1. Christianity & Other Religions St. Mary & St. Mina Coptic Orthodox Church Youth Meeting July 18, 2014

2. Introduction These days, we often hear the following statements: –“It does not matter what you believe, as long as you are sincere” Obviously, it does matter !!! –People for ages sincerely believed that the sun went around the earth, but now we know they are wrong If we look at the different religions of the world, we find that in many cases, they teach very different things. Obviously, they cannot all be right !!!

3. All religions ARE NOT the same !!! If you ask the actual worshippers within different faiths whether all the religions are the same, they will answer you NO !!! Even a quick examination of the world religions will show that there is no way they could be the same –In Hinduism, God is impersonal –In Islam, God is so separated from humanity –Buddhism is a religion without God and without a final existence –The Christian God is a personal, loving FATHER

4. The goal of life according to some of the world religions In Buddhism, the goal is nirvana or “the complete cessation of both desire & personality” In Islam, the picture of paradise appears to be very sensual In Christianity, the goal of all existence is to know God and to enjoy Him forever in the company of all His people, saints and angels !!!

5. What makes our Lord Jesus Christ So Special ??? We are NOT trying to show that Christians are better than other people, but we do insist that our Lord Jesus Christ is so special !!! Our Lord Jesus Christ is special in: –His influence –His teaching –His character

6. His Influence Nobody is all history has had such an influence Today, more than a third of the world’s population follows Christ Our Lord Jesus Christ did all that without restoring to force or any support from the world in any way !!!

7. His teaching Nobody ever taught like our beloved Lord If we just look at the sermon on the Mount, we would be amazed at the power and beauty of Christ’s teaching From the time of our Lord Jesus, there have been no moral advances on His teaching !!!

8. His character Never has there been a character like our Lord – so perfect was our Lord’s personality Our Lord Jesus taught the highest ideals and showed us how to keep them. Remember what our Lord did on the Cross !

9. Our Lord Jesus Christ is unique No other teacher even claimed to bring God to us No other teacher broke the final barrier – death No other teacher offers to live within his followers

10. No other teacher even claimed to bring God to us Our Lord Jesus Christ is true God of true God. The early Christians were convinced by: –His life – it is matchless –His teachings –His miracles –His fulfillment of prophecy

11. No other teacher broke the final barrier – death Our Lord Jesus Christ is the ONLY teacher of the world’s religions who rose from the death. The location of the bones of all other teachers is known Our Lord Jesus Christ left the tomb empty, and to this day, light comes out of His tomb in the Holy Land on Easter Sunday !!!

12. No other teacher offers to live within his followers After His ascension, our Lord Jesus Christ sent to us the Holy Spirit to abide in us. The Holy Spirit transforms the life of the believer The Christian life is about living the life of Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit