how come religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, etc.?
don't have scriptures that say that other religions are wrong, and that not worshiping in their god will send a person to hell? they also don't make it a practice to convert others. this seems different from Christianity and Islam.
fallen_star. Hinduism does what?
fallen_star, please show sources for what ever you say
Sadie Ann, i dint think there are MIILLIONS, but hey what do i know?
golden eye, you disagree that Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism dint have scriptures that say that you will go to hell if you dint follow their religion. but yea they do convert people on a much smaller scale than Christianity and Islam, but you never really answered my question, and just added random bits of information.
ziggy, i never said they dont have scriptures at all! lol
funguyy show me sources that say this. golden eye, i cant show sources for the lack of something because obviously there are no scriptures that say that you go to hell etc, hence there is no source to show you.
sadie ann, i can go as far as thousand, but i can guarantee you there aren't millions.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Xjv9gfcfrU
Because they are more spiritual religions that try to seek a connection between man and the mind/soul. Buddhism is more of a philosophy in my opinion. Buddha never claimed to be God. Jesus however, did, and this is why many feel that he is the only way to God
Actually Hinduism does that. And Buddhism and Jainism don't have a central belief on whether we will go to Heaven or Hell depending on our religion. Most Buddhists don't even believe in a God.
"Christianity" is too broad of a description, as only certain sects believe this way.
Any true Christian will tell you that Jesus came into the world to save sinners, and that we have no right to judge one another, no matter what.
before we get it twisted....Buddhism Hinduism etc are just as stupid and counter productive to humanity as the rest of these superstitions.
Look at Hinduism, look at the frig gen caste system!! Go ask some "untouchables" about tolerance
Let me tell you a bit about Buddhism, I just got back from Thailand. Imagine if you will....People spending 100s of baht on flowers and gold and junk to leave for "Buddha" or whatever....all the while there were children on the other side of the street begging for food....Nobody gave a crap about them. Nope...nobody, they needed their money for flowers to leave for imagination man. It was all ..."help, I need good luck for this or that...help me Buddha with some Karma"...pure selfish superstition BS!
Now only that, but both Buddhism Hinduism have their own traditions of radical intolerance.
Yes, even the Buddhists, here is a little clip (one of many)
http://www.tamilcanadian.com/page.php?cat=146&id=4062
EDIT: Buddhism, Jainism, and a few others all came from Hinduism. Hinduism is very ancient. It is a completely different form of religion compared to Christianity and Islam. It is also Polytheistic. There are millions of god in Hinduism (unbelievable). In Hinduism, there are caste (status in society). Depending on how you live in life (good or bad), determines how you will come back in the next life (reincarnation). If you were a bad person, you may come back as a roach. If you were a good person, then you come back in a higher caste. Life and death in Hindiusm is a cycle.
The origins of Buddhism don't recognize a God (s) or rituals. Jainism is very strict and cherish every form of life (even microscopic). Christianity and Islam are monotheistic.
EDIT: There are millions of gods (Vishnu comes in many variations). I have the text book. It sounds unbelievable, but that is what I read and learned in class. I can understand that it sounds crazy because the class didn't believe it either, but my Professor is a expert in Hinduism, and the people who wrote the book are experts. But again, it does sound crazy.
who told you so? maybe they try it but on a smaller scale and with less means and media involved.
Edit: you're asking sources from others. Show us some sources supporting your claims. I don't believe that any religion or idea don't try to spread itself among others.
Edit: your question is not asking for information and it needs better construction. I'm not familiar so much with the bit of God and hell but some Buddhists believe that you will reincarnate into lower creatures as animals if you sin and do harm ( I don't know about the level of harm). Hinduism believes also in many Gods that can punish you in current life and the afterlife after you incarnate; it is so wide that many beliefs are difficult to understand. they have thousands of Gods and sects usually have a higher God whom they worship most. Many believe that they incarnate in to cows and as Buddhists believe that as bad as you do in your life then you will be assigned to lower creatures. Have you heard of the cast system in India?
Your question is so wide and vague so excuse me that I can't answer it completely. You need to have a focused question.
because they are the real paths to God/enlightenment to the reality of the self of all who is God/Brahman.the other religions that you speak of are stale and empty,their message was originally the same as the Hindu and Buddhist except they got corrupted to control man by wealth and in turn they now worship money which in makes a person greedy,thus deluded
The scriptures of Hinduism are so lengthy that it would take you a life time to read them all.
