Download Major Religions of the World

Major Religions of the World
Background
Beliefs
Comparison to Christianity
Witnessing to…
Islam
Muhammad
Six Articles of Faith
Five Pillars
Comparison to Christianity
When witnessing to a Muslim
Background Information
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7th Century
Muhammad received visitations from the angel Gabriel
Continued for 23 years until Muhammad’s death
The angel purportedly revealed the words of Allah to
Muhammad
• These revelations compose the Qur’an, which is Islam’s
sacred text
Beliefs
Six Articles of Faith
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Belief in one Allah.
Belief in the angels.
Belief in the prophets.
Belief in the revelations of Allah.
Belief in the last day of judgment, heaven, and hell.
Belief in predestination.
Beliefs
Five Pillars
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The Testimony of Faith (shahada)
Prayer (salat)
Giving (zakat)
Fasting (sawm)
Pilgrimage (hajj)
Beliefs
About Jesus
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He was a mere prophet, not God’s son
He was created like Adam
He did not die on the cross as the Bible makes it appear
Comparison to Christianity
Major Differences
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Rejection of the Trinity
Jesus’ death on the cross
• That they said (in boast), We killed Christ Jesus the
son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah but they killed
him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to
appear to them…for of a surety they killed him not.
(Qur’an, Surat An-Nisa’ [4:157-158]
Comparison to Christianity
Major Differences
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Rejection of the Trinity
Jesus’ death on the cross
The Word of God
Salvation
When Witnessing to a Muslim
What would you say?
When Witnessing to a Muslim
• If God created the illusion that Jesus was crucified, but
Jesus wasn’t, then God has lied and He ceases to be perfect.
• Isaiah 53:5-6
• John 3:16
• 1 Peter 2:24
• Jesus willingly died on the cross and even prophesied that it
would happen.
• John 10:17-18; 19:30
• Matthew 20:18-19
When Witnessing to a Muslim
• Salvation cannot be earned.
• If you love me, you will obey my commands (John 14:15)
• Our righteous acts are like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6)
• The work of God is this: to believe in the One He has sent (John
6:28-29)
• You can know that you are going to heaven.
• I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father
except through Me. (John 14:6)
• I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of
God so that you may know that you have eternal life. (1 John 5:13)
Hinduism
Unclear Beginnings
Sacred Writings
Comparison to Christianity
When Witnessing to a Hindu
Background Information
• Has its origin in the invasion of Indo-European tribes
from Russia and Central Asia around 1500 BC.
• Comprised of thousands of years of Indian history along
with the ancient oral tradition and religion of Vedism
• Religious principles mixed including the Hindu beliefs of
reincarnation, polytheism, and the spiritual unity of
humanity.
• Vyasa Krishna compiled The Vedas around 1500 BC,
which is one of the religion’s holy books
Beliefs
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One of the most diverse and complex religions
Recognize over 330 million gods
One supreme god, Brahma
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Believe that Brahma is impersonal and unknowable
Believed to inhabit every portion of reality throughout the
entire universe
Believe that because Brahma is everything, then everyone is
divine.
Believed to exist in three different forms
• Brahma – Creator
• Vishnu – Preserver
• Shiva – Destroyer
Beliefs
Schools of Hinduism make it difficult to summarize
Hindu theology
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Sankara’s School – Monistic belief in which all of reality can be
reduced to one thing or substance.
Brahmanism – Pantheistic belief that god is the ultimate source
of being and that all reality are manifestations of this god.
Ramanuja’s School – Panentheistic belief that the world is a
part of god and that events and changes in the universe affect
and change god.
Bhakti Hinduism – Theistic belief that there is one god who is
distinct from creation
Beliefs
Is the Vedas sacred?
Beliefs
Five Sacred Texts
1. The Vedas – Oldest of Hindu scriptures meaning, wisdom
or knowledge.
2. They are more than theology books; they contain a rich
and colorful theo-mythology.
• There are four Vedas
• Rig Veda – The Book of Mantra
• Sama Veda – The Book of Song
• Yajura Veda – The Book of Ritual
• Artharva Veda – The Book of Spell
Beliefs
Five Sacred Texts
2. The Upanishadas – Collection of writings between 800600 BC that marked a change to mystical ideas about
humanity and the universe. Great influence on Gautama
Buddha.
3. The Mahabharata - Consists of 100,000 verses composed
over an 800-year period beginning about 400 BC. And
describes the deeds of Aryan clans.
4. The Ramayana – Consists of 24,000 couplets describing
the life of Rama, a righteous king who was supposedly an
incarnation of the God Vishnu.
Beliefs
Five Sacred Texts
5. The Bhagavad Gita – The most sacred of all Hindu books
and is also the most read of all Indian works in the entire
world.
Comparison to Christianity
Major Differences: GOD
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Hinduism: God is unknowable. He is the one
impersonal, ultimate spiritual reality. Hindus claim that
there are 330 million gods.
Bible: One God in three Persons who is personally
known. While God is all-powerful and ever-present, He
is not monistic (God as everything).
Comparison to Christianity
Major Differences: CREATION
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Hinduism: Brahman alone exists; everything (the
universe, earth, man, rocks, animals, etc.) is ultimately
an illusion. Brahman caused the illusion of creation.
There is no beginning or conclusion to creation, only
endless repetitions or cycles of creation and
destruction. History has no value since it is based on an
illusion.
Bible: God is separate from His creation. All things
were created by Him, through Him, and for Him.
Comparison to Christianity
Major Differences: HUMANITY
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Hinduism: The eternal soul of each human is
supposedly a manifestation of Brahman mysteriously
trapped in the physical body. A person must live
repeated lives or reincarnations called Samsara before
the soul can be liberated from the body.
Bible: Each person is important. God created all people
so you could freely choose to know and love Him. (John
3:16; Ephesians 2:8-10.
Comparison to Christianity
Major Differences: JESUS
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Hinduism: Jesus is not seen as the Messiah, God’s Son,
or as physically resurrected. He was simply a man who
realized his divine nature.
Bible: God’s perfect Son. Holy, divine, resurrected, and
also fully human.
When Witnessing to a Hindu
• There is a deliberate openness to contradiction that can be
a headache to navigate when sharing the Truth about Jesus.
• Help them critically examine their belief system by
gently challenging the idea that truth claims are equally
true if they contradict one another.
• Jesus claimed that He and the Father were one. He was
crucified because He made Himself out to be God. P. 97 in
Jesus Among Other Gods
When Witnessing to a Hindu
• They have a great reverence for sacred scriptures.
• They believe in one Supreme Being, worlds beyond this
world.
• They have respect for other faiths.
• What will happen after you die? Will you be reincarnated?
Does heaven or hell await? Do you cease to exist?
When Witnessing to a Hindu
• Warning: The Vedas deliberately intertwines myth,
theology, and history to achieve a story-form religious root.
This theo-mythology is so deeply rooted in India’s history
and culture that to reject the Vedas is viewed as opposing
India. Therefore a belief system is rejected by Hinduism if it
does not embrace Indian culture to some extent.
Major Religions of the World
Buddhism
Judaism