Today is the final instalment of my series on the Religions of the World and although according to blog stats not many people read it LOL 🙂 I will never regret writing it because if I’ve managed to educate and enlighten just one person – other than myself, of course 🙂 – about the different religions of the world then all the effort and energy I spent in writing this series will have been worth it and on that note on today’s edition of my series Religions of the World we will focusing on the religion that I adhere to – Christianity.

Christianity (from the Greek word Xριστός, Khristos, “Christ“, literally “anointed one”) is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament. Christianity comprises three major branches: Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy (the two split from one another in 1054 A.D.), and Protestantism (which came into existence during the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century). Protestantism is further divided into smaller groups called denominations.

Christians believe Jesus is the Son of God, God having become human and the savior of humanity. Christians, therefore, commonly refer to Jesus as Christ or Messiah.

Adherents of the Christian faith, known as Christians, believe that Jesus is the Messiah prophesied in the Hebrew Bible (the part of scripture common to Christianity and Judaism, and referred to as the “Old Testament” in Christianity). The foundation of Christian theology is expressed in the early Christian ecumenical creeds, which contain claims predominantly accepted by followers of the Christian faith. These professions state that Jesus suffered, died, was buried, and was resurrected from the dead to open heaven to those who believe in him and trust him for the remission of their sins (salvation). They further maintain that Jesus bodily ascended into heaven where he rules and reigns with God the Father. Most denominations teach that Jesus will return to judge all humans, living and dead, and grant eternal life to his followers. He is considered the model of a virtuous life, and both the revealer and physical incarnation of God. Christians call the message of Jesus Christ the Gospel (“good news”) and hence refer to the earliest written accounts of his ministry as gospels.

Christianity began as a Jewish sect and is classified as an Abrahamic religion. Originating in the eastern Mediterranean, it quickly grew in size and influence over a few decades, and by the 4th century had become the dominant religion within the Roman Empire.

During the Middle Ages, most of the remainder of Europe was Christianized, with Christians also being a (sometimes large) religious minority in the Middle East, North Africa, and parts of India. Following the Age of Discovery, through missionary work and colonization, Christianity spread to the Americas, Australasia, and the rest of the world. Christianity, therefore, is a major influence in the shaping of Western civilization.

As of the early 21st century, Christianity has around 2.2 billion adherents. Christianity represents about a quarter to a third of the world’s population and is the world’s largest religion. In addition, Christianity is the state religion of several countries.

                                                                                                 (Excerpt from Wikipedia)

Although I am steadfast in my Christian faith after much reading and prayer I have come to the conclusion that all religions want us to love and respect  one another regardless of our differing beliefs which is why I find it so despicable that a pastor – someone who is supposed to lead his congregation by example – would even consider burning the Qur’an – something that is such an integral part of the Muslim faith  – and with that said  it is my humble opinion that pastor Jones should revisit Matthew 7: 12 in the Bible – “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you” – because I don’t think that he would like it very much if a group of people of another faith decided that they were going to burn the Bible just to get their own way.

In this the penultimate edition – I cannot believe it’s already been four days – of my series on Religions of the World we will be focusing on a religion with a painful past – Judaism. Judaism may not be the largest religion in the world but, the Jewish people had something that I think many people today – religious or otherwise – lack – the willingness to die for what they believed in – so in honour of that I am dedicating this post to the six million Jews who died in the Holocaust – I don’t know all your names, but I pray for just a third of your courage.

Judaism is the “religion, philosophy, and way of life” of the Jewish people. Judaism, originating in the Hebrew Bible (also known as the Tanakh) and explored in later texts such as the Talmud, is considered by Jews to be the expression of the covenantal relationship God developed with the Children of Israel. According to traditional Rabbinic Judaism, God revealed his laws and commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai in the form of both the Written and Oral Torah. This was historically challenged by the Karaites who maintain that only the Written Torah was revealed, and, in modern times, liberal movements such as Humanistic Judaism may be nontheistic. The Hebrews / Israelites were called (referred to) as Jews, already, as early as in the Book of Esther. The term Jews replaced the title “Children of Israel.”.

