RELIGIONS and religious, as well as mystical sects and practices were, are and will be very much. This is a certain problem for Christianity, which professes the one Truth in one God, as well as the unity of the human race, created according to the single image of God, contained in every person. Therefore, the questions often asked in our time are not accidental: “How, if God is one, can there be many religions?” Or: “Are all religions false and only Christianity (Orthodoxy) is the only true one?” Or: “Are all non-Christians (non-Orthodox) going to die? And if they have not heard anything about Christ and Christianity?” Or vice versa: "Is it really possible salvation outside of Christ and His Church, because it is said: "He who believes and is baptized will be saved ..." (Mk 16:16)? Or: “Maybe different religions are just different paths to the same one God, and the differences between them are only in form, not in content, and are explained only by the historical, cultural and national identity of this or that people?” To give the main directions for the Christian answer to these questions is our task.

Religions of the world can be classified from different positions. One of the most important classifications is their division into world and non-world. World religions include all religions that have gone far beyond the boundaries of one people, country, continent. The rest are called non-world, often just national. It is customary to refer to three world religions: Christianity, Islam (Muslim) and Buddhism.

Another generally accepted classification of religions is the division into monotheistic and pagan.

Monotheistic religions are religions that profess not just one deity, numerically one, as it could already be in Ancient Egypt and Ancient India, but one and only God - the Holy God, who revealed Himself in antiquity to the patriarch Abraham, the Creator God who created the sky and land, i.e. the whole visible and invisible world with all its worlds, who gave life to animals and the spirit to man in it. Thus, these are not just religions of monotheism, but religions of the Abrahamic and biblical tradition. There are as many of them as there are in the world - three. These are the same religions, only instead of Buddhism, Judaism belongs to them. Judaism is not a world, but a national religion, which is professed by the majority of Jews, and Buddhism, although a world one, is not a monotheistic, but a pagan religion, because it is not attached to the Abrahamic tradition of monotheism. Hinduism can serve as an example of a non-worldly (national) and non-monotheistic (pagan), but also a great religion in our time. So, taking Christianity as a starting point, let's start the conversation with Islam.

What is Islam or Islam? It is the only world and monotheistic religion besides Christianity. It arose in the first half of the 7th century, in 630. It is widespread and is still growing rapidly.

The "creed" of Islam is the formula: "There is no God but Allah, and Mohammed is His prophet." In Islam, everything is much simpler than in Christianity: believe according to the "creed", pray five times a day, once a year, in the month of Ramadan, fasting, voluntary cleansing alms and once in your life - a pilgrimage to Mecca, and if If you cannot go to Mecca, then to similar holy places, for example, to Jerusalem.

Thus, on the one hand, Islam is characterized by maximum simplification. The word "Islam" is translated simply as "submission" (to God). Islam preaches, starting from the first days of its existence - and this is clearly seen in the Koran, the main dogma of Islam - a return to the faith of Abraham, faith, from our point of view, although in the true God, but still imperfect, for it does not know revelation the Law of Moses, the Davidic Hope and the revelation of Love given in and through Christ as the Son of God and the Son of Man. For the followers of Islam, God is incomprehensible and unattainable, He cannot be known, and therefore, in our sense of the word, the spiritual life of a person is not there, just as there are no sacraments, a hierarchical church, etc.

But on the other hand, the simplification of Islam leads to a certain opposite. It is difficult to live in Islam (only this complexity is different than in Christianity with its burden of freedom), because God speaks only through the prophet Mohammed, who teaches his followers all the laws of life, and to the smallest detail, to the smallest detail, regulates all forms of human life through the interpreters of these laws. Therefore, Sharia law plays a huge role in Islam, i.e. legends or traditions.

It is not surprising, therefore, that Islam is often frankly sectarian-legalistic (hence comes its fanaticism), eclectic and mythopoetic in nature, even to the point of flowery fabulousness. This is precisely faith, usually strong and associated with fidelity, but fanatical and blind; sick with a lack of Love and the experience of knowing God, which undermines her prophetic foundation. It includes many elements of Judaism, Christianity, and even dualism and other paganism, and Christian features remain the main ones. Jesus for Muslims (like Noah, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Moses and David) is one of God's greatest prophets. In one place of the Quran, He is even directly called Christ - the Messiah. But still for them He is less than Mohammed, He is Christ, but not the Son of God. True, they understand the expression “Son of God” differently than we do, and therefore they deny with it not quite what we affirm.

Thus, for recognizing Jesus as Christ, we could even call them a branch of Christianity in the broad sense of the word, or a Christian sect, but only a very large and non-Orthodox (heretical), because they do not know Christ's grace - the revelation of God as the Holy Trinity and of Christ as the God-Man, the Savior of the world and of every believing person.

