World Religions

Judaism is the faith of the Jewish people, rooted in God's covenant with Abraham and the law of Moses and reshaped by the rabbis after the temple fell; we honor Israel's calling and future, reject all contempt for the Jewish people, and proclaim Jesus as Israel's Messiah and the only Savior of Jew and Gentile alike.

Islam calls people to submit to one God through the Qur'an and the Five Pillars, honors Jesus as a prophet while denying that He is the Son of God or died on the cross, and leaves the believer hoping for a mercy he cannot be sure of, while the Gospel offers a finished salvation in Christ.

Hinduism is a family of traditions from India in which souls pass through many lives under the law of karma, seeking release through works, knowledge, or devotion, while the Gospel declares one life, one judgment, and one Savior who bore our sins once for all.

Sikhism is a faith from Punjab, founded by Guru Nanak, that teaches one Creator, remembrance of the Name, and release from rebirth by God's grace, while the Gospel declares the one Name given for our salvation: Jesus Christ, who paid for sin and rose again.

Jainism teaches that every soul must free itself from karma through vows, nonviolence, and austerity, with no Creator to help it, while the Gospel declares that God sent His Son to bear what no one could shed, and gives eternal life to whosoever will come.

Buddhism teaches that suffering comes from craving and ends in nirvana through the path the Buddha taught, and some schools rely on Amida's compassion, but no Buddhist path offers what the Gospel offers: a holy Creator who paid for sin in His Son and gives rest to all who come to Him.

Shinto, Confucianism, and ancestor rites grow from real love of family but treat the dead as able to receive and bless, so believers give their parents all the honor God commands and give worship to God alone.

Taoism seeks harmony with a nameless Way, and Chinese folk religion seeks blessing and safety from gods and ancestors, while the Gospel declares the Word who was made flesh, died for our sins, and rose again, so that whosoever believes on His name is kept forever.

Zoroastrianism, the old faith of Persia and of India's Parsis, teaches a wise Creator opposed by a destructive spirit and calls each soul to good thoughts, good words, and good deeds before judgment at a bridge, but no one has kept that standard, and the Gospel declares one God and one Mediator who gave Himself a ransom for all.

The Baháʼí Faith teaches that one unknowable God has sent a line of Manifestations, with Jesus among them and Baháʼu'lláh the latest, while Scripture declares that God has spoken His final word in His Son, who became flesh, paid for sin, rose bodily, and is the only way to the Father.

Traditional religions across Africa, the Pacific, and the Americas live among spirits, ancestors, and the fear of offending unseen powers, but the God they have wronged has come in His Son, who triumphed over every power and is the refuge of all who trust Him.

Wicca is a modern religion founded in England, neither an ancient survival nor the worship of Satan, but it seeks power and guidance where God has forbidden us to seek them, and Christ has already triumphed over every power and offers what it promises.

Rastafari arose among the poor of Jamaica after Haile Selassie's coronation in 1930, and it teaches many that the emperor was God or Christ returned, while the emperor himself said he was a mortal man; Scripture answers that the Lion of Judah is the Lamb who was slain, who rose, and who alone is King of Kings.

Atheism denies that God exists and secularism lives as though it does not matter, but behind every position is a person who bears God's image, knows more of God than he admits, and needs the risen Christ.

Jesus is the only way because every person has the same need and He alone has met it, so believers carry His Gospel to every neighbor with conviction, humility, and love.