For today's article ladies and gentlemen we are going to be putting our critical thinking skills to the test and proving all things as 1 Thess 5:21 tells us to, that way we can hold fast to that which is good.
In particular we are going to be looking at various religions and see whether these particular beliefs can hold up to scrutiny. The most important decision that one will make in his or her life is what they believe about God & the afterlife, the decisions that pertain to this life only affect us for a fleeting moment; such as what car to drive, what house to buy, and yes even whom we marry will only impact our life for merely a few decades at the most. This is only a minuscule speck of time when compared to the vastness of what will be be doing for eternity. So what you believe about spiritual things really matters. To keep this article at a reasonable length I will only be covering 27 religions today.
Catholicism
This is a branch of Christianity that is quite distinct in it's doctrines from what we know from the protestant church. The profess that they are Christians and some of them might actually be saved but the doctrines and teachings of the Catholic church go directly against the commands of scripture. As Jesus taught "For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men,..." (Mark 7:8).
This includes but certainly isn't limited to calling men Father, worshiping graven images, confession to a priest, and the doctrine of purgatory which denies the cleansing power of Christ's blood. Jesus said "If ye love me, keep my commandments. (John 14:15)", to claim to be christian and to openly and repetitly sin against him makes you a liar.
Jehovah's Witness & 7th Day Adventist
These are two different groups of professing Christians that deny at least two very important church doctrines. Which is the Deity of Christ and / or the Holy Spirit and the Eternal punishment of the wicked. They also have a history of failed prophecies concerning the coming of Jesus. Showing that Christ is God from scripture is one of the easiest things to do as there are dozens of verses that can be used to do so, they claim to believe the bible but make their own translation to fit their beliefs. This is called idolatry, when you try and make god out to be the way you want him to be instead of submitting to who he is.
Pentecostalism
This is a group of Christians out of the protestant church that hold to the doctrine of continuation-ism (that is the belief that the spiritual gifts have not ceased), to the which i have no major qualms with. For the most part many pentecostals believe in the basic and core doctrines of Christianity, the contention that I personally have with this group of believers is that they try and divide up the body of Christ and say that unless you have at least once spoke in tongues you are not of the body and/ or haven't had the Spirit's baptism. This would mean one wouldn't be saved (John 3:5, Rom 8:9). To this i would recommend they read 1 Corinthians 12:17-30.
Calvinism
This is a specific type of Soteriology that deals with Salvation. This worldview ultimately denies that man has free will, and that God has meticulously controlled absolutely everything that has come to pass; even men's evil actions. They also teach that God has chosen who he wants to and has saved from the foundation of the world and predetermined who will Go to hell as well. That it's his ultimate desire that most won't be saved. If this worldview was correct we wouldn't be able to get made at anyone for doing absolutely anything because God has sovereignly decreed and unchangably determined for that person to do that thing that your upset about. Note: not all calvinist agree with all the doctrines of Calvinism.
Mormonism
This is another group that claims to be followers of Jesus. The problem that i see with Mormons is that they don't fully trust the old and new testament but only so far as they are interpreted correctly. What this actually means to them however is if the bible contradicts their book of mormon they will always side with the book of mormon. Jesus on the other hand never doubted scripture as he is seen in the gospels saying It is written. Mormon doctrine contradicts scripture by denying Monotheism, teaching that God was once a man like us and then became God, and that we can become Gods ourselves. They also deny the virgin birth and instead of the church being the bride of Christ, they instead believe that saved men get their own goddess wives in heaven to help them make spirit babies to populate other worlds. To claim Christianity and yet deny scripture is to live a contradiction.
Prosperity Gospel
This is the belief that God wants his people to always be healthy, wealthy, and happy in this life and if your not these things then you are doing something wrong. The bible however teaches that we will have suffering, persecution, and tribulation in this life. This is a man-centered gospel that focuses on the selfish pursuits of man rather than the obedience and faith of a God-centered life.
Atheism/Evolution
This is a worldview that has the universe coming into existence out of nothing. Life arising from non-life, and animals changing into other creatures over the course of millions of years. Not only do any of these three things have any scientific backing despite claims to the contrary but it's teachings have resulting in the genocide of millions of people. Atheism supposes subjective morality, if mankind is the ultimate determiner of wright and wrong, then you can justify any type of behavior including rape and murder. If this worldview was true you couldn't even do science as science supposes that the universe will always work in an orderly fashion, why would this be the case if the universe came about by chance.