There are several branches of Islam with rather strained relations, even enmity between them. The main ones are Sunnis and Shiites. In addition, there is a mystical, as it were, monastic-ascetic order of the Sufis, and there are various theological and philosophical schools. However, all Muslims feel like members of a single community (Ummah).

The third world religion is Buddhism. It arose in the VI-V centuries. BC. in India. Buddha (i.e. Enlightened One) Shakyamuni showed the way of man's escape from total suffering in this fallen world. In Buddhism, until now, the most powerful is its negative side, its apophatic truth about this world and life in it.

Buddhism at the top of its teaching denies gross idolatry and caste inequality of people, but on the other hand, it is refined pantheism, it does not contain revelation and knowledge of a transcendent personal God. Moreover, there is no revelation of the grace of Christ in it.

The Buddhist "god" is poured into nature as its spiritual fundamental principle, as a spiritual absolute and light. He does not have a personal name. A person, leaving this world and thus from suffering, must achieve a simple connection, merging with this deity according to the principle “you are one with that”, which means, in particular, overcoming the dualism of subject and object (although, alas, impersonal and impersonal) . Here it is necessary for a person to give up all desires, to overcome them.

But dissolving in this way in the divine absolute, a person not only finds absolute peace and escapes from all suffering into the light of nirvana, but also loses all of himself. He really leaves his individuality, selfishness and self-will, but does not acquire his spiritual personality either.

Buddhism (as well as its related Hinduism, which we will discuss below) is characterized by a developed mythology, transcendental mysticism, and the corresponding rich ascetic practice of cleansing the soul and body with its own, often hidden and rooted in the cosmos, forces. It also has several currents (the main ones are Mahayana, including Lamaism and Zen, and Hinayana). Until the twentieth century. Buddhism had almost no contact with Christianity.

As we have said, Buddhism is a pagan, non-monotheistic religion. And pagan religions do not know the way "from top to bottom", they only know the way "from bottom to top", i.e. the path of transcendent knowledge of the divine in isolation from the path of the transcendent Revelation of God.

Not knowing the Revelation and the one true holy personal God - the Creator of the whole world and our Heavenly Father, they only have what one way or another can be known only from within a fallen person and the world, including from the image of God that is actualized by natural, one’s own forces. in man, from social and natural connections and corresponding experience.

Therefore, in such paganism there can be much valuable and correct, partly even true. This is why, although pagan gods are not gods (see 2 Kings 19:18; Jer 2:11, 16:20; 1 Cor 8:5 and Gal 4:8), there are no completely false religions in the world (cf. Ps 81:1 , 96:7, 134:5, 135:2; Rom. 1:20), while the Gentiles, if they live according to their conscience, although they personally do not know God in Christ, still have hope of salvation (see Rom. 2:6- 29, especially 14-15) - by the Holy Spirit, who "breathes where he wants" (John 3:8).

Buddhism, for example, is a very subtle and noble, in the best sense of the word, paganism. But other paganism of the East - Egypt, Babylon, Persia, India, China, as well as Ancient Greece, Rome, etc., has given and is giving much to mankind. Such paganism is deep and serious and requires a corresponding attitude on our part. But the work of recognizing and separating the parts of truth and truth in paganism from untruth and untruth in it (cf. Gen. 6:1-6) has only just begun. There is still no overall picture and proper sequence.

Of particular importance in our time among pagan religions, in addition to Buddhism, is Hinduism, the great Indian national philosophical faith that arose long before Buddhism. Within the framework of pantheism, he wisely teaches about the world and human spirit, i.e. brahman and atman, called to complete transcendental unity. But in Hinduism, as in any paganism, magicism is highly developed. And it is characterized by an impersonal, and besides, a caste-like attitude towards a person, which is expressed, in particular, in the doctrine of the transmigration of souls. In India, he has many schools, sects and trends that are not reducible to each other. He absorbed even Buddhism. Hinduism often penetrates us through yoga and occult sects, theosophy, anthroposophy, Krishnaites, Roerichians, and the teachings of numerous gurus. (See Falikov B.Z. Neo-Hinduism and Western Culture. M., 1994. His article on the so-called "Tibetan Gospel" is also interesting, proving its theosophical origin: Modern reflections on an old fake // Peoples of Asia and Africa. M ., 1990. No. 4, as well as the Orthodox community. M., 1992. No. 2. P. 80-85.)

Judaism is the same not world, but national, but not pagan, but monotheistic religion. Note that the concepts of "Jew" (more precisely, "Jewish") and "Jew" should never be confused. A Jew, or Judaist, is a person who professes a certain religion - Judaism, and a Jew is a person of a certain nationality. A Jew can profess any religion or not profess any, which in our time still often happens, and in principle a person of any nationality and culture can become a Judaist.

