A Study in Religion and Living

 Religion. A subject that should never be discussed in public. Why? Mostly because people are very opinionated on religion; either for, or against, which denomination or faith is right or wrong. Jesse Ventura said, “Organized religion is a sham and a crutch for weak-minded people who need strength in number. It tells people to go out and stick their noses in other people's business... The religious right wants to tell people how to live.” Gov. Ventura was right.

The Bible is a great guideline on how to live. That's all. I read a book one time that one of the characters made a profound statement on the Bible. He said (paraphrased), “Moses had millions of people that he had to control. What better way than through fear. He didn't just go up on Mt. Sinai and come back with the Ten Commandments. He wrote the 'laws' of God so that the 12 tribes would be controlled. No better way, as has been taught through history, than through fear of retribution for bad deeds.”

I don't want anyone to think that I am trying to change minds on religion. I would never do that. You do you, I'll do me. I do believe in a higher power. I do not believe in the Big Bang Theory. Was the Universe created in six days? Highly unlikely. It took millions of years for the Earth to evolve into what it is. Did humanity just appear out of the dust of the Earth? I doubt that. Although I also have a hard time believing that we evolved out of that primordial ooze. All I can say about that is: I wasn't there so I have no first-hand knowledge.

Let's get back to religion. Moses to be exact. The Exodus out of Egypt was a monumental undertaking. Moses took the 12 tribes of Israel out of Egypt and into the desert in search of the Promised Land. Is there hard evidence of a mass exodus at some point? I believe there is, although I cannot recall the researcher's name that investigated it. But, if you think about it; Moses took millions of people out into the desert, was lost for years, then came upon the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land. He was not allowed to enter it but was told by the Almighty to send in his people and to kill all who lived there; men, women, and children. Only because they were non-believers (sound familiar to anything in today's world?).

Great story. A story of perseverance and faith in the Almighty. Did it happen the way it is recorded? Once again, I wasn't there. Is it possible? Anything is possible, the question is: is it probable?

Having blind faith is nothing more/less than sheer idiocy. Here's a modern-day parable. A story I heard a few years ago that makes my point more clearly.

There was a flood. The entire area was being evacuated because the dam was about to burst and send a wave crashing through the valley that would destroy all in its path. In the town there was a devout Christian man that was sitting on his porch in his rocker.

A pickup truck came by as the water was rising driven by a man in a flannel shirt with a cap on that had a Confederate Flag emblazoned on it. In the back window of the truck was a gun rack with a shotgun and a rifle. “Come on, man,” the driver urged in a thick Southern drawl. “The dam is getting weaker and starting to crack.”

“No. I have faith in my God. He will save me,” the man on the porch said. Thinking to himself as he watched the truck drive off, “I believe that man could be a killer, a terrorist, or something worse. He had guns in his window and showed pride in the Confederacy. I would never be caught with a man like him.”

A few hours later, the water had risen to the door and the man had gone inside to watch from his window. A man in a raft came by. “Come on, man! The dam is getting weaker by the minute. I can take you to safety.”

Looking at the rafter, the man shook his head, “No. I have faith in my God. He will save me.” As the raft took off the man thought, “That man had tatoos and a shaved head. He wore leather. He had to be a man of Satan. I couldn't trust him.”

Another hour passed and the water had risen to the second story. The man was looking out his upstairs window when a boat came by. “Come on, man! It won't be long before the dam breaks. The entire valley has been evacuated. Let me take you to safety.”

“No. I have faith in my God. He will save me.” As the boater sped down between the rooftops, the man thought to himself, “That man was colored. He would surely try to steal what little I have left.”

Finally, the water had reached the rooftop. The man was sitting on the top of his chimney when a helicopter came flying up. Over the loudspeaker a female voice shouted, “Come on, man! The dam is going to break within minutes. This is the last time anyone will be able to save you. Let me take you to safety.”

Looking up into the sky, the man shook his head and yelled, “No. I have faith in my God. He will save me.”

