Study of Religion

1
Study of Religion
2
Bibliography

• Merriam Webster Dictionary
• American Heritage Dictionary
• New Standard Encyclopedia
• Traditions of Men Versus the Word of God
• Alvin Jennings
• Documents of the Christian Church
• - Henry Bettenson
• The Encyclopedia of American Religions
• - J Gordon Melton
• Religion in America
• - Winthrop S. Hudson and John Corrigan

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Bibliography

• The Worlds Religions
• -Huston Smith
• A Study of Different Religions and Religious
  Errors
• - James Meadows
• Churches of Today in the Light of Scripture
• - L G Tomlinson
• The Quran The Eternal Revelation vouchsafed to
  Muhammad the Seal of the Prophets
• translated by Muhammed Zafrulla Khan
• The Book of Mormon
• - translated by Joseph Smith

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Bibliography

• International Bible Encyclopedia
• -James Orr, General Editor
• Christ Among Us A Modern Presentation of the
  Catholic Faith
• - Anthony Wilheim
• How We Got the Bible
• - Neil R Lightfoot
• Vines Expository Dictionary

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Bibliography

• Religion Religions Religious Studies
• -http//www.clas.ufl.edu/users/gthursby/rel/
• CHRIST IN ISLAM -By Ahmed Deedat
  http//www.unn.ac.uk/societies/islamic/index.htm
• RELIGIONS OF THE WORLD
• Numbers of adherents rates of growth
• -http//www.religioustolerance.org/worldrel.htm
• The World's Major Religions and Belief Systems
• http//www.cftech.com/BrainBank/OTHERREFERENCE/RE
  LIGION/MajorReligion.html

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Bibliography

• What Is Freemasonry? 
• -http//freemasonry.org/costarica/whatis.htm
• Major Branches of Religions Ranked by Number of
  Adherents
• -http//www.adherents.com/adh_branches.html
• Ancient Egyptian Religions
• -http//www.returntoglory.org/Gallery/religions.h
  tm
• The Apostles' Creed
• http//www.reformed.org/documents/apostles_creed.
  html

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Bibliography

• Almanac of Religions 
• -http//www.factmonster.com
• GSS Methodological Report No. 43
• -Tom Smith Web Site ?
• BAAL   Pagan God of Fertility
• -Stewarton Bible School, Stewarton, Scotland
• http//atschool.eduweb.co.uk/sbs777/snotes/note11
  12.html
• The Concept of "Church" among Churches of Christ
  -A Paper Prepared for the Southern
  Baptist--Churches of Christ Conversation Jim
  Howard
• www.thebiblespeaks.com

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Who do you worship?
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What Is Religion

• Etymology Middle English religioun, from Latin
  religion-, religio supernatural constraint,
  sanction, religious practice, perhaps from
  religare to restrain, tie back -- more at
  RELYDate 13th century1 a the state of a
  religious lta nun in her 20th year of religiongt b
  (1) the service and worship of God or the
  supernatural (2) commitment or devotion to
  religious faith or observance2 a personal set
  or institutionalized system of religious
  attitudes, beliefs, and practices4 a cause,
  principle, or system of beliefs held to with
  ardor and faith-Merriam Webster Collegiate
  Dictionary

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What Is Religion

• Belief in and reverence for a supernatural power
  or powers regarded as creator and governor of the
  universe.
• A personal or institutionalized system grounded
  in such belief and worship.
• A set of beliefs, values, and practices based on
  the teachings of a spiritual leader.
• The American Heritage Dictionary of the English
  Language, Fourth Edition

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What Is Religion

• Religion faith and practices involving the
  relationship between mankind and what it regards
  as sacred. Religion almost always includes the
  belief in the supernatural and a code of ethical
  behavior.
• Religion may be a private set of beliefs of only
  one person, or it may be a shared set of beliefs
  of many.
• New Standard Encyclopedia
• Standard Educational Corporation
• Volume 12

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What are the Ingredients?

• The Supernatural. Virtually every religion has
  its God, or gods, or some supernatural powers.
• The Soul. Most religions involve the belief that
  in every person there is a spiritual something
  called soul.
• Belief in an Afterlife. Most religions include
  the belief that a persons soul lives on
  spiritually after the body dies. In some
  religions, such as Hinduism, it is believed that
  when a person dies, the soul becomes reborn, or
  is reincarnated, in another person or living
  object.

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What are the Ingredients?

• Salvation. In nearly every religion there is the
  belief that individuals must be saved from
  something (hell, for example), or for something
  (such as heaven).
• New Standard Encyclopedia
• Standard Educational Corporation
• Volume 12

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Why Should We Study Religion and Religious
Beliefs?

• - Belief is faith and faith is based on
  conviction.
• - What is it that you believe and why do you
  believe it?
• - I am convinced that many people dont know what
  they believe, understand their religious
  doctrines, or adhere to what they express to be
  their faith.