Islam
This isn't the place to go into the history and foundation of Islam, so for sake of space i will just mention some of the moral deficiencies of Islam. Murdered Infant daughters go to hell, prostitution (temporary marriage) allowed, rape (captured women) permitted, wife-beating ok, Lying (in some cases) is alright, women are dumber than men, killing apostates, adoption isn't legitimate, Muhammad owned black slaves, Polygamy allowed, and I will just stop at that for now. There is also scientific blunders in the Quran and Muhammad had some misconceptions regarding the bible but I will let my readers research that on their own.
Oneida community/Feminism/CAW/Law of One
What do these 4 religions have in common? One word, Promiscuity. Oneida community teaches that every man is married to every women exclusive parings discouraged. The Law of One calls marriage a contamination of the sexual rather that the free giving of one to another in love (or something similar). CAW stresses non-possessive love, and hardcore feminist seek for the abolition of marriage altogether. What would be the consequence of society ruled by these religions. STD's, countless Abortions, and fatherless children galore. Truly a terrible thought indeed.
Jediism
Loving a movie series so much that you make a religion out of it! This is known as idolatry. When you make a god in your own image or a god to suite your taste. This breaks the first commandment to no have no other gods before me (Exo 20). They have set up a god in their heart (Ezekiel 14:3).
Scientology
This religion's founder was also known for writing science fiction. It boasts that it's members can obtain god-like abilities such as being able to control space, matter, energy, and time. This sounds like the devils lie that we can become like gods (Gen 3:4-5). In order to reach this god-like state (called the operating thetan) you must dish out a ton of cash for hubbard's coarses. You would be wise to heed the bible instructions regarding false teachers (Rom 16:17-18, 2 Pet 2:1-3).
Breatharianism
This religion claims that you can live without eating food. In a world where many people die from famine how can any sane person believe this? The laws of physics apply even if you don't believe in them. This religion is debunked by science and the bible.
Remnant Fellowship
I will sum up this religion by mentioning three things. This supposed christian religion's leader Gwen Shamblin is said to lord over God's heritage (1 Pet 5:3) by trying to control every aspect of her followers lives. They have the mentality that only they have the truth and that other modern churches are a counterfeit (2 Tim 3:16-17, 1 John 2:27). They also teach that to eat outside the bounds of natural hunger is a sin and may even imply that obesity itself is a sin. While christians are to crucify their flesh, you shouldn't fat shame people. Some people are obese despite the fact that they eat healthy and don't overindulge.
Hinduism
So what's wrong logically with Hinduism? I will make two points. First they believe the universe is eternal and that it goes through cycles of deaths and rebirths; constantly shrinking and then expanding again. These are known as Kalpas. This is similar to the oscillating big bang theory. The logical problem with this is that it would make time infinite, which it can't be. For if it were we could not have reached this particular moment in time. The second thing that i wish to point out is the indian parable that has multiple blind men feeling different parts of an elephant. This is interpreted as you have your truth and I have mine, that each person interprets reality differently. While it is true that the god of this world has blinded the minds of them that believe not (2 Cor 4:4), this in no way makes truth unknowable. 2+2=4, the letters that i am writing are the color black, torturing innocent babies for fun is wrong, these truths are self-evident, just because a vast majority of people don't know something to be true it doesn't make that truth untrue.
Buddism
Some Buddhist are atheistic, some are polytheistic, they view the afterlife in terms of reincarnation, like most other religions they believe salvation can be earned through Good works. Let's address these points. Atheistic Buddhist have to deny the evidence of creation as proof that their was a designer, building don't build themselves nor do painting paint themselves. Romans 1 tells us that they are without excuse. Concerning polytheistic Buddhist, i challenge you to show me the evidence that your gods exists, my God was an actual historical figure who showed his divinity through many miraculous works and sayings. The bible to the best of my knowledge is the only holy book to claim divine inspiration. The belief in reincarnation is unprovable and the evidence is severely lacking, the only evidence of reincarnation that i am aware of is when people undergo hypnotism to discover their past live; hardly a reliable way to get information. Can you be saved by doing good works. Try mentioning your good works before a judge and see if that gets you out of jail for bank robbery, it won't work. Good deeds can't remove sin.
Jainism
A similar religion to Hinduism as it teaches reincarnation, an eternal universe, and the worship of many gods, though I needn't refute those teaches here as I do elsewhere. Jainism has some good teachings such as not stealing, adultery, and self-denial. But they also have some very unusual practices such as wearing a cloth over their mouth to prevent inhaling living organisms, boiling water to avoid ingesting them, sweeping the ground to avoid stepping on them, etc. This is because they believe in non-violence which applies to things that have a soul, but to them not only do people have souls but animals, plants, and even things like sand and rain have souls. Like Catholic priest, Jain monks are expected to be celibate and Jains are also expected to abstain from eating meat, and even some in not all roots and fruits. Please refer to 1 Tim 4 regarding the commandment to abstain from meat and forbidding to marry.
