all. Helpful, but not necessary.

Now, if you were going to Iran as a missionary and specifically targeting muslims for evangelism, then of course you need to study Islam. But that's another thing, isn't it?

To tell me i am wrong with my story is the same as to try to wittness to a druid... you dont know that its wrong because you havent read anything about it.

I have no interest in telling Druids where they are wrong. They can figure that out for themselves. That's not what I'm here on Earth to talk about anyway. I'm here to tell what is right about Christ (everything).

[PrinceOfTheWest]

I find the study of other religions to be interesting, though trying at times, for reasons Lewis often points out: that of seeing how other people responded to the truth that is always present in nature. I've always loved mythology, and I was astounded to see how accurate the Buddha's diagnosis of the human problem was. I'm afraid I found the Koran dry as dust (as one would expect from Asiatic wisdom literature), and the various Hindu writings like the Baghavad Ghita and Rig Veda are quite obscure.

The thing I find handiest about all these is understanding that people have thought differently throughout history. One of the biggest problems of our time is chronological snobbery - figuring everyone throughout history thought like we do. It's just not true.

Lewis was also a student of many faiths (read Abolition of Man), and I'm very much in his corner on the general outlook: that there can be several attempts at solving a problem, some less wrong than others, but once you've found the right solution, that's the one to stick with - which is why I'm a Christian.

[onlymystory]

Just to add to some otherwise great comment, I'll agree Lewis' The Abolition of Man is a great book about the good in other religions.

I love studying other religions, I think its fascinating. I would caution any believer in any faith however to know your own faith before dabbling in others. I believe Basilides brought up this point earlier but the idea is that if you know your own religion inside and out, you don't need to know the others. If someone comments about Allah for example, all you have to know is what God is like and you'll be able to see the difference.

[Queen Swanwhite]

I don't read about other religions because simply, I don't believe in them. I believe that only christianity is right. I wouldn't read up on other religions that I don't agree with.

[Aslan the Wise one]

I do. I try to any way. I'm very open to other peolpe and what they have to say...

[PrinceOfTheWest]

Actually, you'd be astonished at what has turned up in some of the other faiths. Consider Buddhism (the genuine article, I mean, not the "California version"): the Buddha, who lived about 6 centuries before Christ, had extraordinarily keen insight into the human condition, and (lacking what I believe to be the revelation of God), came up with a very courageous solution. I post about it in another thread (http://www.narniafans.com/forum/showpost.php?p=60981&postcount=56), so I won't retype it here, but it's very noble and powerful.

Of course, I also believe that if the Buddha had been around six centuries later, he would have fallen sobbing at the foot of the cross because God Himself came down and offered a way out of the dilemma. But there's no denying that the Buddha had the right diagnosis.

[Queen Swanwhite]

Well, there's no point for me to read into other religions. I think that I hear enough of other religions every single day. I have to listen to them, they won't listen to me, but no one said being a christian is easy!

[inkspot]

Instead I focus on the things humans have in common regardless of religion (such as the fact we know what we ought to do but often don't do it). Usually, their religion doesn't come into the conversation at all because I don;t believe in pointing out the fallacies of a person's religion to them
This is what I think, too. You don't have to know another person's religion in order to tell them how Christ has changed your life. I do like to learn about other religions, but I don't think it's necessary to do so before you tell someone else what Jesus means to you. I found in India that many of the Hindu people I met did not know much about Hinduism beyond their own god that they liked to worship -- if I had tried to engage them with what I had learned from books about Hinduism, I would have had to share all that I had learned with them first, then contrasted that with what I found in Christ ... easier just to start by showing them what a difference Christ has made to me ...

Does that even make any sense?

[Warrior-Poet51088]

Indeed it does, Inky!



My take on this is that basically, it's good to know what you're up against--know your enemy (in the sense of knowing what Satan, not other humans, will throw at you [though he may use humans to attack your beliefs]) so that you can defend yourself from him & keep from falling into the same fallacies as he has.


That is, the best defense is a good offense.





I also think it harms us as thinking, intellectual beings to ignore other religions simply because we believe in Christ, and deny that anything else can get you into Heaven. We ought, in my opinion, to explore other belief systems, if only for the purpose of knowing what other "options" people have chosen to explore.





Does any of that make sense???

[Queen Swanwhite]

Yes, it does. Being a christian isn't easy, but I think becoming a follower of God is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I feel like I need nothing else in the world, because I've got God. I feel happy almost always. I know that when I die (or when Jesus comes) I'm going to go to my house in heaven and see all of my family members... I can't wait!! :) ;)

[kirke]

I'm not saying read the Koran before you talk to a buddist. There are many people have already read and studied it, what i am saying is before you wittness to someone you should know what they believe so there is level ground. And when you wittness to someone you do tell them they are wrong, because you say this what is right, and its not what you believe therefore what you believe is not right.


because of something i think it was ink said i think i should edit this to clarify. I am not saying you have to tell everyone you wittness all you know about their religion, but it is a lot easier to wittness (which getting back to the point of the forum is why christians should learn about religions) to people when you know what they believe. Why explain who God is to a Jew or a Muslum? If you know anything about the history of The JudauChristian Islamic history you would know that they all believe in the same god (though they all change him slightly after Abraham). You would be turning people off to listen to you if you pushed what they already believe.

if you know about their religion you know you can just show who Jesus is to Muslum or show a jew how Jesus fulfilled something over 60 prophacies from the old testament and how there is a 1:1.5X10^96 chance that they will be fullfilled by anyone (leaving out virgin birth as only god could do that).

[kirke]

I don't read about other religions because simply, I don't believe in them. I believe that only christianity is right. I wouldn't read up on other religions that I don't agree with.

why dont you believe them? You havent read to see where they dont agree with Christianity if you dont learn about them, so anything you do know you are either taking a stab in the dark or someone told you who most likely hasnt really studied it either. and "I wouldn't read up on other religions that I don't agree with" seems pretty close as to why it is hard to wittness to some religions and atheists.

[Basilides]

If you know anything about the history of The JudauChristian Islamic history you would know that they all believe in the same god (though they all change him slightly after Abraham). You would be turning people off to listen to you if you pushed what they already believe.

Actually, after some study a couple of years ago, I have come to disagree with the notion that Allah is the same God worshipped by Jews and Christians. I know many muslims claim that Allah is the same God that we worship, but a serious study of the roots of Islam will show the claim to be untrue. Mohammed certainly borrowed from elements of Judaism and Christianity, and atrributed some of the attributed of the Judeo-Christian God to Allah, but there is strong historical evidence that Allah was worshipped as one of the Djinn, in fact a moon god, long before mohammed and by Mohammed himself before his visitations by Gabriel. "Allah" the moon god was in fact the Mohammed's family's tribal god, worshpped in Mecca and symbolized by a meteorite (which exists today, of course) which was placed with many other idols of various gods. Mohammed, when he returned to Mecca after his exile in Medina, elevated his family's god to the point of exclusivity, borrowing from concepts of Judaism and Christianity, and destroyed the other idols in the Ka'ba. Except the black stone meteorite, of course.

Islam is a fascinating and very cool religion, amazing to study, and as lots of world religions are, full of a lot of truth. But Allah is by no means the same as the Judeo-Christian God.

[kirke]

thats pretty interesting actually. where did you get that? I have always attributed allah to being at root the same god (and i would bet until mohomad they did worship the same) because islam split at Abraham with who is the chosen son. It makes me wonder how thoroughly i checked out (and who i checked out) with the bits i have about islam

[PrinceOfTheWest]

I don't know Basilides' source, but a superb history of Islam was written by historian F.E. Peters, called Muhammed and the Origins of Islam, published by the State University of New York Press. It's part of the SUNY series in Near Eastern Studies, edited by Said Amir Arjomanad.

Kirke, you're correct that according to Islam, the True Worship of Allah is traced back to Abraham. It's hard to get a good "read" on what it really teaches, because Islam has no magisterial authority. Depending on who you listen to, either Ishmael received and preserved the forms of true worship while Isaac got left out, or they both received it but memory of it got lost in Isaac's line while the Israelites were in Egypt.

If you had to put your finger on the core distinction between Islam and Christianity, it would be there. Islam says that what Allah wants is true worship done properly, and we offer that by becoming submitted (muslim) to his law and performing various the right deeds the right way (the Five Pillars). In essence, Allah is looking for faithful and obedient servants who will do what he wants.

Christianity, on the other hand, teaches that God wants His children back. He created a family because He wanted to share the life of His Trinitarian Family with His creation, but some of His children (we humans) strayed off. Sadly, due to the nature of sin, the path home leads through death, so God Himself came down to lead the way. It is not by simply submitting (i.e. becoming muslim) to a set of teachings that we are returned to the family, but by dying and being born anothen (i.e. "again", or "from above").

