Just as most people have never seen one million dollars, we all are sure that it exists. Talk about the tooth fairy and it is a different story. The majority of society believes in a supreme being, leaving a minority of non-believers. Society as a whole gives a multitude of beliefs, each with a wide range of thoughts and ideas regarding them. In determining whether or not to believe in a supreme being yourself, you should acknowledge these differences and must also take into consideration what you believe in your heart.
There are many varieties of gods and the religions that follow. Generally, the god is considered to be supreme to all humans, and have great power and control over all of us. He is the form of all goodness. Gods give individuals purpose and morals to live by. Believing in a superior being gives individuals a reason for living, as most religions that have a God state that their purpose is to be more perfect or God-like so that they may be worthy to move to a heaven or be with their father after death. The morals believers have can be paralleled to the ten commandments or the lifestyle that their god wishes them to lead. Belief can also be a justification of sorts to all followers as it provides a safety net to fall upon. When under times of strife, they can be comforted by his presence. These beliefs are based solely upon faith, as in their lifetime, they will not have seen or heard him. They link good things that happen to them with their god, as a reward for being a just person and feel that good behavior will be rewarded either now or in the afterlife. Believers base their ideas about their idol on the words of others, in particular, the head of their religion, parents and their specific book,...
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...stakes, and they are all around us. Many think that believers are ignorant to reality and are living in an illusion. Yet others believe the Bible was brought into this world as a form of social control. If you are taught at a young age, and conditioned to believe something, a superstition of sorts, you will believe it. Society as a whole considering the majority of the ten commandments to be correct does prevent individuals from harming each other.
In conclusion, the world is diverse, each with many beliefs. The believing individuals each have their own version of religion, as do the non believers. Both the believer and non believer are similar in one important point, and that is living a moral life. It does not matter what we deem as true, as long as we are all respectful of each others' beliefs, are aware of our actions, and are not harming others.
Whether god exists or not has been in discussion for thousands of years, and an important discussion. Whether it is rational to believe in god or not is another story, like believing in god itself, this topic has brought many discussions. It is one thing to discuss whether god is real or not and it is a complete other to discuss whether it is rational to believe in god or not. I believe that while there may not be any convincing evidence or arguments that God does exist, I do still believe that it is still rational to believe that god does exist. I think this because, believing in God is not simply just believing that he exists, but believing that it can bring good to our lives, we otherwise would not have. It teaches us to have a moral responsibility not only to others, but ourselves. It is obvious that many people do believe in god, but many of us choose to do so for reasons other than just believing in God. I do believe that just because there is no evidence, that does not mean God doesn’t exist. Like I said, God brings more to our lives than just a belief, but an ability to achieve a better one. And even if God is just an imaginary figure, he is an imaginary figure that brings hope and goodness to our lives, which we can never discount.
What is religion? Each person’s definition of religion is different. Each person’s faith is different. This is a question that has been asked for centuries, and regardless of the answer given there is no right or wrong answer. Religion can be defined as a group of people who have shared beliefs who feel their life has purpose or meaning. This feeling or belief that their life has meaning can come from outside of themselves, as well as within. Taking this one step further, these shared beliefs put into action in the form of worship, can be easily identified because they happen regularly. It can be said the Primal religions were in fact not religions. Some may argue Confucianism is not a religion. Others may say Taoism is not a religion. However, one argument can be made. All three of these “religions” share “features.” Huston Smith, author of World’s Religions, says “six features of religion appear so regularly as to suggest that their seeds are in the human makeup.” These six features discussed in World’s Religions are as follows: authority, ritual, explanation, tradition, grace, and mystery (World’s, Page 67). First is authority, Smith argues religion is so complex that people will need assistance or guidance from those held in a higher light, or of a higher authority. Next is ritual, which can be happy (a wedding) or sad (a funeral), rituals are shared between people of the same religion in many forms as a sign of common beliefs. Following rituals, some explanation is required. Many of a religion’s followers ask for explanations, some ask, “What is my purpose in life?” Others may ask, “Who is God?” Depending on one’s religion, the questions or
How did people revere their gods differently among three civilizations? Did they worship with the same general intent? What were gods’ role(s) in people’s lives? A brief exploration into the religions of Egypt, Greece, and the Hebrew people may bring insight to these questions. Although the main idea of higher beings remains constant throughout societies’ religion, their form of presence in people’s lives varies. I will present the relationship between the leaders and the gods, as well as resemblance to monotheism and systems of government.
All over the world, there are many people who believe in something or someone of a higher power. There are about five billion people who believe in a higher power (Tiemann 526). There are six world religions that have followers all around the world. The six world religions are Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. Many of these religions are monotheistic, which is the belief of only one god or one higher power. There are also polytheistic believers, which is the belief in many or more than one god. These six world religions have a lot in common and they also have their differences that make their certain religion or belief special to them.
