Beginnings:
First Lines from the Scriptures of the world religions
Genesis, Old Testament, Judaism
1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.
Koran, Islam
1:1 In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
1:2 Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds,
1:3 The Beneficent, the Merciful.
1:4 Master of the Day of Judgment,
1:5 Thee (alone) we worship; Thee (alone) we ask for help.
1:6 Show us the straight path,
1:7 The path of those whom Thou hast favoured (Muslims); Not the (path) of those who earn Thine anger (Jews) nor of those who go astray (Christians).
2:1 Alif. Lam. Mim.
2:2 THIS IS THE SCRIPTURE WHEREOF THERE IS NO DOUBT, a guidance unto those who ward off (evil).
2:3 Who believe in the Unseen, and establish worship, and spend of that We have bestowed upon them;
2:4 And who believe in that which is revealed unto thee (Muhammad) and that which was revealed before thee, and are certain of the Hereafter.
2:5 These depend on guidance from their Lord. These are the successful.
2:6 As for the Disbelievers, Whether thou warn them or thou warn them not it is all one for them; they believe not.
2:7 Allah hath sealed their hearing and their hearts, and on their eyes there is a covering. Theirs will be an awful doom.
2:8 And of mankind are some who say: We believe in Allah and the Last Day, when they believe not.
2:9 They think to beguile Allah and those who believe, and they beguile none save themselves; but they perceive not.
2:10 In their hearts is a disease, and Allah increaseth their disease. A painful doom is theirs because they lie.
Hadith: Sahih Bukhari, Islam
Volume 1, Book 1, Number 1:
Narrated ‘Umar bin Al-Khattab:
I heard Allah’s Apostle saying, “The reward of deeds depends upon the intentions and every person will get the reward according to what he has intended. So whoever emigrated for worldly benefits or for a woman to marry, his emigration was for what he emigrated for.”
Volume 1, Book 1, Number 2:
Narrated ‘Aisha:
(the mother of the faithful believers) Al-Harith bin Hisham asked Allah’s Apostle “O Allah’s Apostle! How is the Divine Inspiration revealed to you?” Allah’s Apostle replied, “Sometimes it is (revealed) like the ringing of a bell, this form of Inspiration is the hardest of all and then this state passes off after I have grasped what is inspired. Sometimes the Angel comes in the form of a man and talks to me and I grasp whatever he says.” ‘Aisha added: Verily I saw the Prophet being inspired Divinely on a very cold day and noticed the Sweat dropping from his forehead (as the Inspiration was over).
Volume 1, Book 1, Number 3:
Narrated ‘Aisha:
(the mother of the faithful believers) The commencement of the Divine Inspiration to Allah’s Apostle was in the form of good dreams which came true like bright day light, and then the love of seclusion was bestowed upon him. He used to go in seclusion in the cave of Hira where he used to worship (Allah alone) continuously for many days before his desire to see his family. He used to take with him the journey food for the stay and then come back to (his wife) Khadija to take his food likewise again till suddenly the Truth descended upon him while he was in the cave of Hira. The angel came to him and asked him to read. The Prophet replied, “I do not know how to read.
The “scriptures” of Roman Catholicism
According the Vatican, “ex cathedra” (Latin for from the seat) statements have the same authority as the Bible (which is “God breathed.”) What follows are “ex cathedra” statements or “infallible” proclamations which Roman Catholicism claims has equal or greater authority then the Bible, and if you do not agree, according to the Official Cannons and Decrees of the Catholic Church you are damned to hell forever!
This most recent Roman Catholic Council, which closed on December 8, 1965, is the current official stand of Roman Catholicism. The following quotes are that official stand. (All bold print has been used for emphasis. Furthermore, brackets have been used to increase clarity.)