[narnianfoxx]

ive only briefly studied a few other religions..i dont like going into a debate with someone of a different religion or even a Christian with different doctrine...i like to have some backing..the only thing i have truly ever studied was roman catholosism..i know its not a vast difference but i havent felt a mature enough christian to actually study them..though i know all of the basics about like the 20 most common religions

[Basilides]

I certainly defer to Prince of the West's superior scholarship in the matter of Islam, and he is quite right that Islam traces Mohammed's ancestry to Abraham through Ishmael. Whether this is in fact true or whether it is a contrived connection in order to lend monotheistic legitimacy to early Islam is a subject of some debate. Personally, I think it is pretty cool to think that Mohammed may be descended from Ishmael since it gives a very interesting light to some of the passages in Genesis and history.

Anyway, regarding the origins of Islam and possible relation to the Northern Arabian pantheon of moon dieties, here are a few links:


An excerpt from the highly controversial book by Dr. Morey (http://www.ldolphin.org/morey.html)

An excellent link site for arguments for and against the moon god connection (http://answering-islam.org.uk/Index/M/moongod.html)

An archaeological photo gallery of the Arabian moon god (http://www.bible.ca/islam/islam-photos-moon-worship-archealolgy.htm)

An interesting outline of facts regarding Islam, including the possible moon god connection, by Parveen Singh (http://www.leaderu.com/wri/articles/islam-singh.html)

Frankly, even if Islam is indeed a syncretic combination of Arabian pre-Islamic paganism and Judaism and Christianity, this does not mean that there cannot be a great deal of truth in it. However, it cannot be ignored that there are some very serious differences between Islamic belief and Christian teaching. Prince of the West is possibly best suited to discuss these issues.

[unleavened]

Here's my 2 cents! I think it's important to learn about other worldviews. The reasons are endless. I don't know if anyone mentioned this one yet. We must learn about other religions so that we are not taken in by their false philosophies even when they are well disguised.

[inkspot]

UL, I just noticed you changed your avi. I like it.

[PrinceOfTheWest]

Here's an interesting link (http://www.aina.org/news/20060111112124.htm) to an article in an Assyrian web log. The priest quoted, Fr. Joe Fessio, is an acquaintance of mine (in fact, my publisher) and a very astute man. What he relates about Pope Benedict's understanding of Islam is quite illuminating. Almost in passing, it also gives a superb explanation of how the Jewish and Christian traditions understand the written revelation. I think people will find it interesting.

[CSLewisFan]

I think I have decided that, I am by definition a "Christian", though I am in many ways dissimilar to others of the title.

For the past week or so, I have been reading and studying other religions besides Christianity and Judaism, the two which we probably all know well. This is of great interest to me, and I was wondering if any of the Christians here find it acceptable to take some of the virtue in the teachings of others.

For example, I plan on reading the Koran someday. It would be of great interest to me.

Today, I was reading about Buddha and I realised that he really was (for lack of a better word) "cool". Many of his teachings and beliefs are, I believe, valuable to mankind and I think in many ways a Christian can incorporate his teachings into one's own philosophy as much as, say, Confucius or Socrates.

I think that nearly each of the major religions has value to it, and many of the values taught in different faiths can easily be applied to anything "Christian".

Has anyone studied religion in this way?

I have studied other religions, not in their entire subject context, but across the board in different strands of thought. Such as:

What have the greatest thinkers come up with for what happens when we die, moral principles, the cause of pain and so on?
Budda
Ghandi
Confucious
Aristotle
CS Lewis
Jesus Christ
David Hume
Karl Marx
Plato
Socrates
Plotinos
Voltaire
Benedict Spinozza (sp?)

Then I have to ask myself... what do I believe?

I think everyone should do this, and not just accept what he or she is taught.

-Austin

[Queen Swanwhite]

why dont you believe them? You havent read to see where they dont agree with Christianity if you dont learn about them, so anything you do know you are either taking a stab in the dark or someone told you who most likely hasnt really studied it either. and "I wouldn't read up on other religions that I don't agree with" seems pretty close as to why it is hard to wittness to some religions and atheists.

Well, I feel content with Christianity I wouldn't want another religion. If you're a christian you'll understand.

[onlymystory]

I don't necessarily study the actual theology as much, i'm more of a fan of the history of religions. I love to learn about the people of a religion.

[CSLewisFan]

Well, I feel content with Christianity I wouldn't want another religion. If you're a christian you'll understand.

I am a follower of Jesus Christ. I don't "want" a different "religion".

But I do search fervently for answers. Just because I believe in the fundamentals of Christianity, doesn’t mean I have it all figured out and can just sit back and enjoy the ride to heaven.

It's so much more than that.
Studying other religions helps me to understand why I believe what I do. Or even completely redefine what I believe. It also helps me to understand why other people believe what they do.
That way, I can speak intelligently when we discuss each others views.

If your following Jesus, you don't get pulled on a wagon.
It’s a quest for knowledge, wisdom, and ultimately, the truth, which you and I have only discovered a small portion of.

Never be content with your knowledge of truth and what is not.

-Austin

[SapphireOfSeptember]

There are somethings I don't get straight. Do christians worship God or Jesus? If they worship both, than that means that christianity is polytheistic. Do they believe there is 3 divinties? Did God not mention in the old Testament that he is one and does not have parents nor children? how can Mary be the mother of god and Jesus the son of God. I think this is confusing.

[PrinceOfTheWest]

There are somethings I don't get straight. Do christians worship God or Jesus? If they worship both, than that means that christianity is polytheistic. Do they believe there is 3 divinties? Did God not mention in the old Testament that he is one and does not have parents nor children? how can Mary be the mother of god and Jesus the son of God. I think this is confusing.Christians worship the One God, who is Three Persons. This is hard for us to grasp, for to we humans a different person is a different being, but God is not under such limitations. This is consistent with the Old Testament, for the Old Testament teachs "Hear, O Israel, The Lord our God, the Lord is a Unity". The Holy Spirit is another divine person, who has no incarnation (never took on flesh and walked among us). God is One God in Three Persons. It does not surprise me that you find this confusing, for it is a mystery, and the more you ponder it, the more mysterious it will become.

Jesus when He was on earth had two natures: a human nature and a divine nature. The human nature He got from His human mother Miriyam, the divine nature He brought with Him, because He had had it from all eternity. Joseph was his foster father and was not related by blood to Jesus.

The Old Testament does not state that God has no children. The Quran does, I believe in Surah 5 and other places, but Christians do not believe that the Quran is a valid revelation of God. It was Muhammed, not God, who said, "Far be it from Him to have a son!"

[SapphireOfSeptember]

you see, i am muslim. but the qur'an was NOT a revelation from muhammed, that is totally not true because he was illiterate. it is gods word but passed from his angel gabrielle to muhammed, the prophet memorized it and taught the divine reevelation to others. no mistake was ever found in the qu'ran and god mentions in the qu'ran science that no one would believe back then 1500 years ago. that there were planets, and the planets revolved around the sun. and so much other knowledge that man back then could not even imagine. i wonder why there is two testaments? can you explain this. then what is the bible? our belief is that god is the creator of the worlds and all things. god is too great to have parent or son. He is the all-merciful, all-knowing.
thank you. but this is what i believe.

[PrinceOfTheWest]

That is the claim of the Quran. Clearly, I am not staking my eternal destiny on that claim, but on the claims and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Regarding your other claims, you'll have to provide a few specifics to back them up. For example, I've read the Quran, and I don't remember any mention of planets. But even if it did suggest a heliocentric universe rather than a geocentric, that was nothing new. The Hellenistic philosopher Aristarchus proposed a heliocentric universe in 200 B.C., fully 900 years before Muhammed. It was not widely accepted, but it was known.

There are two Testaments in the Christian Scriptures because we accept the Scriptures that were revealed to the Jewish people and also the Scriptures written by the canonical authors of the Christian era. We see the people of Israel as having been under one covenant, which was drawn up with them at Mt. Sinai under Moses (there were later covenants as well, but that was the big one.) Then Jesus came and instituted a new covenant, which He ratified by His own death. Islam, on the other hand, does not hold that God could make a covenant with man, so there is one very basic departure.

[EveningStar]

Perhaps I may shed light on this. For the record, I am a Christian, and what I say will of course be seen in that light. But I will be fair to Islam and Christianity alike.

The doctrine of the Trinity...three aspects of God. Most of my Muslim friends consider this polytheism. It is in some ways more similar to the irony of geometry, when the old axiom that only one single line can pass through two discrete points became obsolete in the space age. In the form of geometry used to navigate in space by NASA an infinite number of lines can--and must be allowed to--pass through two points. Why? Because lines are infinitely thin and so an infinite number of parallel lines are equal in width to one line and both sets would fit through one distinct pair of points. In the doctrine of the Trinity, the three personalities of God are all in such perfect agreement that they are one mind, not three, only expressed in different ways at different times. A form of multitasking.