The dam broke. The water coursed violently down the valley destroying all in its path. The lone Christian man, sitting on his chimney was swept away and drown. The next thing he knew he was standing at the Pearly Gates looking into the face of St Peter.

St Peter smiled sadly at the man. “You have lived a good life. You have given to charity. Helped the poor. You have gone on missions to spread the word of God across the globe. You have believed wholeheartedly in the Word of God and loved his son. You are welcome into Eternal peace. Now it is time to go before the Lord God and be judged as all humans are.”

The man slowly walked through the gates of Heaven, looking around at all the beauty and listened to the sounds of the angels singing their praises. He was happy knowing that he would be part of this. Hadn't St Peter said as much? The Lord couldn't judge him poorly. He had done great things in the name of God and Christianity. He was a shoe-in.

Suddenly he stopped. He was standing before the Golden Throne of the Almighty. God looked down on him and smiled. “You have done great deeds throughout your life, my son. You have lived a good, clean life, adhering to my Commandments as best as any human could. You have repented whenever you fell short. Yes, you have done well.”

The man, having heard such praises from his Heavenly Father felt emboldened to ask a question. “Lord Father. If I may ask a question.”

“I know what it is you want to know but, proceed, child.”

“I have an unwavering faith in you and your power. I know that if I ask, you will give. Why then, when I needed you the most, I needed you to save me from the flood, did you not?”

The Father looked down at his human child and smiled. “Son, I did not forsake you. I knew that you would drown if you were swept away in the raging waters. I first sent you a truck. You refused because the man driving it had guns and wore a Confederate Flag. This went against your ideas of a good person. You were judgmental against someone that held pride in his ancestry and had been out hunting for food for his family and his neighbors.

“I then sent a raft. Again, you judged against a man because of his tattoos and clothing. This man is a pediatric physician. He has saved the lives of thousands of children that would have otherwise died.

“The third time I sent a boat. Again, you judged a man because of his color. This man was a teacher and a coach. He has helped hundreds of underprivileged children in inner-city schools from dropping out, joining gangs, using drugs.

“The fourth, and last time, I sent a helicopter flown by a woman that was in training to become an astronaut. She was first in her class at the Academy and had helped several others raise their grades to passing so as not to be disqualified. Again, you judged because you did not believe a woman was capable of saving you.

“You have lived a good life, not a great life. You have believed, blindly, in me and my power. You have judged against your fellow man that did not fit into your bubble of belief. I gave you four different ways to be saved yet you refused because of your prejudices.

“For that reason, you will not be allowed into the Kingdom of Heaven.”

It doesn't matter what deity a person believes in; it doesn't matter what kind of life a person has lived; it doesn't matter what deeds you have done; what really matters is how you treat others of different beliefs than your own. If you cannot accept another because of skin color, sex, origin of birth, ancestry, beliefs, sexual orientation, etc., then you have not achieved enlightenment enough to pass from this world into the next (whatever that next world is for you).

Each and every one of us on this rock must learn to live together. Kurt Cobain stated, “Life screws us all. No one gets out alive.” We all are born innocent, naked, alone. We all die guilty, clothed in sin, alone. What matters is what happens between those two occurrences. Did we treat other people right, without screwing anyone over? Did we treat the Earth right, take care of the world which keeps us living? Were we petty, obsessed with 'things,' more interested in our own well-being and feelings than that of others? Were we 'elitists' that couldn't be bothered with anyone below our standard of living? Most importantly: did we love one another?

It doesn't matter where you came from, what your economic or social status is/was, what your education level is, what your experiences in life have been; it is how you live that precious thing we call life. The past is done and over and cannot be changed. Forgive those that have done you wrong and let Karma take care of it. Forgive yourself for your shortcomings but work on being a better person. It is today and beyond that counts. Those that did you wrong will get what they have coming, one way or another, in this life or the next, just don't forget what they did and do not let it happen again. For those that held out their hand when you needed it, remember it and pay it forward.