“Hence, both Scripture and Tradition must be accepted and honored with equal feelings of devotion and reverence.” (Vol. 1, page 755)
On page 223 item #841 in the Catechism of the Catholic Church Second Edition revised in accordance with the official Latin text promulgated by Pope John Paul II we discover the following incredible statement, under the sub-title, The church’s relationship with the Muslims. I quote,
The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place among whom are the Muslims; these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind’s judge on the last day. 330
“The Catholic Encyclopedia has an article called ‘Anathema.’ It describes an anathema that the Fourth Council of Toledo (633 A.D.) said that any person who disagreed with a decision that the Council had made was to be ‘stricken’ with an anathema that included being ‘damned at the coming of the Lord.’ Another anathema formula (which is described in the same article) declares that the anathematized person (or people) are ‘condemned to eternal fire with Satan and his angels.’”
The doctrine of transubstantiation
This is from the Council of Trent: Thirteenth Session, Cannons of the most holy sacrament of the Eucharist
Canon 1: “If any one shall deny that the body and blood, together with the soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ, and therefore entire Christ, are truly, really, and substantially contained in the sacrament of the most Holy Eucharist; and shall say that He is only in it as a sign, or in a figure, let him be accursed!”
Canon 11: “If any one shall say that the substance of the bread and wine remains in the sacrament of the most Holy Eucharist, together with the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ … let him be accursed!”
Canon III: “If any one shall say that Christ, the only begotten Son of God, is not to be adored in the holy sacrament of the Eucharist, even with the open worship of Latria, and therefore not to be venerated with any peculiar festal celebrity, nor to be solemnly carried about in processions according to the praiseworthy and universal rites and customs of the Holy Church, and that He is not to be publicly set before the people to be adored, and that His adorers are idolaters- let him be accursed!”
The official Decree on Purgatory
“Whereas the Catholic Church, instructed by the Holy Ghost, has, from the sacred writings and the ancient tradition of the Fathers, taught, in sacred councils, and very recently in this ecumenical Synod, that there is a Purgatory, and that the souls there detained are helped by the suffrages of the faithful,
“But let the more difficult and subtle questions, and which tend not to edification, and from which for the most part there is no increase of piety, be excluded from popular discourses before the uneducated multitude. In like manner, such things as are uncertain, or which labor under an appearance of error, let them not allow to be made public and treated of. While those things which tend to a certain kind of curiosity or superstition, or which savour of filthy lucre, let them prohibit as scandals and stumbling-blocks of the faithful.”
MARIOLOGY or MARIOLATRY?
In the official Catechism of the Catholic Church, promulgated (which means to put a law into affect by publishing it) by the Vatican, on page 253 it says,
“The Church’s devotion to the blessed Virgin is intrinsic to Christian worship.”
In 1993, at World Youth Day in Denver Colorado, Pope John Paul II celebrated the sacrifice of the mass before 375,000 people. Listen to the words of the world’s foremost leading authority on Roman Catholic doctrine had to say about Mary,
“With my heart full of praise for the queen of Heaven, the sign of hope and the source of comfort on our pilgrimage of faith to the heavenly Jerusalem, I greet all of you who are present at this solemn liturgy … This liturgy presents you, Mary, as the woman clothed with the sun …. 0 woman clothed with the sun, the youth of the world greet you with so much love … In Mary the final victory of life over death is already a reality … help us to increase in holiness by conquering sin.”
Do you know what “Immaculate Conception” really means?
As a child I was taught the doctrine of Immaculate Conception. Many if not most Catholics today would be hard presses to explain what this means. The official position of Rome says that Immaculate Conception means that Mary was born without sin! How would they know that? Where is that found in the Bible? There is only one person in all of history who was born without sin and that person is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ.
