Month: July 2013

R4E130722 – Sikhism, Zoroastrianism, Jainism, Shinto (World Religions Study Lesson) by Douglas Jacoby

You can download the full audiobook recording on qobuz or amazon or itunes.

Sikhism

1. c.1500
2. Guru Nanak (1469-1539)
3. The Granth, compiled by the 5th guru, Arjun, in 1604
4. The Punjab (India/Pakistan).

Zoroastrianism

1. 588 BC
2. Zoroaster
3. Persia, Iran, India (esp. Mumbai)
4. Avesta

Jainism

1. c. 520 BC
2. Mahavira, the last of 24 gurus, reacting to the worldliness of Hinduism
3. Purvas (all lost), Angas, Upangas
4. India

Shinto

1. c.550 AD
2. [no founder]
3. Kojiki, Nihongi, Yengishiki (8th century AD)
4. Japan

Outreach tips

1. Don’t write anyone off! The gospel is for all the world (1 Timothy 2:4).
2. Refuse to lump & label.

Further facts

• Sikhism
  • A compromise between Hinduism and Islam, monotheistic but incorporating many Hindu ideals.
  • Reject polytheism and priestly caste system of Hinduism.
  • Opposition to idolatry and asceticism. Sikhs seek not to escape the world, but to participate in it (opposite of the Jains [below]).
  • Janamsakhis legends: mythical accounts of the life of Nanak, including miracles. (Nanak never claimed to be a miracle worker).
  • Works salvation: “Sin and sorrow are destroyed by hearkening.”
  • Practices include: male turban, baptism in sugar-water while holding a dagger, warrior ethic.
  • At 30 million followers, Sikhism is the 5th largest organized religion in the world.
• Zoroastrianism
  • Monotheistic but also dualistic. God: Ahura Mazda.
  • Religion of classic Persia (think Xerxes, Darius, Cyrus)
  • Influenced the Jews living in the Persian diaspora
  • Zarathustra was a character utilized by the philosopher Nietzsche (1844-1900)
• Jainism
  • Strongly ascetic (ahimsa [non-violence], satya [honesty], asteya [no stealing], celibacy, non-attachment [to this world])
  • Theology similar to Hinduism.
    • Escape cycle of reincarnation through ascetic practices.
    • Think of Jains as the opposite of Sikhs (escape from, as opposed to participation in, the world)
  • Cosmology
    • Infinitely repeating cycles of time.
    • One guru lived 70 trillion years and was 3000 feet tall.
    • The earth is at the center of the universe, which has existed forever.
  • Sects
    • Digambaras: Monks are nude, and only males can reach enlightenment.
    • Shvetambaras: All wear white robes. Women can be ordained as nuns.
• Shinto
  • Shinto is Japanese for “way of the gods”
  • Indigenous religion of Japan
  • 120 million followers, depending on how you count; most also observe some Buddhist practices like ancestor worship. Life events are tied more to Shinto, death events to Buddhism.
  • Like Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, Mormonism, and Pentecostal Christianity, “speaking in tongues” is practiced by ecstatic worshipers.

R4E130719 – Baha’i and 21st Century Tolerance by Douglas Jacoby

You can download the full audiobook recording on qobuz or amazon or itunes.

Bahá’í & 21st Century Tolerance

1. 1863
2. Bahá’u’lláh (1817-1892)
3. From the perfect font of all wisdom, Wikipedia: “The canonical texts are the writings of the Báb, Bahá’u’lláh, `Abdu’l-Bahá, Shoghi Effendi and the Universal House of Justice, and the authenticated talks of `Abdu’l-Bahá.”
4. Persia, India, Iran, and 200 other countries

Outreach tips

1. Realize that the differences among the various world religions outweigh the similarities.
2. Rethink what tolerance means (tolerance of persons, not tolerance of ideas!).
3. Affirm the general spiritual “unity” of mankind in the sense of Acts 17:28. Yet take a stand on the more specific fact that only those born again are sons and daughters of God (Galatians 3:36-37; John 3:3,5,7; etc).
4. Explain how Christianity is both inclusive and exclusive.
5. Tell your friend you wish the Bahá’ís were right, but in life wishing for something doesn’t necessarily make it so. For colorful illustration / humor, take a look at some of the bizarre religions people have invented in recent times.
6. Re-study the doctrine of the Narrow Road in the Bible.