Your choices make you who you are. How you treat people and the world we live in will determine whether you get to your 'Heaven' or sends you to your 'Hell.' You, alone, are the master of your life and afterlife.

Terrorist Attacks Since 9/11

After waking up this morning to more news of Radical Islamic terrorism in London I thought I’d do a little research on the ‘religion of peace’ and see just how peaceful this cult actually is. It was striking what I discovered. Since the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, killing over 3,000 innocent Americans, radical Islam has attacked the world almost 31,000 times.

Think about that for a minute. This religion of peace has conducted almost 31,000 terrorist attacks against innocent people over the course of 15 and a half years; all in the name of Allah and to destroy the infidels. Last week they attacked a concert killing 22 people, some of which were just children. Last night they attacked innocents on London Bridge. When are the liberal idiots and governments of the world going to get it into their heads that the radical extremists aren’t going to give up? Worse, when are those peaceful Muslims of the world going to stand up against their extremist brothers and sisters?

From May 27 through June 2 of this year alone, Islamic terrorists conducted 40 attacks, killed 455 and injured 677 in 14 countries. That was in a week. A bloody week! And what do the liberals keep saying? “Oh, Islam is a religion of peace. They just need more understanding. We need to bring the entire bloody Middle East into our countries and give them love.” Right! Invite them in, give them free housing, food, and medical care and give them jobs that natural born or naturalized citizens need. Why do the governments of the world do that? They do it because all those ‘refugees’ are trying to get out of a war torn area to be safe from harm. By the by, did you realize that the Middle East has been fighting wars within the area since the inception of Islam and lasting peace will never happen because killing is all they have ever known? (Statistics are from thereligionofpeace.com.)

The Koran tells its followers that anyone who does not believe in Islam is to be killed just as God told Moses to go into the land of Canaan and kill them all, men, women and children, because they were not believers. The difference is this – Christianity, for the most part, has decided that killing non-believers is not acceptable in civilized times. Islam still believes that is what needs to be done.

I am not saying that all Muslims are evil, dangerous and murdering thugs; they are not. There are more peaceful Muslims than there are the radical extremists. The problem lies in that a person never knows which is which. Just as the soldiers in the Vietnam conflict couldn’t tell whether that child walking down the street was a Viet Cong bomb waiting to go off or not, how do you tell if that burka covered Muslim is wired to the teeth with C4? You don’t know. There is no way to determine whether a person standing around or walking down the street is going to go postal and kill people because that is their duty to Islam. To make the problem even worse, in today’s screwed up society, Islam is recruiting ‘homegrown’ terrorists by the hundreds. It may have something to do with those 72 virgins that are promised if you die for Islam.

Here in the United States, the liberal idiots are even going against Federal Law and becoming sanctuary cities, counties and states just to protect any illegal that wants to go into their boundaries against immigration law. Due to multi-culturalism that seems to be so prevalent in the liberal world of Utopia, these sanctuary municipalities are going to be the downfall for the rest of the country just as the EU is going to be the downfall of Europe. The radicals go in as refugees or illegals, move about with impunity and get where they want to be to do the most harm to innocent lives.

Until the world can get off is politically correct ass and admit that Islam is NOT a religion of peace and that the extremists are a real threat to everyone the world will continue to die a few at a time. Innocent lives will be lost because people are afraid of offending the enemy. The idiocy of political correctness is being shown every day, with every attack by the Radical Islamic Terrorists known as ISIS. There is nothing normal about this. It should never become something that we should just expect to happen. We should never become complacent about terrorism.

Instead of taking our guns so we cannot protect ourselves, we should be told to gather as many as possible. Not just here in the US but in every country around the world. If citizens were armed then these radicals wouldn’t be able to do near as much damage and carnage as they do. Citizens could stop the killing by gunning down the outlaws before they completed their ‘missions.’ Stop the idiocy and let us protect ourselves; after all, our governments aren’t able to do it.

