What is the difference between Islam and Christianity?

 

What is the difference between Islam and Christianity? One of my students, Altan from Turkey, asked me, "Why do Christians call Jesus the Savior? What does that word 'savior' mean?" I explained to him that Jesus Christ came to the earth to save all people from their sins. When we put our faith and trust in Jesus our sins are forgiven and we have the gift of eternal life. Altan then said, "We Muslims believe in Jesus, the Messiah. He is one of our prophets. In fact, he is one of the greatest of our prophets, just under Mohammed in importance." Muslims say they believe in Jesus - but it is clear that the Jesus they believe in is not the Jesus of the Bible. They believe in a false concept of Jesus. Click to read a brief article that explains why the Jesus of the Koran is not the Jesus of the Bible. 

 

 

What Christians Need to Know about Scientology

by Margery Wakefield (1991) was a Scientologist for 12 years.

When new people are inducted into Scientology, they are often told that there is no inherent conflict between Scientology and any religion, including Christianity. But it is common for Scientologists to be less than truthful at the outset. By calming the new person's misgivings, they know that by the time the person has become fully indoctrinated, these misgivings will no longer matter. In fact, there is no compatibility between Scientology and Christianity. As a belief system based on satanic principles, Scientology is diametrically opposed to Christianity. The truth is that you cannot be both a Christian and a Scientologist. More about Scientology 

 

More works by Wakefield: www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Library/Shelf/wakefield/

 

Was Jesus Black?

1. Virtually all the printed works on this topic are very biased: American and European biblical scholars like to pretend that Jesus was Anglo, and black Bible scholars who write on this topic give the impression that everybody in the Bible was dark black with pronounced negro features.

2. Like most Anglos, I was quite surprised to find out that Jesus does have black ancestry.
   

3. Incidentally, since I know people will wonder . . . I'm half German and half Italian.  

QUESTION ASSIGNED:

(1) Trace the lineage of Jesus from Noah to Jesus
(2) Outlining the Black presence in the line.
(3) Give geographical significance to the origin of people - color and ethnicity.
(4) Include in your paper a theological reflection on what God was doing.

Length: 5-6 pages, double-spaced, plus bibliography

Read about Jesus' Black ancestors

 

 

Paganism and Wicca

 

Paganism and Wicca promote all kinds of various rituals, which have to be adhered to in particular ways to get the desired results. However, religious ceremonies (including ceremonies in some parts of Christianity too!), do not bring people true freedom, but rather enslave people. Prior to my conversion to Christianity, I can recall in my own experience with Witchcraft that I had to perform certain rituals, in a certain manner, having the right ingredients, etc. and often repeat this over a period of time, for a spell to work. Certainly, many Pagans may not consider this to be enslaving, but speaking as a Christian, and looking back to what I was involved in, I can see that it never brought true liberty. The Bible speaks about serving God from the heart. Any religious acts that we are engaged in should not come as a result of feeling that we have to do them, but rather, we do them spontaneously, out of love for Him (see Ephesians 2:8-10). Read the testimony of a former Pagan now a born again Christ-Centered believer.

 

What do Jehovah's Witnesses Believe?

In a six page tract published by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society (WBTS), entitled What Do Jehovah's Witnesses Believe? a select few of their teachings are mentioned. Among other things, the reader should be aware of the following:

(1) Their denial of the deity of Christ is based on Scripture which shows the true humanity of Christ while avoiding or distorting other Scriptures which affirm His true deity such as Jesus' statement after His resurrection that he has all 100% authority or power in Heaven and on earth (Mt. 28:18). Notice: Jesus, not the Father, has all authority in Heaven! Remember, Jesus humbled himself when he came to the earth, taking the very nature of a servant, even though his nature is God (Phil. 2:5-8).

(2) The Jehovah's Witnesses (JW's) have their own Bible translation called the New World Translation (NWT), which has inconsistently translated the Greek word which shows that Jesus received worship from His disciples. In that translation, if it can be properly called such, Jesus is said to have received "obeisance" and not "worship." Among other places, please see Mt. 28:9. That same Greek word found there is properly translated at other passages as "worship" in their Greek English Interlinear called the Kingdom Interlinear Translation (1969 edition). To be exact, in Mt. 2:11; 14:33; 28:9 and 28:17 the Greek word is translated obeisance because it refers to the Lord Jesus, but when the same exact Greek word is used at Rev. 5:14; 7:11; 11:16; 19:4; 20:4 and Jn. 4:20 it is rendered worshiped because it doesn't refer to Jesus. This is not good scholarship, neither is it being consistent, as they claim in the foreword of their translation.

(3) Another striking characteristic of the NWT is their usage of "Jehovah." 

More about Jehovah Witnesses

 

Are you a Catholic that questions the Church? Read the testimony of two former nuns and what they have experienced.

