Heavenly Problem Solver

If it is true that God is in charge, then we should be able to apply His principals to any problem that we face in this world, including the middle east crisis? There are many different religions that claim to know God. I will attempt to list the major religions of the world and outline their basic tenants of faith. In doing this, I hope to show the unique qualities that exist in the Christian faith and when it is practiced faithfully, how it differs from the other religions.

Hinduism

In being a follower of Hinduism you may be polytheistic (believing in more than one god), monotheistic (belief in one god), pantheistic (the universe, nature and god are one), atheistic (no god) or agnostic (not sure there is a god). Because of this open theology it is hard to pin down the foundational beliefs of Hinduism.

The Hindu paths to salvation include the way of works (rituals), the way of knowledge (self reflection and realization of reality) and the way of devotion (depending on which god you choose to follow). Simply put, if a Hindu follower accomplishes one or all of these three points, they can reach salvation.

As stated earlier, it is hard to pin down a strict orthodoxy in Hinduism. However, virtually all Hindus believe in the following:

The Caste System - Caste placement in Hindu beliefs relates what you have done in a previous life. If you have been good in the previous life, you were rewarded with a higher stature in this one and if, in this life, you are poor and destitute it is believed that you were very bad in your previous life and therefore you deserve no pity or mercy because of your current plight.

Brahman - A three-in-one god that is composed of Brahma (the Creator), Vishnu (the Preserver) and Shiva (the Destroyer). Hindus also worship the wives of Shiva or one of Vishnu's ten incarnations known as avatars. The Hindu religion has very many gods and goddesses that can number in the millions. Brahma is the main god and Hindus teach that all living things are Brahman in their core and are to be considered godlike.

Karma - All of our good or bad actions, thoughts and deeds have an impact on future consequences that we may receive in either this life or the life to come.

Reincarnation - The Samsara or transmigration of souls, describes this tenant of Hindu faith. Reincarnation is described as the "circle of life" where each person experiences a series of physical births, deaths and rebirths. With good karma, a person can be reborn into a higher caste with the opposite effect for those who have done bad things in their life. If you are really bad in one life, you could even be born into an animal in your next life.

Nirvana - Achieving nirvana is the goal of all Hindu believers. Nirvana is the release of the soul from the endless cycles of reincarnation. The release from the cycle of reincarnation allowing access to nirvana is called, moksha, or salvation.


Islam

The Five Pillars of Islamic faith are considered the cornerstones of Islam and are considered to be obligations of faith required by every Muslim to follow. The Five Pillars are:

Shahadah - The most important of the Five Pillars requires faith in one God and that Muhammad received and delivered God's final revelation to humanity. Every Muslim is expected to say the Shahadah, which is summed up as:

"There is none worthy of worship except God and Muhammad is the
messenger of God."

Salat - These are the prayers that each Muslim must recite five times, each day. They are broken down into five different prayer times that start in the early morning and end in the late evening. By saying these prayers, the believer establishes a prayerful rhythm in their daily life and allows them to focus on god (Allah) at different times of the day. These prayers include verses from the Qur'an, repeated in Arabic while the believer faces Mecca (Muhammad's birthplace).

Zakat - This is a financial obligation that every Muslim has towards the Ummah, the community of believers. Allah owns everything and believers only hold these possessions in trust. Muslim believers are required to share their possessions with the less fortunate. The minimum requirement is to be one-fortieth of their total capital and if they want to give more, it must be in secret without fanfare.

Sawm - This fourth Pillar refers to self-purification through fasting. Tradition dictates that every Muslim must fast from sunrise to sunset during Ramadan (the ninth month of the lunar calendar). With the exception of small children, the sick, the elderly, pregnant or nursing women and those Muslim believers who are on a journey, all others must abstain from food, drink and sexual relations during this period.

Hajj - Depending on their health and financial ability, the fifth Pillar requires that each believer make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their life. When believers make this journey, they are to wear simple clothing so as to eliminate all national, cultural and class differences they may have with other believers, thereby creating the impression that the community of believers are one and equal.

