Is it wrong to want to read about a different religion ?

[other one]

5 hours ago, Newsie4ever said:

Is it wrong to want to read about a different religion I checked out a book about the history of the Islamic religion am I wrong to want to read about it for education purpose even though I am a Christian any advice would be appreciated ?

 

you are going to get all kinds of advice on this and it usually depends on the depth of knowledge and how close a relationship those giving advice have with the Lord.    And also why you want to read up on any other religions.

Personally I have spent a lot of time studying Islam because of what I see them doing to the rest of the world.    I spend a good amount of time trying to show others the danger of even having those who follow Mohammad around.   I will warn you though you will learn things that will frustrate you to no end and if you decide to try and stop the inflow of the Islamic movement it will get you death threats.     If you are going to preach to Muslims it is a very good thing to understand who they are and what they believe, just keep in mind that Islam is of the devil and you don't want anything to do with it at all other than knowing what they have planned for the world.

The United States of America is presently locked into a war to the death with Islam....    it's just that very few of us understand that....   and we as a nation are not presently fighting in the war; and Islam is trying to be so subtle about it that we don't understand until it's too late.

 

 

 

 

[Justin Adams]

2 hours ago, Michael37 said:

Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men

I agree with your post. I also see a rather troubling issue. If we 'study' the various 'christian' sects and religions, we see way too much variance for my liking. Too much 'in bed with the enemy'. But sadly, no one seems to see this - or if they do, PC has gotten to them and they are stifled...

There seems to be a move today back to the more pagan off-shoots invading a powerless church and this is also of concern. I see this might be due to the 'church' mixing pagan stuff with their various worships methods without really realizing it. Maybe this is why the Spirit left...

Edited December 8, 2019 by Justin Adams

[other one]

2 hours ago, other one said:

you are going to get all kinds of advice on this and it usually depends on the depth of knowledge and how close a relationship those giving advice have with the Lord.    And also why you want to read up on any other religions.

Personally I have spent a lot of time studying Islam because of what I see them doing to the rest of the world.    I spend a good amount of time trying to show others the danger of even having those who follow Mohammad around.   I will warn you though you will learn things that will frustrate you to no end and if you decide to try and stop the inflow of the Islamic movement it will get you death threats.     If you are going to preach to Muslims it is a very good thing to understand who they are and what they believe, just keep in mind that Islam is of the devil and you don't want anything to do with it at all other than knowing what they have planned for the world.

The United States of America is presently locked into a war to the death with Islam....    it's just that very few of us understand that....   and we as a nation are not presently fighting in the war; and Islam is trying to be so subtle about it that we don't understand until it's too late.

I'm quoting myself to add a warning about studying Islam.....   you really should have a good grasp on the Bible and understand it in depth.....   and understand that there is much about Islam that was taken from our Bible....    Satan has done this all throughout history....    Take something of the Lord and pervert it to his own needs and desires...   if you don't have a very good grasp on the Bible you can be confused by studying Islam....   

One of the main things that one needs to keep in mind is that they will tell you that the God of Ishmael is the God of Abraham.....    well, that is actually true for when Ishmael was alive the God he knew was the one he and his mother learned about from Abraham.    It was unfortunate that the Arabic people just as Israel did went to pagan gods and by the time Mohammad came along they had hundreds of gods...   Mohammad picked the god of his family as the Islamic one single god....   and that was the moon god...   and has nothing to do with the God of Isaac and Jacob.         The entire writings of the Koran and Hadiths are lies from the devil.....    and that knowledge by itself won't hurt you spiritually....   but you have to read it and know it is not true.  And if you can not do that, you should avoid it.

[Justin Adams]

The Vision of Idolatry in the Temple (Tammuz, Ishtar, Babel worship with evergreen branches)

We see the Father, the Son and the Spirit here.

Dec. 25 Birth of Tammuz.

1 In the sixth year, on the fifth day of the sixth month, I was sitting in my house, and the elders of Judah were sitting before me; and there the hand of the Lord GOD fell upon me.

