World Religions

Note: The following offers both web pages that are already well developed with helpful links regarding world religions as well as sections devoted to a growing collection of links that GO Connect is compiling. CONTENTS: WORLD RELIGION WEB PAGES BUDDHISM THE CHINESE WORLD ISLAM HINDUISM TRIBAL/ANIMISM WORLD RELIGION WEB PAGES RELIGIONS OF THE WORLD (by Mislinks) ADHERENTS.COM Adherents.com is a growing collection of over 43,870 adherent statistics and religious geography citations: references to published membership/adherent statistics and congregation statistics for over 4,200 religions, churches, denominations, religious bodies, faith groups, tribes, cultures, movements, ultimate concerns, etc. The religions of the world are enumerated here. WORLD RELIGIONS INDEX: Equipping Christians To Understand Other World Faiths And Religious Philosophies top BUDDHISM ARTICLES THE RELIGION OF BUDDHISM AND WAYS TO PRAY FOR BUDDHISTS Mission Vision Network Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, is believed to have been born in India in about 563 B.C. and to have died somewhere between 486 and 360 B.C.. He searched for the answers to life's questions for about six years before he sat for forty-nine days under a tree and meditated. He came from that meditation proclaiming he knew the answers. He became known as "the enlightened one." Followers of his teachings consider prophecy very important. They pray in front of shrines to Buddhist gods, which are believed to be impersonal forces in the east. (Read more) BOOKS PEOPLES OF THE BUDDHIST WORLD by Paul Hattaway This is an invaluable resource for missions strategists, Bible translators and prayer intercessors. Paul Hattaway has meticulously collected the available information on all the Buddhist people groups of the world. Readers will learn about the different forms of Buddhism, where and how these are practiced, and what special challenges they present for Christians who want to bring the good news of Jesus to Buddhists. Paul Hattaway is the international director of Asia Harvest and is author of The Heavenly Man, Back to Jerusalem and Operation China. SHARING JESUS IN THE BUDDHIST WORLD by David Lim & Steve Spaulding This book on Christian missions to the Buddhist world not only provides understanding of many Buddhist cultures; it provides culturally relevant ideas on sharing Jesus with Buddhists around the world. It truly lives up to the editors goal, "To provide the global church with knowledge and understanding of the Buddhist world and how to reach it for Christ." AUDIO FILES BUDDHISM - Short Feature on Buddhist beliefs (about 18 minutes) WEB SITES CHRISTIANANSWERS.NET/EVANGELISM/BELIEFS/BUDDHISM.HTML WWW.US.OMF.ORG/CONTENT.ASP?ID=9293 top THE CHINESE WORLD CHINESE CHRISTIAN RESOURCE DIRECTORY BACK TO JERUSALEM MOVEMENT Back to Jerusalem is a strategic site containing the missionary vision of the Chinese house church in reaching the countries where Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam still reign. ARTICLES BUDDHISM IN CHINA: THE FOREIGN RELIGION THAT WON CHINESE HEARTS by Keith Carey According to a Chinese myth, the Han emperor Ming had a dream in which he saw a “golden man” whom one of his counselors told him was the “foreign god” Buddha. Ming sent to India for Buddhist monks. After the monks arrived, Ming established China’s first Buddhist monastery. (Read more) HOW DO WE REACH THE ANCESTOR WORSHIPPERS OF CHINA? by Wesley Kawato What if the dead controlled the lives of the living? That's the premise behind ancestor worship. In ancient times, ancestor worship was a part of Greek and Roman religion, but the spread of Christianity put an end to this false belief. Not so in East Asia. Ancestor worship is still alive and well in China, Japan, and a few other East Asian countries. (Read more) THE LAMB OF GOD HIDDEN IN THE ANCIENT CHINESE CHARACTERS by Kui Shin Voo & Larry Hovee THE ORIGINAL ‘UNKNOWN’ GOD OF CHINA: AN ANCIENT PICTOGRAM SCRIPT POINTS TO THE BIBLE, by Ethel Nelson THE CHINESE LANGUAGE AND THE CREATIVE HANDS OF GOD - IMPACT No. 169 July 1987 by Ethel R. Nelson, M.D.