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Inspired Individuals
There are many different characteristics that bring territories together and make them stronger. One of these is religion. Religion is the organized system of beliefs, ceremonies, and rules used to worship a god or a group of gods. In these religions, there is usually a leader to guide the people in their belief and show them the right path to take to serve their god. Throughout history there have been many different types of religion. The three main ones that are still recognized today are Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam. Each had different people that were seen as a leader. In order for others to know about these leaders and the works they did, there were many stories that were written about them. These stories were created to spread knowledge of their religion and how one was to act when following it. Three documents of the 300 B.C.E-800 B.C.E time period that were about religious leaders are Asokavadana, Life of Constantine, and The Life of Muhammad, Apostle of Allah and were written with persuasive purposes to show which behaviors were approved and disapproved of by looking into inspired men’s lives.
The Asokavadana is a story of one of the religious leaders of the Buddhist religion, King Aśoka. King Aśoka was a very respectful man who would bow to the Buddhist monks when he saw them. One of his ministers, Yaśas, did not think that this was acceptable since the monks were lower in the caste system than the king. The king saw this as an opportunity to teach his followers, so he demanded all of his ministers to bring him the heads of various types of animals and then sell them in the market place. Yaśas was commanded to bring and sell the head of a human, but no one wanted it because it was found disgus...
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...mmad, Apostle of Allah wrote with the purpose of leading others to the Islamic religion. This is shown in the positive manner that Muhammad is spoken of. The story of Allah sending an angel to speak to Muhammad puts this great man on a very high pedestal, which encourages others to follow him. The prophet Muhammad was a very influential leader of the Islamic religion.
In conclusion, the documents Asokavadana, Life of Constantine, and The Life of Muhammad, Apostle of Allah give portraits of inspired me that helped pioneer the religions of Buddhism, Chrisitanity, and Islam. Religious documents are very important in understanding what that religion approves and disapproves of. The documents also provide historical facts about how the religions began and the important people that helped spread it. Without them, these religions would not be as strong as they are today.
Nirvana for Sale by Rachelle M. Scott is an anthropological investigation into the intersection of wealth and piety in Thailand Theravada Buddhism. Through ethnographic methods, the book seeks to describe this relationship in a historically situated context. Thus, the book is concerned with cultural praxis within the context of religious discourses about wealth and piety.
Yu, Han. “Memorial on Buddhism”. Making of the Modern World 12: Classical & Medieval Tradition. Trans. Richard F. Burton. Ed. Janet Smarr. La Jolla: University Readers, 2012. 111-112. Print.
24 Amore, Roy C. and Julia Ching. The Buddhist Tradition. In Willard G. Oxtoby, Ed. World Religions: Eastern Traditions. P. 221
Religion has throughout history has always been an important part of countries across the world. The world’s first religions were founded hundreds of years ago, yet they still hold an important role in today’s society. It is important to look at how religions were like in the past, especially in the Middle Ages several centuries after the major religions first formed in order to find out why religions are still relevant in the present. Without finding out the history behind religion in the past, we would never know how and why the practice of religion is still going on. Both the Byzantine Empire and the Islamic Caliphates were two of the most powerful states at the time before the 1450’s. In the Byzantium Empire most people followed a form of Christianity similar to today’s Eastern Orthodox while in the Islamic Caliphates the dominant religion was Islam.
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.
Religion is defined as "the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God" . There are many recognised religions of the world, which all teach its followers to live life "the right way", whose definition varies according to the religion itself. They have some beliefs and practices that distinguish themselves from each other. Some examples are differences and similarities of Buddhism and Islam.
Elijah Muhammad, son of a sharecropper, was born into poverty in Sandersville, Georgia, on October 7, 1897 (biography.com). After moving to Detroit in 1923, he met W. D. Fard, founder of the black separatist movement Nation of Islam (biography.com). Muhammad became Fard’s successor from 1934-75 and was known for his controversial preaching (biography.com). Muhammad faced many challenges during his life span. He declared that Fard had been an incarnation of Allah and that he himself was now Allah’s messenger (biography.com). For forty-one year’s Muhammad spread the word of the Nation of Islam, slowly but steadily attracting new members (biography.com). Muhammad built the religion from a small fringe group into a large and complex organization that attracted controversy along with its new prominence (biography.com).
Every religion has its own goal, and their own path and believe to reach their goals, however there are also many similarities in believes. Although the followers of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam may see things differently, they all fundamentally hold the same values and codes. To Islam, the Prophet Mohammad’s teaching is a complete and final revelation. On the other hand, according to the bible, Christianity believes that Jesus Christ is the true lord and savior will grant you the access to heaven in the afterlife. Judaism is founded by Abraham, and it is the base from which both of the other two religions sprung. Even though the three religions differ in many areas and on many aspects, they also agree on the monotheistic, the belief in ‘One True God.’ Those religions have many similarities and a number of significant differences about God, role of women, prayer, and salvation.
The two largest religions in the world, Christianity and Islam, were implemented by two of religions most powerful leaders, Jesus and Muhammad. Without question, both Jesus and Muhammad have affected humanity powerfully. As religious leaders both men laid down the principles upon which Christianity and Islam are founded yet today. However, while Jesus performed miracles and arose from the dead, thus proving to his followers he was God, Muhammad performed no such feats, and made no such claims. In fact, Muhammad’s only claim was that he was the last prophet sent from God.
Islam and Christianity have a vast amount of similarities as well as differences. Islam searches for guidance from the Qur’an and Christianity depends on faith in Jesus. Islamic faith believes in the God, Allah. Above anything else, all religious Muslims obey Allah and his commandments to obtain peace. On other hand, Christianity puts faith in Jesus who is the son of God. A major concept that separates both of the religions is the fact that the God of each faith has different qualities. This means Islam and Christianity don’t worship the same God. Islam and Christianity are two separate belief systems in which two separate Gods exist.
Upon reading about the historical and religious background of Ancient India, one can clearly assume that the country was strongly influenced by three main religious teachings: Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. These three sects in religious thinking have many similarities as all recognize the life-cycle and the need of liberation, they worship one central deity that used to be a human who gained enlightenment and they all recognize the existence of the eternal soul and after-death re-incarnation. However, they also share a lot of differences that mark the underlying principles of practicing them. I will identify the scope of differences and similarities in these ancient religions in an attempt to understand why each attracted followers, why each was shaped a certain way and how they preserved the interest of followers on into the modern times as well.
Similarities and Differences between Christianity, Judaism and Islam. There are many similarities and differences between Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. There are also many differences that separate the three major religions of the world. This paper will delve into all three of these.
In placing all importance in religious symbols, Geertz does not account for any social, historical, political or economical factors which may influences one’s life, world-view and belief system. Geertz essentially argues that religious symbols create belief, but Asad denies this, arguing instead that religious symbols only serve as a catalyst for belief. Thus, because social conditions will differ from culture to culture, Asad believes it is pointless to try and find common ground between all religions. Instead he insists that looking at historical facts, which may gives us an insight into the kind of institutions and ideologies were present at the time to allow a certain way of belief to become prominent, is the preferable way of studying
Each religion has a different perspective but most important is where the religions generated from. Major religions started in various parts of the world.
There are many religions today that people worship and adapt into their daily lives are their creed. Some may have a lot of gods, while some only have one god. But three of these religions are considered as the major religion practiced by most people in the world today. Although different in some senses in terms of history and other teachings, they all have things in common that most of their followers do not seem to realize. The similarities are very important to understand each religion better and be able to determine which parts they vary. In this paper, I like to discuss the similarities found in the three major monotheistic religions of Judaism, Islam and Christianity.