Religion, “part of the human experience that has to do with a god or gods, a higher power, or the ultimate values of life” (Cason & Tillman 6-7), is one of the most controversial and interesting subjects for humanity. It has been around for as long as anyone can recall and they have difference and similarities in their founders, beliefs, and history. Religion has served to give some sort of a meaning to life and everything around it. In modern society, some religions have grown and expanded significantly. These larger religions have been classified as world religions. In addition, these world religions have been split into two categories known as Eastern and Western religion.
The short narrative “Salvation” portrays the life of Langston Hughes at an early age confronted with the decision to “come forward” and be saved. His aunt’s church,“ held a special meeting for children, ‘to bring the young lambs to the fold’”(Hughes, 197). Throughout the story, he sits in his seat, his aunt Reed sobbing the whole time, congregation pressuring him to “come and be saved,” and waiting to see Jesus. Yet nothing ever happens-no “bright light,” no Jesus, nothing. The church is full of “a mighty wail of moans and voices”(198) waiting for Langston to get up and see Jesus. So he does. He cannot wait any longer and lies to the entire congregation, simply saying he was saved, but only to save from any further trouble. In the end, he never “sees” Jesus, keeps his lie a secret from his aunt, believes there isn’t even a Jesus, and is farther from the truth than ever.
There are religions everywhere regardless of where a person goes in this world. A person could experience many different religions if they were to travel the world; however, many religions can be practiced within one country, especially within the United States. The diversity of religion is very common in many countries and usually all religions are pretty accepting of others. Christianity is one of the most widespread religions that are practiced throughout the world, especially in the United States; although, Christianity was started in another country. This particular religion may be widely practiced but some may still not quite understand what Christianity actually is. By going through the central themes, this religion can be understood a little bit better by many.
Throughout time each civilization has spread its folklore about their gods. Mythology is the collection of a societys myths and during older times mythology was thought to be created by the people who did not see the world like everyone else. Those people saw the world full of beautiful, magical possiblities. Many of the stories still hold an impact on the world today. Maybe not in the sense of worship, but people are intrigued to figure out the state of mind of the ancient people that once worshipped these gods. Some civilzations worshipped these gods in hope that they would help them in their daily lives. Most civilizations had gods for everything taht imacted their lives. Civilizations had gods that controlled the weather, the harvest, or
In a sense, though, each one sees their god forgiving or vengeful and worships them in a different matter and in the end, we are all the same. Each person believes and follows what they to believe, which means, we are all not that different. Even Atheism is in some way as a religion. They are gathered together into a large group with fellow followers and despite not believing a god, they do technically believe in a god, which is considered as logic or nothing. It's the same difference between each other. We all worship and choose to believe in who or whatever the mysteries of the unknown in a way, we are all the variously organized on our beliefs.
In Alfred North Whitehead’s “Religion and Science”, he nullifies the argument between the religious factions and scientists of the world by eliminating all grounds for the argument. Although debated to the “ends of the Earth”, Whitehead points out that these two subjects are actually based upon events that are unrelated. He states “Science is concerned with the general conditions which are observed to regulate phenomenon; whereas religion is wholly wrapped up in the contemplation of moral and aesthetic values”(Whitehead, Religion and Science). Through his definition of both viewpoints, he is able to explain one will never see the other, thus no argument exists.
Today’s society consists of many worldviews. Most people tend to pull beliefs from different religions, but often stick to one main worldview. A worldview to me is the gathering of beliefs that shape what we do on a daily basis and forms our overall view on life. When I look at my beliefs critically, I am able to see my worldview and see how it compares to different worldviews, but also how it compares mainly to the Christian Worldview.
life with the belief in either one god or many. Many religions reach their followers about
Human beings have always been curious about the meaning and purpose of life. Religions try to answer the curiosity people have about there being a higher source, typically identifying this greater domination as God. Some beliefs teach that there is only one G-d this is defined as a monotheistic religion. Some examples of monotheistic religions are Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Although each sect has a different perspective on teachings and beliefs they have one common thread; the belief in a singular deity.
The nature of God differs in every religion. Some religions have one, many, or even no God that they worship. However, no matter who or what they worship, there is always a spiritual aspect to their belief system. These spirits play a key role in influencing their actions in their everyday life.
We were born worshiping almighty power and living up to its approval. It is an unquestioned belief that society, family, and the world has instilled in our system. This means that the society that we live in instills in us the belief of the existence of a supreme being. For a long time, people have had no choice but to believe without raising any questions. It started with polytheism where people believed the presence of several powerful beings (Pasquini 88). Later on, someone came up with the idea of the existence of only one God and the rest were disregarded. That was the beginning of religion and the belief of existence of a superior being compared to others. People started to worship the almighty power and show absolute obedience to it. This means t...