The thing which seems to be the most prevalent theme amongst all of the reading we've done this semester is the belief that all things are actually one. John the Evangelist sounds almost like a Buddhist when he says "You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." John is saying the same things we read about in the Buddhist readings from last week, although the two religions are advising finding the truth in two absolutely fundamentally different ways, and the truth found at the end of the path is inevitably different, there is still a search for the absolute connected in both religions.
You are supposed to be sent on a path to find something which faith believes will make your existence something better.
Even Johns words about God are similar to Buddhism and Hinduism's words about the universe, "Love comes from God, and everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God; those who don't love, don't know God; for God is love." The subjects are completely different, but if one replaces God with the universe, or everything, the sentiment translates across the board. All of these religions are trying to draw people in with a sense of closeness to something bigger and more important than themselves, realizing you are a part of something instead of an individual in a scary lonely world is something most people search for their whole lives, and it's one of the many reasons religion is an inescapable part of our society.
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