The Qua'ran vs. The Bible....I am familiar with the account of how Muhammad, PBUH, would say...or shout...certain things at seemingly random times. These were recorded, and they formed a series of teachings similar to what a Catholic priest may say during a Homily. A speech on a topic. The Bible is written in the form of eyewitness records or historical narrative. And that leads a lot of my Muslim friends to question the worth of the Bible, and to say of the Qua'ran, "What book is like unto this?" We Christians do not consider the Bible to be a concise set of instructions to be followed in order. It is not grouped by topics and it was written over a period of centuries, not by one author or as a coherent whole. That is why the divisions of the Bible are called Books. They were separate titles. Even the Old Testament and New Testament were not books, but collections of books. We Christians search these accounts of other people who had a relationship with God to see how it worked for them, and we seek to do likewise.

On behalf of Muhammad, he found a society that chased after many pagan gods and gave them the wonderous gift of a single all-seeing and all-knowing God whose heart never turned to sin or suffered from imperfection.

In this sense our two religions are indeed for "Peoples of the book" as you Muslims say. We turned our back on false gods that lusted after human sexuality and committed sins of pride, greed, and pettiness.

I also deeply respect the custom of the Hajj, and the pillars of faith...alms giving, fasting, prayer, confession, and pilgrimage. I envy you the incredible experience of the Hajj and wish our faith had anything similar to it.

Hopefully we understand each other better now. Salaam to you.

[tgraveline]

Just to answer the main question. I do learn about what other religions learn, I am myself a follower of christ or yeshua. Christ tends to be a term disliked by messianic jews (which if you don't know, are people of jewish faith that believe Jesus is the messiah). I've learned a little about Islam, not as much as my friend has, but i hear snipets here and there. Mormonism I have learned a lot about, some Hinduism and Relativism in itself is basically a religious form of thought and that is easy enough to understand, however confusing the logic is (or lack thereof). Mythology, may be seen as religous, but I have always loved learning about Greek and Norse views on life and what they believed at the time. I don't think many still believe in those gods. Starting next week I am taking an Anthropology class about world religions and cults. So the answer is yes, i do try to learn about other belief systems, as it is quite interesting to me.

tg

[SapphireOfSeptember]

Wasalam to you too Chakal!
I truely understand what your saying, and this is true in many ways. In the Qur'an, god mentions that the Jews, Christians, and Muslims are the people of the Book. Why is this? (I think you may know but I would like to mention this) Because we believe that god sent prophets to tell groups of people of the Truth. We believe in the prophets such as Abraham, Noah, David, Moses who led Israel, Joseph, that God sent Jesus to the jews and the new followers of Jesus would be the Christians(also after The Jews "supposedly" killed Prophet Jesus, God Sent Jesus to the heavens and we believe in the messiah too, But his return is a sign of the day of Judgement), and many other prophets that are mentioned in the bible. Than after Jesus, God would send Muhammed the last prophet to Arabia who then the followers would be muslims.
Thank you.
SapphireOfSeptember

[onlymystory]

i know its been mentioned before, but the abolition of man by cs lewis is rather a fascinating read. especially in regards to this topic.

[kirke]

Well, I feel content with Christianity I wouldn't want another religion. If you're a christian you'll understand.

i am a christian and i dont understand actually. I believe the bible whole-heartedly and it has never failed, but i cant understand how you can be so content in one thing without knowing why. if you havent studied any other religions at all then you are only content because someone told you that the bible was correct and blindly you followed

[SapphireOfSeptember]

well for one, your heart tells you to believe it. you feel it spiritually. God gives you this feeling. The feeling of Truth. I am a muslim, and this is how it is with us and the qur'an.

[Nosferatu]

i am a christian and i dont understand actually. I believe the bible whole-heartedly and it has never failed, but i cant understand how you can be so content in one thing without knowing why. if you havent studied any other religions at all then you are only content because someone told you that the bible was correct and blindly you followed

Ok many things here but I will cut them down to points.
Before i start I want to ask something though.

Are you God does is not truth and that you must determine what is truth? Are you saying that Christ is ok but that you can find things in other religions that are "better"? Are you saying that God's law is not the ultimate standard of morality but rather it is just a "nice" way to live, and not the only way to live?

Now on topic of the researching other religions.
(this is debated from my christian point of view)

#1. Ok if you want to study other religions because you are curios then that is fine. I don't see anything in the bible that talks about not studying any other religion. But what is very dangerious and is warned from in the bible is Synchretism. Synchretism is the mixing of religions in which one takes morality and ethics from one religion and mixes it with the morality and ethics of another. This is a horrible problem which hounded the church for many years and still does it today.

The problem with sychretism is that it corrupts the truth of God's word with the lies of men. It filters what God has said to make His Law more "acceptable." God is very clear in His word, He is the Light the Truth and the Way, and in Him there is no darkness. Why then would one take this wonderful truth and pervert it with man-made lies?

Again I didn't mean to offend anybody in any way I am stating my beliefs.

[Gryphon]

well, other religions teach that there are many ways but only one God and that all ways are "correct" this cannot be because if Christianity is "correct" then that means that whatever it says is true also, but it says that there is only one way to the one and only God and that is through Jesus Christ. I have looked at other religions and Jesus was the only messiah to return to us. Another difference is that Christianity teaches that eternal life and salvation is a gift not a reward. This and other reasons are why i trust in Christ and why i wait for His return.

[kirke]

You are taking what i said out of context, which coincidently seems to happen among anything that anyone says regarding what the bible says. I was responding to a person who said they they do not study other religions because other religions dont agree with what they believe... so basically i am left to assume (though assumptions arent always great, i will gander that this is pretty close) that that person has been a Christian since they can remember; I am on the same boat there, i had 2 grandparents who were pastors and so i always had a Christian background. This person probably when they were around 3 mommy told them that Jesus was god, and you can only get to heaven through jesus. Once again pretty close. But that person i will gander blindly accepted that and just took it to be fact. That is ignorant, i believe what i believe because the great theologian of my mommy said that thats what is true and there is no chance that anything my great theologian (er... mommy) says is wrong.

That is just ignorant. How can you decipher what the truth is if you are only given one view at what it might be? that reminds me of a couple groups *cough* nazis and communists*cough*. I dont know, it seems odd to me that you can blindly accept something to be fact, and ignorantly say because mommy said it was fact i refuse to ever look at anything anyone who disagrees with what mommy says because it is lies. I am not saying go read the quaran, i am saying you should read what muslums believe so that you dont get the belief (like someone in the islam thread) that because one group of terrorists who call themselves muslums takes a few planes and blows up some buildings that all muslums like to do is kill people. I am saying read on what Jews believe so that we dont have to fall for a plan to exterminate every jew from the planet. Read on rastafarians believe so that we dont have to be worried about wether we will wake up to find out our dogs and children have been sacraficed.

infact i am saying you should also read about radical christian groups believe so you wont put on your new nike shoes and drink cyanide punch, or so you wont shoot 50 of your closest friends and then commit suicide in the name of god. If you shield yourself from what everyone else believes because mommy said one thing was right and if mommy says its right it must be, then history is a waste... then we deserve to have another terrorist attack, we deserve another genocide, we deserve another david kuresh because we dont care, and because we dont know why they would do the crazy things, or know that the crazy things they do go against their beliefs....

or maybe David Kuresh was right... he claimed to be Christian; we dont know how even his beliefs (because they were christian... he said so, and mommy said christian is right) that we should put our nikes on and all drink cyanide punch... lets do it! it christian, mommy said christian was right, and mommy couldnt be wrong, so lets all go out and follow what he said. As far as we know it isnt any different, because since mommy said it was right we dont need to think otherwise.

I'll let you know how i did... you know, cause mommy is right and so i dont need to worry.

[kirke]

well, other religions teach that there are many ways but only one God and that all ways are "correct" this cannot be because if Christianity is "correct" then that means that whatever it says is true also, but it says that there is only one way to the one and only God and that is through Jesus Christ. I have looked at other religions and Jesus was the only messiah to return to us. Another difference is that Christianity teaches that eternal life and salvation is a gift not a reward. This and other reasons are why i trust in Christ and why i wait for His return.
EXACTLY! you know what other religions say, because as you said "I have looked at other religions"

continuing with that... he said he knows Jesus is right, because that is the logical choice based off what he knows about other religions!

[inkspot]

Nowhere in the Bible did any of the apostles or Christ Himself command followers of Christ to investigate the claims of other religions. If your mum, and your prayer book, pointed you the way to Jesus, there is no need for you to discover what other religions have to say on the subject of God unless you are just interested in those religions.

If you will not be satisfied that Christ is lord until you have investigated the claims of all other religions, then you will never be satisfied -- because new ones are always cropping up. The better remedy to the problem you mention (poor grasp of your Christian faith that could let you be led astray) is to study the Bible and Christian theology, not other religions.

