Missions

THE GREAT RELIGIONS OF THE WORLD!

By Homer Duncan

RELIGIONS TO BE CONSIDERED

1. ANIMISM – At one time, most of the one billion animists in the world could be found in the jungles of South America, Africa, Asia, India, and Indonesia. Now we have millions of spirit worshipers in the great cities of Europe and America. Spiritism is the fastest-growing religion in Brazil.
2. ISLAM – The 700 million Muslims are located principally in North Africa, the Near East, North India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Indonesia, Mindanao, and are making great gains in Europe and North America.
3. HINDUISM – Though there are 500 million Hindus found primarily in India, they are also in Southeast Asia, South Africa, the West Indies, Europe and North America.
4. CHRISTIANITY – Those who take the name of Christ can be found in most nations of the world. There are very few Christians in Afghanistan, Arabia, Turkey, Syria and the countries of North Africa. In most non-Christian lands the percentage of Christians ranges from one half of one percent to two percent of the population.
5. COMMUNISM – Though many would not classify Communism as a religion, it has many characteristics of a religion. It is often stated that the communists control two-thirds of the world’s population, but this does not mean that two-thirds of the people in the world are communists. The communists have the ability to control large majorities with small minorities.
6. BUDDHISM – The 400 million Buddhists in the world are found primarily in Southeast Asia, Japan, Korea and Taiwan.
7. SHINTOISM – More than a million Shintoists are found primarily in Japan; several hundred thousand are in Brazil.
8. JUDAISM – A few years ago the sixteen million Jews were scattered all over the face of the earth. Now they are located primarily in Russia and New York State, and are returning to the land of Israel in large numbers. Ask us for a copy of our book, Israel: Past, Present, and Future.

Before the Communists took over China in 1947, Confucianism was one of the world’s major religions. Though many of the older people of China tenaciously hold to the religion of their ancestors, most of the younger generation is atheistic. Taoism, Sikhism and Bahaism are not discussed in detail.

FIVE VIEWS CONCERNING RELIGION

1. Communists view religion as an opiate to keep the working classes in bondage to the rich. In communist-controlled countries religion is either banned or controlled by the government.
2. Humanists View religion as a crutch for the week and ignorant. They consider it to be an escape mechanism that the simple-minded used to escape the realities of life.
3. Most people like to be put in the category of broad-minded. Broad-minded people tell us that all religions are good. They say that every religion is a window that lets in the light of God. Or, they say that the different religions are like the many paths that lead to God.
   You may have heard the story of the four blind men who examined an elephant. The first blind man felt the elephant’s side and said the elephant was like a barn. The second grabbed one of his legs and said that an elephant was like a tree. The third got a hold of his trunk and said he was like a large snake. The fourth grabbed his tail and said he was like a rope. The experts tell us that in examining the world’s religions we are like the blind men who did not have a composite view of the whole elephant.
4. We are now living in the Ecumenical Age, and the Ecumenists tell us that we should take the best out of all religions and have one world religion. Contact us for a copy of our book on the Ecumenical Movement.
5. Then there are those that think they have the one true religion, and that everyone else is wrong. Muslims, Shintoists, Orthodox Jews and many Christians are in this category. Though most Hindus claim that all religions are good, they often persecute unto death those who leave the Hindu religion. Though we are not specifically considering the cults in this article, there are thousands of cults whose members think they have the one true religion, and all of them are wrong.

CLASSIFICATIONS AND DEFINITIONS

In your mind’s eye, draw a chart with three lines of words across the page. On the first line put six words: Atheism, Deism, Humanism, Monism, Animism, and Theism. On the second line put four words which are a division of Theism: Pantheism, Polytheism, Henotheism and Monotheism. On the third line put three words which are a subdivision of Monotheism: Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. Further sub-divisions could be made, but for the time being these will suffice. Let us look at the meaning of each of these words.

Atheism is a denial of the existence of God or gods. While we are here let us consider some unrelated words. An infidel is an unbeliever in respect to a particular religion. For example, Christians are considered to be infidels in Muslim lands. Agnosticism holds that any ultimate reality is unknown and probably unknowable. An agnostic is a person who takes pride in saying that he does not know. He says, “There may be a God, but I do not know. The Bible may be the Word of God, but I do not know. There may be a heaven or hell, but I do not know.” He always prefers to use his Greek name, agnostic, rather than his Latin name ignoramus.

Deism is a system of thought advocating natural religion based on human reason rather than revelation.