THE HERESY OF INDULGENCES FOR SALVATION
“But by divine institution it is the exclusive task of these pastors alone, the successors of Peter and the other Apostles, to teach the faithful authentically, that is with the authority of Christ ….” (Vol. 2, p. 430)
“… it [the Roman Catholic Church] condemns with anathema those who say that indulgences are useless or that the Church does not have the power to grant them.” (Vol. 1, p. 71)
“An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain defined conditions through the Church’s help when, as minister of Redemption, she dispenses and applies with authority the treasury of the satisfaction won by Christ and the saints.” (Vol. 1, p. 75)
“An indulgence is partial or plenary according as it removes either part or all of the temporal punishment due to sin.” (Vol. 1, p. 75)
“Partial as well as plenary indulgences can always be applied to the dead by way of prayer.” (Vol. 1, p. 75)
… the Church in its pilgrim members, from the very earliest days of the Christian religion, has honored with great respect the memory of the dead; and because it is a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead that they may be loosed from their sins‘ (2 Mac. 12:46) she offers her suffrages for them.” (Vol. 1, p. 410)
“The faithful who use with devotion an object of piety (crucifix, cross, rosary, scapular or medal) after it has been duly blessed by any priest, can gain a partial indulgence.” (Vol. 1, p. 77)
“We believe that the souls of all those who die in the grace of Christ — whether they must still make expiation in the fire of Purgatory, or whether from the moment they leave their bodies they are received by Jesus into Paradise like the good thief — go to form that People of God ….” (Vol. 2, p. 394)
“Sins must be expiated. This may be done on this earth through the sorrows, miseries and trials of this life and, above all, through death.” (Vol. 1, p. 63)
“The doctrine of purgatory clearly demonstrates that even when the guilt of sin has been taken away, punishment for it or the consequences of it may remain to be expiated or cleansed.” (Vol. 1, p. 64)
The Upanishads, Hinduism
LET a man meditate on the syllable Om, called the udgîtha; for the udgîtha (a portion of the Sâma-veda) is sung, beginning with Om.
The full account, however, of Om is this:–
- The essence of all beings is the earth, the essence of the earth is water, the essence of water the plants, the essence of plants man, the essence of man speech, the essence of speech the Rig-veda, the essence of the Rig-veda the Sâma-veda, the essence of the Sâma-veda the udgîtha (which is Om).
- That udgîtha (Om) is the best of all essences, the highest, deserving the highest place, the eighth.
- What then is the Rik? What is the Sâman? What is the udgîtha? ‘This is the question.
- The Rik indeed is speech, Sâman is breath, the udgîtha is the syllable Om. Now speech and breath, or Rik and Sâman, form one couple.
- And that couple is joined together in the syllable Om. When two people come together, they fulfil each other’s desire.
- Thus he who knowing this, meditates on the syllable (Om), the udgîtha, becomes indeed a fulfiller of desires.
- That syllable is a syllable of permission, for whenever we permit anything, we say Om, yes. Now permission is gratification. He who knowing this meditates on the syllable (Om), the udgîtha, becomes indeed a gratifier of desires.
- By that syllable does the threefold knowledge (the sacrifice, more particularly the Soma-sacrifice, as founded on the three Vedas) proceed. When the Adhvaryu priest gives an order, he says Om. When the Hotri priest recites, he says Om. When the Udgâtri priest sings, he says Om, all for the glory of that syllable. The threefold knowledge (the sacrifice) proceeds by the greatness of that syllable (the vital breaths), and by its essence (the oblations)
- Now therefore it would seem to follow, that both he who knows this (the true meaning of the syllable Om), and he who does not, perform the same sacrifice. But this is not so, for knowledge and ignorance are different. The sacrifice which a man performs with knowledge, faith, and the Upanishad is more powerful. This is the full account of the syllable Om.
The Heart Sutra, Buddhism
Avalokieteshvara Bodhisattva practicing profound Prajna Paramita clearly saw
the five skandhas to be empty transcending all suffering and difficulties.
Sariputra!
Form is empty therefore no difficulties are to be discerned.
Feeling is empty therefore no feeling.
Thought is empty therefore no knowing.
Volition is empty therefore no doing.
Consciousness is empty therefore no awakening.
Why is this?
Sariputra!
Without form there is no emptiness.
Without emptiness there is no form.
Form is then emptiness. Emptiness is then form.
Feeling, thought, volition and consciousness are also like this.
Sariptura, all these dharmas are phenomena,
No created, not destroyed,
Not defiled, not pure,
Not increasing, not decreasing.
These empty Dharmas are without past, without future, without present.
Therefore in emptiness,
No form, no feeling, thought, volition, consciousness,
No eyes, ears, tongue, body, mind,
No listening, smelling, tasting, touching,
No world to be observed up to no world to be perceived,
No ignorance also no end to ignorance
Up to no old age and death and no end to old age and death,
No suffering, craving, annihilation, path.