As in all of the major religious faiths there are different sects in
the Islamic faith. Ranging from the orthodox to the mystical, there are
twelve different Islamic sects.


Buddhism

There are five precepts of faith that all Buddhists are required to follow. They are:

1. Kill no living thing.

2. Do not steal

3. Do not commit adultery

4. Tell no lies

5. Do not drink intoxicants or take drugs.

Buddhist belief is based on four Noble Truth's:

The First Noble Truth is the existence of suffering. Life is painful from beginning to end.

The Second Noble Truth is the cause of suffering. The desire for the pleasures of the senses and the craving for happiness and prosperity in this life, and in future lives.

The Third Noble Truth is the end of suffering. To gain freedom, one must give up all of these cravings so that passion and desire are eliminated in life.

The Fourth Noble Truth leads to the ending of all pain by way of the Eightfold Path. The Eightfold Path reinforces the Noble Truths and other base beliefs of Buddhism. They are as follows:

Step One is Right Views, the acceptance of the Four Noble Truths.

Step Two is Right Resolve, the renouncement of the pleasure of the senses and the believer must never harbor ill will or harm towards any living creature.

Step Three is Right Speech. No lying, no abusive or idle talk regarding others.

Step Four is Right Behavior. No stealing, no destruction of any living creature and no unlawful sexual acts.

Step Five is Right Occupation. In the pursuit of your life occupation you may not harm anyone.

Step Six is Right Effort. You must suppress personal evil qualities, strive to acquire good qualities and nurture your existing good qualities.

Step Seven is Right Contemplation. Be free of desire and sorrow, be observant, alert, strenuous and contemplative.

Step Eight is Right Meditation. After you have abandoned all sensuous pleasures and evil qualities, you must then enter the four degrees of meditation, which is achieved and produced by concentration.

In Theravada (Southeast Asian) Buddhism, there are the "Three Baskets" or Tripitaka, a group of holy writings and scripture that guide the Buddhist believer. The Vinaya Pitaka (discipline basket) contains rules for the higher class of believers. The Sutta Pitaka (teaching basket) contains the discourses of Buddha and the Abidhamma Pitaka (metaphysical basket) contains Buddhist theology.

In Mahayana (Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese etc.) Buddhism contains over five thousand volumes of holy writings. Since there are no clear limits as to what should be admitted as scripture there are many writings considered with the oldest scriptures are based on Sanskrit, an Indo-European Classical Language of India.


Judaism

The Jewish religion can be traced back for 4,000 years and is considered the oldest of the monotheistic religions and like Christianity and Islam, its roots originated with the prophet Abraham. Jewish followers seek guidance in Jewish holy texts: the Torah and the Talmud.

The Torah is the first five books of the Old Testament in the Christian bible and in these books you will find the foundational beliefs of the Jewish faith and it's moral authority. The Talmud is a collection of commentary and law, based on the Torah, and includes stories, laws, debates and points of discussion about moral issues all designed to give guidance in daily Jewish life. The Jewish place of worship is the Synagogue and the religious leader is known as a Rabbi. The word Rabbi is derived from the Hebrew root-word RaV, which in biblical Hebrew
means great or distinguished (in knowledge).

Foundational Jewish beliefs include:

1.There is one and all-powerful God who is the creator and ruler of the
universe.

2.The Jewish people are God's chosen people.

3.The Ten Commandments (the core instruction for Jewish life) were given to Moses and are considered religious law.

There are six different sects in Judaism and there is an estimated Jewish population worldwide of 12 million people with the majority living in Israel and the United States.


Christianity

Christianity can be considered to be a successful offshoot of Judaism. Jesus was born a Jew and the first Christians were Jewish. Christians believe in the Old and New Testament portions of the bible and like Islam and Judaism, trace the promises of God back to Abraham. One area that Christianity parts from the other two religions is in the definition of "one God". Christians agree that there is only one God that consists of three distinct entities. They are The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit known as the Trinity. Christians believe that Jesus fulfilled the messianic promises of scripture that date back to Abraham and basically Jews and Muslims do not.

