World Religions

The world has no shortage of religions. The major religions of the world are Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism. Within each of these religions there exist many different branches, sects, and cults. However, as you will see, there is one major difference between orthodox Christianity and all the other religions of the world.

Orthodox Christianity teaches that there is nothing a person can do to earn their way to God. The Bible makes it clear that doing good works will not get you into heaven. Attending church regularly will not get you into heaven. According to the Bible there is only thing that will get a person into heaven: belief that Jesus Christ is God's Son and Messiah and by asking Him to forgive their sins through Jesus' sacrificial death.

The following is a list of some of the various world religions and their basic beliefs.

CHRISTIANITY - Orthodox Christianity teaches that Jesus Christ is the Son and Messiah of God. It is only through receiving forgiveness through the sacrificial death of Jesus that a person may enter into the presence of God.
JUDAISM - Judaism is a monotheistic religion that believes in the God (whom they call HaShem which means "The Name") of the Old Testament. Orthodox Christianity believes He is the same God of the New Testament. Before the destruction of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem in 70 A.D. Jews reached out to God through the sacrificing of animals to cover their sins. After the Temple was destroyed the Jews developed a system through which atonement for their sins comes through mitzvot or charitable deeds, obeying the Torah or Law, and prayer or meditation.
ISLAM - Muslims believe that if they do enough good deeds their God, Allah, will reward them on Judgment Day. Allah is not the same God of the Bible. Orthodox Christianity teaches that Jesus Christ is God incarnated. Muslims reject this doctrine but do believe that Jesus was a prophet of Allah.
HINDUISM - A person is reincarnated over and over again until they achieve nirvana or moksha which is a reuniting of their soul with Brahman, the God or Soul of the universe. How long this takes depends on how many good or bad deeds they do in each of their reincarnated lives. Hinduism allows for the beliefs in many gods and goddesses.
BUDDHISM - This is also a religion that believes in reincarnation. They believe that a soul must go through many rebirths in order to achieve nirvana and that their many lives are subject to the deeds they do in each previous life.

As you can see, Christianity is the only major religion that believes that humans cannot reach out to God but that God reaches out to humans. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, "For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the GIFT of God: NOT of works lest any man should boast."

There are many people who think that if a person is sincere in their beliefs then God will look favorably upon them. As you read on my homepage Jesus Christ does not agree with this assessment. He clearly stated that no one comes to God except through Him. So according to Jesus, all the religions of the world are based on false beliefs because they do not accept Him as the Savior of the world.

It is not a question of Christians being right and the rest of the world being wrong. Rather it is a question of what is the truth. Jesus answered this question when He stated in John 18:38 and John 14:6, "For this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth hears my voice." "I am the way, the truth and the life."