No wisdom also no attainment.
Therefore nothing arises which can be attained.
The Bodhisattva relies on Prajna Paramita.
Therefore the mind is without obstructions.
No obstructions therefore no fear, doubt.
Far beyond deluded thinking, suffering and difficulties.
Ultimate Nirvana!
The Diamond Sutra, Buddhism
Chapter 1.
This is what I heard.
At one time the Buddha was staying in the Jeta Grove, near the city of Sravasti.
With him there was a community of 1,250 venerable monks and devoted disciples.
One day before dawn, the Buddha clothed himself, and along with his disciples took up his alms bowl and entered the city to beg for food door to door, as was his custom.
After he had returned and eaten, he put away his bowl and cloak, bathed his feet, and then sat with his legs crossed and body upright upon the seat arranged for him.
He began mindfully fixing his attention in front of himself, while many monks approached the Buddha, and showing great reverence, seated themselves around him.
Chapter 2.
After a time a most venerable monk named Subhuti, who was sitting in the congregation, rose from his seat.
He uncovered his right shoulder, placed his right knee on the ground, and as he joined his palms together he respectfully bowed and then addressed the Buddha:
“Most Honored One, It is truly majestic how much knowledge and wisdom your monks and disciples have been given through your most inspired teachings! It is remarkable that you look after our welfare so selflessly and so completely.”
“Most Honored One, I have a question to ask you. If sons and daughters of good families want to develop the highest, most fulfilled and awakened mind, if they wish to attain the Highest Perfect Wisdom, what should they do to help quiet their drifting minds and help subdue their craving thoughts?”
The Buddha then replied:
“So it is as you say, Subhuti. Monks and disciples have been favored with the highest favor by the Buddha, the monks and disciples have been instructed with the highest instruction by the Buddha. The Buddha is constantly mindful of the welfare of his followers. Listen carefully with your full attention, and I will speak to your question.”
“If sons and daughters of good families want to develop the highest, most fulfilled and awakened mind, if they wish to attain the Highest Perfect Wisdom and quiet their drifting minds while subduing their craving thoughts, then they should follow what I am about to say to you. Those who follow what I am about to say here will be able to subdue their discriminative thoughts and craving desires. It is possible to attain perfect tranquility and clarity of mind by absorbing and dwelling on the teachings I am about to give.”
Then the Buddha addressed the assembly.
“All living beings, whether born from eggs, from the womb, from moisture, or spontaneously; whether they have form or do not have form; whether they are aware or unaware, whether they are not aware or not unaware, all living beings will eventually be led by me to the final Nirvana, the final ending of the cycle of birth and death. And when this unfathomable, infinite number of living beings have all been liberated, in truth not even a single being has actually been liberated.”
“Why Subhuti? Because if a disciple still clings to the arbitrary illusions of form or phenomena such as an ego, a personality, a self, a separate person, or a universal self-existing eternally, then that person is not an authentic disciple.”
Book of Mormon
1:1 I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father; and having seen many afflictions in the course of my days, nevertheless, having been highly favored of the Lord in all my days; yea, having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God, therefore I make a record of my proceedings in my days.
1:2 Yea, I make a record in the language of my father, which consists of the learning of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians.
1:3 And I know that the record which I make is true; and I make it with mine own hand; and I make it according to my knowledge.
1:4 For it came to pass in the commencement of the first year of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah, (my father, Lehi, having dwelt at Jerusalem in all his days); and in that same year there came many prophets, prophesying unto the people that they must repent, or the great city Jerusalem must be destroyed.
1:5 Wherefore it came to pass that my father, Lehi, as he went forth prayed unto the Lord, yea, even with all his heart, in behalf of his people.
1:6 And it came to pass as he prayed unto the Lord, there came a pillar of fire and dwelt upon a rock before him; and he saw and heard much; and because of the things which he saw and heard he did quake and tremble exceedingly.
1:7 And it came to pass that he returned to his own house at Jerusalem; and he cast himself upon his bed, being overcome with the Spirit and the things which he had seen.
