Comparison of Sikhism vs. Christianity

[shaheediyan]

http://www.tapoban.org/phorum/read.php?f=1...75&t=114875

By Rawel Singh Anand

The Gospels are full of Jesus' praises, miracles performed by him, his

crucifixion and resurrection. It is was the basis of selection? Is

this how scriptures come into being? The Christian missionaries say

that Bible is the Word of God. This does not appear from the contents

of the New Testament. In which the only notable words attributedsaid

that the four gospels were chosen. out of about forty existing at the

time of selection. Who cho them what to God are "This is my beloved

son in whom I am well pleased. The reader may be aware of more gospels

like the Gospel of Judas coming into news lately. There thus seems to

be no authenticity of the New Testament. All religions have scriptures

and life histories of their preceptors. Any doubts about the latter

can be resolved in the light of the scriptures but in the case of the

New Testament if the Gospels are in doubt, nothing is left.

In the Gospels the only part of real spiritual value is the Sermon on

the Mount. This does not find in two of the four gospels and in the

other two the details and language are vastly different. Many parts

are not common between the two. Also whereas throughout the Gospels

the names of persons and places are mentioned both the latter gospels

say 'a mountain'. This casts doubts whether the sermon was indeed

delivered or it has been added in the two gospels later to show

something spiritual.

OF CHRISTIAN CONVERSION AGENDA MISSIONARIES

Wide networks of Christian missionaries of their various denominations

exist all over the globe. Missionary work is a legitimate activity of

a faith to keep its followers and those of the other faiths informed

about its faith. However Christian missionaries have an agenda of

obtaining conversions from other faiths. They say things in such a

manner that others get convinced. It needs to be stated at the outset

that it is not the intention to criticize or denigrate Christianity as

a religion but only to point out the types of things they say. For

example they tell people that Jesus Christ was born to a virgin mother

and is therefore the son of God; he gave his life for the sins of all

and should therefore be accepted as a savior by all and that he rose

from the grave walked the earth and was later carried by the clouds to

heaven. No person with a reasoning power can accept these things as

reasonable. Such things certainly make their presentation interesting

but not convincing. That is why people including some Christians raise

questions about these. That is why there are more atheists in Western

countries having Christianity as he main religion than elsewhere. The

purpose of this article is to find out the truth so that one is not

misled by the tactics of the Christian missionaries.

The Bible is the scripture of Christianity. It has two parts called

the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament is accepted

as the scripture by the Jews, Christians and Muslims. Torah which

comprises of the first five books of the Old Testament finds frequent

reference in the Muslim scripture the Quran as does the New Testament.

The New Testament covers the period of Jesus Christ and thereafter.

Christians believe that the prophecies made by the earlier prophets

and contained in the Old Testament were to be fulfilled in the New

Testament. Those of major interest say that a Messiah was to come who

would be the savior of the Jews. The Christians believe that Jesus was

the Messiah. It is well known that a prophecy is taken as fulfilled if

that happens on its own. However the New Testament is at pains to see

that these prophecies connected with the Messiah apply to Jesus. It is

interesting to note that whereas the Quran accepts Jesus as a prophet

it does not accept many things that the New Testament claims about

him.

The New Testament has three parts. The first part dealing with the

birth, life and crucifixion of Jesus comprises of four Gospels. The

second part contains the book of Acts describing the situation after

Jesus' death and letters written to various destinations asking them

to accept the new religion and is in the form of propaganda. The third

part called Revelation shows the imagination of John about Jesus in

heaven. The It 2:255).

Sri Guru Granth Sahib the scripture of the Sikh religion says:

God is everlasting; He is neither born nor He dies; He is

indestructible and pervades all (Page 758).

The Old Testament says:

You shall fear the Lord thy God and serve Him and shall

swear by His name (Deuteronomy 6:13)

It is therefore surprisimg that Jesus is given status equal to

God. But there seems to be a reason for this and that is to

project Jesus as high as possible so that his stature is seen

higher than the others and is easily accepted.

In order to improve acceptability many stories have been made in

connection with Jesus. They are like fairy tales as are told to

children or to impress people. For example they say thmay come as a

surprise to many that Jesus was not the founder of Christianity

although it carries his name. He was born and died as a Jew.