Judaism claims a historical continuity spanning more than 3000 years. It is one of the oldest monotheistic religions, and the oldest to survive into the present day. Its texts, traditions and values have inspired later Abrahamic religions, including Christianity, Islam and the Baha’i Faith. Many aspects of Judaism have also directly or indirectly influenced secular Western ethics and civil law.

Jews are an ethnoreligious group that includes those born Jewish and converts to Judaism. In 2007, the world Jewish population was estimated at 13 million, of whom about 40% reside in Israel and 40% in the United States. The largest Jewish religious movements are Orthodox Judaism, Conservative Judaism and Reform Judaism. A major source of difference between these groups is their approach to Jewish law. Orthodox Judaism maintains that the Torah and Jewish law are divine in origin, they are eternal and unalterable, and should be adhered to. Conservative and Reform Judaism are more liberal, with Conservative Judaism promoting a more “traditional” interpretation of its requirements than Reform Judaism. Their typical position is that Jewish law should be viewed as a set of general guidelines rather than a set of restrictions and obligations whose observance is required of all Jews. Historically, special courts enforced Jewish law; today, these courts still exist but the practice of Judaism is mostly voluntary. Authority on theological and legal matters is not vested in any one person or organization, but in the sacred texts and the many rabbis and scholars who interpret these texts.             

                                                                                                    (Excerpt from Wikipedia)

What does the word hate mean to you? In the quest for a better understanding of the different religions of the world I’ve realized that haltered is nothing more than the sum of ignorance and fear and so if ever I find that I’m fearful of someone or something I will make a concerted effort to educate myself by whatever means necessary because I believe that one step away from ignorance is a giant leap towards love.

Everybody says “I want world peace” but I believe that world peace can only be achieved through acknowledging and accepting the fact that not everybody will believe what you believe and with that in mind today’s edition of my Religions of the World series will focus on a religion that I knew very little about prior to doing research for this blog post – Buddhism.

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha (Pāli/Sanskrit “the awakened one”). The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE. He is recognized by adherents as an awakened teacher who shared his insights to help sentient beings end suffering (or dukkha), achieve nirvana, and escape what is seen as a cycle of suffering and rebirth.

Two major branches of Buddhism are recognized: Theravada (“The School of the Elders”) and Mahayana (“The Great Vehicle”). Theravada—the oldest surviving branch—has a widespread following in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, and Mahayana is found throughout East Asia and includes the traditions of Pure Land, Zen, Nichiren Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism, Shingon, Tendai and Shinnyo-en. In some classifications Vajrayana, a subcategory of Mahayana, is recognized as a third branch. While Buddhism remains most popular within Asia, both branches are now found throughout the world. Various sources put the number of Buddhists in the world at between 230 million and 500 million, making it the world’s fourth-largest religion.

Buddhist schools vary on the exact nature of the path to liberation, the importance and canonicity of various teachings and scriptures, and especially their respective practices. The foundations of Buddhist tradition and practice are the Three Jewels: the Buddha, the Dharma (the teachings), and the Sangha (the community). Taking “refuge in the triple gem” has traditionally been a declaration and commitment to being on the Buddhist path and in general distinguishes a Buddhist from a non-Buddhist. Other practices may include following ethical precepts, support of the monastic community, renouncing conventional living and becoming a monastic, meditation (this category includes mindfulness), cultivation of higher wisdom and discernment, study of scriptures, devotional practices, ceremonies, and in the Mahayana tradition, invocation of buddhas and bodhisattvas.

                                                                                                                                                         (Excerpt from Wikipedia)

What I have discovered in writing these posts on the different religions of the world is that no matter what religion you subscribe to the key ingredient is belief and as long as no one tries to prove the existence of one religion over all the others I believe that we can live life to together in peace and harmony so in that spirit I would like to ask all the scientists in the world who are trying to prove or disprove the existence of a higher power to please stop – you’re wasting your time –  because those of us who truly believe in the existence of  a higher power don’t really need proof.