Religions of the World, Ancient and Modern

I have studied many religions over the decades. In recent years, due to my writing stories about the beginning of the world, ancient religions have been a research topic. I realize that modern day religions are nothing like the ‘mythologies’ of the ancient world but, what makes modern religion any more right than that of the Mesopotamians, Egyptians, Greeks or Romans? Let’s take a walk down the religion path from ancient Mesopotamia to modern day America.

Religion (from the Latin Religio, meaning 'restraint,' or Relegere, according to Cicero, meaning 'to repeat, to read again,' or, most likely, Religionem, 'to show respect for what is sacred') is an organized system of beliefs and practices revolving around, or leading to, a transcendent spiritual experience. There is no culture recorded in human history which has not practiced some form of religion.

The Greek philosopher Xenophanes of Colophon (c. 570-478 BCE) once wrote:

“Mortals suppose that the gods are born and have clothes and voices and shapes like their own. But if oxen, horses and lions had hands or could paint with their hands and fashion works as men do, horses would paint horse-like images of gods and oxen oxen-like ones, and each would fashion bodies like their own. The Ethiopians consider the gods flat-nosed and black; the Thracians blue-eyed and red-haired.”

Xenophanes idea of one god was not widely accepted. Ancient people believed that there was a different god for different things much like there were different people for different things much like doctor’s specialties. A monotheistic religion really didn’t start until Judaism came around and that wasn’t widely accepted at first. But, that is getting ahead of the timeline.

Ancient Mesopotamia has the earliest known record of religion, dating from somewhere around 3500 BC (I will continue to use the old standard of BC and AD, I do not subscribe to the new BCE and CE that is now used) from Sumer. These people believed that the gods were co-workers alongside humanity, not some distant, invisible deity that just oversaw what went on down on the Earth.

Marduk defeated Tiamat and the forces of chaos to create the world. Unfortunately, those forces of chaos weren’t completely helpless and could possibly regain their strength and take over again so humanity had to work alongside the gods to keep them at bay. That is why humans were created, to work with, and for, the gods toward a mutually beneficial end.

Inanna, the goddess of love, sex, and war later was taken over as Ishtar of the Akkadians (and later the Assyrians), Astarte of the Phoenicians, Sauska of the Hurrians-Hittites, and was associated with Aphrodite of the Greeks, Isis of the Egyptians, and Venus of the Romans.

Egyptian ‘mythology’ was first recorded around 4000 BC and their gods were already well established. The Egyptian creation was much similar to that of the Mesopotamians, starting out as chaos and being formed into the different aspects of the earth and sky. And, as with most mythologies, each god was charged with taking care of a different aspect. Osiris was the ultimate judge of who entered into eternal life by weighing the heart of the soul of the individual in the Hall of Truth, much like the Christian God writes the names of those destined for Heaven in the Book of Life.

Egyptian religion was similar to Mesopotamian belief, however, in that human beings were co-workers with the gods to maintain order. The principle of harmony (known to the Egyptians as ma'at) was of the highest importance in Egyptian life (and in the afterlife), and their religion was fully integrated into every aspect of existence. Egyptian religion was a combination of magic, mythology, science, medicine, psychiatry, spiritualism, herbology, as well as the modern understanding of 'religion' as belief in a higher power and a life after death. The gods were the friends of human beings and sought only the best for them by providing them with the most perfect of all lands to live in and an eternal home to enjoy when their lives on earth were done.

Religion is thought to have developed around 4500 BC in China having been a mix of animism and mythology as designs of animals and dragons have been found on ceramics of the time period; by the time of the Xia Dynasty (2070-1600 BC), the Chinese had many anthropomorphic gods that were worshiped with a chief god, Shangti, presiding over all. This belief continued, with modifications, during the period of the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BC) which developed the practice of ancestor worship.

