World Religions in a Nutshell (14 page)

You:
What do you call someone who steals things?

Paul:
He is a thief. But like I said, I confessed it to the priest.

You:
Confession can’t help you.

Paul:
It can’t?

You:
Let me tell you why. Think of a court of law. You are guilty of rape and murder. You may sincerely confess your guilt to the judge, but that’s not going to get you off the hook. He won’t dismiss your case just because you confess that you committed the crime. He won’t even let you go if you say that you are truly sorry and promise never to rape and murder again. You still need to face the punishment for your crimes. Does that make sense?

Paul:
Yes, I guess it does.

You:
Stay with me. Have you ever used God’s name in vain?

Paul:
I do it all the time.

You:
That’s called “blasphemy”—a very serious sin in God’s eyes. Jesus said, “Whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Have you ever done that?

Paul:
All the time.

You:
Here’s a summary. By your own admission, Paul (I’m not judging you), you are a lying, thieving, blasphemous, adulterer at heart. When you stand before God on Judgment
Day, will you be innocent or guilty?

Paul:
I will be guilty.

You:
Will you go to Heaven or Hell?

Paul:
As I said, I will end up in Purgatory.

You:
Actually, the Bible doesn’t even mention such a place. It says all people will go to either Heaven or Hell. Which would you go to?

Paul:
I think I will still go to Heaven.

You:
Why?

Paul:
Because God is forgiving.

[When a person is under conviction, it is natural for him to try to find a way out. You have to shut every door he tries to open. You can’t let him have a false sense of assurance that all is well between him and God.]

You:
Do you know what you’ve done now?

Paul:
What?

You:
You’ve broken the Second of the Ten Commandments. It says that you shall not make a false God for yourself. That’s
when you create a god in your own image, one that you feel comfortable with. That’s called “idolatry,” and the Bible warns that idolaters will not enter the Kingdom of God. We make up a god in our minds that is all-loving or all-forgiving, when the Bible says that He is also just and holy. We are also told in Scripture that all liars will have their part in the lake of fire. No thief or adulterer will inherit the Kingdom of God. Does it concern you that if you died right now you would go to Hell, forever?

Paul:
Yes, it does concern me.

You:
Do you know what God did for us, so that we could avoid Hell?

Paul:
He died on the cross.

You:
Tell me, in you own words what that was about.

Paul:
Jesus was giving us an example of how we should be forgiving to our enemies.

You:
More than that. It’s like this—we broke God’s Law (the Ten Commandments) but because Jesus paid our fine on the cross 2,000 years ago in His life’s blood, God can now forgive us. He can dismiss your case. He can commute your death sentence. The Bible says, “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” God proved His great love for you through the cross. Then Jesus rose from the dead, and defeated the power
of the grave. If you repent and trust the Savior, God will forgive your sins and grant you everlasting life. Eternal life is a free gift. You can’t earn it by doing anything. The Scriptures say, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest
anyone should boast.” Does that make sense to you?

Paul:
It sure does. I never understood this before.

You:
Paul, if you died right now, where would you go?

Paul:
I would go to Hell.

You:
So what are you going to do about it?

Paul:
I need to repent and trust the Savior.

You:
When are you going to do that?

Paul:
Next Sunday.

You:
You may not be alive next Sunday. Do it today. Go straight to God and confess your sins to Him. You don’t need a priest. You can go straight to God Himself. The Bible says, “Whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Call on Him today. Okay?

Paul:
Okay.

You:
Thanks for talking to me.

Paul:
Thank you.

Hinduism

While you may not have encountered many who follow Hinduism, you’ve undoubtedly heard of some of its practices. Reincarnation, yoga, meditation, and “being one with God” are all concepts of Hinduism that have influenced our culture. Back in the 1960s, The Beatles helped to popularize Hinduism by promoting Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, a spiritual guru, and through their song “My Sweet Lord.” The “Lord” sung about here is not Jesus, but the Hindu deity Krishna. If you’ve found yourself singing along to this song, you’ve actually been chanting Hindu prayers!

Background

Hinduism is said to be the oldest and most complex of all religious systems. In reality, nothing is older than Christianity, which began at the moment of creation. It’s not easy to give the history of Hinduism, because it doesn’t have a defined beginning and it has no specific founder or theology.
Hinduism originated in the Indus Valley in modern Pakistan more than three thousand years ago, and now is the world’s third largest religion behind Christianity and Islam. It has about 900 million adherents, with a little over a million in the U.S. and the vast majority living in India.

Hindu society is based on a “caste” system, which ranks people by their occupational class:

^■
Brahmins—priests

^■
Kshatriyas—soldiers, king-warrior class

^■
Vaishyas—merchants, farmers, laborers, craftspeople

^■
Harijahns—the “untouchables”

The higher a person’s caste, the more that person is blessed with the benefits and luxuries life has to offer. Although the caste system was outlawed in 1948, it is still important to the Hindu people of India and is still recognized as the proper way to stratify society.

Hinduism actually encompasses a wide variety of religious beliefs, and has been influential in the foundations of other religions, such as Transcendental Meditation, Buddhism, and the New Age Movement. Hindus are tolerant of other religions since they believe that all paths eventually lead to God—because all is God.

Karma

A guiding principle in Hinduism is what is known as “the law of karma”—a law of cause and effect, in which each individual creates his own destiny through his thoughts, words, and deeds. Good actions will lead to good consequences, and bad actions will have the opposite effect.

Often the law of karma isn’t accounted for during this life, so it carries over into future lives, trapping individuals in a cycle of reincarnation. Those who have built up a lot of bad karma may be born into a lower caste or even as an animal or insect. It may take many more lifetimes of suffering before they are again reborn as humans. Selfless acts and thoughts as well as devotion to God help one to be reborn at a higher level. This circle of birth, death, and rebirth is known as
samsara
.