Buddhism is a very simplified belief and doesn't require a lot of scripture. I studied only a small bit of Jainism but there are scriptures there also. The reason for Christianity to convert is power and money. It used to be to save souls by spreading the word of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. As far as Islam, it is the fastest growing religion in this era. Again I think it may be more for power then to enlighten. When religions get so large, the leaders become corrupt. Power corrupts absolutely. It is one of the cards the Devil plays. He knows that humans cannot handle absolute power.
Yes there are millions of gods. For a long time, there were more Hindu gods than there were Hindu people, but now that there are a billion people in India, there are more Hindus than gods. Lil
You have to think of Hinduism as the grand pappy religion of Jainism and Buddhism. Those came out of that tradition, so it makes sense that they would share a lot in common. The most obvious answer is that Hinduism/Buddhism does not focus on hell or heaven- it focuses on reincarnation. You can be reincarnated into Hell or Heaven (and most likely everyone will be a few times) but it neither are permanent. As such, there is no heaven to work towards and no hell to avoid. That takes the focus off of "what god gets me to heaven" since it is a non-issue in their faith. Next, Buddhists don't believe in a creator or involved God at all, so that is really a moot point. They do believe that the only way to achieve Nirvana is through the teachings of the Buddha, but they also believe that one could discover the truth that the Buddha taught all by themselves. They can also discover that truth though other religious teachings. Hindus believe in millions of gods, as I said, but they believe that each and every god is a incarnation of everything in existence- sort of a supreme force or state of being. As such, it is perfectly OK to believe in any god you want since they are all aspects of the same thing. That is one of the reasons why it was impossible to convert Indian Hindus to Christianity when the British were there- they were happy to accept Jesus and put him alongside other gods!
Likewise, Judaism (Jewish) is the grand pappy religion of Christianity and Islam, so they have a lot in common too. The Jews, Christians and Muslims were all tribal people who believed in ONE god and thought that they were a chosen people. Interestingly, Jews do not believe they are supposed to spread their religion- they believe they are the chosen people who will rise up when the Messiah returns and inherit the kingdom of heaven, but only some believe that everyone else goes to hell. Most simply believe that there is no hell. Muslims and Christians do, but Muslims believe that their god is the same as the Jewish and Christian god. They believe that Muhammad was the next Jewish prophet who brought the same message to the Arabs. They just don't believe that Christ was God's son, that's all. The Quran states that a Muslim should respect Jews and Christians. Christians are supposed to love everyone, though they do believe that only through Christ can anyone go to heaven, so they send the Jews and Muslims there as well even though the Muslims don't send them there. Lil
Also, one more thing, Christians, Jews and Muslims each have one book that contains everything that they consider to be the core of their faith. This leads to dogma. Hindus and Buddhists do not have that. There is no one book or one story. You have to read lots of stories and lots of teachings - it's a discussion and a mythology.
In most religions including Hinduism, there is only one God.
Humans have corrupted the truth by adding different symbols to different names of God, and thus have ignored the one and only, but started worship ping idols instead. Even Hindus understand that at highest level of understanding God, there is only one God. But at the lowest level of human intellect, they need to see something to worship. Alas.... I feel like crying on people who love visiting cards of someone instead of loving the source.
?There is no image of HIM! HE is bodiless and pure!? (Yujurved. Chapter: 32-3. & 40:8). Further in the Upanishads chapter 6:2:1 & Chapter 4:19 it clearly states: ?There is no likeness of HIM, & HE is ONE only, without a second.? The responsibility now rests on the Hindu Pundits to preach this truth to their flocks, and to inform them that idol worship is forbidden in their own religious Scriptures.
Blind belief is dangerous and destructive!. Bible tells us to prove things.
(I Thessalonians 5:21): ?Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.?
The teachings of the Church contradict the teachings of Jesus (pub) and that is the cause of the confusion. If a sincere christian who wants to follow Jesus, asks priests about trinity, the answer that he gets is "It is a Mystery, not explained by Jesus clearly", at that time again those forget that Jesus said,
"I spoke openly to the world. I always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where the Jews always meet, and in secret I have said nothing" (John 18:20 (NKJ)).
There was no mystery in the message of Jesus, nothing secret. Will you accept the priests' so called "mystery of trinity" and forget clear commandments of Jesus? Trinity or divinity of Jesus to be anywhere close to basis of Christin faith would have to be there in bible in clear words in any even one book of bible, with Jesus saying I am God, worship me, which is not. Doesn't it mean something to you.
Jesus clearly said:
A) Mark 12:29: "the Lord our God, the lord is One".
