ESV Global Study Bible :: Major World Religions

Major World Religions

Harold A. Netland and Marvin R. Wilson | USA

Although often regarded as a Western religion, Christianity, which had its birth in Asia, has always been much broader than its European expression and is today a genuinely global religion. During the first two centuries of the Christian era, the centers of Christianity were in Syria, Egypt, and Mesopotamia. The faith spread rapidly, so that by the second century a.d. Christians were in India and in major centers of the Persian Empire. Christian communities were in Ethiopia by the fourth century and in China by the seventh century. It was only after about the fourteenth century that Europe, and later North America, became the heartland of Christianity. Over the past two or three generations Christianity has experienced a dramatic shift in demographics, so that today over two-thirds of all Christians are located in Asia, Latin America, and Africa. The Christian church has experienced explosive growth in places such as China, South Korea, Guatemala, El Salvador, Brazil, Nigeria, Kenya, and Ghana.

All this has brought Christianity into greater contact than ever before with the major religions of the world. Although the Bible nowhere discusses "other religions" as such, much in the Bible is relevant to the subject. The Old Testament includes repeated references to the deities and religious practices of the Egyptians, Canaanites, Philistines, and Babylonians. The New Testament world was populated with "many ‘gods' and many ‘lords'" (1 Cor. 8:5) and characterized by religious syncretism (blending various religions together). But the religions of the ancient world have been replaced today by the so-called major world religions. This article will briefly examine Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism, concluding by noting important differences between their teachings and Christian faith.

Judaism

Beginning with Abraham, the founding "rock" of the Jewish people, and continuing to the modern era, Judaism has maintained continuity and passed down a remarkable legacy. Judaism has also been a religion of innovation, adaptability, and change. God progressively revealed his will and teachings to Abraham and his descendants (see Rom. 4:11-18; Gal. 3:29). The cataclysmic events leading to the exodus, and the revelation at Sinai, gave the nation of Israel its foundational spiritual identity. The religion of Moses, David, and the prophets was shaped and reshaped by social expansion, cultural interaction, and critical events such as the destruction of the temple, the exile, and restoration. All this was recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures.

Unlike any other world religion, Judaism shares common roots with Christianity through its inspired Scriptures, the Hebrew Bible. Jesus himself, moreover, and the first disciples, were themselves Jews. While many Jews reject Jesus as the Messiah, this does not negate the shared history recorded in the Christian Old Testament.

Today, Judaism is comprised of several branches or movements, each with certain distinguishing features. Orthodox Judaism is strongly committed to halakhah, the legal tradition of the Talmud and other law codes. In Orthodoxy, God is personal. The Torah (Scripture) and its mitswot, or "commandments," are unchanging, a focal point for study and living. Orthodox Jews usually hold to a more literal interpretation of Scripture, including a distinctive dress code, dietary laws, and strict Sabbath observance.

Reform Judaism, by contrast, does not view halakhah as binding. Reform Judaism seeks to adapt to modern times by encouraging innovation, diversity, and egalitarianism. In Reform Judaism, the basis for decision making is not a legal system but individual autonomy, informed by reason and experience. Consistent with that approach, Reform Judaism adopts a modern, higher-critical approach to the Hebrew Scriptures and mainly deems the Scriptures to be a product of human reflection, not a result of divine inspiration.

Conservative Judaism, a third major branch, falls theologically between Orthodox and Reform. Conservative Jews accept tradition but with an openness to change. Halakhah is not "frozen" but is a dynamic entity, subject to modification or adjustment in order to make it more relevant in light of current cultural concerns. Conservative Jews understand the Scriptures to be the words of God but would also see God's revelation as an ongoing process, not confined to the ancient Hebrew Scriptures alone.

Two additional groups are the Hasidic Jews and the Messianic Jews. Hasidism is the mystical movement in Judaism. Hasidic Jews are very "Torah-centric," and they are traditional in their lifestyle. God, who is present everywhere, is celebrated by dancing, spontaneity, joy, and great intensity. Messianic Jews are culturally Jewish people who believe Jesus is the Messiah. As a means of affirming their Jewish identity, many messianic believers attend messianic Jewish congregations. Services are structured along the lines of synagogue worship, in music and liturgy. The theology of many messianic Jews is closely linked to that of the evangelical Christian community, from which it has generally found support. Many within the Jewish community, however, have tended to question the messianic movement, skeptical about how it can combine features of both Judaism and Christianity and yet remain a legitimate expression of Jewish religious life.

