This time of year highlights two significant differences between the Bible and other religions of the world.
The first major difference between the Biblical Jesus and the other religions of the world is that in the Bible salvation is by grace through faith and not of works (Eph. 2.8,9). It is a gift of God. In Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, and all other religions, the key is works. You have to work hard, you have to earn your way. And if you are good enough, you might make it.
In the Bible, we could never been good enough – we are helpless and, outside of Jesus, hopeless. All people are born into this world as children of wrath (Eph. 2.1-3). So, Jesus, because of His great love for us, did the work necessary for us on the cross and invites us to believe in Him. We personally trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross for our salvation. Jesus Christ did the work and we trust in Him, not our own human effort or goodness. Biblically, we do good works because we are children of the Divine Household, not in order to become children of the Divine Household (we naturally merit nothing but wrath – but Jesus offers salvation).
The second major difference is the resurrection. Mohammed is dead, Buddha is dead, Nietzsche is dead, Gandhi is dead, Stalin is dead, and all other religious leaders and philosophers besides Jesus Christ are dead (or will be dead in due time).
With Jesus, the grave is empty. Love won!!!
There are a lot of interesting explanations as to why the grave is empty: they got the wrong tomb (the priests could have saved a lot of money if that was right); the disciples stole the body (lots of answers, but would you die for a lie?); Jesus swooned – He was “revived in the coolness of the cave” and pushed a several ton rock up hill and ran away from several soldiers (obviously whoever invented this nonsense has no clue about the gruesomeness of crucifixion—sometimes it takes more faith to believe what an unbeliever has to believe in order to remain an unbeliever).
Bottom line: the tomb is still empty.
So, if you came to a fork in the road and you wanted to ask directions, would you ask them from dead people or from the One who is alive? Are you following philosophies of dead people or the philosophy of the One who is Alive? Would you like to end up like the person you are following?