2 Then I looked and saw a figure like that of a man. From His waist down His appearance was like fire, and from His waist up He was as bright as the gleam of amber.a 3 He stretched out what looked like a hand and took me by the hair of my head. Then the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and carried me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the north gate of the inner court, where the idol that provokes jealousy was seated.

4 And there I saw the glory of the God of Israel, like the vision I had seen in the plain. 5 “Son of man,” He said to me, “now lift up your eyes to the north.”

So I lifted up my eyes to the north, and in the entrance north of the Altar Gateb I saw this idol of jealousy.

6 “Son of man,” He said to me, “do you see what they are doing—the great abominations that the house of Israel is committing—to drive Me far from My sanctuary? Yet you will see even greater abominations.”

7 Then He brought me to the entrance to the court, and I looked and saw a hole in the wall.

8 “Son of man,” He told me, “dig through the wall.”

So I dug through the wall and discovered a doorway.

9 Then He said to me, “Go in and see the wicked abominations they are committing here.”

10 So I went in and looked, and engraved all around the wall was every kind of crawling creature and detestable beast, along with all the idols of the house of Israel. 11 Before them stood seventy elders of the house of Israel, with Jaazaniah son of Shaphan standing among them. Each had a censer in his hand, and a fragrant cloud of incense was rising.

12 “Son of man,” He said to me, “do you see what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the darkness, each at the shrine of his own idol? For they are saying, ‘The LORD does not see us; the LORD has forsaken the land.’”

13 Again, He told me, “You will see them committing even greater abominations.”

14 Then He brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the house of the LORD, and I saw women sitting there, weeping for Tammuz. [c]

15 “Son of man,” He said to me, “do you see this? Yet you will see even greater abominations than these.”

16 So He brought me to the inner court of the house of the LORD, and there at the entrance to the temple of the LORD, between the portico and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs to the temple of the LORD and their faces toward the east; and they were bowing to the east in worship of the sun.

17 “Son of man,” He said to me, “do you see this? Is it not enough for the house of Judah to commit the abominations they are practicing here, that they must also fill the land with violence and continually provoke Me to anger? Look, they are even putting the branch to their nose! 18 Therefore I will respond with wrath. I will not look on them with pity, nor will I spare them. Although they shout loudly in My ears, I will not listen to them.”
Footnotes:

[c] Tammuz, meaning Sprout of life, was a Sumerian deity of food or vegetation. (Fake Christ)

Edited December 8, 2019 by Justin Adams

[Coliseum]

We are all soldiers for Christ. Everyday is a battleground of good verses evil. If a soldier has no experience fighting his enemy, he will not be alert to what to watch for when he is engaged with him. Our mind should be focused on the orders we are given in Christ---who is the Head of the Body---our "General." But foolishness goes out to fight a war that doesn't know who it is fighting. When David fought Goliath, he ran towards him because he knew he had the armies of the living God to lead him, but David wasn't ignorant; he had a plan. We too face our goliaths in life, whether they be alcohol or anger or lust. They come at us from all angles. We'd better know what to recognize so that we can plan our defeat of them as we seek our directions from God.  Let the Spirit guide each of us that his enemies be made clear to us.

James 4:7 "Submit yourselves then to God. Resist the Devil and he will flee from you." How do we resist something we are unable to recognize?

[BeauJangles]

I did the equivalent of a term paper in high school about India. It covered their culture, the caste system, economy, cuisine, and differing religions. It was necessary to be descriptive as possible, so I did take note of the various faiths and what they consider their sacred writings, including ways of worship.

It was interesting to know how many were in this country alone, and the percentage of each. Besides Hinduism being the majority of their populus, Buddhism is also very prevalent. Shintoism is there also, as is Jainism, and Taoism. Sikhism is the ninth in worldwide religions, believing in monotheism.   