Humanism asserts the dignity and worth of man and his capacity for self-realization through reason. The humanist usually rejects supernaturalism. Humanism is the cornerstone of the theory of evolution and is a secular sister to Communism.

Monism recognizes only one kind of ultimate substance.

Animism is difficult to define. Though all animists do not fit into the same category, we are safe in saying that animism is the worship of spirits or demons.

Theism is the belief in God or gods.

The four sub-divisions of Theism are:

• Pantheism recognizes God in everything. It equates God with the forces and laws of the universe.
• Polytheism has many gods; for example, the 330 million gods of the Hindus.
• Henotheism is the worship of one supreme god in a pantheon of gods.
• Monotheism is the belief in one God.

• Judaism
• Christianity
• Islam

FIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF RELIGIONS

We are dealing with general characteristics. As will be noted, there are exceptions to our rules.

1. All religions have a God or gods. Even though communism is atheistic, it has many characteristics of a religion. Confucianism has no God or gods, but it would not be proper to consider it atheistic. Buddha rejected the polytheism of Hinduism and started out without a god of any kind, but soon his followers deified him. The God of the Christians is both imminent and transcendent. Muslims do not enjoy the personal relationship with Allah that Christians do with their Heavenly Father. Some religions have both good and bad gods.
2. With the exception of Animism, Hinduism, and Shintoism, all religions recognize some individual(s) as their founder. In some religions, the founder is considered to be a man like other men, or at most to be a prophet of God. In other religions, the founder is considered to be God or an incarnation of God. Christians make the claim that their founder was raised from the dead.
3. All religions have some form of sacred writings. Christians, Muslims and Jews believe that their Bibles are a direct revelation from God. Christians argue about the inspiration of their Scriptures, but Muslims hold the Koran to be true at every point since they consider it to be a direct revelation from Allah. The Christian Scriptures were put in written form soon after the events took place. Shinto Scriptures were not recorded until hundreds of years after the supposedly historical events. Hinduism is one of the world’s oldest religions. The sacred writings of the Hindus are so vast that no man could read all of them in a lifetime. The Muslims’ Koran can be read in a few hours; many Muslims memorize the entire book. Christians add their New Testament to the Jewish Bible. Catholics add the apocryphal books between the Old and New Testaments to form their Bible. Many of the cults claim special revelations from God, which they then add to the Protestant Bible.
4. Though all religions have different goals and have different means for reaching those goals, all religions aim at improving the well-being of man in this life. All religions stress the importance of good works.
5. All religions are divided into cults, factions and schools of thought.

2. Christians have a unique Christ

1. Christ is unique in that He is the God-man.
   He is very God of very God. All of the fullness of the Godhead bodily dwells in Him (Colossians 2:9). And yet, He is just as much a man as anyone of us. The One who created all things (Colossians 1:16) was made in the likeness of sinful flesh. “When the fulness of time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law” (Galatians 4:4). In theology this is called the hypostatic union. Christians make no claim of being able to understand this doctrine. All of us understand how a person can be God, and we understand that a man is a man, but the human mind cannot fathom how that one person can be God and man at the same. We believe this doctrine, not because we understand it, but because this is the clear teaching of the Word of God.
2. Christ was unique in His birth.
   Conceived from the Holy Spirit; in the virgin Mary, His mother (Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-35). It was this union in this relationship that made Him the God-man. No other religion claims its founder to be the virgin-born Son of God. Hinduism and Buddhism recognize other incarnations, such as Buddha, Gandhi, and Ramakrishna, but these so-called incarnations are not of the same character as the incarnation of Christ.
3. Christ was unique in the life He lived.
   His life was without a flaw. No man convicted Him of sin (John 8:46). He was holy, harmless, undefiled and separate from sinners (Hebrews 7:26). He is the impeccable Christ. Among the founders of all the other religions, Buddha came nearest to living a holy life. No one doubts that he lived an exemplary life, but He did not claim to be sinless as did the Lord Jesus. He was deified by his own followers.

   Evidently, Mr. Gandhi made the same error that has been made by many others in thinking that a Christian is a perfect saint instead of realizing that a Christian is a person whose life God is transforming.

   Permit me to illustrate what I have just written in this way. Most automobile agencies have two main parts. In the front, there is the sales division where brand new cars are on display. In the rear of the agency is the repair department where damaged cars are being repaired. The Christian will not be perfect until one day he is taken home to heaven. The very moment we see the Lord Jesus we shall be made like Him, changed into his likeness (1 John 3:1-3; 1 Corinthians 15:51-58). In the meantime, the Spirit of God is taking lives that have been ruined and marred by sin and is transforming them into the image of Christ.