This ancestor worship influenced the two greatest Chinese religions of Confucianism and Taoism in which ancestor worship was the most important tenet. In time, Tian (heaven) replaced Shangti. To get into heaven, one had to cross the Bridge of Forgetfulness and drink from a cup to purge all memories of life. If judged worthy, you crossed the bridge, which spanned an abyss, if not, you fell into the abyss (hell). Another ideology to this is that a soul as reincarnated after drinking from the cup. Either way, the living were expected to remember the dead and honor them.

Hinduism, the oldest religion still practiced today, was first recorded around 700 BC. Hinduism is usually thought of as a polytheistic religion but is actually henotheistic. The one supreme god, Brahma is too immense a concept to comprehend so he presents himself in many different aspects that a human mind can comprehend; Hindu scripture counts these deities at 330 million.

In Hinduism there is an order to the universe and every individual has a specific place in that order. Each person on the planet has a duty (dharma) which only they can perform. If one acts rightly (karma) in the performance of that duty, they are rewarded by moving closer to the supreme being and eventually becoming one with god; if they do not, then they are reincarnated as many times as it takes to finally understand how to live and draw closer to the supreme being. This belief was carried over by Siddhartha Gautama when he became the Buddha and founded Buddhism. In Buddhism, however, one is not seeking union with god but with one's higher nature as one leaves behind the illusions of the world which generate suffering and cloud the mind with the fear of loss and death.

(Hinduism, according to hinduismfacts.org, originated sometime during the Neolithic period between 10000 and 4000 BC. It is difficult to pinpoint a date as Hinduism did not start out as a religion but rather a way of life.)

The above information was gleaned from Ancient History Encyclopedia, Religion in the Ancient World, John J Mark published 02 September, 2009 (www.ancient.eu/religion)

At this juncture, I should probably give definitions to the different forms of religion. The definitions are from Merriam-Webster Dictionary online.

Polytheism: the belief there is more than one god.

Henotheism:  the worship of one god without denying the existence of other gods.

Monotheism: the belief there is only one god.

Let’s go on to a couple of better known religions (mythologies), the Greek and Roman. Greek mythology is believed to first appear about 2000 BC and the Roman around 1000 BC. As with most polytheistic religions, the Greeks and Romans had different gods for different areas of life and the elements. Each of the 21 gods of the Greeks were taken over by the Romans, renamed and given slightly different attributes such as Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades for the heavens, the sea and the underworld in the Greek with Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto being the Roman counterparts were the top three gods each. The creation of the earth, as with most mythologies, begins with a supreme being creating the world and first people out of chaos.

According to Reference.com/world-view, Judaism originated around 4000 years ago in the area between the Jordan and the Mediterranean known as Canaan, which today would be Israel, Gaza and the West Bank.  Primaryhomeworkhelp.co.uk/religion/jewish says Jewish history begins with the covenant established between God and Abraham around 1812 and the Torah, the primary document of Judaism, was given to the Jews by the Prophet Moses about 3,300 years ago.

What do the Jewish people believe? Jewfaq.org, on their Judaism 101 page has this to say:

Judaism has no dogma, no formal set of beliefs that one must hold to be a Jew. In Judaism, actions are far more important than beliefs, although there is certainly a place for belief within Judaism.

The closest that anyone has ever come to creating a widely-accepted list of Jewish beliefs is Rambam's thirteen principles of faith. These principles, which Rambam thought were the minimum requirements of Jewish belief, are:

    God exists

    God is one and unique

    God is incorporeal

    God is eternal

    Prayer is to be directed to God alone and to no other

    The words of the prophets are true

    Moses' prophecies are true, and Moses was the greatest of the prophets

    The Written Torah (first 5 books of the Bible) and Oral Torah (teachings now contained in the Talmud and other writings) were given to Moses

    There will be no other Torah

    God knows the thoughts and deeds of men

    God will reward the good and punish the wicked

    The Messiah will come

    The dead will be resurrected

As you can see, these are very basic and general principles. Yet as basic as these principles are, the necessity of believing each one of these has been disputed at one time or another, and the liberal movements of Judaism dispute many of these principles.

