Allah-Buddha-Christ
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Is my God better than yours?
Between Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam, which is better? Which one, if chosen, will get you past the "pearly gates," and which one will drop you in an eternal "lake of fire?" This rather eerie question needs to be asked because it appears, that over the last several centuries these three religions have been the most popular with the most adherents.
A Christian believes that the only way to eternal life is through Jesus Christ. Muslims are fairly certain that Allah has to be involved in some major way for you to eternally be in the presence of God. Buddhist, although a little more liberal than Christians and Muslims, believe that Buddha is a god or prophet, not only amongst Buddhist, but Hinduism, Ahmadiyya, Bahá'í, and a segment of the Islamic faith as well.
Of the three aforementioned religions, only their respective God is the true God. Buddhism offers a good deal of leeway, but the other two, if not chosen, you will perish in hell or be refused entrance to the afterlife. It's no surprise that as Islam continues to grow, the hierarchy of the Christian and Muslim faiths are beginning to find more common ground. In other words, it's coming down to the old adage, "if you can't beat them, join them."
What to do, what to do? Surely one does not want to spend eternity burning, so maybe I should latch on to one for spiritual security. But what happens if I choose the wrong one? What then? What if I'm born in a country that is 90 percent Islamic, or a country that is primarily Buddhist? As soon as I made it out of the womb I have been inundated with one or the other by Mom, Dad, Aunts, Uncles, and Grandparents. Therefore, must I convert to one or the other to be accepted into the "kingdom of heaven?" Will God forgive me as long as I make the effort toward one? Will the Divine Creator allow me in if I choose one of the big three and invest a major portion of my income over the course of my adult life? Or will he say, "oops, sorry, wrong choice, I love you, but you gotta go to hell." What about the millions who choose not to go to any type of church, mosque, or synagogue, but will give of his time to help almost anyone in need? Because he is not affiliated with organized religion, specifically Christianity or Islam, will a loving God subject him to an eternal torment?
Christians and Muslims seem to be the only individuals that are hell-bent (pardon the pun) on the idea that all "non-believers" are going to spend an extremely uncomfortable hereafter if the "outsiders" don't choose to fervently follow their respective faiths. As a "saved" member, it's also imperative that you give a good portion of your gross salary to each organization, religion, cult, or whatever you care to call it.
That's 10 percent of your salary before taxes. Therefore, if your monthly gross income is $5000 you must give $500 per month to your church. So when you make out that check, every Sunday, it should be around $125, otherwise you're not following the guidelines. Of course, most believers don't pay their 10 percent, so how does God handle that? Does he give you a pass because you're at least trying? Or is he steadfast in his "rule" that you give your 10 percent no matter what (and if you use common sense you'll realize that is not from God). If you are a faithful giver, then you're more than likely brainwashed to believe that "God will provide," "God will make a way," "God will turn your water into wine."
The Divine Creator certainly loves and cares for its progeny but at the same time, stupidity is not a characteristic of God and it's not a spiritual quality of man.
If you've fallen for the illusion then you probably do believe that you should give your hard earned cash to your minister. Sure, give it to the clergy, give it to clergymen who have proven time and time again that what they are doing with your money is definitely not God-inspired. For with your donations they have raped children, they have been accomplices of war, and they have aided corrupt politicians. Social maladies that have been going on for the last 2000 years yet the majority of society still has no clue.
Don't be afraid to think. Don't be afraid to use more than 5 percent of your 22 billion brain cells. Don't be afraid to think outside of that religious box that you were placed in at birth. The same box that your parents was placed in. Don't be afraid to read the works of Aristotle, Plato, Thomas Aquinas, Thomas Paine, M. Scott Peck, Eckhart Tolle, Wayne Dyer, Caroline Myss, Albert Einstein, and many more. These past and present great thinkers were not afraid to challenge the status quo or religion and its deadly vices.
God is a loving entity and will not punish you if you take interest in reading outside of the Bible, Koran, or the Talmud. There's also the Bhagavad Gita, Tao-te-ching, Upanishads, Veda, and a plethora of other holy books available. The orthodox Muslim will only read the Koran and the devout Christian will only read the Bible or a book that quotes exclusively from the "good book."
A Christian believes that the only way to eternal life is through Jesus Christ. Muslims are fairly certain that Allah has to be involved in some major way for you to eternally be in the presence of God. Buddhist, although a little more liberal than Christians and Muslims, believe that Buddha is a god or prophet, not only amongst Buddhist, but Hinduism, Ahmadiyya, Bahá'í, and a segment of the Islamic faith as well.