Judaism is not a religion of the Old Testament or the earthly life of the Lord Jesus Christ, as is often thought. Although Judaism retains much of that faith, including the expectation of the Messiah, Judaism is no longer conceivable without the later teachings of the Talmud, Kabbalah, Hasidism, etc.

Judaism has often played and is playing the role of a means of preserving national unity, especially in the Jewish diaspora, and even now it is on the leaven of the scribes and Pharisees, choosing rather Barabba instead of the true Messiah - Yeshua.

Temple and related cult in Judaism since 70 AD. still no. It is replaced by numerous synagogues and houses of believers scattered all over the world. They replace, of course, only to the extent that they can generally replace the services of the Jerusalem Temple.

Judaism is also characterized by different currents - from orthodox to very modernist. His attitude towards Christianity as a whole is rather wary, and even hostile, which is especially clearly seen in the narrowly orthodox circles and areas of modern Israel, in which it is very difficult, almost impossible for a Christian, especially a Christian Jew, to live.

The Talmud plays a very important role in Judaism - comments and comments on comments on the Bible. Among his rules there are both very good and very dubious ones. For example, a Jew is not allowed to approach a Christian closer than three meters (despite this, among the Jews in all centuries of our era there were true Christians, but in our time there are even more of them than before).

But, unfortunately, sometimes Judaism becomes not even a national, but a directly nationalistic force, protecting its people more according to the flesh than God's Truth, and thereby plunging them into ever new troubles and sufferings in the world. This is a symbol of the development (and degradation) of Judaism to this day. The “failure” that occurred during the time of Jesus Christ, when the time of the Lord’s visit to Jerusalem was not recognized (“for the glory of God and Israel”!) by the then God’s chosen people, leads this people further and further away from God, from true revelation in Christ, i.e. e. from the revelation they rejected.

However, even now among Jews of various persuasions one can find sincere and righteous following of God and His Law, and even openness to God in Christ and His Church.

Speaking about the religions that exist today, we must distinguish whether we are talking in general and book about this or that religion, or about the same religion in its modern and real state. What is more important for us now is the current state of religions, and not the general image of one or another of them. Why? It is very important for Christians to keep Christianity one and the same in its spirit and meaning, since "Christ is always the same." This identity does not depend on differences in the development of forms of Christian life, including forms of worship. This principle does not depend on those shortcomings and distortions that exist in the Christian life. Therefore, we can definitely say that even now in its spirit the Church of Christ (Orthodox, in any case) is the same as in apostolic times. In non-Christian religions, on the other hand, it usually happens the other way around, because in them very conservative ancient external forms often exist to this day, and their spirit and meaning has changed and is changing. So changeable are all the major and significant religions: Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism. Therefore, in order for a person to know them, in principle, it will not be enough for him to know only their book sources and history (and for the knowledge of Christianity, it may be enough to know only how to repent, turn to God in Christ and receive in the Church the Gift and grace of the Holy Spirit) .

Speaking of existing religions, one must also always remember that Christianity is not only and not so much a religion, because it contains the fullness of life and spiritual connection of people with God, with each other and with the world. All other teachings and spiritual and ascetic practices are religions, because they are always partial, although they also claim the whole life of a person, the whole spirit, the whole truth and the whole truth.

And it is also necessary to remember, when speaking with non-Christians or about them, that one cannot react only to their words, terms and self-names, making them dead labels that require an unambiguous attitude towards oneself. It is important to know what is behind these words. Very often the same word (or other form) carries a different spirit and meaning, which still needs to be revealed.

In addition, it must be taken into account that within the same particular trend or the same religion, there can be not only different types of spirituality, but also entire different directions. For example, in Islam - these are the same Sunnis and Shiites, and in Judaism - the same orthodox and unorthodox Judaism. There is now even a movement of so-called Messianic Jews who recognize the Holy Trinity, Jesus as Christ and holy Baptism, although outwardly they do not stand out from traditional Judaism.

By the way, this is a fairly developed trend in America, and now not only in America. There is it in Moscow. Such "Messianic Jews" are more like the ancient Judeo-Christians, although the question of the extent of their Orthodoxy is not a simple one. “Renewed Judaism ... abandoned many elements of the religious law, brought the structure of services in the synagogue (which became known as the “temple”) closer to the structure of services in Protestant churches and abandoned the main dogmas of Jewish orthodoxy: faith in the Messiah, who will restore the kingdom of Israel ... These dogmas became be interpreted ... in the spirit of vague liberal progressivism (the era of the Messiah is a just society created as a result of the efforts of all mankind, etc.) ”(Religion in the political life of the USA. 70s-early 80s. M., Science. S. 171.)

And it is also important to remember that by our time, all religious movements and religions have experienced one or another influence of Christianity, and therefore have already developed their own attitude towards it, and therefore, have developed their own protective mechanisms against it as forms of self-preservation, which often exist hidden, veiled. .