Establishment of Christianity was due to the efforts of Paul and

Peter. Paul was opposed to Jesus during his lifetime and converted

later. Jesus, referring to the laws made in the Old Testament had said

"Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise

pass from the law, till all be fulfilled" (Matthew 5:18). But Paul

went against this and said "But before faith came we were kept under

the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed"

(Galatians 3:23). Jesus had condemned the practices of the Jews during

his lifetime which was responsible for his crucifixion. Paul's

utterances poisoned the relations further exacerbating the antipathy.

Jesus had said that he had come to fulfill the earlier scriptures.

Once Jesus asked his disciples "Whom do men say that I Son of man am"

(Matt 16:13). To this they named earlier prophets. He asked them again

"Whom say ye that I am"? Peter replied "Thou art the Christ, the son

of the living God" (Matt 16:16). Jesus complimented him and said "Thou

art Peter and upon this rock I shall build my church" (Matt 16:18). He

did not say that a new religion would be founded. It later transpired

that Peter did not believe Jesus and Jesus told him "Satan: thou art

an offence unto me" (Matt 16:23). Later the same Peter thrice denied

that he knew Jesus (Matt 26:70-74). Peter's conduct described above

indicates that he satisfied Jesus' expectation of endorsement and

sycophancy; he did not have faith in Jesus and his denial shows that

he had no commitment to Jesus. But it was on him the Jesus had

intended to build his church. Jesus had said beforehand that Peter

would deny him thrice but did not revise his statement about Peter

being the foundation of the church. Also Peter was the only disciple

of Jesus who had gone to see the grave after it was reported that

Jesus had risen and gone (Luke 24:12).This would show that the church

that came into being after Jesus was based on seeking endorsement,

sycophancy, lack of faith and denial. This may seem blasphemous but

that is the only inference that can be drawn from the scriptural

references given above.

The way Christianity came into being it was natural that fissures

should occur among its followers. This is what happened in course of

time. At present there are numerous denominations of Christianity

differing from one another in many ways. They also seek conversions

from one another. A lot of blood was shed in the intercine So next

time when a Christian missionary comes and asks you to convert ask him

the number of Christian denominations and which denomination he wants

you to join. He should also be advised to first establish unity within

his faith and then ask others to join his faith. Who would like to go

where such divisions exist? Please tell him we are happy where we are.

Christian missionaries are professionals who have been trained in the

art of convincing people. They are easily able to convince gullible

people of other faiths. So one needs to be on guard when approached by

them. They are very sweet to talk to but soon start showing their true

colors. For example in the end of 2004, the Tsunami waves caused

extensive damage particularly in Indonesia. Many organizations went

for aid among which were Christian. While the others provided help it

was heard on the television channels that while there were only some

percentage of Christians there then but after some time they would all

or mostly become Christians. What a pity that even at that time of

suffering these people could think of converting people simply by

providing aid. Those receiving aid beware!

Christian missionaries choose those areas for their operations where

the people are poor and need help. With considerable resources at

their command they first establish facilities like schools and

hospitals. They tell the people that they have come there to serve.

Then slowly they try to attract people to their faith either by

offering concessions or preference in employment to Christians.

Because poverty is a fertile ground for their operations, Christian

missionaries say that poverty is a gift of God. They literally try to

buy the poor people's conscience with their resources. Is that

service? All religions teach that tempting people is sin. Even their

own Bible says "Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word

that comes fro the mouth of God" (Matt 4:4). They should be asked why

they are asking others to come to Christianity when they do not

themselves follow it. They should be politely told "No thank you, we

are happy with our own religion; at least we practice it".

Christian missionaries talk of God once in a while but their main

emphasis is not on God but on Jesus. They emphasize that the only way

to salvation is by accepting Jesus Christ as the savior. They do not

hesitate to equate him to God but also call him god. All those who

believe in God can never accept this position. How can a man who is

born qnd dies be given this status? For them the only one fit for

worship is one God. All faiths are unanimous on this. The Hindu

scripture Gita says:

God is the goal, the sustainer, the master, the witness, the abode,

the refuge and the dearest friend. He is the creation and the

annihilation, the basis of everything; the resting place and the

eternal seed (9:18).