Foundational Christian beliefs include:

1. The bible is the true word of God.

2. Jesus Christ was conceived by Immaculate Conception and while He retained His Godliness, was born and lived a sinless life as a man.

3. Jesus Christ was the perfect sacrifice and died for the sins of man.

4. Jesus Christ overcame death by rising from the grave after He was murdered.

5. Jesus Christ rose into heaven and is the intercessor, on behalf of man, before the Father.

6. By accepting Jesus Christ into your life, confessing that belief with your mouth and heart, accepting what He did for you on the cross, accept the forgiveness offered and offer that forgiveness to others and go forward in your life using Christ as an example, you are a Christian.

Each of these religions, with the exception of Christianity, place redemption in the hands and heart of the believer. Laws and rules that must be followed are the only ways to please God. In all of these religions, with the noted exception, believers are immersed from a cultural standpoint and faith is something that you inherit along with those rules and guidelines.

Whether it is peace in your own heart or between warring countries, forgiveness, when given and received, will bring an end to strife and nurture future, peaceful coexistence with others.

We would spend an eternity establishing who would accept being in the lower caste level, which deity we would worship, deciding who receives favor and grace and above all knowing that we were successful in our efforts. When I apply the principals of Christianity, I start to see that any conflict or problem that is approached with the teachings of Jesus Christ can be resolved quickly and peaceful results are achieved immediately.

If this solution is so evident and attainable why is it ignored? The answer is simple. We don’t like change, we like to carry grudges, we need our enemies to make us complete and we don’t want to entertain the option that those who went before us were wrong in their beliefs. Because the answer is so simple it is dismissed because of its simplicity. If we were to have peace in the world, not just in the middle-east, it would require that all nations would admit their wrong behavior of the past, ask forgiveness for those transgressions and forgive their enemies in like manner with all parties agreeing to move forward in the name of Jesus Christ. As the world moved forward in Christ, we would become more educated and living in the Word, we would then become better people.

Unfortunately, even those of us who say we are Christian can’t seem to keep our faith in Christ that simple. When we throw theological stones at each other and invent man made rules that others have to follow in order to truly comply in faith, when we kill one another because of some schism in the church that occurred centuries ago and when we fail to be the hands, feet and body of Jesus Christ we inhibit others from seeing the simplicity in His message.

The bible tells us that, every person knows God as his or her Creator. It is standard equipment from the factory, so to speak. Even if we were alone in this world without a single commentary to explain God to us, He says in His word that we will know that He exists. When we see all that He has created around us, that alone gives testimony, that He is God.

One day while driving, I heard an author of a book being interviewed. His book was based on the history of the Christian missionary efforts made with the Indian tribes in the Pacific Northwest. He spoke of a missionary who had labored among the tribes to no avail as they rejected his teaching about Jesus Christ and basically tossed him out of the area. This failed missionary was returning to the east coast by train and happened to share a seat next to another man of God and poured out his heart about his failure connected to the Indian tribes. While listening to the man share his tale, the second missionary realized what mistake the aforementioned man had made. He determined that he would return to those very tribes that had rejected the other missionary and correct the error.

Now imagine going back to the very tribe that had made it clear to the other man of God that him and his God were not welcome ever again. The second missionary asked for an audience with the tribal leaders and bravely started to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. He explained that the God of creation, which the Indians believed in, sent His Son to earth to be a perfect sacrifice for the sins of man and that He rose from the dead and resides with the Father for eternity. His audiences understood this concept and after hearing about the redemptive process, accepted Jesus and were baptized as believers.

As the first missionary witnessed to the tribe, he found out that they had an Indian name for the God of creation and he told them that they could no longer refer to the God in that native name. He even went so far as to say that because the name was not biblical, that it was the name of the devil, which at that point the angry tribe threw him out on his ear. The second missionary understood that these people who were isolated in the wilderness with no formal biblical training, knew exactly who the creator was and was not offended by their native reference and name for the Creator. When he continued the story of Jesus, it was a logical continuation of their beliefs and acceptable to them.

The point of this story is that God makes Himself known to everyone. It does not matter who you are or where you are in this world. Everyone has the opportunity to know Him or reject Him.