The Common Threads of the World Religions

What is

?The word religion comes from the latin word ligare: to join, or link,

classically understood to mean the linking of human and divine.

What is religion?

• When did we feel we needed religion?

• Why did religion come into human feeling?

• How did it originate?

• What did they call it before we called it religion?

• How do we classify 1000’s of religions? Many off shoots.

What is Religion?

• “Is Religion just another way of reflecting human feeling and meaning of life?”

• Karl Marx. “Religion created by humans who worship nothing else but the mind.”

• Max Muller. “He who knows one, knows none.” (German Theologian Dec. 6, 1823)

• Religion is the state of being grasped by an ultimate concern. Paul Tillich

Ninian Smart'sSeven Dimensions of Religions

Ninian Smart'sSeven Dimensions or Religions

The Earth Maker

Buddha, Krishna and Jesus are believed by their followers to have had quite miraculous conceptions

and births marked by a star.

date Near East India

1000+ BCE Judaism:

Moses 1500-1350 BCE

Hinduism:

2000 BCE

600 BCE Zoroastrianism:Zoroaster 628-527 BCE

Jainism:Mahavira 599-527 BCEBuddhism:Buddha 563-483 BCE

date Near East India

100 CE Christianity:Jesus 1-33 CE

600 CE Islam:Muhammad 570-632 CE

1500 CE Sikhism:Guru Nanak 1469-1538 CE

1900 CE Baha'i:Baha'u'llah 1817-1892 CE

“Science teaches us more about what is out there. Religion teaches us more about what is in here.”

Where is God in this?

Mundeshwari Devi Temple. Bihar in India. 108 AD and sited in a solitary place in the Mundeshwari Hills in Kaura in the Kaimur district.

Where is God in this?

The Borobudur Temple. Central Java, Indonesia. Built between the 7th and 8th centuries.

Where is God in this?

The Jobar synagogue in Damascus is thought to be some 2,000 years old and contained a remarkable 120 square meter stone carved with a seven branched menorah. The synagogue dates to the period of the Second Temple, Located near the Sea of Galilee.

Where is God in this?

Rihab, northern Jordan near the Syrian border33 AD to 70 AD

Where is God in this?

The Quba Mosque (Quba' Masjid or Masjid al-Quba, Arabic: القبة in ( ,(المسجدthe outlying ... of Medina in Saudi Arabia,

Where is God in this?

Nankana Sahibis a city and capital of Nankana Sahib District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The Janam Asthan Gurdwara Nankana Sahib, originally constructed in around 1600 CE was renovated in the years 1819–20 CE

Where is God in this?

The Bahá'í House of Worship (or Bahá'í Temple) in Wilmette, Illinois, is the oldest surviving Bahá'í House of Worship in the world, and the only one in the United States

Where is God in this?• "Like the bee gathering honey from the different flowers, the

wise person accepts the essence of the different scriptures and sees only the good in all religions." - Mahatma Gandhi

• God has made different religions to suit different aspirations, times and countries...one can reach God if one follows any of the paths with wholehearted devotion.-- Ramakrishna, a Hindu mystic

• I believe all religions pursue the same goals, that of cultivating human goodness and bringing happiness to all human beings. Though the means may appear different, the ends are the same.-- His Holiness the Dalai Lama

What Do We Have In Common With Other Faiths?

• Religions have core values in common.

• Can you pass the test and tell which religions the following teachings come from?

1)‘I will act towards others exactly as I would act towards myself.’

Buddhism. Udana-Varga c.500 BCE

2) ‘This is the sum of duty: Do naught to others which if done to thee, could cause thee pain.’

Hinduism. Mahabharata c. 150 BCE

3)‘Treat others as you would like them to treat you.’

Christianity. Luke: Revised Standard Version of the New Testament c.90 CE

• 4) “The only gift is giving to the poor;All else is exchange.”

• Hinduism

• 5) “It is great to endure hunger, but only nextTo removing it.”

• Hinduism

• 6) "Whoever saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of all mankind“.

• Islam

7) 8)

Could you say these prayers?

• Be generous in prosperity, and thankful in adversity. Be fair in thy judgement, and guarded in thy speech. Be a lamp unto those who walk in darkness, and a home to the stranger.Be eyes to the blind, and a guiding light unto the feet of the erring.Be a breath of life to the body of humankind, a dew to the soil of the human heart,and a fruit upon the tree of humility.

-Baha'i Prayer for Peace

Could you say these prayers?

• God judges us according to our deeds, not the coat that we wear: that Truth is above everything, but higher still is truthful living.Know that we attaineth God when we loveth,and only that victory endures in consequence of which no one is defeated. Know that we attain God when we love, and only that victory endures in consequence of which no one is defeated.

-Sikh

Could you say these prayers?

• May you be at peace, May your heart remain open. May you awaken to the light of your own true nature. May you be healed, May you be a source of healing for all beings.

-Tibetan Buddhist Prayer

Could you say these prayers?

• We pray to God to eradicate all the misery in the world: that understanding triumph over ignorance, that generosity triumph over indifference, that trust triumph over contempt, and that truth triumph over falsehood.

-Zoroastrian

Could you say these prayers?

• Oh Creator of the Universe, may we receive thy supreme sin-destroying light, May Thou guide our intellect in the right direction.

-Hinduism: The Gayatri Mantra Origin: The Vedas

Could you say these prayers?

• May there be peace on Earth, peace in the atmosphere and in the heavens. Peaceful be the waters and the plants. May the Divine bring us peace. May the holy prayers and invocations of peace-liturgies generate ultimate Peace and Happiness everywhere. With these meditations which resolve and dissolve harm, violence and conflicts, we render peaceful whatever on earth is terrible, sinful, cruel and violent. Let the earth become fully auspicious, let everything be beneficial to us.

-Hinduism: Atharva Veda, XIX-9

Could you say these prayers?

• Lead me from Death to Life, from falsehood to Truth. Lead me from Despair to Hope, from Fear to Trust. Lead me from Hate to Love, from War to Peace. Let Peace fill our Heart, our World, our Universe.

-Jainism

Could you say these prayers?• Our Father who art in heaven,

Hallowed be Thy name.Thy kingdom come,Thy will be done,On earth as it is in heaven.Give us this day our daily bread;And forgive us our debts,As we also have forgiven our debtors.And lead us not into temptation,But deliver us from evil. -Christian. Matthew 6. 9-13 (RSV)

Could you say these prayers?

• May the whole world be peaceful. May the wicked become gentle. May all creatures think of mutual welfare. May their minds be occupied with what is auspicious. And may our hearts be immersed in selfless love for the Lord.

-Hinduism. Bhagavata Purana 5.18.9

Could you say these prayers?

• In the name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful. Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds,The Beneficent, the Merciful.You alone we worship; You alone we ask for help. Show us the straight path…

-Islam. Qur'an 1: The Fatihah

Could you say these prayers?

• Come let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,that we may walk the paths of the Most High.And we shall beat our swords into ploughshares,and our spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation—neither shall they learn war any more. And none shall be afraid, for the mouth of the Lord of Hosts has spoken.

-Jewish

Myths of the World Religions

• Christians Hate Harry Potter

• Islam Doesn’t Allow Other Religions

• Muslim Women are Required to Wear Face Scarves

• Lebanon is 59.3 percent Muslim and Kazakhstan is only 56.4 percent Muslim.

• Buddhists Believe in God

Myths of the World Religions

• All Buddhists are Vegetarians• Buddhist Believe in the Soul• All Hindus Share the Same Beliefs• Hinduism is One Religion