More on The Two religions

We think in terms of "us" and "they". We build places of worship, churches and try very hard to make God conform to our little box. We try, relentlessly, to prove the central belief that Man is basically good and righteous and that he can save himself and solve problems by his own efforts. In fact, after careful analysis we can safely conclude that there are really only two schools of religious thought & belief in the World: The "Do-It-Yourself" religions & the "God-Alone-Can-Save-You" kind!

Most of the World's religions teach their followers that they can save themselves by their own piety and good works, by their own holiness, by their own sufferings, their own self-denial, or by their own obedience to the laws and traditions of that particular religion!--But no man yet has ever been good enough to earn or merit his own salvation!--"For there is not a righteous man upon the Earth who always does good and never sins."--Ecclesiastes 7:20.

Another aspect of religion that has brought confrontation and divisions is the practice of building and attributing holiness status to particular places. This issue is clearly addressed by a Samaritan woman when she asked " Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship."
Jesus "saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, shall ye worship the Father.
Ye worship that which ye know not: we worship that which we know; for salvation is from the Jews.
But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth: for such doth the Father seek to be his worshippers.
God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship in spirit and truth"
John 4: 20-23

What a liberating concept! Simply stated here is the most radical and "dangerous" doctrine ever conceived to abolish all religious animosity between man. No need to fight over temples or holy sites. Such a concept is particular important today since, with the advent of modern transportation people of all races, nationalities and customs as well as religions are coming closer together and interacting as never before. Societies have become truly multiracial.
True Christianity should extend a hand of acceptance and tolerance, not imposing a creed but sharing the message of Jesus's love through our lives. In the Koran God is described as "The Compassionate the Merciful", in the Bible God is described as "The Lord your God is gracious and merciful" 2Ch 30:9 and "God is love" Jn 4:8.
What is compassion? It is loving to the point of really helping. To be compassionate means to really care and truly be concerned, not just to say "I love you" and then walk off. The compassionate are those who try to put feet to their prayers and kind deeds to their kind words and try to do good as well as speak good. Regardless of our nationality, creed,race, social or economic status there is a way for all of us to embrace the common and most important attributes of God and reflect such love in our lives.

Peaceful coexistence depends on finding that which unites more than divide us.