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Understanding Non-Christian Religions "Dear friends, don't believe everyone who claims to have the Spirit of God. Test them all to find out if they really do come from God. Many false prophets have already gone out into the world, and you can know which ones come from God. His Spirit says that Jesus Christ had a truly human body. But when someone doesn't say this about Jesus, you know that person has a spirit that doesn't come from God and is the enemy of Christ. You knew that this enemy was coming into the world and now is already here." 1John 4:1-3 There is a common misconception that all religions are basically saying the same thing and that all paths lead to God. It is not true that all religions are basically the same. Although similar teachings do occur in more than one religion, the difference between them is in their attitude to the purpose of life and salvation. In Judaism, and Islam, salvation means life after death for the individual. In Hinduism and Buddhism, salvation is the obliteration of the individual personality. The New Age Movement is in a class by itself. Unlike most formal religions, it has no holy text, central organization, membership, formal clergy, geographic center, dogma or creed. Then there are the cults birthed out of misappropriating the scriptures Jehovah Witness and Mormonism being the most common.
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