Hinduism is also splintered into denominational sects, and there are quite a few of them. With 33 core gods and goddesses, they splinter into approximately 330 million. Worship and devotion become divided by the caste system as well. Sadhus are of the poorest, and considered holy men by all.  

Anyway, did studying all this vex my spirit? No, I don't think so. It wouldn't be long before our nation and California especially, became vastly populated by people coming from India. Most are fluent and well educated professionals. Two of the best physicians I've had were from this nation. 

Having known these things about their country was a tremendous benefit to me personally. 

Edited December 8, 2019 by BeauJangles

[dhchristian]

10 hours ago, Newsie4ever said:

Is it wrong to want to read about a different religion I checked out a book about the history of the Islamic religion am I wrong to want to read about it for education purpose even though I am a Christian any advice would be appreciated ?

As Long as you have a maturity in your own faith there is nothing wrong with Knowing the enemy. I Did a Paper on the Jehovah's witnesses, which entailed visiting a church of theirs, interviewing the members therein, and reading their publications. I discovered two things about them, and that is they are not that much different from Baptists, or other churches I have attended, on the outside, But when you start digging you see their heresy. This study enabled me later to be more effective witnessing to their missionaries who came to my door.... So much so that they would skip my house when they came to the neighborhood. 

I Have dealt with many on the WWW that are members of cults, and you will not make headway on them until you study those cults and read their literature, and see those errors, and then you can point to where they are mistaken. For example the SDA is a very subtle cult, and you have probably had interaction with them here on this website, and did not even know about it. The Catholic cults are even stranger as they are all about visions such as Fatima, yet they are in the mainline catholic church. 

Studying other religions such as Islam and Hinduism etc, Is also good if you are planning on ministering to these peoples. You cannot present the Gospel to someone if you do not know how to contrast the Gospel with what they believe. The Ability to contrast the coercive rituals of the Islamic faith with the freedom and love we have in Christ Jesus, Is a mighty tool used to witness to the Muslims. Also understanding the risk they must take in denouncing their Islamic faith will help you to appreciate what it takes to witness to them. 

Ultimately, This study of other religions will lead to greater Spiritual discernment, and you will learn to spot wolves among the sheep. The subtle kind, that are dressed in sheep's clothing. But if your faith is immature and you enter this you can fall victim to their manipulations. 

[ReneeIW]

14 hours ago, Newsie4ever said:

Is it wrong to want to read about a different religion I checked out a book about the history of the Islamic religion am I wrong to want to read about it for education purpose even though I am a Christian any advice would be appreciated ?

 

Keep your eyes fixed on Christ. Stay away from studying any other religion unless it’s mandatory for a college course; and even then, just scratch the surface. It can create doubts about faith in general.

Do you think the disciples would have been studying Islam if that religion was around during their lifetime? I don’t think so.

[Dennis1209]

Absolutely not. The apostles, and in particular the Apostle Paul had to read and know about other religions, Pagan and otherwise. The Apostle Paul was one of, if not the best religiously educated person walking the earth in his time. New Testament writers read, quoted or mention a number of books not associated with our closed canon, our Bible. 

I own a copy of the Koran. I use it for a number of reasons; comparison, historical, cite and know the differences of 1.6 billion people, how it is corrupted and perverted, etc.  

 

[frienduff thaylorde]

By all means IT SURE IS WRONG .

WHY on earth do I need to learn from evil to be able to witness to those in a false religion .

I GOT WHO I NEED .    AND HE IS ALL I NEED .

May I learn ONLY FROM HIM .    HE GIVES THE MOUTH , HE GIVES ALL I NEED .

GOD is far bigger than all them dead religons .  HE SPOKE ALL INTO EXISTANCE .  SURELY HE CAN SPEAK TO ME all that is necessary to reach ANY and ALL .

MY TRUST IS IN HIM .    IF I want to know how to witness to any religion or group ,  SHOOO ,  ALL I NEED IS THE WITNESS ,   HE GIVES WHAT ALL THAT IS NEEDED

and I shun the wisdom of men to the pits of hades where it belongs .