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Why Should We Study Religion and Religious
Beliefs?

• - I believe many people are sincere but driven by
  their emotions when it comes to religion.
• -In our strive for religious tolerance we (as
  society) say it does not matter what one believes
  just so we all get along together.

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Why Should We Study Religion and Religious
Beliefs?

• -In religion if it doesnt matter that one
  believes in many gods or that one disbelieves the
  bible or has his/her own ideas about what God
  wants from themThen why believe anything at all?
  
• -It would seem that our passions in life would
  influence our decisions and rule the day. It
  would seem that we would eat, drink, and be
  merry for tomorrow we die. It would seem the
  atheist would be true to his belief system.
• - People want to believe in a creator and in an
  afterlife.

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Why Should We Study Religion and Religious
Beliefs?

• -Where did man learn about compassion, justice,
  mercy, love, obedience, and the like?
• -Was it from some sort of evolutionary
  revelation?
• - It Does Make a Difference What Man Believes and
  How Man Worships God.1
• 1 Jennings- Traditions of men versus the word
  of God.

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Why Should We Study Religion and Religious
Beliefs?

• -John424God is Spirit, and those who worship
  Him must worship in spirit and truth.
• -We believe it is by identifying truth that we
  understand Who God is and How God wants us to
  live and worship him.
• -Can Everyone be Right?
• Is a Hindu, Jew, Baal Worshipper, Christian or
  Muslim all living in truth? Each has differing
  religious practices and beliefs.

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Why Should We Study Religion and Religious
Beliefs?

• -Without getting into a study on evidences we
  present the previous questions for your
  examination.
• -Suffice it to say that Christians are instructed
  to study carefully the word of God.
• 2 Timothy215Be diligent to present yourself
  approved to God, a worker who does not need to be
  ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

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Why Should We Study Religion and Religious
Beliefs?

• -We believe The Bible to be the inspired word of
  God and is perfect.
• 2 Timothy316 All Scripture is given by
  inspiration of God, and is profitable for
  doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for
  instruction in righteousness, 17that the man of
  God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for
  every good work.

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Who Believe Bible Literal

• Jehovah's Witness 96.8
• Church of Christ 85.9
• Pentecostal/Assem. of God 84.0
• Other Fundamentalist 82.1
• Other Protestants 75.7
• Baptists (ALL) 72.5
• Christian 59.0
• Lutheran (ALL) 54.4
• Christian Scientist 45.0
• Catholic 42.0
• Mormon 25.4
• Agnostic/Atheist 18.5
• Jewish 12.0
• GSS Methodological Report No. 43 October 1986

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Why Should We Study Religion and Religious
Beliefs?

• -We are directed to instruct those who are in
  error that they may acknowledge the truth.
• 2 Timothy 224-26And a servant of the Lord must
  not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach,
  patient, 25in humility correcting those who are
  in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them
  repentance, so that they may know the truth,
  26and that they may come to their senses and
  escape the snare of the devil, having been taken
  captive by him to do his will.

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Why Should We Study Religion and Religious
Beliefs?

• -From the beginning Man has set to establish his
  way as acceptable without regard to God.
• Cain and Abel Genesis 42-7
• Was Cain sincere? Was he correct in his worship?
• 4 Religious Groups in Jesus Day Were all four
  right in their beliefs? - Isaiah seeing they
  see not and
• Blind leading the blind

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How Many Different Religions Exist?

• -Hard to know an exact count. Suffice it to say
  that the number of differing views continues to
  grow.
• -There are twelve classical world religions. This
  is the list of religions described most often in
  surveys of the subject, and studied in World
  Religion classes 2 Adherants

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12 Classical World Religions

•  
• Jainism
• Judaism
• Shinto
• Sikhism
• Taoism
• Zoroastrianism

•  
• Baha'i
• Buddhism
• Christianity
• Confucianism
• Hinduism
• Islam

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Number of Followers

• Christianity 2 billion
• Islam 1.3 billion
• Hinduism 900 million
• Secular/Nonreligious/Agnostic/Atheist 850
  million
• Buddhism 360 million
• Chinese traditional religion 225 million
• primal-indigenous 190 million
• Sikhism 23 million
• Yoruba religion 20 million

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Number of Followers

• Juche 19 million
• Spiritism 14 million
• Judaism 14 million
• Baha'i 6 million
• Jainism 4 million
• Shinto 4 million
• Cao Dai 3 million
• Tenrikyo 2.4 million
• Neo-Paganism
• 1 million

• Unitarian-Universalism 800 thousand
• Scientology 750 thousand
• Rastafarianism 700 thousand
• Zoroastrianism 150 thousand

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of World Religions
29

• Christianity David B. Barrett's World Christian
  Encyclopedia (1994 update) gives an oft-cited
  figure of 1.9 billion Christians (or about 33 of
  the world population), and has projected that by
  the year 2000 there will be 2.1 billion
  Christians in the world. Regardless of the degree
  of accuracy of this figure, Christianity, if
  taken as a whole, is unarguably the largest world
  religion.

