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Zoroaster

Tradition places about 650 B.C. somewhere in Persia. He received a vision.  A large personage, Vohu Manah or Agood thought@ took Zoroaster into the presence of the wise lord Ahura-Mazda, who instructed him in the one true religion.

The Reese Chronological Bible places the captivity of the prophet Daniel to Babylon about 580 BC. The Babylonians (Arabs) were defeated by the Persians (539 BC). It is probable that the religion of Darius the Mede was Zoroastrianism.  The magi who later brought gifts to the newborn Aking of the Jews@ may have studied the writings of Daniel, accepted as a Awise man@ of Athe good.@

Ahura-Mazda - The supreme deity, creator of the world.

Deity impersonal.

Not all-powerful, but coequal with his opposite,

Angra mainya-The evil creator, archenemy of Ahura-Mazda.

War between good and evil.

Good will win out.

Reward for the righteous.

Punishment for the wicked.

Fire worship.

Priests called Magi.

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Moses (about 1540 BC) is believed to have written the Torah - the first 5 books of the Old Testament which contain the LAW. [Many believe Moses used information from older records for portions of his history, concerning events and people who lived before his time.] Other Old Testaments books tell of people who kept or did not keep Torah and the consequences.       Moses  identified Abraham (about 1900 BC), and his descendants thru Isaac, and Jacob as especially Achosen@ of God.  God promised to give to Abraham the land which then belonged to the descendants of Canaan, grandson of Noah.

Jews (descendants of Judah, one of Jacobs 12 sons) were essentially the only tribe left after others were destroyed because they disobeyed commands of God, and failed to heed warnings to repent. 

God = The Supreme Being, The creator of all.

God revealed Himself and His Law (Torah) to Moses.

If you keep the commands of the Torah, then you will be God=s people, and then He will bless you.

Messiah (a human descendant of King David) will come to lead God=s people back to obedience of Torah.

Messiah will be used of God to deliver God=s people from oppression.

Salvation= Resurrection to  life with God=s people in a new earth to be created by God, and ruled by Messiah at the end of this age.

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Jesus of Nazareth

Also call the Christ, meaning  anointed one.

(Born about 4BC)

Followers of Jesus wrote the New Testament portion of the Christian Bible.

The Old Testament was regarded by His followers as the foundation of their faith. Christ was the APromised One@  whose coming was foretold in the Old Testament.

Jesus claimed:

I came forth from God.  I am going back to God (John 16:28).    

I shared glory with God before the world existed. (John 17:5; John 6:62).

No one will receive eternal life except through me (John 10:9; John 11:25; )

AI am the way, the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.@  (John 14:6)

AAll authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.@  (Matthew 28:18).

I am God=s Son, the promised Messiah (Christ).  (Mark 14:61-62; John 10:36; John 3:16)

The world and everyone on it are doomed.

My death is the only way to save the earth and those people who will follow me. (John 3:16)

I will die by crucifixion - and I will be raised from the dead on the 3^rd day.  (Matthew 16:21; 17:23; 20:19).

AI am with you always, even to the end of the world.@  (Matthew 28:20).

Man=s nature is selfish - but can be changed by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit,

which I will send to you from the Father.

Salvation=resurrection at the end of this age, to eternal life with the Father and Son, in the earth made new.

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Muhammad

Believed by his followers to be the greatest of God=s prophets.  (7^th century AD) Received revelations from God, who identified Himself as Allah, given through the angel Gabriel (also believed to be the holy spirit).  These revelations were gathered and recorded as the Quran (also called Koran).  Muslims also revere the Torah, Psalms, and Gospels of Jesus, but teach that human writers, such as Luke, John, and Paul changed and corrupted them.  The Christian Scriptures should be avoided.

(Hadith 9:614).

Abraham was blessed of God as in the Old Testament of the Bible, but took his firstborn son Ishmael up the mountain in obedience to God, not Isaac.  Essentially Islam corrects  the Old Testament and the New Testament as believed by Jews and Christians. 

Women are seen as ultimate distractions, seductresses.  Muhammad taught that women are less intelligent than men.  Men are to take four wives.  Women are to serve their husbands, be covered except in the presence of their husbands or male relatives to whom they could not be married, remain uneducated, and in the home for the most part.  Beating of wives was permitted - not to be followed by sex on the same day.  

In common with Christianity:

God is one, holy, truthful, rules, reveals His will, judges,

is merciful, and forgives.

Satan is a spirit created by God, who is now fallen.

Differs from Christianity in HOW God, rules, reveals, judges, loves, and forgives.

