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Foundation of bibliology
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“And God said let there be light, and there was light…” according to the Genesis story, an entity which bears no tangible face or bodily structure created the world with nothing more than a swift tongue. It bore the shape of the earth, the plentiful bounty of the soil, the beauty of animals, and the wonder known as humanity all within the time span of seven days. It created the notion of societal law, moral principle, and a reverence for a deity by loyal subjects. And it instituted a harsh rule of law which instigated the idea that if any part of you, mind or body, were to disobey it, you would be punished in the now and in the after. Nonetheless, the Christian telling of how our world came to be, although following a path negligent of the idea of a multilateral approach to understanding God, seems to carry some similarities to that of Shintoism. Or differences? The Shinto creation story is a work of art in and of itself, not to mention it takes on the idea that multiple humanoid deities, not an unidentified mass of spiritual benevolence, created this world. In addition, we take on a different approach to creation, in which rather than things being born out of spoken word, our world was actually artistically created by two master creators of land and sea, Izanagi no Mikoto and Izanami no Mikoto . First, let us analyze the particulars of the Christian Genesis story as to begin formulating the basis of comparison and contrast. We shall look at the two parts of Genesis, the first discussing the formulation of earth and its inner particulars, in concert with the first few verses associated with the second part of Genesis, which touches on the creation of the first man and woman: “Light is commanded to appear… the light is divided ... ... middle of paper ... ...ase of the world of Christians, who view God as a supreme being bound to a code of law which serves to protect their interests and ensure that their life is respected and continued. Works Cited 1) New International Version. Grand Rapids, MI: The Zondervan Corporation, 2001. Print. 2) Shimazono, Susumu. 2005. "State Shinto and the Religious Structure of Modern Japan." Journal Of The American Academy Of Religion 73, no. 4: 1077-1098. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed April 23, 2012). 3) Rutgers University, "Genesis." Accessed April 21, 2012. http://crab.rutgers.edu/~goertzel/genesis.html. 4) "Shinto." BBC News. BBC. Web. 21 Apr. 2012. . 5) Leeming, David Adams. 2010. Creation Myths of the World : An Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO, 2010. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost), EBSCOhost (accessed April 21, 2012).
There have been various theories of the creation of the universe and mankind, each drawing back to either religion or science, or a combination of both. Charles Darwin’s The Descent of Man and the Genesis accounts are often seen as personifications of two opposing views of our universe. Charles Darwin is a representation of evolution; the development of species through a lengthy process of natural selection. On the contrary, Genesis is a representation of creation by the Bible; God’s creation of both mankind and the Earth around them. Even though the accounts are inherently opposing and each claim to possess an indisputable explanation of the universe, they contain the following similarities; both portray the human image inappropriately and both indirectly rely on the opposing belief.
The creation myths that I have studied are similar in many ways. They also have differences that show an inherently different way of thinking about the world. All have creators-gods that make the world into what is now. There are conflicts within their world, and these conflicts change the face world. God to god or human to god maybe be involved in these conflicts. Their bloody struggles prove who is more powerful, causing change in the control of the world. Some gods are beneficial to man and others are self-serving, using man only as a tool.
Over the course of history, Japanese life and culture has been significantly influenced by the strong presence of Shinto, Japan’s native religion. From politics to social structures and beyond, Shinto can be found in every aspect of Japanese life. As of 2003, approximately 50% of Japan’s population adhere to Shintoism, which is roughly 106 million Japanese citizens (Hartz). Shinto is a polytheistic religion that has many deities known as Kami. Kami are everywhere in everything that occupies the Earth. Furthermore, Shinto does not have a known founder or central figure like many world religions, such as Christianity, Buddhism, or Islam. Shinto also differs from other world religions through which it does have a fixed scripture or holy book,
Every ancient society and civilization has creation myths that were passed down and keep alive throughout the passing of time by word of mouth. These myths are the world’s oldest stories and are vital to these cultures because they explain their beginnings and give purpose to their existence. By analyzing and interpreting different creation myths it becomes easier to understand different cultures and their connections and relationships with heir beliefs and god(s).
Japan has been a home for Shinto and Buddhist religions for centuries. The Christian missionaries during the 16th, 19th and 20th centuries worked hard to evangelize the Japanese nation but could not get desired success. There efforts in past failed partly due to sanctions imposed by the local rulers. The Jesuits missionaries traveled with Spanish and Portuguese traders to many areas of America and Asia-Pacific and established their churches and religious missions. They were funded, sponsored and trained by their respective governments in order to spread Christianity. At several places they preached the Christian faith by force but the aboriginal population did not accept it wholeheartedly. Initially the Jesuits targeted the elite class of the country and a large number was converted. The rulers also forced their subject to embrace the same faith. About 300,000 Japanese were converted in the first phase. Later on, Christianity was prohibited as the rulers started seeing them as a threat to their authority. Following a change of regime, the ban was lifted and missionaries were again allowed to enter Japan. Like many Native American tribes, the Japanese also resisted the new religion. As a result, presently Christians form only 1% of the total population in Japan. This paper is focused on how the Christian religion was introduced in Japan, the evolution of evangelism, establishment of churches, the restrictions and hurdles faced by the missionaries and priest of the new religion and the response of Japanese nation towards an alien faith. All these queries are answered in detail given as follows.
Fridell, Wilbur M. "A Fresh Look at State Shinto." Journal of the American Academy of Religion 44.3 (1976): 547-61. JSTOR. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.
