Jesus, the one the religious crowd had put to death, had healed the lame man. God proved Jesus is the Son of God by raising Him from the dead—a fact we are all eyewitnesses to. Acts Remember, when Saul had been persecuting early believers, Jesus Himself appeared on the road to Damascus and confronted Saul. Because Jesus Christ is alive, He is still being persecuted. The apostles received the brunt of it, but in the truest sense, it was the Lord Jesus being persecuted.
How could uneducated fishermen preach, and 5, come to Christ? Because He lives. The religious hierarchy thought they were done with Jesus. The living Christ is still doing miracles. Jesus is the only way to heaven. In the presence of Jesus Christ, something happens to you. His presence will compel you. Not long ago, this same Peter cursed, swore, and denied the Lord Jesus. But now, having seen the risen Lord, and Peter was compelled to speak boldly.
Because of the power of His message. You might as well have told the sun not to shine. Think about what that early church did—they had no print media, cell phones, radio, TV, sound systems or internet. No church buildings, email, or YouTube channels live-streaming their services. Yet they turned that early world upside down and inside out for Jesus Christ. When the early Christians wrote about their beliefs, they made clear that Christianity depends completely on the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Unlike all other men, Jesus Christ is said to have died then come to life again. Three days after He died, He rose from the dead before ascending back to Heaven forty days later. If He did not rise from the dead then He and His followers are frauds. He cannot provide salvation. I can identify no other sensible explanation for the facts on which almost all historians Christian and non-Christian agree. These facts are that Jesus was crucified, He truly died, He was buried in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, the tomb was found empty, the disciples of Jesus claimed to see Him alive, and some enemies of Jesus committed their lives to the living Christ.
We should not be surprised about any of this because Jesus predicted that He would die and rise again. There is no reason to suspect His disciples of foul play. They were petrified and in hiding from the Roman authorities. Each of these methods will to some extent include Raja Yoga , a meditation technique involving control over the body, breathing, and thoughts.
Hinduism as it is actually practiced consists largely of superstition, legendary stories about the gods, occult practices, and demon worship. Christ teaches a superior worldview. Jesus teaches a theistic worldview. But pantheism, the realization of godhood, is the heart of Hinduism. Orthodox Hinduism insists that suffering people be left to suffer, because it is their destiny, as determined by karma.
Jesus said, 'Love your neighbor as yourself. Also, many, if not most, gurus use their esteemed position to exploit their followers financially and sexually. The Beatles became disenchanted with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi when they learned that he was much more interested in the body of one of the women in their party than with any of their spirits.
They admitted, 'We made a mistake. Jesus gives a superior path to enlightenment. While the gurus are necessary to understand the sacred writings of Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads , there is no esoteric or hidden truth in the Bible that must be explained apart from ordinary understanding.
Christian meditation is not an effort to empty the mind, but rather to fill it with the truth of Scriptural principles Psalm 1. Inward meditation is like peeling an onion; you keep tearing off layer after layer until, when you reach the middle, you find that there is nothing there. Christ teaches a better way of salvation. The Hindu is lost in the karmic cycle of reincarnation until he reaches moksha and is left to work the way out of this maze alone. Jesus promised that we would be saved by faith Ephesians —9; Titus —7 , and that we could know that our salvation is guaranteed Ephesians —14; 1 John Christ Is Superior to Buddha.
Siddhartha Gautama Buddha is a title meaning 'enlightened one' is inferior to Christ. Buddhism began as a reformation movement within Hinduism, which had become a system of speculation and superstition. To correct this, Gautama rejected the rituals and occultism and developed an essentially atheistic religion though later forms of Buddhism returned to the Hindu gods.
His basic beliefs are summed in the Four Noble Truths:. Life is suffering. Suffering is caused by desires for pleasure and prosperity. Suffering can be overcome by eliminating desires. Desire can be eliminated by the Eightfold Path. The Eightfold Path is both a system of religious education and the moral precepts of Buddhism.
It includes 1 right knowledge 'Four Noble Truths' , 2 right intentions, 3 right speech, 4 right conduct no killing, drinking, stealing, lying, or adultery , 5 right occupation which causes no suffering , 6 right effort, 7 right mindfulness denial of the finite self , and 8 right meditation Raja Yoga.