Christianity for most of us means a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. To make the analogy: suppose your soul-mate proposes to you, and you two tie the knot. Then you say, "Honey, just so I can know you are really the best for me, I want investigate a lot of other potential mates -- not date them or anything, but just learn all about them, so I'll know better what a prize I have in you, and I'll understand other people of the opposite sex better." Maybe your spouse would be flattered; maybe it would make you a better spouse, but it certainly is not necessary to the primary relationship between you and your mate.

If other religions interest you, study them. If not, don't worry about them. If you know people of other faiths and want converse intelligently about them, learn about them. If you'd just as soon not, don't. It doesn't take a knowledge of other religions to make you a firm believer in Christ, and if your belief was formed by what you learned from your mum without ever trying any other faith, that's okay too. Arranged marriages sometimes work best!

[Smog]

Kirke, I understand what you are saying, however I have two problems with it:

Firs: how do any of us know that God's Word is Truth? It is not by studying other religions and examining all the facts that we come to know the truth. Rather I believe it is by the grace and mercy of Christ that we know the Truth. Christ, through His Holy Spirit changes the hearts of men, and those men go on to know the Truth of God and accept it by Faith in Jesus Christ. No mere man can know the Truth through a thorough examination of all religions.

Second: You say that one who blindly believes in Christianity is ignorant? However, all faith is "blind" because one cannot prove anything about the supernatural (nor can one disprove it). Therefore we cannot say that someone who accepts Christ but knows nothing about other religions is "blindly accepting faith' while the man who studies religions and comes to accept Christ "is open minded and sees" simply because he knows more. Faith is not something that can be proven, you cannot look at all religions and say "Christianity is the truth" because it seems to "make sense." Faith is not something that 'makes sense' because it cannot be proven and it cannot be objectively looked at. I cannot prove my faith to someone, because it is only God who can prove Himself to the hearts of men.

Does this make sense? I look forward to hearing your rebuttal.

[Gryphon]

EXACTLY! you know what other religions say, because as you said "I have looked at other religions"

continuing with that... he said he knows Jesus is right, because that is the logical choice based off what he knows about other religions!
haha, glad to make you happy... :D

[kirke]

Rather I believe it is by the grace and mercy of Christ that we know the Truth.

tell that to saphire... i bet you will find if you tell him that it will be identical except that its because of allah...

and smog, faith doesnt have to be blind... blind faith is someoen tells you something and it must be true, but you can also be told something, you examine it, look at why it could and couldnt be true, and come to a conclusion about what you believe... that faith isnt blind at all

[Smog]

and smog, faith doesnt have to be blind... blind faith is someoen tells you something and it must be true, but you can also be told something, you examine it, look at why it could and couldnt be true, and come to a conclusion about what you believe... that faith isnt blind at all

Yes, I understand what you're saying, however, is there any way to objectively look at ones faith? Also, I do not believe in Christ and trust in Him for salvation simply because "mummy and daddy" told me, but rather because Christ Jesus changed my heart and elected me to Salvation (I'm a Reformed Calvanist, btw). I believe that only God has the power to change the hearts of men, whereas men do not have the power to choose God.

[Nosferatu]

Nice one Smog.

[purplemonkeyhunter]

I love learning and reading about other peoples religions. I think if your going to try and get to know someone, religion would be one of the most important things about them, and you would need some basic understanding of it. If someone starts screaming on and on about how Christianity isn't real and their religion is the truth, but they don't even know who Jesus was or what he did, most people would not listen to him. Besides, there are religions that have millions of followers, I think it is pretty important to at least be vaguely familiar with what is taught and what they believe.

[Green Knight]

Ok many things here but I will cut them down to points.
Before i start I want to ask something though.

Are you God does is not truth and that you must determine what is truth? Are you saying that Christ is ok but that you can find things in other religions that are "better"? Are you saying that God's law is not the ultimate standard of morality but rather it is just a "nice" way to live, and not the only way to live?

Now on topic of the researching other religions.
(this is debated from my christian point of view)

#1. Ok if you want to study other religions because you are curios then that is fine. I don't see anything in the bible that talks about not studying any other religion. But what is very dangerious and is warned from in the bible is Synchretism. Synchretism is the mixing of religions in which one takes morality and ethics from one religion and mixes it with the morality and ethics of another. This is a horrible problem which hounded the church for many years and still does it today.

The problem with sychretism is that it corrupts the truth of God's word with the lies of men. It filters what God has said to make His Law more "acceptable." God is very clear in His word, He is the Light the Truth and the Way, and in Him there is no darkness. Why then would one take this wonderful truth and pervert it with man-made lies?

Again I didn't mean to offend anybody in any way I am stating my beliefs.

Christianity has grown and changed over time. It has incorporated ideas and symbols from a myriad of different cultures and peoples. It didn't spring from whole cloth in the days after the Christ suffered in the cross. It was filtered threw Roman, Greek, and many other cultures into today. Isn't that syncretism?

Reading about the Hindu belief of avatars helped me to understand how Providence came into the mortal world.

[Nosferatu]

Christianity has grown and changed over time. It has incorporated ideas and symbols from a myriad of different cultures and peoples. It didn't spring from whole cloth in the days after the Christ suffered in the cross. It was filtered threw Roman, Greek, and many other cultures into today. Isn't that syncretism?

Reading about the Hindu belief of avatars helped me to understand how Providence came into the mortal world.



Yes That is syncretism. That is why I now am a Calvanist and reformed Man!
I do not believe in the roman catholic church or reconise its symbols. (Not that i have anyhting against roman catholics :)! I will give a longer reply later but now i am really rushed and I need to get to church! :)

[Gryphon]

Reading about the Hindu belief of avatars helped me to understand how Providence came into the mortal world.
and studying greek mythology can tell me why the sun moves, it doesnt mean its correct.

[Green Knight]

and studying greek mythology can tell me why the sun moves, it doesnt mean its correct.

To each their own.

Sardonic mode on

Sounds like Gryphon wants to be the head of the American Inquistion.

Sardonic mode off

[Nosferatu]

To each their own.

Sardonic mode on

Sounds like Gryphon wants to be the head of the American Inquistion.

Sardonic mode off


Hey no fair I already claimed head of the inquisition.
Also...
NOBODY EXPECTS THE SPANISH *cross out spanish* AMERICAN!! INQUISITION!!!

[Gryphon]

Hey no fair I already claimed head of the inquisition.
Also...
NOBODY EXPECTS THE SPANISH *cross out spanish* AMERICAN!! INQUISITION!!!
NO!! ITS MINE MUAH HAH HAH!!!

[Smog]

Hey no fair I already claimed head of the inquisition.
Also...
NOBODY EXPECTS THE SPANISH *cross out spanish* AMERICAN!! INQUISITION!!!


You're right, I didn't expect that...;)

[Gryphon]

why Smog? did you want to be head of it?

[Mar]

well i might be on topic here but...i do think that SOME catholics sont try to learn about other religions....i am catholic, and i see that some are just so set in there ways and dont try to approach any other religion. or at least look into their belives...but yeah its something that i have been examining sooo lol. my dad will be happy to hear i posted here im sure!

[gunndreams]

I have studied various world religions aside from Christianity, though I myself am a Christian. Now, there are striking similarities in most religions of the world, but the one thing they all have in common which makes Christianity stand apart by itself is grace. You will find in all the other religions that in order to enter the desired state of the faithful upon death depends upon that person's adherence and diligence in performing the dictates of that said faith, among other "good works". In every other faith, a heavier set of good works outbalancing bad deeds weighed at the judgement after death is the requirement for the faithful to attain, or earn, the desired state of afterlife.

Not so with the Christian. For in Biblical Christianity the true God would rather die than let any of His humans suffer eternal damnation. The Bible tells us that God is not willing that any should perish (in Hell), but that all would come to repentance and everlasting life. Jesus Christ is that God of grace. Jesus went willingly to the Cross, as Aslan had gone willingly to the white witch and her goons at the stone table. While Aslan could have, at any time, munched up any of those goons and the white witch herself with his powerful jaws and mighty claws, Christ could also have killed every one of His enemies with just a thought or razed the entire earth with but the most softly spoken word. He did not need the legions of angels. Christ is God Almighty. Yet, He did not do this. He did not curse, protest, or lift a finger. It was His love for His Father, and His love for fallen humankind that kept Him going. In no other religion will you find a God who would die for His creation. I would rather worship the God who would rather die than let any of us go.

[Nosferatu]

" He did not curse, protest, or lift a finger"

Um excuse me but what about how jesus "said Father let this cup pass from me." So really he did kind of protest he did not want to die, but jesus did die.

[gunndreams]

" He did not curse, protest, or lift a finger"

Um excuse me but what about how jesus "said Father let this cup pass from me." So really he did kind of protest he did not want to die, but jesus did die.

The "cup" represented the sum cumulative sin of all humanity and a period of separation from His Father. Jesus, God the Son, Who had never ever been separated from His Father since eternity past would now pay the ultimate penalty for the sins of mankind which would be separation from God. Also, His holy nature shrank from the thought that His death would be associated with sin, since God would impute upon His sinless Son the sum cumulative sins of all mankind. Do not forget what Jesus said in the next breath, "But let Your will, not Mine, be done." It was not death that Jesus feared, but He despised the thought of being associated with sin and being abandoned by His Father.

