Roman Catholic V.S. Buddhism
Roman Catholicism began after the “Great Schism” in 1054, led by the patriarch Constantinople; which resulted in two branches of Christianity (eastern and western). Western consists of both Latin and Catholic denominations. (Textbook) The hierarchy is worldwide starting from top to bottom: Pope, Cardinals, Archbishops, Bishops, Priests, Religious Orders, Deacons, Monks, and Nuns. The Pope being the most important because it is believed that he is the successor of Peter, the Apostle. (Ancient and Future Catholics) They list distinct practices such as; prayer to Mary and other saints. Mary is known as “The Virgin Mary” mother of god, out of Immaculate Conception gave birth to Jesus Christ; believed to have been a
…show more content…
“…while we may die with our mortal sins forgiven, there can still be many impurities in us, specifically venial sins and the temporal punishment due to sins already forgiven.” (Brom) What is said to be the most misunderstood teaching to those outside the church is papal infallibility. The Vatican’s explanation of infallibility is that although each bishop may not enjoy the privilege of solidity, they still declare Christ’s doctrine unfailingly. (Brom) For Roman Catholic’s their main source of authority is scripture and the Magisterium, used to teach the “truths” of religion. The Magisterium of the Catholic Church teaches the faithful in two different ways. Solemn Magisterium is the teaching that is used only rarely by formal and authentic definitions of councils or popes. Then there is Ordinary Magisterium, is the second form, continuously exercised by the church in universal practices connected with faith and morals; given the consent of the Fathers and Theologians. (Catholic Essentials) Central teaching includes synergism, an interaction of agents or conditions that its total effect is greater than that if it were separate; it comes straight from God, man’s soul is good …show more content…
Catholics believe that God uses creation for His purposes, and creation is good. But also that it has been tarnished by Original Sin, created by the first humans. It is also believed the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are all God, distinct in a way, but not divided. The Catholic Church bases its moral teachings on Jesus’s message “If we truly love God (who himself is love) and neighbor, then our behavior toward ourselves and others will reflect this commitment.” (Ancient and Future Catholics) To be considered Holy and perfect, you need the help of God’s grace. One way grace is achieved is by the 7 sacraments such as Baptism, Eucharist, Confirmation, Reconciliation, Matrimony, Ordination, and Extreme Unction or anointing of the sick. (Textbook) Another would be Sacramental Economy this is “the communication (or "dispensation") of the fruits of Christ's Paschal mystery in the celebration of the Church's "sacramental" liturgy.” (Catholic Culture) People worship their god’s in a variety of ways; the Roman Catholics have communal worship also known as the Liturgy of the Eucharist. As far back as Saint Paul’s epistles, the Christian community gathered to celebrate the Lord’s Supper, the Eucharist. These
When we think of religion, we picture distinct overview of beliefs, cultural systems, and world views that relate humanity to certain spiritual manifests. Various religions developed certain stories, symbols, and sacred backgrounds that explain everything from the meaning of life to the overall power of the Universe. Catholics are Christians who believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Catholicism shares few beliefs with other Christian practices but, essential Catholic beliefs are as followed: The Bible is the inspired word of God. Baptism, the rite of becoming a Christian, is necessary for salvation whether or not a baptism is done by water, blood, or choice. God’s Ten Commandments provides a certain direction — an ethical standard to
Hinduism and Buddhism have different similarities and are in some ways connected to each other. Some of the practices of the two religions are similar in various ways and there are several examples to show this.
St Paul of Tarsus is a model for all Christians as he made Christianity accessible to the whole world, and set it on its path to becoming a global religion by writing much of the Christian Theology that still forms the foundations of Christian beliefs, teachings and community that exists today. Paul established the Eucharist as the principle ritual for Christians, and discussed the appropriate manner by which this ritual is to be celebrated. “For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 11:26-27) The belief and teachings of the Eucharist allowed and continues to allow adherents to be brought closer to God by enabling them to give thanks, and be brought closer to ...