The Quran says:

God, none else is fit for worship; He is everlasting, neither

dozes off nor goes to sleep. Whatever is in the heavens or

earth is all His (at Jesus was born to Virgin Mary through the Holy

Ghost and therefore Jesus is the son of God. This is an attempt to

project as truth something which in reality was different. The first

story goes like this. God sent an angel to Mary to inform her that she

would bear a child without the usual process of impregnation. This was

done because it is forecast in the Old Testament that a virgin shall

give birth to a child (Isaiah 7:14). the word used in the original

Hebrew version of the scripture uses the word 'Almah' which means

'young woman'. Similarly the original version of the New Testament in

Greek uses the word 'Parthenos' which again means young woman. It is

only in the Christian versions of the Bible the word virgin has been

used. It is a pity that such attempts should be made in respect of

scriptures just to show that Jesus' birth was miraculous. The New

Oxford Annotated Bible mentions young woman1.

There are two widely different stories about Jesus' birth. The first

story says that when Jesus was born, a star appeared in the East. Some

people were sent by the king to go and search where he was born; they

departed and the star went before them stopping where the young child

was (Matt 2:9). An amusing story yes, but can it be true? Probably the

author of the story wants people to believe that stars are so near the

earth that a star can indicate the location of a house? Since the star

appeared on Jesus' birth it should have been there during his life

time but there is no mention of what happened to it after that. This

type anomaly occurs when astory is made up. Here is the second story.

Jesus' mother had been informed by God's angel "The holy thing which

shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God" (Luke 1:35).

This was supposed to be a gift of God. The mother gave birth on due

date and "Wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger;

because there was no room for them in the manger because there was no

room for them in the inn" (Luke 2:7). It is obvious that parents of

the unborn baby were staying in an inn at the time of his birth. It is

worth pondering whether a gift of God would be thrown into a manger

like this. Even if the child was not considered a gift of God, but a

child born under normal circumstances would any parents be so cruel as

to put their newly born child in a manger? The story of no room in the

inn has been made just to explain why the child was put in the manger.

The real reason is that like other things it is an effort to show that

the prophecy in the Old Testament "Voice of him that cries in the

wilderness" (Isaiah 40:3) was being fulfilled and prove that Jesus was

the Messiah. Making comments on a preceptor is not a matter of

happiness; in fact it is one of sadness because one does not know what

to believe. Neither of the stories seems to be true. This casts doubts

whether a personality with the name Jesus ever existed.

The Gospels do not give further details of Jesus' life until he is

about 30 years old. At this age he was baptized by John the Baptist

according to the Jewish practice. Here is the next fairy tale like

story. "And lo the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit

of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him. And lo a voice

from heaven saying, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased"

(Matt 3:16-17). Jesus was then made available to the devil to be

tempted. He was asked to turn stone into bread but he refused tshow a

miracle saying "man shall not live by bread alone but by every word

that proceeds out of the mouth of God" (Matt 4:4). When the devil

promised him all the kingdoms of the world and glory if he worshipped

the devil, Jesus told him "Get thee out of hence Satan for it is

written, thou shall worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shall thou

serve" (Matt 4:10). After this the devil left him and angels came and

Jesus assumed ministry at the age of 30 which lasted for about three

years.

With this the process of Jesus performing miracles started during

which period he also taught people including saying that no one could

go to God, the Father except through him. He also said "And no man had

ascended to heaven but he that came from heaven, even the Son of man

which is in heaven" (John 3:13). If Christianity teaches that no one

except Jesus shall go to heaven, and every one wants to go to heaven,

then why should any one become a Christian?

The highlight of the period from then on is performance of miracles by

Jesus is one of pain for those who do not accept any one equal to God.

Jesus is shown to say and do things agaist which he had himself

taught. Given below are some examples of this.

Bible (Matt 15:4) asks man to honor his father and mother, but when

one of his disciples asks permission to go and bury his dead father,

Jesus does not allow him saying "Follow me; let the dead bury their

dead" (Matt 8:22). On another occasion when he was informed that his

mother and brother wanted to meet him, Jesus said "Who is my mother?

And who are my brethren"? Then pointing his hand towards his disciples

said they were his mother and brethren. He further said "For whosoever

shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my

brother, and sister and mother" (Matt 12:47-50). It is agreed that one

should not have attachment to one's relatives but not letting bury

one's father or refusing to meet his mother does not seem right from

any standards. Or was he trying to convey that either his family did

not believe in God or he could not get along with them?