[Gryphon]

Be careful not to think that Jesus was afraid. He doesnt fear anything because fear is a sin, God commands us not to have fear. Just something for you guys to remember :)

[gunndreams]

Be careful not to think that Jesus was afraid. He doesnt fear anything because fear is a sin, God commands us not to have fear. Just something for you guys to remember :)

Remember also that the Bible says, "The FEAR of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom." This fear does not imply terror but a deep-seated respect from the standpoint of awe and utter reverence. In this case, fear is NOT a sin, but a VIRTUE. If you fear God, you will fear nothing else. However, if you do not fear God, you will most likely fear everything else. This does NOT preclude a healthy fear of things that ought to be avoided because 1) they are dangerous, 2) they are foolish, 3) they are evil. It is good to fear a rattlesnake and avoid it because it is dangerous. It is good to fear the consequences of fornication because to engage in the act is foolish, and fear would help to push a person in the correct direction. Yet, both stem from a healthy fear of God Almighty.

Also, I said that Jesus DID NOT FEAR the whips, the taunts, the insults, the nails, or death and Satan. Rather, He DESPISED them. Nothing wrong with despising evil acts. But His holy nature absolutely shrank and found abhorrent the thought of being separated from His Father, and His death being associated with sin as He paid a debt He did not owe because WE had a debt we could not pay.

[jjesusfreak01]

I am not going to read this entire thread to make sure what I am about to say hasnt been said before, but here is my take on the matter.

All things that one should consider virtue can be found in Christian teachings. Other religions may contain positive aspects such as moral standards and teachings, but these are also found in some form in the Bible. It does not lack in any good teaching. If Christians are to discover truth, the Bible should be their focus. I would discourage anyone from trying to study other religions to determine thier "special insight" that you can't find in Christianity. You aren't looking hard enough. That said, it is not wrong to study other religions for other reasons. You can study the Koran to obtain insight into the mindset of Muslims, in order to know better how to minister to them (The Great Commission), but you cannot find truth there.

Of course, in a completely scholarly manner, you could study any religion. It would be interesting to see exactly where some of the more widely believed religions start to mess up, so to speak. Thats my take, any comments?

[Gryphon]

Remember also that the Bible says, "The FEAR of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom." This fear does not imply terror but a deep-seated respect from the standpoint of awe and utter reverence. In this case, fear is NOT a sin, but a VIRTUE. If you fear God, you will fear nothing else. However, if you do not fear God, you will most likely fear everything else. This does NOT preclude a healthy fear of things that ought to be avoided because 1) they are dangerous, 2) they are foolish, 3) they are evil. It is good to fear a rattlesnake and avoid it because it is dangerous. It is good to fear the consequences of fornication because to engage in the act is foolish, and fear would help to push a person in the correct direction. Yet, both stem from a healthy fear of God Almighty.

Also, I said that Jesus DID NOT FEAR the whips, the taunts, the insults, the nails, or death and Satan. Rather, He DESPISED them. Nothing wrong with despising evil acts. But His holy nature absolutely shrank and found abhorrent the thought of being separated from His Father, and His death being associated with sin as He paid a debt He did not owe because WE had a debt we could not pay.


ok, i dont think its good to fear a rattlesnake but despise them. seeing as how you said Jesus wasnt afraid of those things but rather despised them, then perhaps we should despise things and not fear them. As far as God telling us to fear Him, your right, but the kind of fear He inspires is diffrent and satan perverts the same kind of fear to give us phobias.

[Nosferatu]

Be careful not to think that Jesus was afraid. He doesnt fear anything because fear is a sin, God commands us not to have fear. Just something for you guys to remember :)



Actully I would say the opposite that we are commanded to have fear! the fear of God the almightys Judgement. What keeps a childs hand out of the cooky jar the fear of being punished. So I would say fear (fear meanign the fear of God) is a good thing not a sin.

[kirke]

where does the bible say fear is a sin?

[devils_advocate_for_evil]

fear is what keeps us human, it gives us emotion and adrenaline

[kirke]

Genesis 22:12 (abraham sacraficing isaac)
"Lay down the knife," the angel said. "Do not hurt the boy in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld even your beloved son from me."

Genesis 42:18 (joseph to pharo (sp))
On the third day Joseph said to them, "I am a God-fearing man. If you do as I say, you will live.

Exodus 1:21
And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.

Exodus 9:30
But as for you and your officials, I know that you still do not fear the LORD God as you should."

Exodus 14:31
When the people of Israel saw the mighty power that the LORD had displayed against the Egyptians, they feared the LORD and put their faith in him and his servant Moses.

Exodus 18:21
But find some capable, honest men who fear God and hate bribes. Appoint them as judges over groups of one thousand, one hundred, fifty, and ten.

Exodus 20:20
"Don't be afraid," Moses said, "for God has come in this way to show you his awesome power. From now on, let your fear of him keep you from sinning!"

Leviticus 19:14
"Show your fear of God by treating the deaf with respect and by not taking advantage of the blind. I am the LORD.

Leviticus 19:32
"Show your fear of God by standing up in the presence of elderly people and showing respect for the aged. I am the LORD.

Leviticus 25:17
Show your fear of God by not taking advantage of each other. I, the LORD, am your God.

Leviticus 25:36
Do not demand an advance or charge interest on the money you lend them. Instead, show your fear of God by letting them live with you as your relatives.

Deuteronomy 5:29
Oh, that they would always have hearts like this, that they might fear me and obey all my commands! If they did, they and their descendants would prosper forever.

Deuteronomy 6:13
You must fear the LORD your God and serve him. When you take an oath, you must use only his name.

Deuteronomy 6:24
And the LORD our God commanded us to obey all these laws and to fear him for our own prosperity and well-being, as is now the case.

Deuteronomy 7:19
Remember the great terrors the LORD your God sent against them. You saw it all with your own eyes! And remember the miraculous signs and wonders, and the amazing power he used when he brought you out of Egypt. The LORD your God will use this same power against the people you fear.

Deuteronomy 8:6
"So obey the commands of the LORD your God by walking in his ways and fearing him

Deuteronomy 9:19
How I feared for you, for the LORD was ready to destroy you. But again he listened to me.

Deuteronomy 10:12
[ A Call to Love and Obedience ] "And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you? He requires you to fear him, to live according to his will, to love and worship him with all your heart and soul,

Deuteronomy 11:25
No one will be able to stand against you, for the LORD your God will send fear and dread ahead of you, as he promised you, wherever you go in the whole land.

Deuteronomy 14:23
Bring this tithe to the place the LORD your God chooses for his name to be honored, and eat it there in his presence. This applies to your tithes of grain, new wine, olive oil, and the firstborn males of your flocks and herds. The purpose of tithing is to teach you always to fear the LORD your God.

Deuteronomy 17:19
He must always keep this copy of the law with him and read it daily as long as he lives. That way he will learn to fear the LORD his God by obeying all the terms of this law.

Deuteronomy 25:18
They attacked you when you were exhausted and weary, and they struck down those who were lagging behind. They had no fear of God.

Deuteronomy 32:27
But I feared the taunt of the enemy, that their adversaries might misunderstand and say, "Our power has triumphed! It was not the LORD who did this!" '

this is just a sampling of verses dealing with fear in just the books of moses... it seems that even from the begining of time God COMMANDED people to fear; in particular himself. Fear isn't bad, fear could be conscidered good, it depends on how you choose to look at it

[Spare Oom]

"God-fearing" is a generic term for a good religious person.

[Gryphon]

ROmans 14:23 says that whatsoever is not of faith is sin. fear is not of faith, at least, if its not of God. He tells us to fear Him only and that i will respect, but thats a diffrent kind of fear. As Christians we should strive to be nothing before the world because the weaker we are the stronger he is and what does nothing have to be afraid of?

[Nosferatu]

Ok I have to ask you this question gryphon What is "Faith" then?

[Gryphon]

"faith" is a belief or trust in God. "faith" is also an unseen form of trust between Man and God. When we trust in something that is NOT of God we worship it. We might trust a drug to give us a high, we might trust an idol to make us whole. Even that is faith. Faith has more than one definition, why dont you go ahead and tell me what you think faith is?

Anyway, the only thing we should fear is God, dont we all agree on that? If we are only to fear Him and we end up fearing something else isnt that against God's will and therefore a sin?

[Nosferatu]

Faith is Utter reliance to God. To trust God no matter what happens is what I would call Faith. (Ok I wrote a really long answer to your question but I accidentally deleted it! :))

So in conclusion to the quest this is what i came up with.
Everything must be done to the glory of God. So when it says anything that is not faith is a Sin, I believe that to mean anything that is not done to the glory of God is a sin. For your statement on fear I would highly disagree.
I believe we should not just fear God but fear many different things. I think we should fear militant Islam from taking over Europe and pray that God should destroy it. If Christians hadn't been afraid of the soviet empire in the 1970s then we would never of prayed for its downfall. Ok to rap up what I'm saying. Fear can be a good thing as long as it’s in concordance to God's law.