* BOOK REVIEW: THE SHRINE NEXT DOOR by Wright Doyle (Christianity Today) Review of the book, The Sinister Way: The Divine and the Demonic in Chinese Religious Culture by Richard von Glahn Despite its foreboding title and evident academic audience, von Glahn's treatment of Chinese religion offers a wealth of information and insight to general readers as well as to students of Chinese culture. To explain the rise and transformation of one prominent cult—that of Wutong, a precursor to the smiling face we see today—the author ranges widely throughout Chinese history. The end product is a general overview of popular Chinese religion from earliest times to the present. (Read more) LINKS TO CHRISTIANITY TODAY ARTICLES ON CHINA BOOKS GOD'S PROMISE TO THE CHINESE, by Dr. Ethel Nelson, Richard E. Broadberry & Dr Ginger Tong Chock JESUS IN BEIJING: HOW CHRISTIANITY IS TRANSFORMING CHINA AND CHANGING THE GLOBAL BALANCE OF POWER by David Aikman (Regnery Publishers, 2003) Aikman served as Time’s Beijing bureau director for 30+ years and met with key Christian Chinese leaders to write this analysis of Christianity’s far-reaching influence on Chinese culture. OPERATION CHINA by Paul Hattaway A unique reference and prayer guide for the unreached peoples of China. CHINA'S UNREACHED CITIES, VOLS. 1 & 2 by Paul Hattaway (Note: After clicking the above hyperlink, you have to scroll down to find these two volumes.) A two-volume prayer guide for major Chinese urban centers. Printed in full color with photos of featured cities. CHINA'SCHRISTIAN MILLIONS by Tony Lambert OMF’s Tony Lambert chronicles the persecution and amazing growth of the Chinese Church under Communism. MP3 GENESIS, BABEL & THE CHINESE LANGUAGE by Dr Andy McIntosh VIDEOS OMF produces a number of videos and books for adults and children on missions in China. Many materials are available for free download online. ORGANIZATIONS Because organizations that operate in China tend to prefer to do so with little public attention, if you are seeking an agency with which to send missionaries or initiate projects, we encourage you to call either CHINA HARVEST in Wichita, KS (316-942-8295) or CHINASOURCE in Fullerton, CA. While these are not sending agencies, they are in touch with many opportunities in China for American local churches, and can refer churches to organizations that would fit them well. AMBASSADORS FOR CHRIST IN PARADISE This organization exists to evangelize and disciple Mainland Chinese international students and professionals in the US, that they might impact China for Christ. AFC produces a number of materials to help Christians reach out to Chinese students and professionals. GLOBAL SPECTRUM Led by Carol Davis, Global Spectrum consults and trains churches for entry into a variety of nontraditional ministries, including China. GS can conduct briefings on China and give training for churches sending exploratory teams into China. THE MORRISON INSTITUTE is an American-based training institute for missionaries planning to go to China. Contact China Harvest (316-942-8295) for more information. top ISLAM ARTICLES HOW MANY MUSLIMS LIVE IN THE UNITED STATES? By John Haaga There is no official answer to this question. The U.S. government does not collect information on the religious beliefs of U.S. citizens and other residents — not through the census, or in household surveys, or on immigration forms. (Read more) AUDIO UNDERSTANDING MUSLIMS Audio message by Dr. Robert Douglas (14 minutes) EVANGELISM TO MUSLIMS WEB SITES ANSWERING ISLAM BOOKLETS (DOWNLOADABLE) BOOKLETS FOR MUSLIMS ABOUT JESUS CHRIST The For the Muslim series of booklets are provided to help you address popular Islamic misconceptions about the Bible, Jesus Christ, and man's relationship to Him. Each PDF formatted booklet in designed to be printed, then folded to make a single booklet you can distribute freely. Print as many copies on you can use, whether for talking with your Muslim friends about Jesus, or helping others learn about the relevant issues in Christian-Muslim discourse. top HINDUISM ARTICLES ANCIENT RELIGION ON THE RISE by William G. Wells As Americans, we tend to think of anything that took place more than a hundred years ago as ancient history. More than 50 years old is “antique.” And anything more than a year old is yesterday’s news. Even the Civil War seems