Religions

Religions

By Jeff Prussia

Hinduism

Holy scripture ​are the Vedas: ancient writings in Sanskrit language​.

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The word Hindu comes from the Indus River,

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Hinduism is said to be the oldest continuing religion

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​​Pantheism = God is all and all is God. Everything, including people, and all the matter of the universe, is considered divine. There is one Ultimate Reality:

God/ Brahman

Hinduism

​Polytheism = the belief in many gods

(Monotheism ​= the belief in one god)

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" Genesis 1:1

​"For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens.​" Psalm 96:5

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Hinduism

​The ultimate goal is Moksha, or enlightenment. It is freedom from Samsara, the cycle of death and rebirth, and thus continual suffering. Moksha is commonly interchanged with nirvana.

After death, Hindus believe that the soul returns to earth. The next incarnation is based on how the previous life was lived. In a lifetime, people build up karma, good and bad. People must take responsibility for their actions in this life or the next.

Multiple Choice

What is polytheism?

• Belief in one god

• Belief in many gods

• Belief that we are all god

• Belief in no god

Multiple Choice

Moksha is the Hindu term for

• the hope for reincarnation

• the caste system

• escape from reincarnation, or enlightenment

Fill in the Blanks

The next incarnation is based on how the previous life was lived. In a lifetime, people build up ... good and bad.

Multiple Choice

What is Pantheism?

• the belief that nature is God

• the belief that there is only one God

• the belief that there is no God

Fill in the Blanks

The Hindu holy writings are known as the...

Islam means 'submission'

According to Mohammad,

the angel Gabriel came to him during a dream and told him scripture from Allah, the Arabic word for "god"

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​Qur'an (or Koran) means 'the reciting' or 'the reading.'

Multiple Choice

What is the Qur'an/ Koran?

• a person who believes in Islam

• reciting of Mohammad from God

• holy book of Taoism

• the empire before the Greeks

​Mohammad never claimed to be divine but insisted that Allah had called him to be a prophet. ​ He hated the polytheistic idolatry and immorality of the Arabs in Mecca.​ ​ ​

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Muslims, when referring to him, add "peace be upon him", and he was a model for their behavior.​​​

The Qur'an is about the size of the New Testament.

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​While the ideas are all credited to Allah, Mohammed dictated parts while the rest came from writings of disciples who remembered his oral teachings after he died.

Multiple Choice

Who physically wrote the Qur'an?

• the angel Gabriel

• Mohammad's disciples

• Allah

• Mohammad

​A pilgrimage to Mecca includes walking around the Kaaba, which is inside the Great Mosque of Mecca. Muslims believe the Kaaba (or "cube") to be the first house of worship built by Abraham. The curtain splits at the doors. There is little inside where Muhammad smashed idols, and prayer. Islam is opposed to images of Allah or Muhammad.

Multiple Choice

How many pillars of the Islam faith are there?

• 5 times a day

• 5 pillars

• 7 days

• 7 pillars

​Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, “The Lord knows those who are His,”... 2nd Tim 2:19

Islam claims there is only one God whose name is Allah. Allah is all-seeing, all-knowing, and all-powerful. Is this the God of Christianity?

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• Allah is distant and unknowable - unlike the personable God of the Old and New Testament

• Allah deceives unbelievers - The Christian God of the Bible does not lie

• Allah does not guarantee salvation and may reject a Muslim's good works thus condemning him; thus even if good works outweighed the bad, salvation depends on the will of Allah which is arbitrary at best

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​The Qur'an denies the crucifixion of Jesus. It would be unthinkable a prophet of God would face such a humiliating defeat, so he was probably replaced with someone else, like Judas.

And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins." 1 Cor 15:14

Multiple Choice

How is Allah different from God of the Christian Bible?

• Allah is omnipresent

• Allah deceives unbelievers

• Allah is knowable and personable

Buddhism

"Buddha" means 'one who is awake' - that is, enlightened.

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​The first Buddha was Siddhartha Gautama. He sought a "Middle Path" between extreme asceticism (starving oneself to reach nirvana) and enslavement to the senses.

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​The Buddha never considered himself a god, but a 'way-shower.' After his death, some exalt him as a god.

Buddhism

​Four noble Truths

• Suffering is when you don't get what you want.

• The cause of suffering is desire.

• The way to end suffering is to end desire.

• The way to the end of desire and of suffering is the eight-fold path: right values, right speech, right actions, etc

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Buddhism

​​Similar to Hinduism, Buddhism is not just one thing. Some are atheistic, while others believe in a reality that is pantheistic in nature. Typically, Buddhism holds to the beliefs of

• reincarnation

• karma

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Karma is nature's balance, but nature is not moral; therefore karma is not a moral code and sin is not ultimately immoral. Our sins are not a moral issue, but rather an impersonal mistake. Buddhism aims to renounce the self-ego, and desire. Personality is an illusion if everything else is as well.​

Buddhism

In one section of Buddhism, they believe there is a religious leader who is reincarnated for the people: ​The Dalai Lama

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"His Holiness was recognized at the age of two, in accordance with Tibetan tradition, as the reincarnation of his predecessor the 13th Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lamas are the manifestations of the Bodhisattva of Compassion, who chose to reincarnate to serve the people."

Buddhism

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Isn't it true Buddhism says suffering is a part of life, and then cycled again in reincarnation?

Well then, isn't it also true Buddhism says to end that suffering you have to get rid of desire?

But then aren't you desiring to end desire? That is illogical.

Multiple Choice

the Dalai Lama is a

• god

• Kung fu master

• reincarnated religious leader

• llama

Multiple Choice

Buddha means

• polytheism

• Submission

• one who is awake

• people of the book

Multiple Choice

The Four Noble Truths include

• Pilgrimage to Mecca

• Ying and Yang

• the cause of suffering is desire

• illusion

• When I let go of who I am, I become what I might be

Multiple Choice

The Four Noble Truths include

• Fasting during Ramadan

• Suffering is caused by relationships

• the cause of suffering is love

• The way to end suffering is to end desire

• Out of the mouth the heart speaks