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the Christians call the "Old Testament".

Christianity uses the "Old Testament" and the "New Testament" combined as the book of their faith. The New Testament is comprised of the accounts of the followers of Jesus and of several other early writings during that time. Christians believe that the Old Testament is accurate, but they believe that the death and resurrection of Jesus gave birth to a new law, which is given in the collection of writings in the New Testament.

The religious text of Islam is "The Koran." The Koran is said to be the divine-inspired word that was sent to Muhammad, the prophet and founder of Islam, through the Archangel, Gabriel. Muslims believe this text to be divinely inspired, accurate and uncorrupted.

While Christianity and Islam both believe in "Heaven or Hell" after death in this world, Judaism focuses more on living a life of obedience to God in this life. Most of them do feel, though, that the soul of the obedient servant will return to God at the end of it's time on Earth.

If you are a Jew, you believe that your obedience to God on this Earth will earn your reward in the afterlife. If you are a Christian, you believe that the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ sets you free from the laws of Judaism, and that if you believe in such, you will be shown mercy from God and will live eternally in Heaven with Him. If you reject that idea, Christians believe you will spend eternity in Hell. If you are a Muslim, you believe that will be rewarded or punished in the afterlife by your obedience or disobedience to God during this life. Depending on your level of virtue or the extent of your sins here on Earth, you will be assigned different levels in either Heaven or Hell in the afterlife.

These are just the three major monotheistic religions. There also exists the Dharmic religions, or traditions, of Hinduism and Buddhism, among others, and there are the Far Eastern Religions of Taoism, Confusionism, etc., practiced mainly by those of China, Japan, Korea and other far eastern countries. Most of the Dharmic and Far Eastern Religions focus mainly on principles and a way of life, instead of submission to one supreme deity.

What is one to do, then, when he or she wakes up one morning at the age of 31 and needs to know "Why?" There is so much to know. There is so much that is not known. There is so much that I thought I knew, but I didn't really know anything. How can one religion be right and the others be wrong? If nothing else, it is has been a liberating experience to know that I am free to believe what I chose to believe. It has been an uplifting rejuvenation of my soul to seek the truth of my own existence. It has been a celebration of life to remove myself from the blissful state of ignorance that I once lived in, never questioning a thing. I do not claim to know the answers. I do not claim that any one religion is right. I do know that I am alive, and I am the creation of the living Creator himself. He made me inquisitive. He gave me intelligence and a conscience, a desire to live morally. He gives me rest when I am tired. He grants peace when I am troubled. I will continue to seek Him, and He will continue to lead me where I should go. I will leave the rest up to Him.

Learn more about this author, Lana Sain.
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