Permit me to give you 9 definitions of a true Christian.

1. A Christian is one who is in Christ (1 Cor. 15:22).
2. A Christian is one who has Christ (1 John 5:12).
3. A Christian is one who is married to Christ (Rom. 7:14).
4. A Christian is one who is born again by the Spirit of God (John 3:3-5).
5. A Christian is one whose sins have been washed away by the blood of Christ (1 John 1:7).
6. A Christian is one who has received Christ (John 1:12).
7. A Christian is one who has repented of his sins (Luke 13:1-5).
8. A Christian is one who has exercised saving faith in Christ (Romans 3:28; 5:1).
9. A Christian is one who has been justified (declared righteous) by Almighty God.
   He is not made righteous by any religion, not even by the Christian religion. He is not made righteous by his own effort, by obeying ordinances, or by anything else that he can do. God Almighty declares the lost and ruined sinner to be righteous on the basis of what Christ has done for him in His death and resurrection. This transaction takes place when the unconverted person exercises saving faith in Christ.

*Note: In giving nine definitions of a Christian, please do not think that I am listing nine requirements for being a Christian. All of these definitions are the same thing stated in different ways.

4. Christ was unique in His teachings.
   His doctrine was contrary to all of the teachings of men. He taught that we save our life by losing it (Mark 8:35). He taught that life springs from death (John 12:24). He taught that we get by giving (Luke 6:38). He taught us to love our enemies, and to do good to those who despitefully use us (Matthew 5:44).
5. Christ was unique in His death.
   No other religion makes the claim that it’s found her died a substitutionary, atoning death for the sins of all mankind (1 John 2:2; 2 Cor. 5:21). No other religion makes such a claim as this.
6. Christ was unique in His resurrection.
   Today we can visit the tombs of the founders of other religions. Yes, and we visit the tomb of Christ. There is one difference; Christ’s tomb is empty. The evidence of Christ’s resurrection is not based on idle hearsay, but on solid historical facts. For further evidence, read our book, How Firm A Foundation.
7. Christ is unique in His present priestly ministry.
   He is the mediator between God and men – the man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5). He is the God-man. As God He can reach up and take hold of a Holy God; as man He can reach down and take hold of lost, fallen, sinful man, and can bring a holy God and sinful men together. He is the only one in all the universe who can do this.
8. Christ is unique in His second coming.
   Dozens of times He gave the promise that He would come again (John 14:3; Matthew 24:27-31; Luke 21:28). He gave the signs that would be fulfilled before He returned the second time. Contact us for a copy of our book, The King Is Coming, which gives 97 signs that strongly indicate His soon return.

3. The Holy Spirit of God is Unique

We have seen that animism is the worship of spirits or demons. However, demonism is not limited to those who are animists, but is a prominent feature of every pagan religion. In writing to the church at Corinth, the Apostle Paul said, “The things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons, and not to God” (1 Corinthians 10:20). A satanic spirit energizes all who have not come to Christ (Ephesians 2:2).

When a person exercises saving faith in Christ and thereby becomes a child of God, the Holy Spirit of God does at least five things for that person in a split second of time.

These five things are:

1. He is born again by the Spirit of God (John 3:3,5).
2. He is indwelt by the Holy Spirit. His body becomes the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19; Romans 8:9).
3. He is placed in the Church, the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13).
4. He is sealed by the Spirit of God for eternity (Ephesians 4:30).
5. He is given at least one spiritual gift (1 Corinthians 12:7).

The Christian is commanded to be filled with the Holy Spirit. This means that his life is to be controlled by the Holy Spirit.

4. Christians Have a Unique Bible

All religions stand or fall, not on what they believe about their God, or what they believe about their founder or prophet, but whether or not they have a ground or basis for their faith. All religions have sacred writings, but Muslims, Jews and Christians believe their sacred writings to be a direct revelation from God – to be the very words of God. The issue is this: What evidence do they have for believing that their God is the true God, that their prophet is a true prophet, and that their Scriptures are in reality a revelation from God?

A person may believe that the moon is made of green cheese, but what he believes will in no way change the facts. He may believe that the earth is flat, but believing will not make it flat. A few years ago, Muslims believed the moon was sacred, and that Allah would never allow men to touch the moon; but their faith has not kept men from walking on the moon. Some Muslims still refuse to believe that men have landed on the moon. They think that pictures of the moon landing were taken on some desert. But what they believe in no way changes the fact.

Several years ago I visited the famous Lingaraja Temple in Bhubaneswar, Orissa, India. I asked the priest, “Is your god living or dead?” He answered, “He is living.” I said, “How

do you know?” He said, “My father told me so.” “How did your father know?” “His father told him so.”

It is a fine thing to believe what our fathers tell us, but our fathers were mortal, finite, fallible men, just as we are. They could – and did – make many mistakes. Every man needs to have a strong, factual basis for what he believes.

There is no comparison between the Bible, the Holy Scriptures of Christians and the sacred writings of other religions. Thomas Carlyle made this statement concerning the Koran: “It is as toilsome reading as I ever undertook: a wearisome, confused, jumble – crude, incondite; nothing but a sense of duty could carry any European through the Koran.”

Max Muller, who is better acquainted with the Hindu Vedas than most scholars, says, “They are full of pedantry, shallow and insipid grandiloquence and priestly conceit.” Dr. David James Burrell adds this word: “There are tales, proverbs, incantations, wise maxims, disquisitions on science, songs addressed to gods and harlots, – everything except the hopes and promises which the soul has reason to look for in religion.”

If you are a Muslim or a Hindu these statements may anger you, but why be angry? Make a simple test for yourself. Compare the writings of your own religion with the writings of the Christians’ Holy Scriptures. For example, see if there is anything in all of your sacred writings that can compare with the 23rd Psalm, the 53rd chapter of Isaiah, the Sermon on the Mount as found in Matthew 5, 6, 7, John chapter 14, the 8th chapter of Romans, 1 Corinthians 13 and 15, the book of Ephesians, and the last four chapters of the book of Revelation.

The Bible gives Christians a basis for their faith. Christians have many infallible proofs that the Bible is the very Word of the only true and living God. Such as:

1. The Bible claims to be the Word of God.
   It claims a supernatural origin in a way that is true of no other book. More than 2500 times in the Book we have such expressions as, “Thus saith the Lord,” “The Lord spake unto Moses,” and “The Word of the Lord came unto me, saying.” The Book distinctly claims that “all Scripture is given by inspiration of God.” It claims to be a “sure word of prophecy,” and plainly says: “Prophecy came not of old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved of the Holy Ghost.” No one can read the Bible without being impressed with its claims of divine inspiration, and no one can deny that it claims to be more than a book from the human mind.
2. The unity of the Scriptures prove that it is a divine Book.
   The Bible was written over a period of 1600 years by more than 40 men from all walks of life, and yet it has one continuous theme throughout. It would be impossible to get ten scholars in any field of study to write a book on which all of the writers agree.
3. Satan has failed in every effort to destroy the Bible.
   Ten thousand decrees have gone out from kings and princes to destroy it and many wicked men have sought to get it out of the way in every way possible but all to no avail. Thousands of copies of the Bible have been burned, buried, and otherwise destroyed. Thousands of Christians have been killed because they possessed a copy of the book. False prophets have taken from the Bible; they have added to it; they have perverted it; they have used every possible means to discredit this Blessed Book, but in spite of all that Satan and his cohorts can do, the Bible continues to be the world’s best seller.
4. No other book speaks in the same commanding tone.
   “And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at His doctrine: for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes” (Matt. 7:28-29). His enemy said, “Never did man speak as this man speaks.” And this is true of the Holy Scriptures. They do not sound like other writings. They do not approach man in the same way. They speak to him as one having authority over him and not as other books speak.
5. Hundreds of fulfilled prophecies prove that the Bible is the Word of God. Contact us for a copy of our booklet, Why I Believe The Bible, and How Firm A Foundation. Then make an honest evaluation and see if you can produce the same evidence for believing that the sacred writings of your religion are inspired of God.