Islam

Islam, the second largest religion in the world after Christianity, is found not only in the Middle East but throughout the world. Although historically discussion of Islam begins with Muhammad (c. a.d. 570-632), Muslims insist that Islam is God's eternal religion for all humankind and that Muhammad was simply the last and greatest in a long line of prophets.

Born and raised in Mecca, an important trading center in Arabia, Muhammad was troubled by the polytheism and superstition all around him. Around the year 610 he began to have experiences that he took to be revelations from Allah, the one true God. Convinced that he had been called to be a "Messenger of God," Muhammad continued to receive revelations supposedly dictated by the angel Gabriel over a 20-year period. The revelations were memorized by Muhammad's followers and were eventually written and codified in the Qur'an, which is understood to be the Word of God. Muhammad regarded himself as being in continuity with prophets of the Old Testament and Jesus. He claimed to be restoring the original revelation of God that Jews and Christians had corrupted. Muhammad met stiff resistance to his message in Mecca, and in 622 he and his followers moved to Medina (in western Saudi Arabia). But in 630 Muhammad returned to Mecca, captured it, and began transforming the city. He died two years later.

Questions about the legitimate successors to Muhammad resulted in the two major divisions within Islam. Sunni Islam, comprising roughly 85 percent of Muslims today, recognized caliphs (Islamic leaders) not necessarily related to Muhammad as his legitimate successors. Shi'a Islam, comprising about 15 percent of Muslims, insisted that legitimate successors must descend directly from Muhammad and that Ali (Muhammad's son-in-law, who was martyred) and his sons were the rightful heirs to leadership. Both branches of Islam embrace a strict monotheism and total submission to Allah's sovereign will in all of life. Allah, they believe, is the eternal creator who sovereignly rules over nature and the affairs of humankind.

The religious, intellectual, and social life of devout Muslims is structured around the "Five Pillars": (1) the Shahada, or "witness" of the basic creed of Islam ("I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and that Muhammad is the prophet of Allah"); (2) prayer; (3) fasting; (4) almsgiving; and (5) the pilgrimage to Mecca.

Islam teaches that the present world will one day be destroyed by Allah and that all humankind, past and present, will face divine judgment. Humans have a weakness of will and a tendency toward sin. Though tempted by Iblis (the devil), it is within their power to resist and remain faithful to the will of Allah. In the judgment, each person's deeds will be impartially weighed in the balance. Salvation is by works, based strictly on submission to Allah and faithful adherence to the teachings of Islam (sura 36:54 in the Qur'an). Accordingly, some will be admitted to Paradise, others consigned to Hell.

Jesus is mentioned frequently in the Qur'an. He is portrayed as one of the greatest of the prophets. While the virgin conception of Jesus is affirmed, the Qur'an denies Jesus' divinity (5:109-119), as well as his death on a cross. The incarnation and the Trinity are explicitly denied (see 4:171; 5:17; 9:30-31).

Hinduism

Hinduism is a family of diverse religious traditions that are the product of some 4,000 years of development in India. There is no single founder of Hinduism, and it does not have a carefully defined creed. A Hindu may believe in one god, many gods, or no god. Some Hindus think of the religious "ultimate" as a personal being; others regard it as a nonpersonal reality. Any unity that exists within Hinduism is found in the common acceptance of the authority of the Vedas (composed between 1400 and 400 b.c.) as sacred literature, belief in reincarnation of the soul in accordance with karma, and the importance of caste.

According to the doctrine of reincarnation, persons are continually being reborn as the atman (the soul) passes from one life to another. A person's present life is one in an unimaginably long series of past and future lives. Rebirths are regulated by karma, a universal principle that determines current and future states on the basis of past actions and dispositions. The repeated cycle of birth, death, and rebirth is samsara (lit., "wandering"), and the traditional soteriological goal of Hinduism is moksha, or liberation from rebirths through breaking the causal conditions of karma.