1:8 And being thus overcome with the Spirit, he was carried away in a vision, even that he saw the heavens open, and he thought he saw God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels in the attitude of singing and praising their God.
The Great Learning
(first of the “Four Books” in Confucianism)
The Way of the great learning involves manifesting virtue, renovating the people, and abiding by the highest good.
The ancients who wished to illustrate illustrious virtue throughout the world, first ordered well their own States.
Wishing to order well their States, they first regulated their families.
Wishing to regulate their families, they first cultivated their persons.
Wishing to cultivate their persons, they first rectified their hearts.
Wishing to rectify their hearts, they first sought to be sincere in their thoughts.
Wishing to be sincere in their thoughts, they first extended to the utmost of their knowledge.
Such extension of knowledge lay in the investigation of things.
Things being investigated, knowledge became complete.
Their knowledge being complete, their thoughts were sincere.
Their thoughts being sincere, their hearts were then rectified.
Their hearts being rectified, their persons were cultivated.
Their persons being cultivated, their families were regulated.
Their families being regulated, their States were rightly governed.
Their States being rightly governed, the entire world was at peace.
From the Son of Heaven down to the mass of the people, all must consider the cultivation of the person the root of everything besides.
Guru Granth Sahib (main scripture of Sikhism)
One Universal Creator God. The Name Is Truth. Creative Being Personified. No Fear. No Hatred. Image Of The Undying, Beyond Birth, Self-Existent. By Guru`s Grace ~
Chant And Meditate:
True In The Primal Beginning. True Throughout The Ages.
True Here And Now. O Nanak, Forever And Ever True.
By thinking, He cannot be reduced to thought, even by thinking hundreds of thousands of times.
By remaining silent, inner silence is not obtained, even by remaining lovingly absorbed deep within.
The hunger of the hungry is not appeased, even by piling up loads of worldly goods.
Hundreds of thousands of clever tricks, but not even one of them will go along with you in the end.
So how can you become truthful? And how can the veil of illusion be torn away?
O Nanak, it is written that you shall obey the Hukam of His Command, and walk in the Way of His Will.
By His Command, bodies are created; His Command cannot be described.
By His Command, souls come into being; by His Command, glory and greatness are obtained.
By His Command, some are high and some are low; by His Written Command, pain and pleasure are obtained.
Some, by His Command, are blessed and forgiven; others, by His Command, wander aimlessly forever.
Everyone is subject to His Command; no one is beyond His Command.
O Nanak, one who understands His Command, does not speak in ego.
Some sing of His Power-who has that Power?
Some sing of His Gifts, and know His Sign and Insignia.
Some sing of His Glorious Virtues, Greatness and Beauty.
Some sing of knowledge obtained of Him, through difficult philosophical studies.
Some sing that He fashions the body, and then again reduces it to dust.
Some sing that He takes life away, and then again restores it.
Some sing that He seems so very far away.
Dianetics (the Book of Scientology)
The creation of dianetics is a milestone for Man comparable to his discovery of fire and
superior to his inventions of the wheel and arch.
Dianetics (Gr., dianoua — thought) is the science of mind. Far simpler than physics or
chemistry, it compares with them in the exactness of its axioms and is on a considerably higher
echelon of usefulness. The hidden source of all psycho-somatic ills and human aberration has
been discovered and skills have been developed for their invariable cure.
Dianetics is actually a family of sciences embracing the various humanities and
translating them into usefully precise definitions. The present volume deals with Individual
Dianetics and is a handbook containing the necessary skills both for the handling of
interpersonal relations and the treatment of the mind. With the techniques presented in this
handbook the psychiatrist, psycho-analyst and intelligent layman can successfully and
invariably treat all psycho-somatic ills and inorganic aberrations. More importantly, the skills
offered in this handbook will produce the dianetic clear, an optimum individual with
intelligence considerably greater than the current normal, or the dianetic release, an individual
who has been freed from his major anxieties or illnesses. The release can be done in less than
twenty hours of work and is a state superior to any produced by several years of psychoanalysis,
since the release will not release.