Of the three aforementioned religions, only their respective God is the true God. Buddhism offers a good deal of leeway, but the other two, if not chosen, you will perish in hell or be refused entrance to the afterlife. It's no surprise that as Islam continues to grow, the hierarchy of the Christian and Muslim faiths are beginning to find more common ground. In other words, it's coming down to the old adage, "if you can't beat them, join them."
What to do, what to do? Surely one does not want to spend eternity burning, so maybe I should latch on to one for spiritual security. But what happens if I choose the wrong one? What then? What if I'm born in a country that is 90 percent Islamic, or a country that is primarily Buddhist? As soon as I made it out of the womb I have been inundated with one or the other by Mom, Dad, Aunts, Uncles, and Grandparents. Therefore, must I convert to one or the other to be accepted into the "kingdom of heaven?" Will God forgive me as long as I make the effort toward one? Will the Divine Creator allow me in if I choose one of the big three and invest a major portion of my income over the course of my adult life? Or will he say, "oops, sorry, wrong choice, I love you, but you gotta go to hell." What about the millions who choose not to go to any type of church, mosque, or synagogue, but will give of his time to help almost anyone in need? Because he is not affiliated with organized religion, specifically Christianity or Islam, will a loving God subject him to an eternal torment?
Christians and Muslims seem to be the only individuals that are hell-bent (pardon the pun) on the idea that all "non-believers" are going to spend an extremely uncomfortable hereafter if the "outsiders" don't choose to fervently follow their respective faiths. As a "saved" member, it's also imperative that you give a good portion of your gross salary to each organization, religion, cult, or whatever you care to call it.
That's 10 percent of your salary before taxes. Therefore, if your monthly gross income is $5000 you must give $500 per month to your church. So when you make out that check, every Sunday, it should be around $125, otherwise you're not following the guidelines. Of course, most believers don't pay their 10 percent, so how does God handle that? Does he give you a pass because you're at least trying? Or is he steadfast in his "rule" that you give your 10 percent no matter what (and if you use common sense you'll realize that is not from God). If you are a faithful giver, then you're more than likely brainwashed to believe that "God will provide," "God will make a way," "God will turn your water into wine."The Divine Creator certainly loves and cares for its progeny but at the same time, stupidity is not a characteristic of God and it's not a spiritual quality of man.
If you've fallen for the illusion then you probably do believe that you should give your hard earned cash to your minister. Sure, give it to the clergy, give it to clergymen who have proven time and time again that what they are doing with your money is definitely not God-inspired. For with your donations they have raped children, they have been accomplices of war, and they have aided corrupt politicians. Social maladies that have been going on for the last 2000 years yet the majority of society still has no clue.
Don't be afraid to think. Don't be afraid to use more than 5 percent of your 22 billion brain cells. Don't be afraid to think outside of that religious box that you were placed in at birth. The same box that your parents was placed in. Don't be afraid to read the works of Aristotle, Plato, Thomas Aquinas, Thomas Paine, M. Scott Peck, Eckhart Tolle, Wayne Dyer, Caroline Myss, Albert Einstein, and many more. These past and present great thinkers were not afraid to challenge the status quo or religion and its deadly vices.
God is a loving entity and will not punish you if you take interest in reading outside of the Bible, Koran, or the Talmud. There's also the Bhagavad Gita, Tao-te-ching, Upanishads, Veda, and a plethora of other holy books available. The orthodox Muslim will only read the Koran and the devout Christian will only read the Bible or a book that quotes exclusively from the "good book."
Top 20 Religions of the World
Ranked by Number of Adherents
- Christianity: 2.1 billion
- Islam: 1.5 billion
- Secular/Nonreligious/Agnostic/Atheist: 1.1 billion
- Hinduism: 900 million
- Chinese traditional religion: 394 million
- Buddhism: 376 million
- Primal-indigenous: 300 million
- African Traditional & Diasporic: 100 million
- Sikhism: 23 million
- Juche: 19 million
- Spiritism: 15 million
- Judaism: 14 million
- Baha'i: 7 million
- Jainism: 4.2 million
- Shinto: 4 million
- Cao Dai: 4 million
- Zoroastrianism: 2.6 million
- Tenrikyo: 2 million
- Neo-Paganism: 1 million
- Unitarian-Universalism: 800 thousand
Is Jesus Black or White?