Further study: World Religions

• Order the AIM DVD series on Worldviews — about 9 hours of study of the major religions of the world.
• Read Jesus & Islam.
• Visit the Worldviews section of my Amazon store for many helpful titles.
• Read chapter 11 of Compelling.
• Further facts:
  • The Bab (1819-1850) the “John the Baptist” of Baha’i, was martyred in 1850.
  • In 1852 Baha-Ullah received a vision, while in prison, of a divine woman who declared him to be “The Beauty of God amongst you.” Baha-Ullah claimed to be:
    • the second coming of Christ—that John 14:16 was about him
    • Maitreya—the second coming of Buddha.
    • the new incarnation of Krishna
    • the fulfillment of the “Day of God” in the Koran.
    • The new religion began in Iran, then moved to Iraq and Lebanon before flooding the world.
    • Ba’hai is the culmination of all the world’s religions. Progressive Revelation: Moses -> Krishna -> Buddha -> Jesus -> Muhammad -> Baha’Ullah. “Religious truth is not absolute, but relative.”
    • No priests, no ceremony. Emphasis: good deeds, helping the poor, education.
    • Monotheistic, but God is unknowable (“the most Exalted, the Inaccessible”).
    • Strong emphasis on equality, education, peace.
    • Salvation comes through keeping the law as handed down by Baha-Ullah.
    • Jesus didn’t die for our sins, because he did not have to. Claims we’re imperfect, but not lost.

For the love of Anointed compels us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that those who live would no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose on their behalf.

Therefore from now on we recognize no one by the flesh; even though we have known Anointed by the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer. 

Therefore if anyone is in Anointed, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Anointed and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Anointed reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their wrongdoings against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Anointed, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Anointed, be reconciled to God! He made Him who knew no sin to be sin in our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Relate4ever Resources, a non-profit established by Cristian Paduraru in 2002 continues and expands a lifetime of public advocacy for a peaceful domestic and foreign policy and the protection of civil liberties and God given freedom.

Replace war with peace! Replace scarcity with prosperity!

R4E130717 – Ecology by Douglas Jacoby

You can download the full audiobook recording on qobuz or amazon or itunes.

1. What’s ecology?
Ecology is a study of the relationships between organisms and the environments in which they live. The earth comprises many ecosystems, each delicately balanced. Over-farming, air pollution, water pollution, over-hunting and so on can have drastic consequences, such as the extinction of species, severe erosion, and dangerous spikes in greenhouse gases.

2. How do humans relate to nature?
Where do we as humans fit into the scheme of things? Genesis 1-2 (esp. 1:26-27, 2:7) indicate our natural origins (“day six” creation along with the other beasts, made from dirt). Yet there is also a divine origin, and humans are tasked with bearing (or being) the divine image. (This is not “speciesism”!) Thus we are in both worlds. We should be honored to be God’s children, yet humbled by our earthly origins.

3. What duties, or obligations, if any, do humans have toward the natural world?
According to Genesis 1:26,28, 2:15; Psalm 8:6; and many other passages, and in line with extensive Judaeo-Christian reflection on passages such as Luke 16:12, 19:17; 1 Corinthians 4:2 we have a responsibility to care for the creation. That is, ecology is part of spirituality. One clear example of ecological responsibility is the Sabbath principle in agriculture (Exodus 23:10; Leviticus 26:34-35; 2 Chronicles 36:21).

4. What about the Green movement?
This does not work if there is no God, or if, as many New Age thinkers opine, we are only part of nature. For in that case what argument could be made that we shouldn’t trash the planet, kill the weak, commit adultery, and so forth? With biblical monotheism there is a warrant for ecology; without it, such talk turns out to be mere smoke of opinion. Either we are only part of nature (like the other animals, and thus without moral responsibility), or we somehow transcend nature, as Scripture says (and thus are responsible for our ethics — environmental, familial, business, sexual, social, etc). This the Green movement falls for short, for it fails to achieve the insight that this is God’s world. (Psalm 104 powerfully attests to this fact.)

5. But isn’t it all going to burn?
Whether or not the fire of 2 Peter 3:10 is taken literally does not matter, since the Lord tells us to care for his creation (now) and to expect — in some sense we can only dimly grasp — a new creation at the end (2 Peter 3:13). Dismissive attitudes like “Our planet will indefinitely renew itself,” or “All I care about is my standard of living, not whether my company poisons the water,” or “Why does it matter, if everything’s gonna burn?” should not be found among those who fear God and believe his word.

6. What’s the vision?
As believers in the scriptures, we should all embrace the biblical vision of a creation released from its “bondage to decay” (Romans 8:18-22).

7. What should we do?

• Strive to develop ecological sensitivity.
• Talk about environmental issues.
• Recycle.
• Take ownership of the creation. We are not only stewards; in a sense, we are “gardeners.”
• Don’t litter — ever.
• Ask your “green” friends why ecology matters if there’s no God, and explain why ecology follows naturally from the mandate of Genesis 1.
• Appreciate nature: enjoy the great outdoors, read works in the natural sciences, be awed by the creation.
• Perhaps take a peek at Rolston’s interesting article.