Unlike many other religions, Judaism does not focus much on abstract cosmological concepts. Although Jews have certainly considered the nature of God, man, the universe, life and the afterlife at great length, there is no mandated, official, definitive belief on these subjects, outside of the very general concepts discussed above. There is substantial room for personal opinion on all of these matters.

Judaism focuses on relationships: the relationship between God and mankind, between God and the Jewish people, between the Jewish people and the land of Israel, and between human beings. Our scriptures tell the story of the development of these relationships, from the time of creation, through the creation of the relationship between God and Abraham, to the creation of the relationship between God and the Jewish people, and forward. The scriptures also specify the mutual obligations created by these relationships, although various movements of Judaism disagree about the nature of these obligations. Some say they are absolute, unchanging laws from God (Orthodox); some say they are laws from God that change and evolve over time (Conservative); some say that they are guidelines that you can choose whether or not to follow (Reform, Reconstructionist).

So, what are these actions that Judaism is so concerned about? According to Orthodox Judaism, these actions include 613 commandments given by God in the Torah as well as laws instituted by the rabbis and long-standing customs.

Christianity, of course, started a little over 2000 years ago when Jesus was preaching to the Hebrews about God, was crucified and then resurrected to live with the Holy Father in Heaven. The Holy Bible is the history, belief, laws and story of the Christian world.

What are the core beliefs of Christianity? This is what gotquestions.org/Christianity-beliefs has to say:

The term Christianity seems to imply a religious system in the same way that Islam and Buddhism are religious systems. Within religious systems are core beliefs, along with codes, rules, and standards that must be mastered in order to achieve a desired end. Christianity does not fit that definition and therefore the term can be slightly misleading.

Jesus did not come into the world to start another religion. There were already plenty of religions, including Judaism, which had begun as a relationship with Almighty God but had deteriorated into another religious system on par with idol worship. Jesus came to bear witness to the truth, to seek and to save the lost—those separated from God by their sin—and to “give his life as a ransom for many”. With that said, those who follow Christ do share some core beliefs.

Biblically speaking, Christians are those who are forgiven of their sins and who have entered a personal relationship with Almighty God through faith in Jesus Christ. In order to become a Christian, a person must fully accept as part of his or her own personal worldview the following core beliefs:

• Jesus is the Son of God and is equal with God

• Jesus was born of a virgin

• Jesus lived a perfect, sinless life

• Jesus was crucified to pay the penalty for our sins

• Jesus rose from the dead

• We are saved by the grace of God; that is, we cannot add to or take away from Christ’s finished work on the cross as full payment for our sin

It could be argued that belief in the inerrancy of God’s Word is also a core belief of Christianity because, if the Bible’s veracity is suspect, then all we know about God is in doubt. Saving faith is inextricably linked to the Word of God: “Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ” (Romans 10:17).

But the mental acceptance of the above points of doctrine is only the framework around which salvation occurs. Faith is more than intellectual assent, and mentally agreeing with the core beliefs of Christianity does not equal entrance into God’s kingdom. Even Satan and the demons know certain things about God. We can mentally agree with facts without making those facts the centerpiece of our lives.

Can a person be saved without holding to the core beliefs of Christianity? No. But along with accepting as true those core beliefs must be a spiritual transformation. Jesus said that in order to inherit eternal life one must be “born again”. To be born again is a work of the Holy Spirit in the heart of a repentant sinner. Just as a mother in labor does all the work in bringing forth a new life, so the Holy Spirit does the work in transforming a sinner into a new creature. This process begins when God draws a heart through conviction of sin and hope of forgiveness. When we surrender to God and repent of our sin, God applies the blood of His own Son to our account and cancels the debt we owe Him. By this act of transference, God pronounces us “not guilty”; that is, He justifies us. Salvation is a divine exchange: Jesus becomes our sin so that we can become His perfection. This is the gospel at the very core of Christianity.