About 20 years ago, one of the more popular religious debates was whether Jesus was black or white. Was he of European or African descent? Most people had finally accepted the fact that the Micheal Angelo version of Jesus just could not be the authentic. Everyone who lived in that region, during the purported time that Jesus lived would have been of a much darker hue.Some of the more contemporary churches began to slowly remove the picture of white Jesus and either replace it with a tanned figure or used some other symbolic image. Then as quickly as the debate started, it went away. No one actually wanted to deal with the issue of the
If Christian apologist did not want to haggle over the skin color of the "Messiah," they certainly did not want to tackle the issue of the other deities whose stories were told hundreds of years before the supposed birth of Christ. The stories were eerily similar to the story of Jesus: 12 disciples, performing miracles, born of a virgin, born on December 25th, star in the east, and more.
Here are just a few:
- Horus - 3000 BC
- Attis - 1200 BC
- Mithra - 1200 BC
- Krishna - 900 BC
- Dionysys - 500 BC
Siddhãrtha Gautama and Buddhism
Buddhism currently has about 376 million followers and is generally listed as the world's fourth largest religion after Christianity, Islam and Hinduism. It was founded in Northern India by Siddhartha Gautama (circa 563 to 460 BCE) and has spread into much of the far East. It is making major inroads into North America.
Siddhãrtha Gautama Quotes
Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it.
Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many.
Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books.
Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders.
Do not believe in traditions simply because they have been handed down for many generations.
But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.
I grew up in the Christian faith and the more I read and researched, starting at the age of 15, the more I realized that organized religion was a major scam. However, if I were to lean toward any one religion, the aforementioned quotes from Siddhãrtha Gautama make sense to me and are logical to me. I still would not refer to myself as a Buddhist because they are all labels and have absolutely no bearing on my true spiritual character.
Siddhãrtha Gautama Quotes
I grew up in the Christian faith and the more I read and researched, starting at the age of 15, the more I realized that organized religion was a major scam. However, if I were to lean toward any one religion, the aforementioned quotes from Siddhãrtha Gautama make sense to me and are logical to me. I still would not refer to myself as a Buddhist because they are all labels and have absolutely no bearing on my true spiritual character.
Islam
The second largest world religion
Estimates of the total number of Muslims are approximately 1.8 billion worldwide and anywhere from 2 to 3 million in the U.S. About 23% of all people on Earth follow Islam. The religion is currently in a period of rapid growth.
Christianity is currently the largest religion in the world with a following of about 33% of all people. This percentage has remained stable for decades, however, if current trends continue, Islam will become the most popular world religion around the middle of the 21st century.
Islamic Quotations
"The messenger of Allah said: "Islam is to testify that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah, to perform the prayers, to pay the zakat, to fast in Ramadan, and to make the pilgrimage to the House if you are able to do so." He said: " You have spoken rightly", Jebreel (Gabriel) from Number 2 of "Al-Nawawi's Forty Hadiths."
"If anyone harms (others), God will harm him, and if anyone shows hostility to others, God will show hostility to him." Sunan of Abu-Dawood, Hadith 1625.
"Those who believe (in the Qur'an), and those who follow the Jewish (scriptures), and the Christians...and (all) who believe in God and the last day and work righteousness, shall have their reward with their Lord; on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve." The Qur'an, 2:62
Christianity is currently the largest religion in the world with a following of about 33% of all people. This percentage has remained stable for decades, however, if current trends continue, Islam will become the most popular world religion around the middle of the 21st century.
Islamic Quotations
"The messenger of Allah said: "Islam is to testify that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah, to perform the prayers, to pay the zakat, to fast in Ramadan, and to make the pilgrimage to the House if you are able to do so." He said: " You have spoken rightly", Jebreel (Gabriel) from Number 2 of "Al-Nawawi's Forty Hadiths."
"If anyone harms (others), God will harm him, and if anyone shows hostility to others, God will show hostility to him." Sunan of Abu-Dawood, Hadith 1625.
"Those who believe (in the Qur'an), and those who follow the Jewish (scriptures), and the Christians...and (all) who believe in God and the last day and work righteousness, shall have their reward with their Lord; on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve." The Qur'an, 2:62
by taskeinc
Barry Shaw, founder of Work Home Union, over 25 years in Information Technology, web/graphics design, network marketing. WHU aka taskeinc has written... more »
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