This paper is a comparison between two very different religions. Specifically Christianity and Buddhism. Coming from opposite sides of the globe these two religions could not be any farther apart in any aspect. I will discuss who Christ is for Christians and who Buddha is for Buddhists. I will also get into the aspects of charity, love, and compassion in both religions and I will be looking at the individual self and how christians see resurrection where the buddhists feel about the afterlife. One thing to keep in mind is that the two religions are very different but they seem to have a very similar underlying pattern. Both believe that there was a savior of their people, Buddha and Christ, and both believe that there is something good that happens to us when our time is done here on earth. This is a very generalized summarization but in order to go in to depth I need to explain the two religions more to fully convey this theory.
During the Great Jubilee year, John Paul II gave a relevant speech of apology on behalf of the entire Catholic Church for the serious sins committed by its members for over 2,000 years. Since John Paul II did that, he wished the Church to enter the new millennium with a clean slate, allowing it to speak to and discuss freely with the other religions of the world, including the cultures and nations from a place not only of permanency but also of moral and religious power, having acknowledged in specific ways the crimes, from time to time unbearable, committed by its human origins throughout history. These apologies were hardly accepted, and common apologies for sins committed against the Church and its members have not been imminent. “Catholics distinguish between the holiness of the inevitable sinful nature of men, including the men who serve the Church stated by Thomas E. Woods Jr.” From the Catholic observation point, the Church presents two parts: One representing its divine nature as the untarnished body of Christ, and one directing on the weaknesses of the Church's human members suffering from sin, which does not prevent it from receiving God's forgiveness through the sacraments, however troubled it may be by the sins of its members.... ...
Throughout the history of humankind, man has always searched to find answers to the many existential questions. Numerous different religions and denominations have developed around the world over time. Though, most wonder about the origin and purpose of our existence. Buddhism was founded on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama about 2,600 years ago in India. After he had experienced that everyone was subject to “birth, sickness, death, and old age”, he tried to find a way to break from the cycle of rebirth (Bloom). Siddhartha Gautama experimented with a number of methods to find the cause of suffering which led him to what he called the Middle Way – a path between “licentiousness and extreme mortification” (Bloom). Once he achieved enlightenment, he turned into ‘the Buddha – the enlightened or awakened one’. Christianity is one of the largest and most prevailing religions of the world and largely based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians trust that Jesus was sent by God to save humanity. Therefore, the faith of the followers of the Christian belief is primarily based on the preaching of Jesus and later the spreading of those by his disciples. Although Buddhism and Christianity show several parallels, their three key differences are that Buddhists do not believe in one divine being, and have different views about both the purpose of life and the concept of afterlife.
There are many religions that are practiced around the world, especially in Asia where there are eight different religions being practiced. In the country of India, Buddhism and Hinduism are the main religions that are practiced today. Buddhism and Hinduism were both founded in Asia, but they were founded by two different people and practiced in two different ways and languages. Buddhism is a living tradition that is passed down from teacher to student as a set of instruction and techniques for sanity and brilliance in the inner self and the world. Hinduism is more based on the thoughts and attitude about one’s everyday life, and reflects in his actions.
Catholics and Protestants share a fair amount of fundamental ideas and concepts from the Christian faith, but there are critical differences which continue to make prominent and contrasting differences between their beliefs and practices. Those differences are just as important in defining the religions today as they were during the Protestant Reformation. In the sixteenth century, the Protestant Reformation began and religious leaders such Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, and others that protested against some of the practices and abuses of the Catholic Church. The protest is actually what spawned the name of Protestantism; the root of the word is Protestantism is “protest.” The main purpose for the protests was to reform the church from within; they saw a need for reformation to eliminate the blatant corruption and the abusive practices, such as “indulgences.” But as the years passed by, it became abundantly clear that their movement was unable to coexist with the Rome Catholic ideology, so those with Protestant beliefs/views broke away and organized their own church hierarchy and structures, this purge from Catholicism and new
Hinduism is the 3rd most popular religion in the world followed by Buddhism, together they are followed by 22 percent of the world’s population. These two religions are alike in many ways, and are tied together by Asia, where they have deep roots in its culture and history. Although Hinduism and Buddhism are similar in many ways, very important and large differences separate the two. No one and nothing can ever truly prove either religion is better than the other because that is up to personal beliefs and opinions, but many more people around the world prefer Buddhism over Hinduism because of its beliefs and practices.