Jesus had said "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the

earth" (Matt 5:5), but when a man asked Jesus to cure his son of

lunacy, he lost his temper and said "O' faithless and perverse

generation, how long shall I be with you abd how long shall I suffer

you? Bring hither to me" (Matt 17:17). There are three significant

points in this. Firstly a divine person could not have used such

contemptuous language and secondly this language was used for a whole

generation, not just one man indicating everyone was bad. This is very

antithesis of spirituality. Thirdly it cuts at the very concept that

Jesus had eternal life since he himself asked how long he would be

there. That means he was like any other mortal

Similarly when some Jewish leaders asked him to show them a sign from

heaven he used still more offensive language when he said " A wicked

and adulterous generation seeks after a sign and there shall be no

sign given unto it" (Matt 16:4). Again once when Jesus was hungry he

went to a fig tree but found no fruit on it. He lost his temper and

cursed the tree "Let no fruit grow on thee henceforth for ever" (Matt

21:19).

Jesus made another strange statement. He was asked why his disciples

did not wash their hands before eating. His reply was "Out of the

heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts

false witness, blasphemies; these are the things which defile a man

but to eat with unwashed hands defiles not a man" (matt 15:19-20). It

must be accepted that clean mind is essential, but surely that does

not justify not washing the hands before eating which is necessary to

prevent contamination.

The Bible including the Ten Commandments teaches against adultery. On

the other hand in the Western countries where Christianity is the

predominant religion no body talks about it. Pre-marital and

extra-marital sex is taken as a way of life. The institution of

marriage is not respected. The only subject of discussion in this

regard is whether abortion should be freely allowed or restricted.

This virus is spreading fast. We need to practice the principle of

sex-with-spouse only and protect our children against casual sex, by

teaching and example.

The Gospels are full of miracles performed by jesus. As mentioned

above he had initially refused to perform the miracle of turning

stones into bread. Later, after cleaning a man of his leprosy, told

him "See you tell no man but go your way, show yourself to the priest

and offer the gift that Moses commanded for a testimony unto them"

(Matt 8:4). Afterwards however he started performing miracles

frequently. These included curing of fever, restoring eye sight,

cleaning of leprosy, removing lunacy, exorcising evil spirits,

reviving the dead and feeding 5000 people with a small quantity of

bread. There were so many and it appears that that is for what Jesus

had assumed ministry. At least that is what the Bible indicates. John

the Baptist e sent two men to Jesus ask he was the Messiah. Jesus

replied "Go your way and tell John the things you have seen and heard:

how the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf

hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached" (Luke

7:22). It seems very strange that a spiritual teacher instead of

saying what he did to remove ignorance and lift the people spiritually

talks only of miracles. This is confirmation of the fact which many

religions teach, that one who performs miracles goes on a path that

leads away from God. This is clear from the fact that initially he

refused to perform a miracle and when he did, he did not advertise but

asked the man to go and make an offering. Oce he got busy in miracles

it was only praise of him that mattere.Men of God are in fact ashamed

even to talk of miracles. According to them miracles are nothing but

tricks of a magician:

Performance of miracles is like a play, they are evil

Men of God are ashamed even to talk of them.

It appears that as Jesus performed more miracles he not only started

thinking but calling himself God. For example he asked his disciples

to go to the village and bring an ass and a colt which they would find

there. He further told them that if any one questioned you say "The

Lord has need of them" (Matt 21:3). On another occasion he told his

disciples "you call me Master and Lord; and you say well; for so I am"

(John 13:13). He not only equated himself to God but said that when he

sits on the throne of glory, his twelve disciples would also sit on

the throne and judge the twelve tribes of Israel (Matt 19:28). All

this shows that he had started feeling proud. It is an accepted fact

that God likes humility not pride. It appears that because of this

pride Jesus drifted and was ultimately forsaken by God. As we have sen

above he had started using intemperate language. This was the first

sign of his losing sing sight of God's presence. After this,

performance of miracles took him further away from God. This was felt

by Jesus when a woman touched his garment. He said "Somebody has

touched me for I perceive that virtue has gone out of me (Luke 8:46).

Jesus' drifting away from God resulted in his spirit being weakened.