The most apparent difference, is how the Earth was created. In How the World Was Made and The Sky Tree, the earth is created by animals. “The Sky Tree” describes how a group of animals, “Beaver, Mink, Muskrat, and Otter each brought up pawfuls of wet soil and placed the soil on Turtle’s back until they had made an island of great size.” Then it describes “the great tree” falling on the earth and taking root, creating the plants. And How the Earth Was Made tells how a water beetle dove to the bottom of the ocean and brought the mud up where it then “began to grow and to spread out on every side until it became the island we call earth.” That earth was then “fastened to the sky with four cords.” While these two stories are vaguely similar, the book of Genesis differs extremely. In Genesis an omnipotent being commands the earth to appear. It states that “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,” and that “On the seventh day, God finished his work which he had made.” Another example of the many differences of these stories, is why the earth was made. For example, in The Sky Tree, Turtle sees a woman falling from the sky and has his friends “bring soil up and place it on Turtle’s back,” so that the woman would have something to land on. They created the earth to save the woman’s life. In How the World Was Made, the story stated that the sky world that the
The only remote similarities are found in their creation stories, both of which contain common elements - the sky, stars, moon and sun. From there, the differences between Shintoism and Judaism are more evident. Shinto’s believe in many deities; Judaism is devoted to one, All-Powerful God. While both religions do put emphasis on cleanliness, Shinto teaches that all areas of a person’s life should be clean. Judaism is more concerned about the cleanliness regarding food – that it is kosher, “ritually correct”. Shintoism is focused less on human suffering and more on living a harmonious life. Conversely, Judaism depicts a life of suffering in hopes of pleasing God. While I am more knowledgeable about Judaism, since Christianity originated from it; however, I have more of an affinity for Shintoism because of its basic philosophy living a life of
Both the Theogony and the Creation in Genesis show nature as a blessing for humans but with negative affects, However the myths differ in the ways that the Earth and humans were created and how humans interact with the deities of the creation stories. These differences include how Gods treat humans and why the Gods/God created Earth. These stories are still being passed on in today’s world and are two of the most influential creation stories to have ever been written. The similarities and differences in the creation stories show that different cultures and religions throughout the world really aren’t that far off from each other.
Yee, Gale A. “Book of Genesis.” Pages 20-80 Vol. 7 of New Interpreter’s Bible. Edited by Leander E. Keck. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1996.
Shinto is a native religion of Japan and the people of Japan. It is defined as an action centered religion, focused on ceremonial practices to be carried out thoroughly, to establish a assembly between present-day Japan and its ancient past. Shinto practices were first recorded and organized in the written historical records of the Jokiki and Nihon Shoki in the 8th century (Nelson 7-8). Still, these early Japanese writings do not refer to a joined “Shinto religion”, but rather to a gathering of native beliefs and mythology.
Both religions share the importance of nature and meditation, they both take the main idea and then change and add their own importance of what they believe in and make them their own. For example the main focus of Zen Buddhism is the practice of meditation, Zen Buddhism was then later created and added in the aspect and importance of zen gardens. Zen gardens are made up of rocks and sand with moss and groomed trees and bushes and always has some aspect of water, either flowing or still. The main purpose of the Zen gardens is the importance of peace and the quintessence of the raked rocks and sand gives a flowing, peaceful feel to someone who is gazing upon the garden. It is used to make the mind clear and help with focus and meditation. Buddhism and Shintoism also drift when it comes to who the people pray and worship to, Buddhism is more about the understanding and learning of and about the path or enlightenment and four noble truths. The four noble truths go into the four key parts of getting out of the suffering humans go through day to day. The first being that all life has suffering that everyone has it, then it follows by saying that the suffering is caused by the human cravings and not being thankful for what you have. After stating that the only way to end the suffering is to end the craving, being thankful for what you have and being content with that. And the last noble truth is that the releasement of the suffering comes from following the noble eightfold path. Which is also known as the Middle Way or Middle Path. It is about eight segments or stages in which someone would take to reach the stage of enlightenment. While Shintoism believes in Kami, which are divine beings or gods.The Japanese, like the Christians believed that a man and a woman started the creation of humans. The Japanese believe in Izanagi and Izanami which are like Adam and Eve from the
The book of Genesis tells us the story of God’s creation. The creation of the world, the creation and story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, which is one of the most significant and main theme of this magnificent book. The fall
The Shinto believe that the world was created by the Gods at the beginning of heaven and earth. They believe the world is full of sacred energies, Kami. Some Kami are creative beings, some are natural forces, while others are the souls of ancestors. They believe the Kami created their nation and shaped theirs culture; by honoring the Kami in rituals they may link them to their past. Shinto is a polytheistic religions, although they don’t have any specific deities. They call them all Kami, and all Kami are sacred. There is so set day to worship for this religion also, which is different from most other religions().Shinto believe people are inherently good and evil is due to evil spirits that push humans to do bad things( ).
One of the main reasons that the Shinto faith can be described as the goodness of human nature and very accepting of nature itself, is due to the religion’s belief in the kami. Since, kami are present in many different elements of our world, including nature, and the term kami encompasses the Shinto deities, it is fairly understandable that the Shinto would have a reverence towards nature and the well-being of nature. Therefore, the Shinto religion’s acceptance of all of nature is not that surprising due to the role of kami in their faith. Shinto being described as the goodness of human nature and of the world also has to do with the Shinto people’s belief in kami. The Shinto people have a very particular set of beliefs and values, all of which respect the kami. For this reason, the people who practice the Shinto religion are extremely aware of other people as well as their surroundings, making them very conscientious of others; thus, allowing the Shinto religion to be described as the goodness of human nature and of the world. Consequently, one of the Shinto religion’s main beliefs, a belief in kami, as well as some of the other aspects of the Shinto religion, has influenced the religion so much that the Shinto faith is both accepting of all of nature, while also being described as the goodness of human nature and of the