 

TESTIMONY OF A TYPICAL ROMAN CATHOLIC By Sandy Hooper

I come from a family of eight children (a much later addition made it nine). From early childhood we were made to attend church every Sunday. My earliest memories take me back to the time when I would make my first communion. I can remember being very excited, because I too can now have the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ just like the grown-ups. I can remember Sister Peter having us children practice with those little round candies to show us how we were to accept Jesus into our mouths. We had to be careful, because we did not want Him to fall on the floor. I was under the impression that would be a grave sin.  Learn more about Sandy Hooper's story 

Mary Ann's story: Member of the Order of St. Benedict

 

When Mary Ann Pakiz converted to Catholicism she was told to burn her King James Version Bible. She eventually entered the Order of St. Benedict. Despite her devotion, only years later did she become a true follower of Christ. Here is her fascinating story in her own words, explaining what she was taught in the Catholic Church, what was wrong with it, and why she came to the personal conviction that the only way she could truly follow Christ was to leave the Catholic church. She explains why she is now confident and at peace about her final destination, Heaven.

Read more about Mary Ann's story

 

Is God's name Jehovah or Yahweh or what?

Early in their relationship, Moses asked God to reveal His name. God readily complied with Moses' request by giving Him not one but TWO names of God...

• Name #1 - The first name that God told Moses about was Hayah.
• Hayah is a Hebrew word meaning I AM.
• Part One of this analysis discusses Hayah. 

More about the Name of God revealed to Moses.

 

Learn about the name Jesus

Ye-shu-a (Jesus) — Variant of "Y’hoshua" (Joshua; see below). In the TANAKK (O.T.) nine persons and a city have the name Yeshua, usually transliterated as "Jeshus" or "Jeshuah." In the Septuagint and the B’RIT HADASDASHAH (the New Testament) the name was brought over into Greek as Iesous and then into English as "Jesus." It means "YH-V-H saves" (Matthew 1:21) and is also the masculine form of Yeshua’ah ("salvation"). (1) The Messiah of Israel, Yeshua from Natzeret. In modern Hebrew Yeshua’s name is pronounced and written "Yeshu," which may have been the ancient pronunciation in the Galil (Galilee area). Learn more about the name Jesus

 

The Tetragrammaton- The Name of God

The covenantal name of God in the Hebrew Bible is written with the four consonants: Yodh He Waw He. This name is known as the Tetragrammaton (Greek for "the four letters"). Although the Tetragrammaton was pronounced freely at the time the Torah and Prophets were written, its holiness in Judaism is such that it is no longer pronounced, except under very rare circumstances. In order to avoid offending religious Jews, one should not pronounce or misuse this name. More about the Tetragrammaton

Who is the Holy Spirit?

Before one can correctly understand the work of the Holy Spirit, he must first of all know the Spirit himself. A frequent source of error and fanaticism about the work of the Holy Spirit is the attempt to study and understand His work without, first of all, coming to know Him as a person.

 

It is of the highest importance from the standpoint of worship that we decide whether the Holy Spirit is a Divine Person, worthy to receive our adoration, our faith, our love, and our entire surrender to Himself, or whether it is simply an influence emanating from God or a power or an illumination that God imparts to us. If the Holy Spirit is a person, and a Divine Person, and we do not know Him as such, then we are robbing a Divine Being of the worship and the faith and the love and the surrender to Himself which are His due. More about the Person of the Holy Spirit

 

Interested in God and Science?

 

Only a rookie who knows nothing about science would say science takes away from faith. If you really study science, it will bring you closer to God. ---James Tour, Nanoscientist

www.godandscience.org/youngearth/genesis.html

www.reasons.org/

 

Was 7 Days really 7/24 hour Days?

An examination of the Hebrew word “Yom” 

 

Homosexuality (Sin) & Christ (Salvation)

Stephen Bennett Ministries, Inc.

In the fall of 1981, as an 18 year old aspiring artist with a dream, and a freshman at one of New York’s art schools, I reached one of the darkest periods in my life.  On a cold rainy night, far away from home I acted out on feelings I had throughout my entire childhood and teen years - I had my first homosexual encounter with another student.  After drinking alcohol at a school party and getting drunk for the first time ever, something I swore I never would do because of my family’s past, my life literally changed in one night.  I was plummeted into my deep dark world of homosexuality... Read Stephen's full testimony

 

Stephen Bennett is a national speaker, author, evangelist and Christian song writer/recording artist. Stephen’s music can be heard nationally on Christian radio.  As evangelists and missionaries, Stephen, his wife Irene, his family and Ministry Team travel nationwide sharing his music, message and Christ-centered, life changing story of complete freedom from homosexuality.

 

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Whatever you believe, you should believe in it absolutely if you are coming from God’s point of view. If God is absolute, then His essence is NON-changing. He would not contradict Himself. 

 

You can tolerate (acknowledging the right to exist) others beliefs without accepting (to take or taking) them as truth. This does not make you a “bad” person. Nor are you automatically “putting down” other’s beliefs.  As a Christian, we must repect a person's right to choose. Even if we believe that the person’s choice is wrong. As Christians we are commanded to love in agape love (1 Corinthians 13), and as such, you may want to minister to the person.  Read R. A. Torry’s personal work for help on how to do this. You may also what to tell them about a television evangelist they may want to check out or invite them to your church.  You can believe absolutely in Christ and still respect others who believe differently than yourself.

 

What next? Develop or deepen a personal relationship with Christ. This does not mean joining a church; rather, it is knowing that you are a living temple. (2 Cor.6:16) Does He live inside you? (1 John 4:4) Understand who the Holy Spirit is and Christ living in the inner man.

 

Links to 3^rd parties on this page are a courtesy to visitors and should be viewed as information sources and not an endorsement by House of Dvorah.