PRESENTATION OUTLINE
KNOWN WRITINGS: THE QURAN
They believe Allah is the one and true God with no partner or equal.
They believe Jesus was not crucified but instead, he was raised up by God unto the heavens.
Death:
The physical body is finished but the spirit remains. There will be a day of judgement when all humans will be divided between the eternal destinations of paradise and hell.
The Holy Spirit in the Quran is defined as the angel Gabriel who has been the angel-messenger between the almighty God and the human beings.
KNOWN WRITINGS: THE TORAH
They believe there is only one God.
They do not accept Jesus as the messiah.
They believe in an afterlife where those who live a worthy life will be rewarded.
KNOWN WRITINGS: THE BIBLE
They believe there is only one true God.
Jesus is the son of God and he is the messiah.
The Holy Spirit is the third person of the holy trinity. It is eternal and has always existed.
Salvation is made possible because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
When you die you go to heaven to be with Jesus for eternity or you go to hell to be with the devil for eternity.
CHRISTIAN SYMBOL: THE CROSS
KNOWN WRITINGS: THE BOOK OF MORMONS.
They believe God has a physical body.
They believe Jesus is the son of God and the Savior of the world.
The Holy Spirit is in purpose with the Father and the Son, but it is a separate being.
All humans who die will live eternally. Upon death the soul will go to the spirit world and after "some time" there will be a resurrection at which the spirit will be reunited with the bodies forever.
SYMBOLS: THE ANGEL MORONI.
DATE FOUNDED: DECEMBER 1952
KNOWN WRITINGS: "MY PHILOSOPHY"
God is expressed as the eighth dynamic.
There is no judgement of the soul involved after death.
SYMBOLS: THE SCIENTOLOGY CROSS.
FOUNDER: CHARLES TAZE RUSSELL
They believe the Holy Spirit is God's active force.
Hinduism:
Has no specific founder or date.
Known writings: the Vedas.
In the Vedas, God is called Brahman, the supreme being who simultaneously exists as the absolute transcendent Parabrahman, as omniscient consciousness or shakti power and as the personal prime Deity.
Jesus is not seen as the Messiah, God's Son, or as physically resurrected. He was simply a man who realized his divine nature.
Holy Spirit:
Shakti is is subsequently systemized as the Universal Goddess with sophisticated theology and worship. She is a supreme being whose creative power manifests the universe.
There is no clear plan of salvation. Hindus hope and strive to eventually leave the cycle of reincarnation.
Death is a temporary cessation of physical activity, a necessary means of recycling the resources and energy and an opportunity for the jiva (that part which incarnates) to reenergize itself, review its programs and policies and plan for the next phase of life.
FOUNDER: ANTON SZANDOR LAVEY
They believe in satan as being God, the creator of the universe.
Satanists do not believe in Jesus Christ.
Death: there is no reward or punishment in an afterlife.
Buddhism:
Founder: Buddha Shakyamuni
Date founded: late 6th century B.C.E.
They do not believe in a god.
Buddhists look at Jesus as a great teacher.
Salvation:
Buddhists depend on their own to attain nirvana.
After death one is either reborn into another body (reincarnated) or enters nirvana.
Sikhism
Founder: Guru Nanak
Founded: late 15th century C.E.
There is only one God.
Jesus is the son of God and may be one with Him.
The Holy Spirit is God.
Salvation:
One must live a honest life and meditate on god.
Death:
Sikhs believe in reincarnation.
Confucianism
Founder: Confucius
Founded: 552 B.C.E. -- 479 B.C.E.
There is one god.
They respect Jesus as a holy man.
Taoism
Founder: Lao Tzu
Founded: 3rd--4th centuries of B.C.E.
God: there is no god. Salvation:
Humans should just follow the Tao.
Death: the soul lives on.