5. Christians Have a Number of Unique Doctrines

1. One such doctrine is the doctrine of the Holy Trinity.
   Christians believe in one God and yet three distinct persons eternally existing: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Christians do not profess to be able to understand this doctrine, but believe it since it is the clear teaching of the Bible. If mortal, finite man could understand all about God, he would not be God.
2. All religions except Christianity teach the innate goodness of man.
   Christianity teaches the total depravity of all unregenerate men. This simply means that there is nothing in the natural man that is acceptable to a Holy God. The Bible teaches that all men out of Christ are lost (Luke 19:10; Romans 3:23); that they are dead in trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1); that they are spiritually blind (2 Corinthians 4:4); that they are energized by Satan (Ephesians 2:2), and that they need to be born again by the Spirit of God (John 3:3,5,7).
3. Since grace is a principle that is contrary to the thinking of the natural man, the doctrine of salvation by grace is a unique Christian doctrine. All other religions tell man what he must do to be saved. For example, Dr. Hendrik Kraemer says that Buddhism is the most radical system of self-deliverance that has ever been conceived. Christianity tells man what God has done to provide salvation as the free gift of His love. The message of Christianity is not based on what man can do for God but what God has done for man. All pagan religions and all Christian cults teach that men are saved either wholly or partially by their works. Christianity stresses the importance of good works, but teaches that works are the fruit of salvation and not the means of it. Several false cults claim to believe in salvation by grace, but the Apostle Paul says that they do not know the grace of God in truth (Colossians 1:6). The Apostle Peter speaks of “the true grace of God wherein ye stand” (1 Peter 5:12).
4. Justification by faith is a unique Christian doctrine.
   The Apostle Paul states, “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law” (Romans 3:28). “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). The word justify means to declare righteous. The Bible teaches that men are not justified on the basis of human merit of any sort, but on the basis of what Christ has done for men in His death and resurrection. This is the unique Gospel of Christ. “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).
   But some man will say to me, “Your statement about faith reveals your ignorance. The Jodo-shu School of Buddhism teaches deliverance through faith.” Honen Shonin, the founder of this school of thought states his doctrine in this way, “When at my achieving Buddhahood any living being in the ten worlds, who desires to be reborn in my Paradise, invokes ten times my name, trusting to my Vow, if he does not become reborn there, I will not enter the state of perfect enlightenment.” It takes very little spiritual discernment to see the great gulf between Honen Shonin’s doctrine of deliverance and the Bible doctrine of justification by faith.

CONTRAST BETWEEN RELIGIONS AND CHRISTIANITY

Religion is man reaching up for God; Christianity is God reaching down for men.

Religion requires men to make sacrifices to their god(s); in Christianity God sacrifices His Son for the sins of all men.

All religions tell us what to do to be saved; Christianity tells us what God has done for us through Christ.

Those who have religion are in the power of darkness; those who have turned from religion to Christ have been translated into the kingdom of the Son of God’s love (Colossians 1:13).

Those who have only religion are always seeking deliverance; those who are in Christ have found peace and joy in believing.

There is no savior in the religions of the world; the Lord Jesus Christ is a wonderful, all-sufficient Savior.

Every religion can tell man what to do, but does not give him the strength to do it; in Christianity we find the strength we need in the living Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit, and through the Bible, the written Word of God.

The study of the great religions of the world leads me to seven conclusions:

1. Pagan religions are not evolved, but devolved. This is the clear teaching of the first chapter of the book of Romans. The manner in which the monotheistic God revealed Himself to man is recorded for us in the book of Genesis. Men turned from the true and living God, and became idolaters.
2. All out of Christ are lost. If I accept the Bible as being the revealed word of the only true and living God, I am compelled to believe this (1 Corinthians 15:22; 1 John 5:12; John 3:18,36; 10:9; 14:6; Acts 4:12; 1 Timothy 2:5,6 and Revelation 21:8; 22:12-15).
3. All pagan religions and cults are broken cisterns. God through the prophet Jeremiah said, “For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, that can hold no water” (Jeremiah 2:13). The Lord Jesus Christ made these wonderful promises: “Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:13,14). “In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified)” (John 7:37-39). The Lord Jesus has wonderfully fulfilled these promises a thousand times.
4. All of the devotees of pagan religions are prisoners of Satan. The Apostle Paul states that men are taken captive by Satan at his will (2 Timothy 2:26). Isaiah 14:17 tells us that Satan opened not the house of his prisoners. In Isaiah 61:1 we are commissioned “To proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound.”
5. Multitudes in pagan religions, especially in Islam and Hinduism, would turn to Christ if they were not held in bondage through fear.
6. The pagan religions are probably some of the gates of Hell spoken of by Christ in Matthew 16:18.
7. Many of the pagan religions, though not all, are active enemies to the Gospel of Christ. This is true of Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Communism and Secular Humanism.

In view of these facts, the Christian not only needs to know what he believes, but even more important, whom he believes (2 Timothy 1:12). It is imperative for him to be rooted and grounded in the Word of God. He must learn the meaning of walking in the Spirit and of being led by the Spirit of God. He must know how to stay in fellowship with God (1 John 1:9). If he does not know how to put on the whole armor of God, he will be sorely wounded by Satan (Ephesians 6:10-18). He must learn to keep his eyes fixed on Christ, and to run with patience the race that is set before him, looking to Jesus who is the beginner and completer of his faith (Hebrews 12:1,2).

< Return to listing of Online Books

Missions Publications to Download