like the dark ages to us. And when we think about Jesus’ lifetime ... well, now you’re talking way back there! But even when Jesus walked the earth, Hinduism was already thousands of years old. Often referred to as the oldest world religion—and sometimes the “mother of all religions”—the history of Hinduism goes back at least 4,000 years. (Read more) CURRY LOVERS AMONG US by Rajendra Pillai The gleaming white of the Sri Venkateswara Temple rose majestically on top of the hill as we approached it one Sunday afternoon last spring. The exquisite architecture reflected intricate Indian design. Tall green trees formed a beautiful backdrop on the canvas of the landscape as we drove up to it. Scores of cars were parked right out to the street and throngs of people were either leaving or entering the temple. We drove around the temple and saw the priests performing their duties in front of the holy fire and blessing people by putting a red mark on their foreheads. This could have been a scene right out of any town or village in India. Only this was suburban Pittsburgh. And I was with the pastor of the church where I had just preached that morning. (Read more) PRAYER GUIDE CONTROVERSY REVEALS WORLDWIDE INFLUENCE OF HINDUISM by James Dotson As a native of India and a former Hindu, N.S.R.K. Ravi is ideally suited to coordinate interfaith evangelism training on Hinduism for the North American Mission Board. And when a prayer guide for Hindus recently was released by the International Mission Board, he knew perhaps better than most what the response might be. (Read more) INDIA’S BUSINESS COMMUNITIES AWAIT AN APPOINTMENT WITH CHRIST from the Global Prayer Digest In 1925, American President Calvin Coolidge said, “…the chief business of the American people is business.” By 2025, the same may be true of India. (Read more) THE BRAHMIN CHALLENGE from the Global Prayer Digest Here’s a challenge for you. Try to find a group of people who are more unreached with the gospel than the Brahmins. Think about it. Western missionaries are, for the most part, a thing of the past in South Asia. As for Indian Christians, most of them come from a low caste background. Once in a while you will hear about a lone Brahmin accepting Christ. But for a Brahmin to come to Christ, they have to overcome tremendous obstacles. Except for those in the state of Kerala, Brahmins have always stayed away from Christianity. Even in the Muslim world, you will rarely find peoples so distanced from the gospel. BOOKS LIVING WATER AND INDIAN BOWL by Swami Dayanand Bharati An Analysis of Christian Failings in Communicating Christ to Hindus, with Suggestions towards Improvements An insightful analysis (based on personal experience) of Christian work among Hindus and the error and inadequacy of Western Christianity in the Hindu world. Numerous telling anecdotes are the greatest strength of this important book. “...He presents the transcultural Good News in culturally understandable ways for the India of the 21st century...” - H. Stanley Wood, Ph.D., Center for New Church Development, Columbia Theological Seminary. UNREACHED MEGA PEOPLES OF INDIA by Daniel Sathiaraj This volume is a brilliant description of “100 groups of over a million people each.” This full-color book is the result of years of work by the Frontier Mission Centre Research Team. Inside, you will find people profiles, photographs, maps, charts, statistics, and prayer points for each of the major unreached peoples of India. NEW PATTERNS FOR DISCIPLING HINDUS by B.V. Subbamma (Re-released in 2002)“The readers of this book will see an outline of the patterns by which the great castes of India in the years ahead will come to the Christian faith.” - Donald McGavran. “...being myself a caste convert and having had twelve years experience as an evangelist to Hindus, I know very well how difficult it is for Hindus to join the existing Christian churches... Miss Subbamma’s suggestions for discipling Hindus are biblically correct and practical.” - N. Paul V. Gupta, President, Hindustan Bible Institute, Madras, India AUDIO FILES HINDUISM - Short Feature on Hindu Beliefs (about 17 minutes) top TRIBAL/ANIMISM No entries at this time. top [back to Mission Resource directory]