Rather they seek nirvana, the elimination of all suffering, desires, and the illusion of self-existence. Christ fills life with more hope. Jesus taught that life is a gift of God to be enjoyed John and that the individual is to be honored supremely Matthew Furthermore, he promised hope in the life to come John The Buddhist also teaches reincarnation as the means of salvation.
However, in this form the self or individuality of the soul is eradicated at the end of each life. So even though you live on, it is not you as an individual who has any hope of attaining nirvana. Jesus promised hope to each man and woman as an individual John and said to the thief on the cross beside him, 'Today you shall be with me in paradise' Luke Jesus is a better Christ.
Jesus claimed and proved to be God in human flesh. Buddha was a mere mortal man who died and never rose again.
Jesus, however, rose bodily from the grave. Gautama simply wanted to bring his 'enlightenment' to others to help them to nirvana, where all desires and individual existence is lost. Christ Is Superior to Socrates. Although Socrates never started a religion, he has attracted a great following.
Plato presents Socrates as a man convinced that God has appointed him to the task of promoting truth and goodness by making humans examine their words and deeds to see if they are true and good. Vice, in his opinion, was merely ignorance, and knowledge led to virtue. Like Christ, Socrates was condemned to death on the basis of false accusations from authorities who were threatened by his teaching.
He could have been acquitted if he had not insisted on making his accusers and judges examine their own statements and lives, which they were unwilling to do. He was content to die, knowing that he had carried out his mission to the end, and that death, whether a dreamless sleep or a wonderful fellowship of great men, was good. Christ has a superior basis for truth. Jesus, like Socrates, often used questions to make his hearers examine themselves, but his basis for knowing the truth about human beings and God was rooted in the fact that he was the all-knowing God.
He said of himself, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. Likewise, as God, he was the absolute Goodness by which all other goodness is measured. He once asked a young man to examine his words by saying, 'Why do you call me good?
No one is good except God alone. Christ gives more certain knowledge. While Socrates taught some true principles, he often was left to speculate about many important issues, such as what happens at death.
Jesus gave a sure answer to such questions, because he had certain knowledge of the human destination John —29; — Where reason Socrates has insufficient evidence to make a definite conclusion, revelation Jesus gives answers which might never be anticipated.
Socrates died for a cause and did so with courage, which is certainly to be commended. However, Jesus died as a substitute for others Mark to pay the penalty that they deserved. Not only did he die for his friends, but also for those that were, and would remain, his enemies Romans —7. Such a demonstration of love is unequaled by any philosopher or philanthropist. Rational proofs are good when there is sound evidence for their conclusions.
But Socrates cannot support his claim to be sent by God with anything that compares to the miracles of Christ and his resurrection. Pagan prophets and prophetesses, such as the Oracle of Delphi, do not compare with the precise biblical prediction and miracles. Christ is superior to Lao Tse Taoism. Modern Taoism is a religion of witchcraft, superstition, and polytheism, but it was originally a system of philosophy, and that is how it is being presented to Western culture today.
Lao Tse built this system around one principle which explained everything in the universe and guided it all. That principle is called the Tao. There is no simple way to explain the Tao. The world is full of conflicting opposites—good and evil, male and female, light and dark, yes and no. All oppositions are manifestations of the conflict between Yin and Yang. But in ultimate reality Yin and Yang are completely intertwined and perfectly balanced.
That balance is the mystery called the Tao. To understand the Tao is to realize that all opposites are one and that truth lies in contradiction, not in resolution. Taoism goes beyond this to urge living in harmony with the Tao.
A person should enter a life of complete passiveness and reflection on such questions as, 'What is the sound of one hand clapping?
This system of philosophy has many similarities with Zen Buddhism. Christ brings superior freedom. Jesus allows humans to use their reason. In fact, he commands them to do so Matthew ; cf.
Taoism engages in the claim that 'Reason does not apply to reality. It is either true or false about the way things really are, and not contradictory, yet it claims that ultimately truth lies in contradiction. Jesus commanded: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment' Matthew —38, emphasis added.
God says, 'Come now, and let us reason together,' Isaiah
0コメント