[Gryphon]

in Joshua 1:9 God commands us to have courage. If we dont have courage then isnt that doing something that is against God and therefore a sin?

[Nosferatu]

Ok ,ok ok you dont understand me, so later I'll IM you and I can fully explain my point but for now lets get back to topic before the mods yell at us all.

[Gryphon]

haha, ill find you, usually im invisible...

[FallOfFingolfin]

He despised evil acts and the whips?

Whoa whoa whoa...

What ever happened to "But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you..."? (Matthew 5:44)

[PrinceOfTheWest]

Hey! FoF, long tyme no chat! Good to see you back!

regarding the post: I'm not sure which post you're quoting, but if it's a quote about God, notice that it says He despised the acts - not the people doing them. You can love a person but still despise something they do. Heck, I love myself but still find some of the things I've done despicable. That's the whole point of Jesus' statement which you quote: love those who persecute you, pray for those who revile you, etc. The persecution and reviling are despicable actions, and worthy of hating, but the people you never hate.

The old Christian phrase is, "hate the sin but love the sinner."

[FallOfFingolfin]

Hey! FoF, long tyme no chat! Good to see you back!

Yeah, I've returned. Somewhere out of nowhere my interest in comparative religion has boomed again.

I'm planning on reading The Koran this summer, as well as at least the Torah, and then maybe the rest of the Bible.

[LifeMaiden]

In Catholic high school we were required to take a class about the seven major religions of the world. On my own even in grammar school since I grew up with parents who were two very different religions I did some exploring on my own and settled upon being baptized as Catholic when I was 12.

It's always interesting to read about what other people believe.

[echoscot]

I read, then skimmed as it got rather long, this thread.

I have two thoughts,

First is witnessing. That is a legal term. According to Christianity, we are called to be witnesses. All of us. A witness can only give testimony to what she/he has seen, done, heard, etc. They are not called to give testimony as to what someone else has done. God does not need defending. The omnipotent creator of the universe is very capable of defending himself. When witnessing to anyone of any other faith or non-faith, I am not called on to tell them they are wrong, only to tell them what I know, saw, heard experienced. Tell them the truth of my faith. That leaves them free to accept or reject my claims. It is not arrogant to not know. Only if you are going to spout out ignorant claims about their faith of which you know little.

Second: I have spent some time looking at other faiths and pseudo-Christian groups. It certainly does help when debating to at least understand where the other person is coming from. But as the axiom goes, "They don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care."

I am wary still of the cautionary words Paul gives in Galatians 1:6-10. When studying other faiths, I do so in light of Christ's truth. That does not mean I outright reject them. I am called to testify for Christ, a Moslem is called to testify to his/her faith which does not necessarily require knowledge of mine. I do not think them arrogant in sharing their faith, only when they then criticize my faith with out knowing it.

A very good book, from a Christian perspective, I have read is called "So What's The Difference?" The author sets out to compare and contrast Protestantisma and Catholocism, from that he derives a definition for Orthodox Christianity, that most of both groups can accept on basic doctrines. He then goes on to give laymen's terms descriptions of 4 other religions and 4 pseudo-Christian groups. If you are a member of those groups you may find his sense of humor a little sardonic, but it is well written. He establishes at the first that he is not trying to bash members of these other faiths, but outline critical differences between Christianity and these faiths. I found it, from a layman's perspective very helpful and insightful.

The author is Fritz Ridenour. It is an older book, so you may have to go online to look it up.

[LifeMaiden]

When you say pseudo Christian, EchoScot, do you mean groups like the Mormons and Seventh Day Adventists or Jehovah's Witnesses?

[PrinceOfTheWest]

Yeah, I've returned. Somewhere out of nowhere my interest in comparative religion has boomed again.

I'm planning on reading The Koran this summer, as well as at least the Torah, and then maybe the rest of the Bible.Have fun - I'd highly recommend Lewis' Abolition of Man as well, since it does a superb summary. But don't forget one thing: as long as you're remaining separate from faith, trying to study it in a detached and analytical way, you will never fully understand it. You cannot understand Tao unless you seek to walk Tao.

[Ephinie]

Have fun - I'd highly recommend Lewis' Abolition of Man as well, since it does a superb summary. But don't forget one thing: as long as you're remaining separate from faith, trying to study it in a detached and analytical way, you will never fully understand it. You cannot understand Tao unless you seek to walk Tao.Okay, I've not yet read Abolition of Man, but I have been working my way through Mere Christianity with the reading group thing. Lewis, in what I have read of that one thus far, only passingly mentions Tao. My question is, isn't Taoism an eastern religion? And if so, how closely does it align with Lewis's understanding of Tao and how he defines Tao in his works? And if it is not similar, where did Lewis come up with his concept of Tao, or, more specifically, how did he coin that particular phrase to describe the ideology he ascribes to it?

[PrinceOfTheWest]

Tao (pronounced dao) is simply the oriental term for "Way" or "Way of Heaven". Lewis uses it as shorthand for the universally understood moral code that underpins all civilizations. He goes into this in depth in Abolition, primarily to put a stake through the heart of the modernist illusion that different cultures make up their own moral codes. The appendix alone is worth the price of the book, for he excerpts cuts from moral codes around the world and across time to demonstrate that men have always hewed to the same standard of right and wrong.

Taoism itself is an eastern philosophical school based on the writings of Lao Tzu and his disciples. It doesn't have "Scripture" like those in the traditions of Revelation understand it, neither is it technically a "religion". The foundational text is Tao Te Ching (crudely translated as "Way of Heaven"). It is more mystical than another philosophical school dated to about the same time - Confucianism - but both have the same goal: helping men to understand and walk Tao.

Interestingly, in the famous exchange in John 14:5,6, if Jesus and Thomas had been speaking Chinese, Thomas would have asked, "...how can we know Tao?", and Jesus would have answered "I am Tao". The more one understands the Asian understanding of Tao, the more one can see that this was the most shocking statement ever to fall from human lips.

If, that is, they were merely human.

[Ephinie]

Tao (pronounced dao) is simply the oriental term for "Way" or "Way of Heaven". Lewis uses it as shorthand for the universally understood moral code that underpins all civilizations. He goes into this in depth in Abolition, primarily to put a stake through the heart of the modernist illusion that different cultures make up their own moral codes. The appendix alone is worth the price of the book, for he excerpts cuts from moral codes around the world and across time to demonstrate that men have always hewed to the same standard of right and wrong.Okay, okay... so I went and looked up Taoism on this website: http://www.religioustolerance.org/taoism.htm

and it said this:Tao (pronounced "Dow") can be roughly translated into English as path, or the way. It is basically indefinable. It has to be experienced. It "refers to a power which envelops, surrounds and flows through all things, living and non-living. The Tao regulates natural processes and nourishes balance in the Universe. It embodies the harmony of opposites (i.e. there would be no love without hate, no light without dark, no male without female.)" So I'm a little confused. This particular website seems to say that Tao refers to an unconcious, mystical force that surrounds, penetrates, and basically is life. How does that parallel the word Tao being used to describe the underlying moral code that exists in all cultures and in all of humanity? They seem like different concepts to me... And also, is Lewis the first theologian to use the word Tao to describe this underlying moral code?

[echoscot]

When you say pseudo Christian, EchoScot, do you mean groups like the Mormons and Seventh Day Adventists or Jehovah's Witnesses?

yes, the specific four that he touches on are Mormons, Christian Science, Jehovahs' Witness and...yes, Seventh Day Adventist,although he acknowledges that certain Seventh day groups have lined up more with Orhtodoxy.

It is a short book and well worth the read.

[PrinceOfTheWest]

Couple answers to your questions, Ephinie.

First, Tao is simply a Chinese word, used by many philosophers. Lao Tzu neither invented it nor defined it when he wrote Tao Te Ching; he was writing meditations on it. In fact, if the term had not been a term in concept in common usage with a reasonably common understanding, his work would have made no sense. When Lewis used the term, I think he was more drawing on Confucius' use of it than Lao Tzu in particular. Thus "Taoism" has no claim to definition of the word - in fact, I've heard it contended that even the concept of "Taoism" as a "belief system" is something of a Western overlay onto Oriental mindsets.