Differs from Christianity:

Allah does as He pleases.  Man does not have free will.  Allah  is all controlling. 

Allah created both good and evil.  Allah can and does change His mind.

Allah causes and decides each man=s fate.  Allah created some to send them to hell.  (Sura 32:13).

Allah has no affection or feeling for any creature.  Allah is NOT a divine father.  All are slaves of Allah.

Allah is completely separate from us.  He is above us, but is NOT Awith us,@ or Ain us.@

Allah does NOT make covenants with men.

There was no Afall.@   Man was created weak but basically good.   Man does not need salvation. (Sura 4:28).

Allah will prosper those who obey Him.  People can, by their own efforts, free themselves from the power of sin (disbelief or disobedience of Allah=s commands).

Salvation, or Aparadise@ a place of sensual pleasures (for men) is gained through profession of belief in Allah and Muhammad His prophet, ritual prayer, fasting, alms giving, pilgrimage, waging holy war).   The lost (including Christians and Jews) will go to a burning Ahell,@ but may only suffer until Allah frees them.

Jesus was created from the dust.  His ministry was inferior to Moses, or other earlier prophets, and was only to announce the messenger who would follow him, that is, Muhammad, the last and greatest prophet of Allah.  (Sura 61:6). Jesus will return to earth to restore Islam to perfection and will wipe out Judaism and Christianity.

(Hadith  3:425).

Jesus was NOT God=s son, and was NOT crucified.   Someone else died in his place.

 (Sura 4:157).  Jesus will never rule. On the great judgment day, Jesus will not intercede for any human beings.  Muhammad will intercede.

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Nanak (born near Punjab, India about 1469 AD)

A fairly recent religion.  Nana taught that Islam and Hinduism both contained errors.  The Grant Sahib contains his and others sacred writings.  Appointed a successor, Lamina who changed his name to Angas (bodyguard), and declared Nana equal with God.  Later adherents transferred obedience from the guru successor of Nana to the book of sacred writings called - AThe Lords Book.@

Hindu:

Retained 

   1) salvation = polytheistic merging with mystical world soul  

   2) doctrine of Karma    3) Transmigration of souls

Repudiated: 1) Hindu polytheism 2) Hindu scriptures

   3) pilgrimages, ritualism, hermit asceticism

   4) degradation of women 5) infanticide  6) vegetarianism

Islam:

Retained 

   1) belief in a Supreme Being with absolute rule, sovereignty,                          arbitrariness  

   2)  salvation through submission to the will of the Supreme Being,,

   3)  worship thru repeating prescribed prayers and repetition of the                   name of deity,

   4) devotion to the founder as God=s prophet, extreme reverence for                sacred scripture,

   5) a powerful church-state   6) vehement denunciation of idolatry.

   7) importance of central shrine at Mecca and Amritsar,

   8) degradation of women

Difference:

   1) Sikhism=s founder not so ruthless or violent as Islam=s.

   2) Sikhism=s deity not so ruthless or violent as Islam=s.

   3) Sikhism=s sacred scriptures ascribed to many teachers, (at least 37)

           not to one, as  in Islam.                   

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The ancient rishis

Pure and calm individuals who communicated eternal truth to their disciples who wrote it down - these writings are called vedas.

The name Hindu derived form the Persian hindu or sindu (meaning river) - the name arose from the Indus River, and those living near the river.  Scriptures written over 2,000 years [1400 BC to 500 AD].

Many, many different sects, each focusing on one of the paths to Nirvana, worship of different incarnations (in different forms) of deity, different enlightened teachers. 

For the most part accepting of other religions, seeing them as alike, seeking truth, in different ways.

Salvation (reaching Nirvana) is through: 

1. The way of knowledge - knowing one is actually  a part of ultimate Brahman

2. The way of devotion - love and obedience to a particular deity

3. The way of works - following ceremonial ritual

Brahman = The Three-in-One-God (impersonal)

Brahma, Creator       Vishnu, Preserver          Shiva, Destroyer

Submission to Fate

No such thing as Asin@ against God - just acts of ignorance.

Man is simply a manifestation of Brahman - without  individual self or worth

The earth and everything that exists is simply part of Brahma.

Everything is Brahma and Brahma is everything.

The Caste System as determined by the Laws of Manu

Law of Karma (from good comes good, from evil comes evil)

Reincarnation - through virtuous living a soul may rise to a higher state.

