Interfaith Dialogue and World Religions
The Mission of John Wesley is to "Make disciples of Jesus Christ" and to be "Loving in Jesus' name." An understanding of other faiths enables us to be more effective in this mission.
Is your neighbor a Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Jew?
Have you visited a Mosque, Temple, Synagogue, Gurdawara, Mandir?
Do you know the religious, social, and art traditions of your non-Christian neighbors, friends, and colleagues?
Are you aware there are more than 57 ethnic communities in Houston and the majority of them follows religions unknown to Americans?
Come learn about The Major Religions of the world, their historical, social, and cultural traditions and visit their places of worship.
Taught by Rev. Dr. Afzaal Firdous, a Christian born into a family with Muslim and Hindu backgrounds. Dr. Afzaal is an accomplished writer, author of 10 books, a public speaker. He has spoken more than 77 times in US, Europe, including a group of Senators and Congressmen in Pakistan.
Islam emerged in Arabia in 620 A.D. right under the wings of Judaism and Christianity. Giving equality to people regardless of their skin color or geographical context made it the fastest growing religion in the world. The prophet of Islam faced severe opposition and persecution in Mecca and migrated to Medina where he built the first mosque and defeated his enemies in various wars. His four Caliphs, the Khulfa-e-Rashdin, expanded the Muslim Kingdom in military campaigns and made Islam the largest kingdom on the Earth. The murder of the 4th Caliph Ali Murteza and, later, his son Hussein’s family at Karbala, gave birth to a new sect of Muslims, the Shiites. There are seventy-two sects of Islam out of which Sunnis and Shia are the largest. The Muslims believe in Allah, the Angels, the Day of Judgment, Resurrection, Paradise, and Hell. Both Moderate and Militant Muslims have these common beliefs.
Hinduism is one of the oldest religions of the world. The Vedas, the holy books of Hinduism, were written some 5000 years ago. The excavations of Mohenjodaro and Harrappa reveal that the Indus Valley Civilization was at its peak when the Aryans invaded India. The Aryans introduced a new belief system of Brahma, Shiva, Durga etc. and brought into society castes of Brahmans, Khashatriya, Veshas, and the untouchable Shudras. The doctrines of Karma, reincarnation, Mukhti, Nirak (Hell), and Sorag (paradise), are traits of Hindu religion. The basic creed of Hinduism is based upon the philosophy of Karma, Samsara, Incarnation, Reincarnation, Rebirth, and Re-death. If a person performs good karma, he will be born as a human being. If not, that person can be born as a pig, horse, or any living creature. This cycle of rebirth and re-death goes on until that person performs the right karma and attains Mukti. There are three major tenents of Hinduism: Karma Marg, and Bhakti Marg, and Vidya Marg.
Buddhism was founded by Siddhartha Gautama, the prince of Sakya tribe, in the jungles of Nepal and India. The four Sites of pain and suffering caused him to leave his family and comfortable life of the palace in search of Sukha. After meditating under the Bodhi Tree for three and a half years, he found Nirvana, proclaiming the four basic principles of Buddhism. One can attain Nirvana by practicing the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. Buddhism soared to new heights after King Ashoka the Great embraced it. There are more than thirty seven denominations of Buddhism, out of which Theravada, Hinayana, and Mahayana Buddhism are the largest.
Sikhism was founded by Guru Nanak who rejected the worship of thousands of idols. He adopted the Good Rites of Hinduism and Islam and established the worship of One True God. He emphasized the importance of family, Sangat, and financial stability of Sikh society. The succeeding Gurus believed that the soul of Guru Nanak passed down to various Gurus to the tenth and the last Guru and, finally, rested in the Guru Granth Sahib, the Word of God. The animosity between the Mogul kings and Sikh Guru Rulers gave birth to Khalsa. Sikhs are a socio-religious community, known for the practice of Five K’s, Kase, Kangha, Kara, Kacha, and Kirpan. The Sikh worship place is called Gurdwara and is the center of social/religious life of the Sikh community.
Judaism started with the calling of Abraham from the Ur of Chaldeans in Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia is modern-day Iraq and is considered the cradle of human civilization, the ancient civilization of Chaldea and Sumer. People of Sumer invented (Cuneiform) writing, mathematics, the wagon wheel, and many other essentials of life. Citizens, including the family of Father Abraham, worshipped Nana-Sin, the moon god. However, Father Abraham was chosen by God Almighty to worship the One True God. God commanded him to leave his kinfolks, settled city life, and to go to the unseen “Promised Land.” Ishmael and Isaac, the two sons of Abraham, became the patriarchs of many nations living in the Middle East. The Exodus from Egypt, crossing the Red Sea, wandering in the wilderness, and the destruction of the Temple are some of the major events of Jewish history. The sacred books of Jews include the Mishna, Talmud Babylonian, and the Major Jewish festivals include Hanukkah, Yom Kippur, and Rosh Hashanah.
Christianity started as an offshoot of Judaism at first. Followers soon realized that Jesus’ Birth by the Virgin Mary without natural procreation process, death on the cross, resurrection from the dead, and ascension into Heaven was no ordinary matter. Thus, Jesus Christ became understood as the only person in history to have divine and human nature. The Twelve Disciples of Jesus Christ went around the world to preach the Gospel, that God’s Salvation is available to all those who repent from their sins and accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Thomas went to India, John to Asia, Peter to Rome, and others accordingly. St. Paul traveled all over, teaching, preaching and writing the foundational discourses of Christianity. Roman government patronage made the expansion of Christianity take place at a faster place. The Reformation gave a new dimension to Christianity creating two major branches, Catholics and Protestants.