Secondly, regarding the definition you found for Taoism: I'd love to know who wrote that and what they were drawing on when they wrote it. I haven't made Oriental philosophical systems a particular study of mine, but I've read Tao Te Ching several times (in fact, I keep a copy by my bedside), and I've never seen anything in it about "a power which envelops, surrounds, and flows through all things". That plus the dualistic overlay (the "harmony of opposites" stuff) makes me think that someone was mixing traditions when they concocted that definition (or perhaps on their eighth run through the Star Wars movies). The dualism in particular sounds like a Hindu influence, perhaps percolated through some flavor of Buddhism (probably what a Buddhist scholar I know refers to as a "California variation" of that tradition). The definition you quoted is fine as far as the first three sentences, but then it starts to drag in things that I've never seen in Tao Te Ching. Lao Tzu is vague about definitions (because Tao is too great to be encapsulated in mere words), but he is clear about the nature of Tao - all things should conform to it if they would remain in order. Man (particularly "the king" or "the ruler") may find himself off of it, but then his responsibility is to get back on it as quickly as possible.

Here's a chapter from Tao Te Ching - I'll let you judge if it's talking about a vague, impersonal "power": Something there is, whose veiled creation was
Before the earth or sky began to be;
So silent, so aloof and so alone,
It changes not, nor fails, but touches all:
Conceive it as the mother of the world.

I do not know its name;
A name for it is "Way";
Pressed for designation,
I call it Great.
Great means outgoing,
Outgoing, far-reaching,
Far-reaching, return.

The Way is great,
The sky is great,
The earth is great,
The king also is great.
Within the realm
These four are great;
The king but stands
For one of them.

Man conforms to the earth;
The earth conforms to the sky;
The sky conforms to the Way;
The Way conforms to its own nature.
Tao Te Ching - 25

Tao is a standard to which all things conform, and it preexists all things. If you compare this to the personified Wisdom in the Old Testament, the definition is almost identical ("Wisdom it was made the worlds...", Prov 3). From what I can see, it would take a real stretch to turn this into some kind of impersonal, immanent "power" pervading the universe.

[Wendygirljp]

Basilides,

You mention that you "minister" to Buddhists and Muslims. A question about the Buddhists: Were they Christian Buddhists? Jewish Buddhists? Muslim Buddhists? The same applies to many other concepts - Confucianism, for example. These are non-theistic religions - religion does not necessarily refer to theistic belief or paths.

I am not condemning what you do. If you feel it is your way in your life, please continue. Yes, you need not HAVE to know about other beliefs, AND it may help you to understand how others see it. In other words, you may have more in common with those you chat rather than different.

[Wendygirljp]

Balisides,

You stated, "Mohammed certainly borrowed from elements of Judaism and Christianity, and atrributed some of the attributed of the Judeo-Christian God to Allah, but there is strong historical evidence that Allah was worshipped as one of the Djinn, in fact a moon god, long before mohammed and by Mohammed himself before his visitations by Gabriel."

For your information, a couple of things: A - Allah means "The God" in Arabic. Christians speaking Arabic would use the term, "Allah".

Secondly, about the "moon God" falacy - that was during the time of Pre-Islam. Islam is monotheistic. Muhammed was against polytheism, including the worship of the moon God.

Please be careful with bits of information. There are many misconceptions about many religions out of ignorance. Please think about whether or not you are doing your part to spread these misconceptions. Thank you.

[LifeMaiden]

Couple answers to your questions, Ephinie.

First, Tao is simply a Chinese word, used by many philosophers. Lao Tzu neither invented it nor defined it when he wrote Tao Te Ching; he was writing meditations on it. In fact, if the term had not been a term in concept in common usage with a reasonably common understanding, his work would have made no sense. When Lewis used the term, I think he was more drawing on Confucius' use of it than Lao Tzu in particular. Thus "Taoism" has no claim to definition of the word - in fact, I've heard it contended that even the concept of "Taoism" as a "belief system" is something of a Western overlay onto Oriental mindsets.

Secondly, regarding the definition you found for Taoism: I'd love to know who wrote that and what they were drawing on when they wrote it. I haven't made Oriental philosophical systems a particular study of mine, but I've read Tao Te Ching several times (in fact, I keep a copy by my bedside), and I've never seen anything in it about "a power which envelops, surrounds, and flows through all things". That plus the dualistic overlay (the "harmony of opposites" stuff) makes me think that someone was mixing traditions when they concocted that definition (or perhaps on their eighth run through the Star Wars movies). The dualism in particular sounds like a Hindu influence, perhaps percolated through some flavor of Buddhism (probably what a Buddhist scholar I know refers to as a "California variation" of that tradition). The definition you quoted is fine as far as the first three sentences, but then it starts to drag in things that I've never seen in Tao Te Ching. Lao Tzu is vague about definitions (because Tao is too great to be encapsulated in mere words), but he is clear about the nature of Tao - all things should conform to it if they would remain in order. Man (particularly "the king" or "the ruler") may find himself off of it, but then his responsibility is to get back on it as quickly as possible.

Here's a chapter from Tao Te Ching - I'll let you judge if it's talking about a vague, impersonal "power": Something there is, whose veiled creation was
Before the earth or sky began to be;
So silent, so aloof and so alone,
It changes not, nor fails, but touches all:
Conceive it as the mother of the world.

I do not know its name;
A name for it is "Way";
Pressed for designation,
I call it Great.
Great means outgoing,
Outgoing, far-reaching,
Far-reaching, return.

The Way is great,
The sky is great,
The earth is great,
The king also is great.
Within the realm
These four are great;
The king but stands
For one of them.

Man conforms to the earth;
The earth conforms to the sky;
The sky conforms to the Way;
The Way conforms to its own nature.
Tao Te Ching - 25

Tao is a standard to which all things conform, and it preexists all things. If you compare this to the personified Wisdom in the Old Testament, the definition is almost identical ("Wisdom it was made the worlds...", Prov 3). From what I can see, it would take a real stretch to turn this into some kind of impersonal, immanent "power" pervading the universe.



I believe the mystical power being referred to here is known as CHI, the life force power...sort of akin to the Force in Star Wars movies, which POTW states, and it is what is used to determine the accuracy of placing the pins on the body during accupuncture. When you see an accupuncture chart, there are about 6000 places for the pins to be used on the body. The chart almost looks like a crazy roadmap of sorts, but accupuncture's basis in belief is that when the life force of the body ( called CHI) is interrupted or disturbed somehow, this is what contributes to the pain and dysfunction which leads to illness or ailments.


This idea of CHI to me is like the concept energy...you know how when an expert marksman or an archer is deeply concentrating their 'energy' ...they are channeling something within them to be able to hit that target or a spot.


So the power could be called energy. Many of the Eastern faiths have borrowed ideas from each other. It is interesting that Buddhism, founded by Siddhartha Gautama, and like the martial arts, was founded in India, yet it exists as a religion primarily in countries OTHER than India such as China, Vietnam, and Japan. (Yoga and meditation, along with certain sub-groups of Hinduism( such as Sufism), along with the belief of astral projection ( the soul leaves the body) found many adherents in India).

SHINTO, for example, is the primary religion of Japan and is more prominent than Buddhism, with its emphasis on nature worship and ancestor worship, and is the basis of many things in Japanese culture...the adherence to cleanliness, orderliness, and purity.


The HARMONY OF OPPOSITES is what is known as YIN and YANG, the feminine and masculine balancing of things in the universe. This is well known in the West and you see it in the symbol of the circle with half of the circle being black and half of it being red. I've seen tattoos of it everywhere LOL on people.

[tumnus_luver15]

i think that it is ok to read on other religions. i have a hindu kid in my class and i have looked in to his religion..............deeply.......i little too deeply many think.

i thinh that if you can't respect and understand y some1 beleves in what they do then you r truly not a christian

[echoscot]

i think that it is ok to read on other religions. i have a hindu kid in my class and i have looked in to his religion..............deeply.......i little too deeply many think.

i thinh that if you can't respect and understand y some1 beleves in what they do then you r truly a christian


I'm not sure I understand your last sentence. I am not being rude, I really was confused by it. Perhaps you could rephrase so I know what you are trying to say. ;)

[Emily_Cullen]

I would but I don't think I ever had

[AslansCountryBound!!!]

I think I have decided that, I am by definition a "Christian", though I am in many ways dissimilar to others of the title.

For the past week or so, I have been reading and studying other religions besides Christianity and Judaism, the two which we probably all know well. This is of great interest to me, and I was wondering if any of the Christians here find it acceptable to take some of the virtue in the teachings of others.

For example, I plan on reading the Koran someday. It would be of great interest to me.

Today, I was reading about Buddha and I realised that he really was (for lack of a better word) "cool". Many of his teachings and beliefs are, I believe, valuable to mankind and I think in many ways a Christian can incorporate his teachings into one's own philosophy as much as, say, Confucius or Socrates.

I think that nearly each of the major religions has value to it, and many of the values taught in different faiths can easily be applied to anything "Christian".

Has anyone studied religion in this way?




I think that stuying other religions is okay, if oyu are trying to minister to someone of that religion, but don't read about it soooo much that you are totally obsessed and want to convert.


JESUS IS THE ONLY WAY TO HEAVEN!!!

[Lawrence]

Ummm....