Lastly, Islam, inarguably the youngest of the world’s religions, can be traced back to 7th century Saudi Arabia. Islam is thus the youngest of the great world religions. Allaboutreligion.org tells us the prophet Muhammad (circa 570-632 A.D.) introduced Islam in 610 A.D. after experiencing what he claimed to be an angelic visitation. Muhammad dictated the Qur'an, the holy book of Islam, which Muslims believe to be the preexistent, perfect words of Allah.

The origin of Islam is generally accredited to the prophet Muhammad but to the devout Muslim, Islam began long before Muhammad ever walked the earth. The Qur'an was dictated by Muhammad but, according to the Qur'an, it did not originate with Muhammad. The Qur'an testifies of itself that it was given by God through the angel Gabriel to the prophet Muhammad. "This is a revelation from the Lord of the universe. The Honest Spirit (Gabriel) came down with it, to reveal it into your heart that you may be one of the warners, in a perfect Arabic tongue" (Sura 26:192-195). "Say, 'Anyone who opposes Gabriel should know that he has brought down this (the Qur'an) into your heart, in accordance with God's will, confirming previous scriptures, and providing guidance and good news for the believers'" (Sura 2:97).

The Origin of Islam: The "Previous Scriptures"

The origin of Islam is controversial. The "previous scriptures" mentioned above are the Hebrew Torah, the Psalms of David, and the Gospels of Jesus Christ. The Qur'an accepts these books as divinely inspired and even encourages us to test its claims by these "previous scriptures." "If you have any doubt regarding what is revealed to you from your Lord, then ask those who read the previous scripture" (Sura 10:94). But this is where we run into a problem. The problem is that the Qur'an thoroughly contradicts the Torah, the Psalms, and the Gospels. For example, the Qur'an explicitly denies Jesus Christ's crucifixion while all four Gospel accounts clearly portray Jesus Christ as crucified and resurrected.

One contradiction in particular has caused a great deal of conflict between Muslims and ethnic Jews and is thought to have been and continues to be the cause of much bloodshed in the Middle East. According to the Hebrew Torah, God made a covenant with a man named Abraham. God promised Abraham a child through whom He would fulfill this covenant ("the child of promise," Genesis 15). Abraham was at that time childless. His wife, Sarah, was barren. This of course made the promise very special to Abraham. But it would require nothing less than a miracle. Sarah, conscious of her condition, decided to help God out. She offered her maidservant Hagar to Abraham with the hope that Hagar might conceive and bear the child of promise. Abraham agreed to take Hagar as his concubine. She conceived and bore Ishmael. God allowed Ishmael to be born but Ishmael was not the child of promise God had in mind. God promised a child through Sarah, not Hagar, and in due time God fulfilled His promise. "And the Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had spoken. For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him-whom Sarah bore to him-Isaac." Isaac was the child of promise. Isaac later begot Jacob, the father of the twelve tribes of Israel, and the Messiah, Jesus Christ, eventually came into the world through the nation of Israel, fulfilling the covenant which God had made with Abraham. God also promised to give the land of Canaan (Palestine) to Isaac's descendants, the land which Israel possesses today.

The problem is that the Qur'an teaches that Ishmael was the child of promise and so Muslims believe that God's covenant promises were meant for Ishmael's descendants, not Isaac's. Muhammad descended from Ishmael and so Muslims seek to lay claim to these covenant promises, namely the land of Palestine.

So, there you have the major and ancient religions. My question to you is this: what makes one religion any better, or worse, than any other? Why is one the ‘right’ one and all the others wrong? Are those ‘mythologies’ just that, mythology, or are they true religions as much as modern day religions that one day may be described as ancient mythology? It is up to the individual. The way a person believes is a personal thing. Some believe in God, some in Mohammad, some in the ancient Celtic, Norse, Greek or Roman gods, and some even believe in witchcraft. All I have done here is give some very basic information on several of the world’s religions, both modern and ancient. I hope you have gleaned some interesting facts from it.