B) Metthew: 26:39: "He went a little farther and fell on His face and prayed" (Following Jesus way is following what he did). Jesus prayed to one God
C) Matthew 4:10 "You shall worship the Lord, your God, and him only you shall serve"
D) John 14:28 reads-- " You heard that I said to you,I am going away and i am coming back to you. If you loved me , you would rejoice that I am going my way to the Father,BECAUSE THE FATHER IS GREATER THAN I AM"
E) Mark 13:32: "But of that day and that hour NorthTho man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father."
F) John 5:19: "Most truly I say to you, the son cannot do a single thing of his own initiative but only what he beholds the father doing."
G) Matthew 19:17. "And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments."
H) Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me
John 7:16
What if Jesus were to ask these questions to you today:
Question 1. Why did u address your devotions to me instead it should have been to true God? Did I ever direct u to do it, or porpose myself as an object of religious worship?
Question 2 . When my disciples requested me to teach them to pray(Luke 11: 1-2),did I teach them to pray to myself or to any person but Father?
?Do you say to me whom the Father sanctified and dispatched into the world, ?You blaspheme,? because I said, I am God?s Son???John 10:36.
The trinity is a doctrine from about the year 325 AD, It has its roots in polytheism, pagan religion, and pagan philosophy (most probably added to christianity by humans to make it more acceptable to worshippers of more than one God). It is not in the bible unless you really, really stretch it to fit.
The New Catholic Encyclopedia - 1967, VOL. XIV, PAGE 299:
The formulation "one God in three Persons" was not solidly established, certainly not fully assimilated into Christian life and its profession of faith, PRIOR TO THE END OF THE 4TH CENTURY. But it is precisely this formulation that first claimed to title "The Trinitarian Dogma. AMONG THE APOSTOLIC FATHERS, THERE HAD BEEN NOTHING EVEN REMOTELY APPROACHING SUCH A MENTALITY OR PERSPECTIVE.
You should not accept the word ?son? literally . Word "son" was used in bible for general human beings and other prophets also. "we all are the children of father in heavens" indicates that word "son" was used in different meaning of love and care.
Mathew: 5:9. "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons of God.?
Exodus 4:22.
?And thou (Moses) shalt say unto Pharaoh, thus saith the Lord, Israel is my son, even my firstborn.?
Jesus, Moses, Mohammad (p.b.u.h), they all worshiped the same God, the God of Ibrahim. All prophets taught "surrendering one's will to God" that is the meaning of word "Islam". Word "christianity" did not exist at the time of Christ, but you will find Jesus teachings to be "surrender your will to God" in bible many times.
JAMES 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Mohammad (peace be upon him) was also a messenger of God, who never claimed to be God, the same way Jesus or Moses never claimed to be God, nor did they ever say worship me. There was just not one holy book sent by God on earth through His messengers. The last one had to be there to correct mistakes in the previous ones. The last testiment from the same source, with many similarities, but correcting mistakes in earlier ones made by humans.
If only the genuine followers of Jesus, who truly love him, read the Bible in context, and study the Qur?an, they will definitely reach the conclusion that GOD IS ONE, without any partners; and Jesus (pbuh) the son of Mary (pbuh) is a messenger of GOD!
Muslims love Jesus, they believe in his miraculous birth with the will of God without a father or sexual act (the way Adam was born without a mother and father), , they believe in miracles that Jesus performed with permission of God, muslims faith demands them to believe Jesus was a great prophet of God and belief in the original message of Jesus the massaya.
Qur?an, revealed to the Prophet Muhammed some 600 years after Jesus, (pbut) corrects the errors that crept (knowingly or unknowingly) into the message that Jesus brought. This book should prove to be a very valuable asset to both Muslims and Christians
The Holy Qur?an warns in Surah 5:73& 74: ?They do blaspheme who say, Allah is Christ the son of Mary. But said Christ: O? Children of Israel! Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord. Whoever joins other gods with Allah- Allah will forbid him the garden, (i.e. paradise) and the fire will be his abode. There will for the wrong doers, be no one to help?. ?Surely they are disbelievers, those who say: Allah is one of the three in a Trinity: But there is none who has the right to be worshiped but one God (i.e. Allah). And if they cease not from what they say, verily a painful torment will befall the disbelievers among them?.
Decide whether you love Jesus and want to follow his clear words and be saved, or love other human beings who gave different meaning to his original words. Reject any idea that makes you think of God in three distinct images or forms, follow Jesus and Mohammad p.b.u.h who said God is one, without any partner.
Hope this short video will answer most of your questions:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=p2Clk5lNUdQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N48Ymna9q...