As promised today we continue on our quest for a better understanding of the 5 different religions of the world and in this edition we will seek to understand more about the 3^rd largest religion in the world – Hinduism.

Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition  of the Indian subcontinent. Hinduism is often referred to as Sanātana Dharma (a Sanskrit phrase meaning “the eternal law“) by its adherents. Generic “types” of Hinduism that attempt to accommodate a variety of complex views span folk and Vedic Hinduism to bhakti tradition, as in Vaishnavism. Hinduism also includes yogic traditions and a wide spectrum of “daily morality” based on the notion of karma and societal norms such as Hindu marriage customs.

Hinduism is formed of diverse traditions and has no single founder. Among its roots is the historical Vedic religion of Iron Age India, and as such Hinduism is often called the “oldest living religion” or the “oldest living major tradition”.

Demographically, Hinduism is the world’s third largest religion, after Christianity and Islam, with more than a billion adherents, of whom approximately 1 billion, live in the Republic of India.^[10][11] Other significant populations are found in Nepal (23 million), Bangladesh (14 million) and the Indonesian island of Bali (3.3 million).

A large body of texts is classified as Hindu, divided into Śruti (“revealed”) and Smriti (“remembered”) texts. These texts discuss theology, philosophy and mythology, and provide information on the practice of dharma (religious living). Among these texts, the Vedas are the foremost in authority, importance and antiquity. Other major scriptures include the Upanishads, Purāṇas and the epics Mahābhārata and Rāmāyaṇa. The Bhagavad Gītā, a treatise from the Mahābhārata, spoken by Krishna, is of special importance.

                                                                                                     (Excerpt from Wikipedia)  

In doing research for this blog post I realized that even though I am Christian I can incorporate some of  the notions of Hinduism such as, Karma – which states that the quality of somebody’s current and future lives as determined by that person’s behaviour in this and in previous lives – into my daily life without feeling like I’m betraying my own faith and it is my greatest hope that reading this post has inspired you to do the same – not just with Hinduism, but with all religions.

Like many of you on January 1^st I made a New Year’s Resolution – to learn about the 4 religions of the world  so as to make me a more open-minded person – and like many of you I forgot all about it by January 2^nd but today as I was lying on my bed I realized that the year wasn’t over  yet and that there was still time for me to follow through with my New Year’s Resolution so over the next four days we will be learning about the 5 religions of the world starting with perhaps the most misunderstood religion of all – Islam.

Islam  is a strictly monotheistic religion articulated by the Qur’an, a text considered by its adherents to be the verbatim word of God (Allāh), and by the Prophet of Islam Muhammad‘s teachings and normative example (which is called the Sunnah in Arabic, and demonstrated in collections of Hadith). Islam literally means “submission (to God).” Muslim, the word for an adherent of Islam, is the active participle of the same verb of which Islām is the infinitive.

Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable and that the purpose of life is to worship God. They regard their religion as the completed and universal version of a primordial, monotheistic faith revealed at many times and places before, including, notably, to the prophets Abraham, Moses and Jesus. Islamic tradition holds that previous messages and revelations have been changed and distorted over time. Religious practices include the Five Pillars of Islam, which are five obligatory acts of worship Islamic law (Arabic: Šarīʿah) touches on virtually every aspect of life and society, encompassing everything from banking and warfare to welfare and the environment.

The majority of Muslims belong to one of two denominations, the Sunni and the Shi’a. About 13% of Muslims live in Indonesia, the largest Muslim country, 31% in the Indian Subcontinent, 20% in the Middle East and 15% in Sub-saharan Africa. Sizable communities are also found in China and Russia, and parts of the Caribbean. Converts and immigrant communities are found in almost every part of the world. With about 1.57 billion Muslims comprising about 23% of the world’s population, Islam is the second-largest religion in the world and arguably the fastest-growing religion in the world.

                                                                                                           (Excerpt from Wikipedia)

Although I am Christian and don’t subscribe to the Muslim way of life I can now safely say that I have a better understanding of it and it is my sincere hope that after reading this blog post that you do too because I believe that the eradication of intolerance can only be achieved through understanding.