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Author
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Topic: Religions of Contrast
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Michael Harrison
Advanced Member
Member # 6801
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posted
That was a very good brief. I enjoyed it so.
quote:
There are supposedly four basic truths; suffering is universal, the cause of suffering is desire, the cure for suffering is elimination of desire, and desire is eliminated by following Siddhartha's eight part path to enlightenment. This path includes; right knowledge, right feeling, right speech, right action, right living, right effort, right insight, and right meditation. According to Siddhartha, if you do these eight things you will eventually eliminate desire and reach bliss.
I thought it interesting that in the eight part path Siddhartha mentioned, everything mentioned comes out of 'desire' so that each could be preceeded with "Desire for right ________, or _______, or _________ ." But these desires are fulfilled in Christ, and by Him such that HE fulfills what we cannot accomplish no matter how willing. So our desire should be unto He who fulfills by HIS very nature if we are surrendered to HIM.
Posts: 3273 | From: Charlotte N.C. | Registered: Sep 2007
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jrlaw
Advanced Member
Member # 7285
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posted
BUDDHISM
Buddhism was started in northern India by Gautama Siddhartha. This man, born in 563 B.C., became Buddha. He never claimed to be a deity and did not even believe in God. He even taught emphatically that if there was a god, Buddhism could not help you.
Siddhartha searched for answers to suffering and war and came up with what he felt was an enlightenment or "nirvana". This experience changed his worldview. Others searched for this nirvana and began teaching Siddhartha's method.
Nirvana was described as a suppression of the individual and a merging of the soul with a supreme spirit. It is likened to blowing out a candle. There are supposedly four basic truths; suffering is universal, the cause of suffering is desire, the cure for suffering is elimination of desire, and desire is eliminated by following Siddhartha's eight part path to enlightenment. This path includes; right knowledge, right feeling, right speech, right action, right living, right effort, right insight, and right meditation. According to Siddhartha, if you do these eight things you will eventually eliminate desire and reach bliss.
Another issue is karma. Karma is a principle of cause and effect. According to Siddhartha, all life is successive and souls are hot-swappable at death. What we do in this life determines what DNA we are assigned in the next life, or succinctly put, if you step on bugs, prepare to be a roach.
Buddha was simply an agnostic man named Siddhartha who was confused about life and searched for answers. In the chaos and squalor of India, he found something that worked for him; he hid from the truth. Buddhism did not change life in India; chaos and squalor persist today. Buddhism is a religion by definition; that is, man reaching for truth and therefore God. Unfortunately, to a Buddhist there is no God so there are no true answers. Buddhism is false because there is a God who has a plan for the salvation of mankind.
The truth is that we are stuck with but one soul for eternity, and where that soul gets to reside is a personal decision. God's plan is that we spend eternity with Him but only if we understand and accept His terms. For those Buddhists or others who never heard God's plan in their lifetime, God will deal with them justly.
If you are a Buddhist or are thinking about becoming one, does this really make sense to you? Logically, it should not. Know there is a God who seeks you and has a plan for your salvation and eternal peace. Seek Him and He will find you.
HINDUISM
Hinduism has an ultimate goal that is similar to Buddhism. That goal is "nirvana". Unlike Buddhism where there is no God, Hindu teaching is pantheistic or “everything is god”. There are 330-thousand gods with one main god named Brahma who is a pervasive, universal force. Hinduism also arose from the squalor and chaos of India and now perpetuates the same.
Union with the gods is achieved through transcendental meditation or yoga. To the Hindu, what we sense with our God given senses is just an illusion. To experience what is "real" we must imagine it through nirvana and a continuous regeneration or soul transference to fresh DNA. Again, the soul can move up and down the scale of life depending on morality exhibited. If you are bad, you do not get to be a human the next time around. If you fall back to something like an armadillo for a time, but you live a good and moral armadillo life, you could become a human again.
Hinduism is patently false. It is responsible for squalor, death, and disease. No thinking person converts to Hinduism even from atheism. God would like all to know truth and to follow His true path toward salvation and eternity. This path cannot be found through Hinduism.
ISLAM
Islam is a lie. While Buddhism and Hinduism are failed attempts by man to find truth, Islam was invented by one man to serve the purposes of a disenfranchised group, (Arabs). It was spread by force; convert or die. "Convert to Islam or die" or "convert from Islam and die" is still Islamic law. This is the least tolerant of all religions.