They are especially developed in those religions that have had much contact in their history with Christianity, for example, in Judaism and Islam. But now they have almost taken shape both in Hinduism and Buddhism, which was greatly helped by various theosophical teachings, including ours and Roerichism (agni yoga). They dressed the old Indian pagan spirit in clothes more or less outwardly acceptable to people of Christian culture. The same can be said about anthroposophy (Steinerianism), in which there are more Christian elements than in theosophy, but which is also a non-Christian trend.

All these hidden mechanisms should not be underestimated or overestimated; at the same time, one should neither forget about them nor be too afraid of them. True, we must remember that besides them, there are others in the world - open "enemies of our gospel", albeit not yet very numerous (this is the expression of the Apostle Paul, who spoke like this about Jews who did not accept faith in Christ, although they were close him by blood, for whom he was ready to give a great deal, even to be excommunicated from Christ, but who for him still remained enemies of the Gospel of Christ).

Thus, in the world, society and man, “the devil fights God,” and very often this is a fierce battle. Of course, in the end, in it, God in Christ will overcome by the Spirit of His mouth, but only if Christians do not forget about the gospel attitude towards enemies.

So, speaking in general, what are different religions for us? This, in my opinion, was well said by the priest Sergiy Zheludkov in his book “Why I am a Christian”. Here are his words: "Different religions are, as it were, different systems of communication between religious people and the divine and among themselves."

Here is a beautiful formula, if only it is correctly understood, if one does not confuse the divine with God, for not every deity is God. The divine can include both the transcendent and the transcendent. Here the unworldly God, and all kinds of deities in this world, can be implied. Therefore, here, indeed, one can include all the religions of the world, and if Christianity is understood as a religion, then Christianity as well.

Further about. Sergius writes: “And even within a religion, for example, Hinduism or our Christianity, there are different levels and types, degrees of religiosity. All this diversity shows the great dependence of the perception of the divine on man, at the same time on his limitations and on his freedom. And other religions are true in what they have in common with Christianity."

These are very good words if they are not understood egoistically, not understood narrowly. Truly, in all religions there is some part of the truth and even truth, which sometimes surpasses their very teaching, their doctrine, and even this religion as a whole, but which for some reason is peculiar to it and which is always good.

And this same part, although sometimes only potentially, but, unfortunately, not actual, is also contained in full Christianity, in one or another layer of its Scripture and Tradition. Very often, precisely because we can see the true and good in others (this also applies to other Christian denominations), we actualize our own potential to a greater extent. Therefore, one should never be afraid of meeting others, not like us, people, and a truly open and loving meeting.

There is no need to go to any extremes here, but we can have lively, open relationships that testify to our Christian love with all people, regardless of the principles of their faith and life. Only then will something good and useful be found everywhere.

If we still show this good thing to these people themselves (what is really good with them) and if we show them tactfully and with love what they do not have, what they lack (and, under especially favorable circumstances, also what they have they are not good), then every sincere, honest and grateful person will understand us very well and follow us to God. And we will not be fanatics, i.e. bearers of faith without love for their neighbor, nor traitors to their true God and their true Faith (which, unfortunately, happens very often in our time, since we are constantly “carried” in one direction or the other).

So, we must not argue with those of other faiths, not just convince them, but testify to them with grace and act according to the “principle of complementarity”, i.e. to make up for each person his positive experience with his own positive experience. And he will always understand and accept us. This is the most important thing, it is in this sense of the word Fr. Sergiy Zheludkov are wonderful.

And in conclusion - the most difficult and important question: how to distinguish in Christianity, and even more so in other religions, the true from the false? What is the criterion of what is good and true?

It is clear that science cannot be such a criterion in this case, because all religions are spiritual and therefore unscientific (more precisely, other-scientific). Here, a spiritual experience of recognizing truth, goodness and beauty in spirit and fruits is necessary (remember our conversation about Tradition and Traditions: Holy Scripture and the Holy Tradition of the Church, its writings and traditions // Kochetkov G., priest. “Go, teach all peoples”: Catechism for Catechists, Moscow, 1999, Topic IV, pp. 107-143.

The gifts of appreciating fruits and discerning spirits are gifts of grace that are especially valuable in our time in the Church. These are not subjective, but at the same time, not objective things, and therefore it is also necessary to develop a special language for spiritual communication with any open and honest person, no matter where he starts and no matter what path he has gone before.

There is another big problem here: this is a deep difference in the cultural and spiritual traditions of different people. But every man is above culture, which must always be derived from him. A person, even a very traditional one, is called to royal freedom in spirit and throughout his life, including freedom from cultural, national, historical and other inertia. It is to such a person that the way is opened to God and His Truth, which is alive, for it is the risen Christ.