I have found that studying other religions (most notably Judaism and Islam in my case) has made my Christianity stronger. There are indeed good, ethical maxims in the aforementioned faiths and a good Jew or a good Muslim is indeed a blessing to the planet. That being said, the more I studied those two the more I appreciated Christianity. We are indeed different. I would like to study Lord Krisna in Hinduism and the Buddha some day. Faiths with Incarnate divinities might have some interesting parallels.

Pax,
L

[overjoyed]

having a broad base of knowledge about religions is something everyone should look into. how can you say that someone else is wrong unless you understand what they believe? and how can you be sure that you are right unless you have looked into other options? if your faith/religion is correct, then it should be affirmed by the mistakes of false religions and strong enough to be tested by other faiths. you want people to check out your religion, so you should probably check out theirs also.

[Lawrence]

Speaking about studying other religions-for laughs I wikipediaed Hinduism. Turns out, one of the branches, Trimurti Hinduism, actually has a trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. And they believe that certain avatars have become incarnate, such as Lord Krishna.

Pretty cool.

Pax,
L

[Apple_Of_Life29]

Hey, you don't have to be christian to learn about other religions. I think every religion has a unique way of looking at things. Although i may not always agree, I still give the effort. Besides, the religion isn't always what defines a person. It's their character as well.

[Lawrence]

JESUS IS THE ONLY WAY TO HEAVEN!!!

Yes, but how do I get to Cleveland?

[Of Mice and Narnia]

For the believer in Jesus of Nazareth as Messiah, the study of religion should always has a particular purpose. Would I be wrong to say it should be as Paul's purpose "that I become all things to all men that I might win some"?

[HarryPevensiePotterGirl!!]

I'm a Christian and I think that othe religions are important to learn about because some of them say some really tru stuff. Most ppl are born into a rfeligion and they mostly all think that their religion is the right one to be in so not all those ppl can be right about them being right. What are the cahnces that u were born into the one right religion out of all the hundreds of religions out there? That's why you have to learn about the others to see what they got right and add it to what you believe.

[echoscot]

For the believer in Jesus of Nazareth as Messiah, the study of religion should always has a particular purpose. Would I be wrong to say it should be as Paul's purpose "that I become all things to all men that I might win some"?

Very thoughtful. I like that.

[Bramblefox]

Yes, I try to learn some about other religions, but I find it a little hard not to get sucked in mentally to how that particular religion works. I know what's right, but sometimes I get momentarily into that religion before coming back to my senses. I, for one, am a Christian, in case you're wondering.

[narniarox]

Just because there is a little truth in a lie doesn't make it true. Don't accept it. While Buddha and others of his kind may have come to a Tiny amount of truth in their philosophical wanderings they did not find enough. I know enough of other religions to attack their weak standings and come from as logical a point as possible. Everything interlinks and is tied together in the cosmos. While, they found some truth they use it to justify salvation by works, not by faith and the salvation of Jesus' Grace. They leave sooo many gaps of emptiness while God explains everything! Ultimately, it comes down to belief, but I myself can only believe in such OBVIOUS things as the existence of the One True God. I believe that while we can see the truths that people have found the hard way, we can only believe in God and give him only, our attention. After all God IS a jealous God. And don't even get me started on someone saying he's the same as budhha or allah. Not the God who lives in me!

[chicken-sis5]

I think I have decided that, I am by definition a "Christian", though I am in many ways dissimilar to others of the title.

For the past week or so, I have been reading and studying other religions besides Christianity and Judaism, the two which we probably all know well. This is of great interest to me, and I was wondering if any of the Christians here find it acceptable to take some of the virtue in the teachings of others.

For example, I plan on reading the Koran someday. It would be of great interest to me.

Today, I was reading about Buddha and I realised that he really was (for lack of a better word) "cool". Many of his teachings and beliefs are, I believe, valuable to mankind and I think in many ways a Christian can incorporate his teachings into one's own philosophy as much as, say, Confucius or Socrates.

I think that nearly each of the major religions has value to it, and many of the values taught in different faiths can easily be applied to anything "Christian".

Has anyone studied religion in this way?

lolz i like learning wat other religions think....like wat the muslims (sp?) and jewish, etc. think. lol i find it really interesting :)

[Lucy the Marshwiggle]

I dont know what my brother's major is called but what he does is he studies all religions and disproves all other religions by using the Bible. its actually really cool!

[LifeMaiden]

I dont know what my brother's major is called but what he does is he studies all religions and disproves all other religions by using the Bible. its actually really cool!


You should ask him...is he going to a Christian college? That sounds interesting.
I don't think people realize just how historically accurate the Bible really is. Heck even in my nonbeliever days....I had to give credit to the Bible in many ways.

[Lucy the Marshwiggle]

You should ask him...is he going to a Christian college? That sounds interesting.
I don't think people realize just how historically accurate the Bible really is. Heck even in my nonbeliever days....I had to give credit to the Bible in many ways.


Yes he is going to attend a Christian college this fall. His major is called Historical Theology.

[SlpNarniaQueen]

I might try to when I'm older, I find other releigions interesting though I'll stay a christian...but just to see what others beleive and how that can connect to Christianity and stuff...

[Protofan]

I try very little.

[PeterC]

My uncle tried to turn me Mormon, so i know a little about Mormon.

[Paravel25]

I took a World Religions class and it covered Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and a few smaller religions. It was interesting and I agree that it's important to know the particulars of other religions rather than just letting them remain a mystery. Learning about the other religions in the world actually strengthened my Christian beliefs.

[Solya]

I always loved to learn about other religions. I was raised as a Roman Catholic, but after reading the Bible I dived into Judaism and Buddhism. I recently read quite a bit of the Qu'ran and I'm still planning on getting into Hinduism in the future. But my current religion and way of life is Paganism, and I plan on keeping it that way. I integrate a lot of every belief I read about into my own way of life... and I use philosophy and my sensitive antennae to prevent me from straying where I shouldn't go.

In my opinion every religion on Earth is connected to another religion. Be it in history, in teachings, in ethics, in customs or in something else. All pictures these religions paint of God -- be it as a monotheistic religion or as a polytheistic/pantheistic one -- are the same pictures but with different cultural viewpoints and different purposes. I have found God within myself and within everything around me. I don't really understand it if people go like "my God is the one true God and everything else is a blatant lie", because to me that sounds like you raise your way of thinking and believing up above others.

The spiral of life is God's most beautiful work. I can see that message in every religion I have read about. That's what matters to me. Being on Earth, doing something important for others and for the world, living in unity with God... that's the one true message. Everything else drops out of reason the moment Pure Love steps into the building. God remains. God is Pure Love. ;)

[PrinceOfTheWest]

That's very nice and thoroughly modern, but in order to do that you have to do some serious trimming of the teachings of the faiths to fit them together. For instance, Jesus claimed to be able to forgive sins - something His hearers correctly identified that only God could do, and that He did not deny was a divine attribute. But Muhammed wrote in the Koran that "The Messiah, son of Mary, was no other than a messenger, messengers (the like of whom) had passed away before him." (Surah 5:75) One of those is wrong. How do you decide which to accept and which to throw away?

[Wunderkind]

In my school,there's lots of people with different religions,so it's nearly impossible to NOT learn about other religions...but I'm not complaining at all,it's very interesting.

[Solya]

For instance, Jesus claimed to be able to forgive sins - something His hearers correctly identified that only God could do, and that He did not deny was a divine attribute. But Muhammed wrote in the Koran that "The Messiah, son of Mary, was no other than a messenger, messengers (the like of whom) had passed away before him." (Surah 5:75) One of those is wrong. How do you decide which to accept and which to throw away?

I tend to go with a lot of gut feeling in cases like that. :) But, in this case, I think both of them are true. Priests of today are just messengers but they do forgive your sins through contact with God. Jesus was also a messenger (and quite a divine one, too ;) ) and so he was also able to forgive sins. And isn't that what we do in a smaller version, too, when we forgive someone else for the things he/she did? I know that last bit isn't exactly comparable but it does make me think.

I am also a person who doesn't take much of the teachings literally. I interpret them first and see if they apply to my own life... because there are some teachings which are hopelessly outdated, and there are also some teachings which are so metaphorical that they really require an interpretation which comes from you. Maybe that's also of influence in this matter.

[anna.the.gentle]

we do. and it's really great to learn other people's religions and beliefs. :)

[inkspot]

Solya, if you are a student of the Christian scriptures, you know most of the "laws of Moses" which deal with dietary matters/bodily functions have now been set aside because there has been a New Covenant made, through Jesus Christ. Aside from these things (which Christians acknowledge are now only symbolic/reminders), I am curious which Christian teachings you find hopelessly outdated, any why?

[PrinceOfTheWest]

I am also a person who doesn't take much of the teachings literally. I interpret them first and see if they apply to my own life... because there are some teachings which are hopelessly outdated, and there are also some teachings which are so metaphorical that they really require an interpretation wh