Much is known about the man who thought up Islam. He was a mentally unstable Bedouin who lived in the Jewish trading community of Mecca in the 6th century AD. He had many wives of varying religions including pagan, Jewish, and Christian. From this background he assembled a purpose driven religion. Muhammad converted his tribal pagan moon-god "Allah" into a universal god. His neighbors would not accept his teaching and they ran him out of town. He built up a following, returned, and killed them. This religion was born of the sword, spread by the sword, and to this day is called the "religion of the sword".
Islam paints heaven as a paradise of pleasure and indulgence. Heaven is achieved at death for a select few by leading a life of abstinence from pleasure and indulgence or by killing infidels. Islamic men think they will be serviced by beautiful, perennial virgins in paradise especially if they kill infidels. Infidels are those who disagree with Islam. Please note that if you are not a Muslim you are their enemy. Any semblance of friendship is a sham to serve their purpose. This is what Muslims call "al Taqiya", (the tactic). Yes, the term "tactic" comes from the Arabic and this "taqiya" was commanded by Muhammad.
There are five duties or "pillars" of Islam. These are; repeating a creed, making a pilgrimage to Mecca, giving alms to the poor, praying five times a day, and keeping the pious fast of Ramadan.
Again, Islam is a lie. It was an invention of convenience. There is good news though. Muslims are wayward children of God and God loves them. Not wanting Muslims, (or anyone for that matter), to burn in hell, God's plan accepts all who reject false religions and pagan gods to follow His way.
CHRISTIANITY
Judaism and Christianity are essentially the same. This is a controversial statement that many would take issue with, but let me explain. A Jew is a Christian who has not come to this realization. Or put another way, a Christian is a Jew who recognizes and knows the messiah. Jesus was not just a man claiming to be God. Jesus is the messiah. He fulfilled all prophecy relating to His first coming and he will return to fulfill the prophecy relating to His second coming.
Jesus is God who made himself into a man. Why? If you as a person wanted to show that you cared for a colony of ants, how could you best do it? The best way would be to become an ant and go down to the colony and tell them. That is what our God did. He came down and told us. Unfortunately, it is the nature of ants to kill those they do not recognize. The people that witnessed these events recorded them. The word of God recorded in the Judeo-Christian Bible is the most unique and powerful collection of writings in the history of mankind. Take a look and see.
Christianity itself is unique. It is not really a religion when religion is defined as man reaching for God. Christianity is God reaching for man. Christians are not better than anyone else, they are just better off. They possess the truth and others do not. There is only one truth. Truth is not relative. Buddhism is false. Hinduism is false. Islam is a lie. Judaism is incomplete. Atheism is selfish indecision. This will all be settled soon. Find the right side - the side of truth, and then help us save as many souls as possible. If you disagree with this, a Christian should not reject you and will not kill you as a Muslim would. A Christian simply wants what God wants and that is for all to be saved. It is sad that many have rejected and will reject God’s offer.
For the 2000 years since our visitation, mankind has failed to achieve "humanity". God told us what he wanted, and he did not make us into ant robots that only take orders. We can accept or reject his message. Rejection means separation from God. Generally speaking, the world has rejected God. There is another spiritual being out there with free will. He also rejected God and he would like to have your soul for company. You would not like living for all eternity separated from God so do not risk it.
Every person knows inside that there is a God even if they refuse to admit it. In quiet moments of introspection an atheist knows God exists and chooses to reject Him. There are a number of things that cause people to reject God, and they all center on human pride or self-indulgence.
You do not have to check your brain at the door to become a Christian. Christians invented modern science. Science was founded to study and learn about God's creation. There is no conflict between objective science and the Bible. The more we learn about ourselves and about our universe, the more we confirm ancient writings recorded in the Bible.
We are rapidly coming to the end of the period of failed human self-actualization and moving into a period of testing and reconciliation. The final countdown started in 1947. Very soon world events will unfold that were foretold thousands of years ago. Recognize what is happening because many will be deceived and lost in the chaos and the fury that is about to come. When it is said that time is short, there is a dual meaning. Yes the world's clock is ticking, but what if you have not made a decision and you are hit by a truck on the way home from work tonight. Your clock is ticking also. Do not put this off; deal with the issue. It is a life or death issue that commands your attention.
Ignore these issues and this warning at the peril of your very soul.
Posts: 24 | Registered: Aug 2008
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