Top 5

Top 5 Beliefs (In no particular order)

Hinduism- All things are one, all things are God, all things are impersonal.

• Why its not truth: If everything is God (the clouds are God, the dirt is God, the trees are God, I am God, my dog is God, the dirt is God, you get the point) then what do I become equal with? What about my human individuality? How do you account for that?

Buddhism- 4 Noble Truths (1) Life is Suffering (2) Suffering is caused by desire (3) the cessation of desire eliminates suffering (4) You stop desire by following "The Middle Way" (Eightfold path of rigtheousness...I'm not going that in depth here)

• Why it is not truth: Well, beside the fact that "Buddha" himself was an atheist and felt that the very concept of God or gods was holding people bound to this physical world of karma and suffering, and the fact the he never intended to start a religion, but was seeking to reform Hinduism...Man cannot save himself no matter how many "Noble Truths" he thinks up, no matter how at peace he lives.
  

Jehovah's Witness-Founded by Charles T. Russell in the late 19th century. Don't believe Jesus is God, don't believe the Holy Spirit is God, don't believe Jesus died on a cross (but rather a pole), don't believe Jesus was resurrected bodily but only as spirit. Believe that heaven is only open to 144,000 people, believe that Jehovah is the only name for God, believe that hell is only the grave.

• Why it is not truth: There are numerous reasons. To keep this short, the basic reason is that this religion is centered around all the parts of the Bible that its founder liked. Being raised in a protestant church, Russell was exposed to the Bible at a very young age. As he grew up, Russell said that he didn't like certain things in the Bible (i.e.-the teaching of hell, eternal judgment or the teaching of the trinity) so, ironically enough they are left out of his religion.
  

Islam-I will go in depth with Islam in another blog, but for now remember these basics. There are 5 Pillars of Islam: Affirmation (No God but Allah), Prayer (Required to pray 5 times a day), Almsgiving (Worthy muslims must give 2.5% of his income to the poor), Fasting (must fast from dawn to dusk every day during the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar, Ramadan, which is sacred), and the Pilgramage (Expected to journey to Mecca at least once in their lifetime)

• Why it is not Truth: Islam is a religion that is what they in the business world would call a "fighter or flanker brand". A product released into the market strictly to compete against another. I am not even taking into account the horrendous practices that are carried out (75% of muslim women suffer female circumcision in order to make them obedient and docile) or the confusing, contrasting, impossibillity of their "Holy Book" the Koran (Trying to define the Koran is like trying to pin jello to the wall). Allah is a God you cannot know personally. You know only the laws and commands of God given through his prophets (those prophets include Jesus even though he clearly said that He was: The way the truth and the life and that no one comes to [God] in any other way but through Him- John 14:6)
• Islam is a works-based religion that will never lead you to God. That's why it is not truth, because in the same way that man cannot save himself through Buddhism, man cannot save himself in Islam. In Islam, you must strive and work to get to God. And you will never really know when you have made it. As I said before, I will go in depth with Islam in my next blog but this should be enough for you to do your own research and come to a conclusion for your self...If you have any questions feel free to email me.

Christianity-God love's you and has a plan for your life. But because of sin you are separated from His Love and the corresponding plan that He wants to work out in your life. There has been a gap wedged between you and Him. And there is no way we can bridge that gap on our own...it's too big. So God sent His only Son to bridge that gap for us and in order to cross that bridge you need Jesus. You can find Him at any time by accepting what He has done.

• Why it is Truth: Christianity answers the longing that everyone has in them; to be loved. This is not an impersonal, imaginary, uninteresting, feeble god. This is the God of the universe who loves and cares about you! That is not even including the fact that the Bible was written over 1500 years by 40 different authors. The parity and perfection of the Book is worthy of a lifetime of studying.
  
• This is the simplest way I could explain Christianity. I will go into a more in depth study when I compare it to Islam, but for now I hope this is enough for you to ask questions for yourself and seek the truth on your own. Don't just take mine or any one else's word for the way you are going to plan your salvation. This mediocre life we live on earth is only a vapor and there is an eternity after it. I think we should do our research to determine how we should live our lives here on earth so that we will be prepared for what is going to happen after we die.
  

Again, if you have any questions email me. I pray that you will have a curiosity sparked within you that will desire the truth. Seek it, for there is nothing on this planet more important than knowing what we are living for.


with humility,
David