Nirvana-final stage - soul free of cycle of reincarnation,

    mystical reabsorption into the Infinite

Yogas-disciplines to control body and emotions

Darma, Law of Moral Order - which each soul must find and follow to reach Nirvana

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Siddhartha Gautama (about 500 BC)

later called the Buddha - Enlightened One

(Approx. 5^th century BC) Buddha began life as a prince, but left to seek enlightenment. Found enlightenment in deep meditation under a fig tree.

Grew out of dissatisfaction with Hinduism and the caste system.

Buddha is not recorded to have claimed divinity but was later worshiped by followers of his teachings. This was against his early teachings.

Denies the inspiration of the Vedas (Hindu scriptures)

No supreme being, universe evolved.

Rejected physical deprivation.

AMiddle Path@ to enlightenment

AFour Noble Truths@ and  AEightfold Path@

Evil=emotion, desire or unsatisfied desires resulting from ignorance.

Salvation is through eradication/ suppression of all desire through enlightenment.

Nirvana=peace with no desires (achieved primarily thru meditation) ends cycle of rebirth.

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Mahavira - meaning Agreat man.@ (born 599 BC in north-eastern India)

Tradition relates Mahavira was the second son of a rajah living in luxury.  Married with one daughter, at the age of 30 decide to live a life of self-denial in search of enlightenment.  Wandered for 12 years destitute, in rags, or naked.  Experienced enlightenment while in deep meditation .  Then took on disciples, preaching his new-found beliefs.

Though he never claimed this, he became the object of worship by later followers - who came to regard him as having descended from heaven without sin and with all knowledge. 

Began as a heretical movement within Hinduism.

Differed from Hinduism:

1. Individual souls remain distinct in Nirvana,

instead of being absorbed into the collective Brahman.

2. No caste system

3. No worship of different manifestations of Brahman.  

4. Opposed to the concept of a supreme being. 

5. No animal sacrifices, no harm to living things

Evil=encumbrance of body.

Nirvana=Freedom of soul from worldly attachments.

Salvation only through rigid self-denial.

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Confucius (about 550BC)

Contemporary of Buddha (although they probably never met).

Teacher who rose to prominence in China.  Born at a time of warring tribes, and general viciousness.

Much later - deified by followers of his teachings, but no record of his desire for this.

Optimistic Humanism:

Veneration of ancestors and their wisdom.

Spirits of ancestors remain present with family if provided for.

Angry ancestors may cause trouble.

Veneration of living elders, especially father by his son.

Taught basic kindness to others, man basically good,

life experience forces man to evil

Golden rule: Do not do to another,

what you would not want done to you.

Heaven real but undefined.

Salvation through self-efforts

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No founder identified.

Origin buried in pre-history.

Abolished as the national religion after defeat of WWII.

The Japanese people are Sons of the Gods, and Japan is the country of the Gods.  Divine descent gives Japanese people superiority to others in courage and intelligence.

Female deity gave Abirth@ to the islands of Japan.

Kami - sacred power found in animate and inanimate objects.

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Bahaullah (in the late 1860s)

A Persian visionary called Athe Bab@ predicted a Amessiah@ who would fulfill all religions.  This promised one turned out to be Hussayn-Ali, who assumed the name Baha=u=llah (AThe Glory of God@ in Arabic).

This did not please the resident Shi=ite Muslims, and he fled to Baghdad, then to Constantinople and finally to Ottoman palestine, where he died in 1892.  Leadership was ceded to his son, then grandson and finally the AUniveral House of Justice.@  Today, they are based on Mt. Carmel, near Haifa, Israel. 

Claiming to be the Apromised one of all religions@ they preach global socio-religious reform.  

Monotheistic - God is in essence completely transcendent and unknowable.

Centers on belief in a series of Amanifestations of God.@  These individuals reflect and manifest attributes of God and progressively reveal the divine purpose for humankind.  Manifestations include: Abraham, Moses, Zoroaster, Gautama Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad, the Bab, and for the present age, Bahaullah. 

Further divine messengers will periodically appear. 

Spiritual progress requires: obedience to the commands of the God manifestations; well-motivated good deeds.

A unity of all the peoples and religions of the earth is the destined hallmark of this age.  Governments and peoples must work to secure world peace, a world auxiliary language, a world government, the abolition of all forms of racial, national, and religious prejudice, the ending of all forms of economic and chattel slavery, the abolition of extremes of wealth and poverty, and the equality of the sexes.  Religion and true science must harmonize. 

Marriage is monogamous, and conditional on consent of both the bride and groom and their parents.  Forbidden are all extramarital sexual relations, homosexual relationships, backbiting, gambling, begging, use of alcohol or narcotics, and involvement in partisan politics or sedition.  Honest work, education of both sexes, cleanliness, and cooperation are emphasized.