For example at a meal which is called the last supper, he broke bread,

gave it to his disciples saying "Take, eat: this is my body". He took

the cup and after thanks gave to the disciples saying "Drink ye all of

it; for this is my blood" (Matt 26:26-29). Then he said "My soul is

exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with

me" (Matt 26:38). After he was crucified at the cross some people

mocked at him saying he saved others let him save himself and come

down from the cross. Jesus felt helpless and cried "My God, my God,

why have you forsaken me" (Mark 15:34).

In spite of all this Christian missionaries do not tire of saying that

Jesus alone can save. Who will believe that one who has been forsaken

by God can save others? Another thing they say is that Jesus gave his

life for many for remission of sins (Matt 26:28). Except for such

statements there is nothing in the Bible to show that he died for

others. Jesus was punished based on accusations by the Jewish priests.

They had said "We have the law, and by our law he ought to die,

because he called himself the son of God". So Jesus died because being

a Jew he broke the law. Also those who die for a cause do not try to

avoid death but he did not want to die. The Bible says "And he went

forward a little and fell on the ground, and prayed that if possible

the hour might pass from him", and he said "Abba, Father, all things

are possible unto you; take away this cup from me; nevertheless not

that I will, but what you will" (Mark 14:35-36). It is significant

that he said all this even before he was arrested and tried.

It appears that some people have taken this statement of Jesus dying

for sins of all seriously because they are convinced that whatever

they do, they will be saved by Jesus. This seems to be the reason for

the minds being in turmoil and violations of scriptural teachings

rampant. A little thought would tell that no one can die for the sins

of others. The principle of you shall rep what you sow is universal.

Whatever good or evil man does goes into his account and he is judged

accordingly. That is the concept of judgment day in the Semitic

religions and the account maintained by Chitra-Gupt in Eastern

religions.

The Christian missionaries also talk of Jesus' second coming i.e. he

is to come again. They use this to attract people to their faith. In

this connection they quote chapter 24 0f Matthew in the New Testament

which talks of destruction of the temple, wars, famines and

earthquakes ang then Jesus will come. They also say that situation in

the world is now building up as given in the bible so Jesus is coming.

Thy say this despite Jesus saying "Verily I say unto you, this

generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled" (Matt

24:34). Jesus was referring to his resurrection and not a later

period.

Resurrection of Jesus when he is reported to have risen from the grave

is considered the foundation of Christianity. The Bible says "If

Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is

also vain" (1 Corinthians 15:14). That means Christianity is based on

a dogma and not on teachings. If this dogma is in doubt what happens

to the Christian religion? The details of resurrection given in the

four Gospels significantly differ from one an other which indicates

that the details are not based on personal knowledge but hearsay. For

example they all differ on who went to see the grave, what or who was

found in the grave, where did Jesus go after rising. One person who

was there in all cases was Mary Magdalene. She is considered to have

had close to Jesus and was present at his crucifixion. In one of the

accounts she fids a man standing next to the grave but thinks he is

the gardener, whereas actually it was Jesus. She realizes this when he

calls her by her name. It may be said that if she did not recognize

the man it was not Jesus. The Quran gives considerable details of

Jesus' life. The whole of chapter 19 is devoted to Jesus' mother Mary,

which the Bible had omitted. The Quran accepts Jesus as a prophet and

acknowledges his miracles. On the subject of his his crucifixion

however it says "and their saying surely we have killed the Messiah,

Jesus son of Mary, the messenger of God, and they did not kill him nor

did they crucify him, but it appeared to them so and most surely those

who differ therein are only in doubt about it, they have no knowledge

respecting it but only follow a conjecture, and they killed him not

for sure" (Quran 4:157, translation by M.H. Shakir on web site The

Koran). It appears a look alike of Jesus was crucified. If Jesus was

not crucified the question of resurrection would not arise. All in all

the story of resurrection cannot be true.

Children going to Christian run schools need to be educated in their

own religion and also told to be ware of attempts at conversion

because they are slowly brain-washed and then motivated to become

Christians.

The author wishes to admit that writing this small pamphlet has not

made him happy, in fact it has made him sad for criticizing someone.

It is again emphasized that the purpose of writing was to suggest

caution when confronted by Christian missionaries and not to find

faults with their religion. Yes it is strongly felt that dogmas take

one away from the essentials of religion and should not be its basis.

1 Michael D. Coogan, ed., The New Oxford Annotated Bible, 3rd Ed., New

York: Oxford University Press, 2001, p. 988. See Isaiah 7:14 in the

Hebrew Bible section.