Ok, so it seems just from what we covered so far that Jainism is a very restrictive religion in terms of food choices, and especially for the monks who can't even marry. So why be a part of a religion that demands so much yet has assertions of truth without and sometimes in spite of the evidence. Their holy books are claimed to be true yet are not divinely inspired.
Norse & Roman gods
It is indisputable that people believed that these gods existed, gods such as Zeus, Aphrodite, Odin, Thor, Ares, etc. The real question is did they? What proof does a pagan have that his gods exists? Many pagan gods are said to have had a beginning, this would rule them out as being the cause of the universe; as space, time, and matter is thought to have came into existence simultaneously.
Jesus aka the God of the bible was an actual historical figure, and the events/details of his life are not only recorded in the bible but in secular writings as well. The graves of the apostles are with us today. Whereas the gods of the greeks/norse cultures are regarded as myth. Jesus is described as eternal and uncreated in his deity. There is a reason why the bible is in the non-fiction spot in the library. The power of the God of the bible changes peoples lives and makes them new creatures, no longer under the bondage of sin, his care and provision for his sheep, and the miracles he does in the lives of his sheep testify that our God lives.
Dances of Universal Peace & Bahai
The main practice of the Dances of universal peace is you guessed it dancing. Dancing to Music that carries the "sacred heart" of many of the world's religions. Bahai teaches that throughout the ages God has sent a series of divine messengers including Abraham, Krishna, Zoroaster, Moses, Jesus, Muhammed, Budda, etc; in order to guide and educate humanity. They accept the validity of all the world's major religions. The reason why I could never become a bahai is because it violates the law of non-contradiction. You can't have something that is A and not A at the same time, or a square circle. When various religions religions give conflicting views of reality only one of them can be true. The main problem with these two religions is they value love, unity, and peace, to the exclusion of truth. Christians are to love their enemies (Mat 5:44), and follow peace with all men (Heb 12:14), but we are also called to be separate from unbelievers (2 Cor 6:14-18), and to preach the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15).
Creativity Movement
Adherents to this religion are atheist and white supremacist. Atheism espouses evolution; that the universe and life came about by chance a very long time ago. There is much evidence and many arguments one could make to refute this idea such as c-14 in dino-bones/diamonds, fine-tuning argument, soft tissue in dino bones, polystrate fossils, The laws of biogenisis & causality, the ontological argument, living fossils, stasis in fossils, complexity of the cell, irreducible complexity, recorded stalactite growth, and on and on it goes. Now most people find racism to be repugnant, and rightly so; as it implies that you would hate someone for something that they could not control. To hate someone for being black/white or any other color is on the same level as hating someone for being born with some sort of handicap or disability. It is objectively Morally wrong.
Church of Euthanasia
A political organization found in Massachusetts by Chris Korda. Their goal; restore the balance between humans and the other species in the world. Their 4 pillars, abortion, suicide, cannibalism of the already dead, and sodomy. Adherents to this religion have fallen for the lie that the earth is overpopulated. This is a religion that promotes hatred for mankind, and for God's law's to not kill and to be fruitful and multiply. To even suggest something like abortion or suicide is to put a very low view on the sanctity/value of human life. I don't need to prove this religion as false as everyone objectively knows that killing is wrong via their God given conscience (Rom 2:14-15).
Biblical Christianity
I will conclude this article with a brief summary of biblical Christianity. True Christians believe that an unfathomably intelligent and powerful God created the universe. This God is also timeless as he was the one who created time. In other words he never had a beginning. He is the only sufficient cause that properly explains how the universe came to be. This God created man in his image and gave man a free will; this was necessary because he wanted his creation to have the capacity to love him and love cannot be expressed without an option to not love, or else you would just have robots. When man sinned he was separated from God and because God is just he detest sin and must punish it. However God is also love. In order to satisfy both is attributes of Justice and Love, God took on flesh and bore our punishment that we deserved on a cross. This God's name is Jesus. Three days later he rose again and now is ascended to the right hand of the Father. Those that sincerely repent of their sins and trust in this provision that was made on their behalf will spend eternity with him. Salvation isn't earned it is a free gift, it is by grace through faith.
There is countless evidence that supports the veracity of this worldview for those with eyes to see. From fulfilled bible prophesy and scientific foreknowledge, to our conscience that agree's with God's moral law as laid out in scripture, to scientific evidence that shows that the earth is young, the design of the universe that proves there was a creator, the thousands of bible manuscripts that line up within 98-99% accuracy (some copies of which have dated to just a few years to the original autographs), the countless testimonies of miracles from believers, to ancient artifacts that mention specific people of the bible, and so much more!
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