THE EMPTY TOMB

Spotted on a church sign were these words: “Christianity is the only religion that has an empty tomb.” Such a powerful story is told by such few words. Have you ever given thought to the fact stated in this short sentence? Have you by now realized the power of the statement?
Consider some of the world religions: Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Shinto, and Confucianism. Each of these religions (except Judaism) had a founder, one whose rationale and opinions started such doctrines. However, neither had an “empty tomb.” JUDAISM: Though The Law of Moses was not designed by nor found its origin in Moses; still, Moses was the lawgiver. The Jews of Christ’s day assumed they were saved in and through Moses’ Law. They thought that the only way a Gentile could be saved was through conversion to the Law of Moses. When Christ came, the Jew did not see Him as the Messiah; nor did they understand that the Messiah would give a new law. All the Jews were looking for was a leader like King David to lead them out from under Roman rule. This was their only concept as to how the Messiah would rule from the throne of David. They didn’t want a new law. Jews today still put their stock in Moses and the Law he delivered. They are still looking for a leader like David. However, Moses is still in his grave: “So Moses the servant of the
LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD. {6} And he buried him
in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Bethpeor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day” (Deuteronomy 34:5-6). David also remains in his grave, so said Peter to the Jews on the Day of Pentecost: “Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day” (Acts 2:29). Judaism has NO empty tomb. ISLAM or MUHAMMADANISM: Muhammad was reared as an orphan passed from kinfolk to kinfolk. Somewhere in his young life he was influenced both by Christianity and especially the Hebrew Talmud. Like many founders of religions, he was a dreamer. By age twenty-five he became the husband of a very rich widow. Some time after this he began to express great interest in religion and would retire to caves for seclusion and meditation. He would fast frequently and dream dreams. The religion, Islam, is a weird concoction of Judaism, Christianity, and personal beliefs of Muhammad himself. Islam came into existence about 600 years after Christ. Islam is presently sweeping the world, its numbers growing by the millions each decade. Islam is a militant religion that teaches all enemies of Allah (god to Islam) must die! Islam holds that Muhammad is equivalent to Christ, and that Christ was just another prophet of Allah. But the real truth is, Muhammad is still in his grave. He was simply replaced by a successor called a Caliph. HINDUISM: “Of all the world’s great religions, Hinduism is the most difficult to define. It did not have any one founder” (The World’s Great Religions, Ed. Sir Norman Anderson, “Hinduism” Bruce Nicholls, p. 136). It is a conglomeration
put together from five thousand years of Indian religious superstitions and cultural movements. To the Hindu, virtually everything and anything is a god; from a monkey, to a tree, to a rock. The Hindu religion has NO resurrected savior. BUDDHISM: Buddhism is the offspring of Hinduism. Buddhism originated about 600 years prior to Christ. Although Buddhism has a god that looks like a very fat teacher; Buddha is not a name but a title, signifying the “Enlightened One.” It is especially given to
Siddhartha Gautama, who was born about 563 BC. Buddhism is a life of simplicity, believing that human suffering comes from desire for possessions and selfish enjoyment. Therefore, to avoid suffering, learn to control desires for possessions and self gratification. On the other hand, even though Buddhism teaches reincarnation, we know that Gautama is still in his tomb. SHINTOISM: Shintoism has neither a founder nor a written cannon. It is based primarily upon superstitions of the Japanese people who follow it. Because there is no set doctrine(s) there are countless variations of Shintoism. Certainly we can see that this religion has no empty tomb. CONFUCIANISM: Confucius is the Latinized name given to Kung Fu-tzu by early Jesuit missionaries. Confucius was born in 551 BC. Leslie Lyall stated: “Had Confucius lived in the twentieth century, he would surely have been the
patron saint of the humanists” (ibid, p. 219). Confucius never held any deep convictions about religion itself nor did he place much hope in the after-life. Lyall wrote: “The Chinese do not associate Confucius with ‘religion’, but speak of ‘the School’ or ‘the Teaching’”. Though his “teaching” is followed by many, Confucius is still in the grave. CHRISTIANITY: On the other hand, Christ came not only to teach us of His New Covenant; but He came to establish His law by dying for His followers. His authority to establish a law for ALL mankind was then proven by His resurrection from His tomb. “Christianity is the only religion that has an empty tomb.” Think about it!
—John D. Cotham
Shady Valley, TN