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False Teachers?

• -Remember the words of Peter that said false
  teachers world arise even in the church.
• 2 Peter 21But there were also false prophets
  among the people, even as there will be false
  teachers among you, who will secretly bring in
  destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who
  bought them, and bring on themselves swift
  destruction
• Do all who claim to be Christians practice and
  believe the same thing?

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TULIP

• T - Total Hereditary Depravity
• U - Unconditional Election
• L - Limited Atonement
• I - Irresistible Grace
• P - Perseverance of the Saints

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Division of Study

• Ancient Religions
• Baal Worship
• Egyptian Worship
• Foreign Religions
• Those not Christian
• Christianity
• Various Denominations

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Division of Study

• Foreign Religions
• By 1985 there were over a half-million Asian
  Indians who had settled in America. 800,000
  Japanese Americans, and over a million Chinese
  Americans.
• Religion in America page 408

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Division of Study

• Foreign Religions
• -Islam
• -Hinduism
• -Buddhism
• -Shinto
• -Sikhism
• -Judaism

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Division of Study

• Christianity
• -Pentecostal
• -Methodist
• -Baptist
• -Jehovahs Witness
• -Christian Science
• -Masons
• -Lutherans

-Mormons -Catholic -7th Day Adventist -Christi
an -Church of Christ
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Quick Rundown

• Hinduism is the oldest organized religion. It
  began in India during the second millenium BC and
  is the only religion without a founder.
• Buddhism developed in India in the sixth century
  BC as a reform movement of Hinduism. Founder was
  Siddhartha Guatama, known as Buddha.

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Quick Rundown

• Baha'I Religion founded in Persia (Iran) in the
  19th century. Evolved from Babism. Founded by Ali
  Muhammad of Shiraz.
• The Iranian prophet known as the Bab foretold the
  arrival of a great prophet or messiah figure.
• Confucianism and Taoism are native to China.
  Founders Confucius and Lao-Tzu.
• Both appeared in the sixth century BC. 

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Quick Rundown

• Islam was founded in Arabia by Mohammed in the
  seventh century AD.
• Shinto is native to Japan, and originated as
  nature worship
• It has no formal doctrine
• Shinto means Way of the gods
• Has thousands of deities

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Quick Rundown

• Jainism A religion of India and an offshoot of
  Hinduism.
• It implies mans spiritual conquest over his
  material nature.
• Salvation or nirvana can be attained only after
  many years of extreme asceticism which involves
  abstention from sex for pleasure.
• Are vegitarians
• Founded in 6th century BC by Mahavira.

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Quick Rundown

• Zoroastrianism
• Monotheistic religion
• Practiced in India
• Led people away from idols and preached Ahura
  Mazda creator of all good and gave man freedom to
  choose between good and evil.
• By his choices man stores up for himself a
  reward or punishment after death.
• Founded between 10th and 6th century BC by
  Zarathustra.

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Quick Rundown

• Juche
• Juche is the only government-authorized ideology
  in North Korea, to the point of excluding all
  other religions. "Juche" means "self-reliance" in
  the Korean language.
• Some classify Juche as a North Korean form of
  Marxist Communism

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Quick Rundown

• Neo-Paganism Neo-Paganism is an umbrella term
  for modern revivals of ancient ethnic and
  magickal traditions. These are usually
  polytheistic, but many Neo-Pagans consider their
  faith pantheistic, and many other concepts of
  deity can be found among Neo-Pagans as well.
  Subdivisions within Neo-Paganism include Wicca,
  Magick, Druidism, Asatru, neo-Native American
  religion and others.

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Quick Rundown

• Number of Adherents
• Catholic 1,030,000,000
• Orthodox/Eastern Christian 240,000,000
• African indigenous sects (AICs) 110,000,000
• Pentecostal 105,000,000
• Reformed/Presbyterian
• /Congregational/United 75,000,000
• Baptist 70,000,000
• Methodist 70,000,000
• Anglican 68,000,000
• Lutheran 64,000,000
• Jehovah's Witnesses 14,800,000

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Quick Rundown

• Adventist 12,000,000
• Latter Day Saints 11,500,000
• Apostolic/New Apostolic 10,000,000
• Stone-Campbell ("Restoration Movement") 5,400,000
• New Thought (Unity, Christian Science,
  etc.) 1,500,000
• Brethren (incl. Plymouth) 1,500,000
• Mennonite 1,250,000
• Friends (Quakers) 300,000