World Religions Websites

Out of the multitude of Internet sites devoted to the subject of world religions, I have chosen a small sample of just seven that may be a good introduction to the topic. Here goes.

#1. There is a half-serious but somewhat enlightening short quiz called the "Belief-O-Matic" at the following site:

http://www.beliefnet.com/Entertainment/Quizzes/BeliefOMatic.aspx

#2. This site has a helpful chart that provides a broad overview of the major world religions:

http://www.religionfacts.com/big_religion_chart.htm

#3. The timeline on the Northern Virginia Community College page is useful:
http://www.nvcc.edu/home/lshulman/Rel100/images/MajorReligions.gif

#4. The following is an excellent site overall, particularly its comparison feature:

http://www.patheos.com

#5. You may find the following sort of cartoon overview of Bible mildly amusing:

http://www.bibledudes.com/bible/

#6. The essay on the homepage of this site has another perspective on the Law of Non-Contradiction:

http://www.comparativereligion.com

#7. Last but not least, I will recommend my own website that has most of my class notes from courses in world religions, east and west:

http://www.commutercampus.com

Christian Learning Online

And now for something completely different...In about four weeks, we are going to launch "Christian Learning Online" at Ten Mile Christian Church. This time around, our subject will be a survey to the Old Testament. What's new about our approach is that we will meet face-to-face for the first and last sessions, but all the rest will be conducted online. It's an experiment in "blended learning," and I'm very excited about the opportunity to be a part of it! Interested in knowing more? Feel free to e-mail me at: john@commutercampus.com

My Visit with Angie O'Gram

So one minute I’m hearing that 50 is the new 40, and the next minute I’m popping pills like a junkie. This is too weird. I hadn’t had a physical in a few years (let’s say) and this new doctor decides to give me a stress test. I think it was because I mentioned chest pains (maybe). I took the test and failed miserably. So then they’re running a tube up my vein (I’ll leave out the entry point for those with weak stomachs) and they’re taking X-rays of my ticker. It was not a pretty sight. I had an ultrasound hooked up to my toe, for some strange reason – it sounded like sonar detecting an enemy sub. Fortunately, I didn’t have to stay the night in the hospital. Unfortunately, I have to meet with the doctor again on Monday to talk about a possible bypass. Don’t that “beat” all?

ChristianCourses.Com

Today I started a class called "Foundations of the Old Testament." I'm taking this one, not teaching it. It is offered free of charge by RBC Ministries, and you can access it at ChristianCourses.com. The "RBC" many years ago stood for "Radio Bible Class," and I suppose the courses on the web are simply the 21st century equivalent.

This one is taught with videos featuring Dr. Douglas Stuart, professor of Old Testament at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. All I had to do was click on the link and for the next half-hour I was able to watch and learn from a well-produced online video.

I actually learned something, too. Stuart discussed the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and asked the question, why would God not want Adam and Eve to know those things? I honestly had not given that a lot of thought before. But he went on to explain that "good and evil" is a Hebrew merism, and "a merism is a category of speech in which totality is expressed by polarity." In other words, "what God is forbidding is that human beings should know everything. And of course, that is exactly what Satan tries to get them to know," according to Stuart.

Interesting stuff. It's free, and it's available anytime. Pretty cool.

Old Fords

Tiger Woods and Atonement

After listening to Tiger Woods’ public apology for his many infidelities, one phrase stood out more than any other during the entire 13 ½ minutes: “I have a lot to atone for.” The statement points to the crucial importance of atonement. It reminded me of what news commentator Brit Hume said more than a month ago. Noting Woods’ Buddhist heritage from his mother, Hume said, “I don’t think that faith offers the kind of forgiveness and redemption that is offered by the Christian faith. So my message to Tiger would be, ‘Tiger, turn to the Christian faith and you can make a total recovery and be a great example to the world.’”

You can imagine the contempt and utter scorn that was heaped upon Hume for such audacious words. The Huffington Post for example, called it “sanctimonious,” “distasteful,” and “inflammatory.” I’ve read and re-read Hume’s statement and none of those descriptions seem to apply. But that’s beside the point. What Hume was getting at is that forgiveness and redemption are not the central religious concepts within Buddhism that they are in Christianity. That’s simply a matter of fact, not a reflection of bigotry or intolerance.

What was most interesting to me about the whole story was that journalists sought out Buddhist scholars to comment on the controversy, and the professors (indirectly) confirmed what Hume had said. For example, Carl M. Cannon of Politics Daily cites Stephen Prothero on the religion faculty at Boston University: “You have the law of karma, so no matter what Woods says or does, he is going to have to pay for whatever wrongs he’s done. There’s no accountant in the sky wiping sins off your balance sheet, like there is in Christianity.”

Tiger Woods was right in a sense. There was a lot to atone for, namely, the sins of all humanity. The significance of the cross is that Jesus accomplished that very thing, once and for all. Woods could never atone for his own sins. You and I could never atone for our sins, either. Christians believe that because Jesus took on our sins at the cross, he (and he alone) offers true redemption, the kind Hume was referring to.

Like Woods, at one time I would have identified myself as Buddhist. In all honesty, I still find aspects of Buddhism to be very admirable. Non-attachment, for one. There is much to be gained from letting go of worldly things. Western Christians, in general, could probably learn a great deal from this teaching (and it starts with me).

But for Tiger Woods, who appears to be seeking redemption and forgiveness, he might do well to realize that that’s the native language spoken by Christianity, not Buddhism.