Peter Kreeft, a professor, and some say the best Catholic philosopher in the present day once said “We are all insane. That is what original sin means. Sin is insanity. It prefers finite joy to infinite joy, creatures to the Creator, an unhappy, Godless self to a happy, God-filled self Only God can save us from this disease. That is what the name "Jesus" means: 'God saves.'”
Buddhism and Christianity are different religions. Both have numerous similarities as well as differences that one might find really interesting to look at in details. These two religions have certain beliefs, values and traditions which are really compatible. On the other hand, some of these values, beliefs and traditional practices are quite contradicting and conflicting. This makes the study of these two religions an inevitable and pleasurable task. Theology historians have raised adequate concerns and issues relating to connections between Buddhism and Christianity. They claim that there is strong comparability between the characters of Jesus and Buddha, especially their lives and teachings.
First, I am going to describe the formation of the concept of Original sin under Sts. Irenaeus and Augustine of Hippo. After a long period of peace over the doctrine, the Protestant opposition on the Catholic doctrine on the Original sin and the Catholic Church’s reaction in the council of Trent, which mainly defines the basic structure of the understanding of original sin, along with a few later minor alteration of the doctrine. The special position of St. Irenaeus as one of the earliest church apologist and one who learned from St. Polycarp, the direct student of St. John, is priceless.
Buddhism is centered upon the life and teachings of Gautama Buddha, whereas Christianity is centered on the Life and Teachings of Jesus Christ. Buddhism is a nontheistic religion, i.e., it does not believe in a supreme creator being God. Christianity is a monotheistic religion and believes that Christ Is the Son Of God. In Christianity, they believe in Jesus. Christianity is monotheistic because they only believe in one God, unlike Buddhism whom believes in several Gods. First and foremost, I will start by looking at the various similarities between Buddhism and Christianity. Both religions are based on the golden rule which concerns individual wellbeing as well as the interests of other people. Both Lord Buddha and Jesus Christ taught their disciples about the welfare of all human beings. They encouraged their followers to do good to others the same way they would like others do unto them. Jesus and Buddha preached the importance of social values and ethics. Both Buddha and Jesus rejected and highly condemned excessive asceticism and emphasized on self-liberation. Both Buddhism and Christianity doctrines lay emphasis on equal love for all human beings. According to Buddhism, this love should be extended to human beings as well as other living things. Similarly, Christian doctrines are based on the principle of loving a neighbor as much as one loves him/herself. This special kind of love, usually referred to as Agape by Christians, begins at individual levels and should be extended to all people, including friends and enemies. Both Buddhism and Christianity entail worships that involve use of rosaries, incense and performance of rituals among other spiritual practices. Buddhists and Christians worship through personal confessions, monasticism, bowing before holy images and mediations. Often, bells are rung to indicate transitions within prayer
They hold that the Roman interpretation is unjustified and the papal claim is unfounded. They also point out that the papal claim to primacy is the major reason that the Church of Jesus Christ remains divided despite the earnest plea of the Lord Jesus for unity (John 17:11, 21-22; 10:16). To this, Catholic theologians loyal to the pope invoke another dogma of the Roman Church, namely, the dogma of the Church’s teaching authority (the so-called magisterium), and argue roughly as follows: The Catholic Church is the depository of the supernatural salvific truth of God. The Catholic Church alone, specifically the pope alone, has received the authority of infallibly interpreting and teaching the Bible.
The Magisterium. The Catholic faith tells one that if one follows the Church’s teachings on moral issues, one will become a more loving and Christ- like person. A Catholic has a responsibility to pay attention to what the church teaches and take into consideration how this will affect our relationships with God. When one solves a problem through magisterium, one must solve this problem with humility. This means that one can admit that they need help, and turn to the Catechism of the Catholic Church to help solve the problem. When one does this, it is difficult to admit to God and the Church that one needs help.