Traditionally there are three ways to attain moksha: (1) right action (karma marga), in which one lives in accordance with one's duty as determined by gender, caste, and stage in life; (2) liberating knowledge (jnana marga), as one realizes one's essential identity with Brahman; and (3) devotion (bhakti marga), consisting of love, reverence, and worship of a particular deity.

Most Hindus accept the idea of Brahman as the supreme being and sustaining power of the cosmos. But there is disagreement over the nature of Brahman and its relation to the human person. The idea that the religious ultimate can be understood and experienced in many different ways is central to Hinduism.

Buddhism

The founder of Buddhism, Siddhartha Gautama (traditionally, 563-483 b.c.; also known as "the Buddha"), was born into a wealthy chieftain's family in northern India. Determined to find the cause of suffering and pain, he rejected his luxurious lifestyle and became a wandering ascetic. After much meditation and ascetic discipline, Gautama experienced "enlightenment," and for the next 40 years he traveled throughout India preaching the dharma (truth) and attracting a large following.

The heart of the teaching of the Buddha (lit., "awakened one") is the Four Noble Truths. The First Truth states that all existence is characterized by dukkha ("suffering," "pain," or "discontent"). The Second Truth holds that the root cause of suffering is tanha (lit., "thirst" but often translated "desire"). It is not simply wrong desires but desire itself that results in suffering. The Third Truth says that when desire ceases, then suffering ceases as well. The Fourth Truth introduces the Noble Eightfold Path, which sets out ideals in moral self-discipline, meditation, and wisdom that provide the way to eliminate desire and suffering.

The Buddha held that everything that exists is characterized by anitya, or impermanence, and is continually coming into being and passing out of being as a result of certain interrelated causal conditions. At death, what passes from this life to the next is not a soul but simply the cumulative karmic effects of actions, which then produce in the next life the (mistaken) perception of an enduring person. Only nirvana is permanent, unconditioned, and ultimately real. Nirvana is not heaven. Rather, it is a state that is realized when the fires of desire and the conditions producing rebirth are eliminated. Since it is the absence of suffering in any form, it is a state of utter bliss.

Buddhism today is divided into two major groups. Theravada Buddhism, found in Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia, accepts only the writings of the Pali canon as authoritative, emphasizes the Four Noble Truths in attaining nirvana, and generally avoids metaphysical speculation. Each person is said to be responsible for attaining his or her own enlightenment ("self-effort"), which is restricted to the few who can master the required disciplines.

Mahayana Buddhism is today found in China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, and the West and includes a wide variety of schools. It has developed its own sacred texts and doctrines. Whereas Theravada Buddhism emphasized self-effort in attaining nirvana, with Mahayana the goal became attaining enlightenment in this life, and a vast multitude of spiritual beings, such as bodhisattvas, were said to assist the quest for enlightenment.

Confucianism

Confucianism is a system of social, ethical, and religious teachings that has been influential in Chinese, Korean, and Japanese cultures. Confucius (552-479 b.c.) was born into a poor family in northwestern China. He became educated in the ancient Chinese classical writings and offered instruction in history, poetry, government, music, and moral conduct. Confucius was given various ministerial positions in the government, eventually becoming prime minister. Tradition maintains that his honesty and eagerness to implement changes in government led to his dismissal. After traveling widely, Confucius returned to his native area and continued teaching. After his death his disciples compiled the Lun Yu or Analects, a collection of Confucius's sayings that form the basic understanding of his teachings.

Confucius called for a return to the practice of ethical and social principles of an earlier era in order to produce order and harmony within the family, society, and the nation at large. Such order is patterned after the way of Heaven (Tian), which seems to be a cosmic principle or the ground of the moral order. The universe has a moral character, so that when one practices the moral law in social relationships, one reflects the moral will of Heaven.

Li ("propriety"), a central concept in Confucian thought, refers to a proper and appropriate way of being and doing things, including the proper way of conducting rites and ceremonies, proper interpersonal relationships, and the ideal standards of social and religious conduct. The ideal of li is reflected socially in the Five Relationships: father/son; elder brother/younger brother; husband/wife; elder/younger; ruler/subject. Each relationship is hierarchical, with distinctive roles for superiors and inferiors.

Confucius sought the cultivation of the "superior man" (jun-zi), who exemplifies moral virtues such as ren ("humaneness," "benevolence," or "love"). Ren is what makes humans uniquely human. On one occasion Confucius described ren by giving his statement of the Golden Rule: "Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire" (Analects 12.2; compare 15.24).

