A Religions of the World Summary Man seems to have a basic inward desire to know more about God. He seeks answers to such questions as, "Who am I?", "Where did I come from?", and "Where am I going?" In this comparison and summary, we will describe many of the world's major world religions, their basic views concerning God, and we'll describe their similarities and differences. Animism One common religion, often found in primitive societies, is called "animism". This religion basically looks at God as being in the material things of this world. In this view, everything surrounding man has more or less a spiritual nature to it. God and creation are therefore not separate from each other in this view of God. Animism does not really have a personal God and creator. Since to Animism everything really is God, then we are not actually separate from God. Related to this view is the idea of God involving some kind of good and evil "force", as depicted in the movie "Star Wars" by George Lucas. Polytheism There are many religions in the world that are "polytheistic". The word polytheism means the belief in many Gods. The ancient Greek and Roman religions had their "pantheon" of Gods. People who hold to polytheism often believe that, since there are many people in the world, there must also be many Gods as well. This form of religion is often associated with "idolatry", in which inanimate objects are used as "objects of worship" by which to communicate with a god or gods. One of the most commonly held polytheistic religions today is called "Hinduism", which emphasizes the worship of hundreds or even thousands of these "gods". Polytheism was once the "dominant" type of religion in the world, but has become less popular today. Monotheism The belief in only one God is called "monotheism". The major monotheistic religions of the world include Judaism, Islam, Catholicism, and Protestantism. (Baptists are not really Protestants, but their views on the nature of God for the most part agree with those of Protestants.) All of these major monotheistic religions claim a root in the Old Testament of the Bible, a collection of books including the first five books of the Old Testament, the historical and poetic books, and the major and minor prophets. These books are collectively called the "Canon" or the "Word of God", because it is believed that God Himself inspired the writing of these books. The major monotheistic religions differ on what they consider to be the "Word of God" beyond these Old Testament Scriptures. Judaism claims that the Canon includes only the Old Testament. The other major monotheistic world religions claim that the Canon includes the New Testament as well. Islam holds that the Koran, which was written by Mohammed, is also a part of this "Word of God", in addition to and superseding the Old and New Testament A major difference between Protestants and Baptists and Roman Catholicism is that Roman Catholicism holds that the traditions of the Catholic Church and the teachings of the Pope are of equal or higher authority than that of the Old and New Testament. The Cults There are also many "cults" in the world. As with Islam and Catholicism, these cults claim a higher authority than the Canonical books of the Old and New Testament. The largest of these other cults are the "Mormons" and "Jehovah's Witnesses". Nevertheless, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of smaller cults and sects throughout the world. These all claim a higher authority than the Canonical books of the Old and New Testament. Other Religions Atheists believe as a matter of religious faith, that there is no God. Those that are not so fervent in their atheistic religious convictions are called Agnostics. Agnostics are generally practical atheists, but do not have as great a faith as atheists do in the non-existence of God. Instead, they claim to have doubts concerning their atheistic convictions. Having no such certainty in their religious convictions concerning the non-existence of God, agnostics have no formal religious organization. Two other major world religions besides Atheism and Agnosticism are Buddhism and Confucianism. Buddhism is similar to Atheism, in that God as a person is not recognized as such. Confucianism also has a similar "earthly" focus. The idea of God as Creator is not really dealt with in this religion. There are, of course, many other religions in the world. People seem to be creating new religions all of the time. The ones mentioned here are nevertheless the most common and significant of the world's religions. Conclusions In this summary of the world's religions, it is also important that we discuss their similarities, differences, and overall significance as well. A major similarly found in almost all of the world's religions, or at least in those that profess the existence of God or "gods", is that they claim some type of "salvation by works". By this is meant the belief that, by doing some good work, individuals within these religions can somehow become "okay" with God, (or with "the gods".) This doctrine of "salvation by works" involves various actions by man, with the belief that God will then "reward" these good works with some kind of "salvation". In this viewpoint, man earns his own salvation by his own good works. (Obviously, Atheists do not claim that God will reward them for their "good deeds", since they don't believe in God.) Two exceptions to this widely-held idea of "salvation by works" among the major world religions, are the Protestants and the Baptists. These both profess what is called "salvation by grace through faith". This is the view that God sent Jesus to die for men and women's sins, so that God could save them from the penalty of their sins. Man is seen as not being able to save himself for two reasons. The first reason is that man has an inherently wicked heart that cannot be simply "reformed". The second reason is that a man's (or woman's) "sins" are already recorded in books up in Heaven. Man therefore cannot simply erase his sins by doing some "good works". This is because he cannot get to the books, (which are in Heaven), to erase them. Roman Catholics in comparison believe, (as do most of the world's religions), in salvation by works, not in the salvation by grace through faith in Jesus which is taught in the Bible. This basic idea here is that man is inherently sinful, and therefore cannot save himself, no matter how hard he tries. That is why God sent Jesus to die in man's place: because men and women could not save themselves. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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