Well, trying to simplify greatly, generally Eastern religions do not view the spiritual and worldly as separate. All is part of the 'Godhead' and all is a constant movement back towards unity with 'the All'. Good and evil are to an extent relative. So while some incarnations may be 'hellish' these are but stages in ones return to unity with the Divine.
This is also perhaps why there is less emphasis on 'conversion'. If 'All is One', then all paths are equally valid.
Western religions are generally dualistic. God is separate from Man. Matter and spirit are different. As is good and evil. God acts throughout history to teach, redeem and punish. Failure to live as God requires leads to rejection. Which in some cases is Hell, in others simply death.
Either way proselytism is expected because otherwise one has allowed others to continue to live in error (albeit through ignorance) rather than in accordance with God's wishes.
Because they are all living beliefs. The way followers live is the key aspect to all of them. Therefore they teach tolerance, understanding and compassion, with humbleness. Not a 'I am better than you' philosophy. They also know that within their tolerance, that to try to convert people to their own belief is wrong. To do, so would be intolerant. Defeating their very practices.
I suggest that you consult the Laws of Acquisition, friend.
Let's not overgeneralize about the "universalizing" expansionistICCeligions. Not all Christians are evangelical and there is even at least one Christian sect which is universalism. I have read, however, academic arguments that draw a connection between religious expansionist philosophy and a tendency toward chronic warfare.
However, I have to agree, that the religions you have identified which tend not to identify a 'higher power' generally tend to avoid taking a 'higher moral tone'.
Take Taoists for example. Most of us are pretty sure that we don't have a religion, and I think it would be against the Tao for any Taoist to say that they believed themselves to be 'right' about anything they said about the Tao.
First four lines of the Tao Te Ching:
The Tao that can be told
is not the eternal Tao
The name that can be named
is not the eternal Name.
You already have great answers, but I just want to add. Buddhism and the other many eastern religions, stems from the philosophy of redemption within self, it means that to gain enlightenment, or go to heaven, or eternal life, or to understand the universal truth (pick one according to your religion), you have to search within yourself, be the best person you can be, and do the best you can for yourself and others.
Hinduism, like Buddhism, has many gods and goddesses (in Buddhism it is Buddhas and Bodhisattva's and Arafat's), but they are all a manifestation of self, of being, just like the Greek gods in Greek Mythology.
Because Eastern religion inherently talks about saving oneself by deeds and Karma, they do not rely on outside forces, and therefore do not feel the need to force others to their viewpoint. There is no One God, and we don't have to rely on that one God. And so, we believe that you do not have to either, and therefore, there is nothing to convert or preach.
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On a side note, there are some who mentioned that there are cruelty in Buddhist and Hindu countries like Thailand and India. But these stems not from religion but culture. I have been to those countries. And can safely say that it has nothing to do with being a certain religion.
Any human, whatever religion, can be blinded to certain things. And before judging them based on what you saw, understand the economics behind why they did what they did. Certain countries are adamant that beggars should not be encouraged, and the government do take steps to rectify the situation. So please, do not use your own standard and judgment to judge in someone Else's country.
That being said. All religions are neither inherently good, nor evil. It is the institution of religion (i.e MAN) that causes religion to be looked at in a certain way.
First of all, in Buddhism, we don't worship a God. Buddha was not a god, He was a man who found a Path by which we can end suffering. As Buddhists, we believe that there is no "right" religion. Because people differ in dispositions, we need different religions so that each may find his or her own path. We also do not believe in a hell. At least not as a Christian version of a lake of fire. We don't try to convert others because each person must decide for themselves what to believe and how to decide.
Militant agnostic fundamentalist
LOL at giving caste system as some answer to negate Hindus.
Desperadoes like you will always find something wrong. Teehehehe
And yes your are off topic because you have hate for something that is better then what believe in. Lil
Golden Eye
You say ?I don't believe that any religion or idea don't try to spread itself among others.?
Hindus don?t convert anyone.
They merely preach good knowledge and whether you choose to follow them is your choice. WE don?t force conversion or bribe them like Christians and Muslims.
There is a massive difference. The key word is choice.
The Hindus hell is created by your actions and its as simple as that.
Your reap what you sow.
Every action has a reaction.
We don?t believe non-believers will be specially chosen to go to hell since their Karma ?actions are their own.
Ziggy dozen?t know what hes talking about. Lol.
The Vedas are righteous living and teachings and not conversion tables!
Having read all the scriptures I can say Hindus don?t have such ideology.
But that does not mean Hindus will not accept anyone who choose to convert.
how come religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, etc.?