Biblical Themes and Other Religions

Even this cursory survey indicates that there are some similarities between Christianity and other religions. Judaism and Christianity are, of course, uniquely similar, in that Christianity is the outgrowth of Judaism. Islam and Christianity both believe in an eternal Creator God and a judgment to come after death. Both Jesus and Confucius taught a version of the Golden Rule. Such similarities are not surprising and can be understood in light of the biblical teaching that all people, including adherents of other religions, have been created by God in his image (Gen. 1:26-27; 5:1-2) and that God has revealed himself in a general manner to all peoples through the created order (Ps. 19:1-4; Acts 14:15-17; 17:22-31; Rom. 1:18-32; 2:14-15).

But the differences between Christian faith and other religions are greater than the similarities.

1. God. The Bible teaches that there is one eternal Creator God who has created all else that exists (Genesis 1-2). Hinduism has theistic traditions, but it also includes polytheistic and atheistic traditions. Confucianism's views on the religious ultimate are unclear, and Buddhism explicitly denies the existence of an eternal Creator.
2. Death. Hinduism and Buddhism both accept the idea of multiple rebirths regulated by karma. The Bible, by contrast, teaches that there is only one life, after which all persons face judgment before God (Heb. 9:27; Rev. 20:11-15).
3. Sin. Many religions, particularly Hinduism and Buddhism, identify the root problem afflicting humankind as ignorance about the true nature of reality. But the Bible teaches that the problem is not ignorance but sin, that is, deliberate rejection of God and his ways (Isa. 59:2; Rom. 3:9-26). Moreover, contrary to Confucianism, the Bible teaches that as a result of the fall of Adam and Eve all humankind has been corrupted by sin infecting their moral nature, so that people are not inherently good but sinful (Genesis 3; Rom. 3:9-20; 5:12-14).
4. Soul. Buddhism teaches that there is no enduring, substantial soul that passes from one life to another. But the Bible teaches that there is an immaterial dimension of the person, created by God, which continues to exist after death (Matt. 10:28; Luke 12:20; 3 John 2).
5. Salvation. Although some forms of Hinduism and Buddhism do teach that the desired goal cannot be attained through human effort but rather is a gift from a deity or a buddha respectively, most religious traditions do regard human effort as central to attaining the goal. But the Bible clearly states that salvation is not something that human beings can achieve through their own efforts; it is the gift of God's grace, which is to be accepted by faith (Rom. 3:20, 28; Eph. 2:8-9).
6. Christ's incarnation. The Bible teaches that the second person of the Trinity, while remaining fully God, became a man (John 1:1-14; Rom. 1:3-4; Phil. 2:7-8; Col. 2:9). In a unique event, the Son of God became incarnate as the historical person Jesus of Nazareth. The Hindu notion of avatar, by contrast, concerns multiple manifestations of Vishnu as both humans and animals, but not as historical persons. No other world religion teaches that God became an actual man.
7. Christ's preeminence. Jesus is not just another great religious teacher. The truth of Jesus' teachings cannot be separated from its grounding in the person of Christ as the incarnate Word of God—the eternal, omnipotent Son of God who shares in all the attributes of God.
8. Christ's substitutionary work. The Bible teaches that salvation is based on the sinless life, substitutionary death, and triumphant resurrection of Jesus Christ, as he took upon himself the punishment for the sins of his people (Heb. 4:15; Rom. 3:25-26; 1 Pet. 3:18; 1 John 2:2). While this sacrificial death is anticipated in Judaism, there is nothing like it in Hinduism, Buddhism, or Confucianism, and it is explicitly denied in Islam.
9. Christ's resurrection. The Buddha, Confucius, Muhammad, and Jesus all died, but there is no reliable historical record of anyone apart from Jesus ever being raised bodily after death (Acts 2:24). The resurrected Christ is the "firstfruits" (1 Cor. 15:20), the first instance, of the one great harvest of resurrected bodies that will be given to all believers one day. It is because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ that Christians, too, can have victory over sin and death and anticipate their own resurrection to eternal life with God (Rom. 8:11; 1 Cor. 15:20-22, 54-58).