Jews, Christians, and Muslims - Essay Example

?Jews, Christians, and Muslims I. Ideas About Justice & Charity 1 In Judaism The term Tzedakah, a Jewish word which means charity, considers givingas part of their way of life wherein traditional Jews give 10% of their income. Donations will be for the poor or those considered in need of help. Way back in the past, the sacrifice offered to show gratitude to God, ask something from God, or ask for pardon to be forgiven, was in the form of animal sacrifice. (Rich, T.R. 1995-2011). Justice, on the other hand, is characterized by impartiality and based on righteousness. Thus, wealth and/or influence may not be utilized under Jewish Law, to provide an advantage prior to judgements. Jews refer to Leviticus 19:15 for the right way to judge any case. (Spiro, K. 2012) Even the king is not above the law. A king should be a good example for the fulfilment of the law. 1.2 For Christians From the point of view of Catholics (Knight, Kevin 2009), charity is a supernatural virtue given by God for the soul seen whenever a person gives to the poor or needy believing in the Words of Jesus who said in Matthew 25:40 “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” For those who have never heard of these biblical words or who do not know Jesus and his teachings, the act is recognized as natural charity. For other Christians, charity can simply mean love or compassion for the poor, and the calling to show the way taught by Jesus Christ, through acts of kindness and generosity (All About God 2012) Justice, to many Christians, is the obligation of the church to inform the people about the proper criteria for judgements based on “the divine standards to which man and society must conform if civilization is to endure” (Mouw, R.J. 2010, p.3). For the individual, however, justice is taking the right stand based on the understanding about church teachings and the laws. There are times when man’s justice will not conform with God’s justice, in which case, divine retribution will follow at an unknown time. 1.3 Muslim Charity and Justice Benevolence of Muslims to others by feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and educating the ignorant constitutes charity of “zakat”. With reference to the Koran, giving a part of a person’s wealth to specific persons is a way to cleanse one’s self. Ibrahim, R. (2009) cites Koran 9:103 to defend this statement. However, the giving should be to fellow Muslims in order to be called “zakat”. There has been a question of funding to terrorists who were identified as jihadists. Will that constitute a qualified “zakat”? This is presently being clarified to the Muslim world as misguided charity, because the Koran does not promote terrorism. Baig, K.(2002) teaches that prophets were sent precisely to “establish justice” and to end injustice. He even states justice as “the sole purpose of sending the prophets…” For Muslims, justice is simply giving whatever is due each person or group of people based on what is right and wrong, fair and unfair, characterized by no hatred or favouritism for relatives, loved ones, or neighbours. Justice, in Islam, requires retribution calling for the eye of the evildoer for the eye of the victim. Judgements should be based on the truth even if the truth favors the enemy. 1.4 Differences Of Ideas In Each Tradition For the Muslims, charity involves giving to fellow Muslims, whereas for Jews and Christians, charity refers to any poor and needy regardless of religion or no religion. Justice is based on the truth for all three religious traditions. Impartiality is also a common factor for all three. The difference in defining justice is in a very narrow interpretation understood by Muslims by their belief that the only solution or right thing to do to establish justice is to practice the tradition of retribution—“an eye for an eye”. Christians believe in forgiving although the law should be enforced and the corresponding punishments should be imposed. Jews also believe in the rule of law, not for retribution but because the law was made to protect people. Perhaps all mean the same thing although each present justice in a different way. Christians want to emphasize love and forgiveness. Jews want to emphasize the importance of enforcing laws for the good of society. Muslims want to forewarn aggressors about the fear of Muslim laws. Since truth and justice are the foundation of their teachings, they are fundamentally the same except in the matter of emphasis of communicating. II. Ethics Map Relations Between A Person And God; A Person and Nature; A Person and Other Persons 2.1 In Judaism, the relationship between the individual and God is considered a very personal one and unique to each person. There are those who directly pray to God to communicate with Him. Others experience God in nature. Judaism refers to biblical passages like those of Psalms 96, wherein nature consisting of heavens, earth, and sea are described as capable of rejoicing in the presence of God (Lederman, A. 2010). Nature was created by God for man to utilize for survival, to do good deeds, to fulfil the Will of God. Jews believe in their community members’ interconnection to fellow Jews regardless of where they are. And they believe in doing good to others and not doing to others what a person believes is not good for himself. 2.2 In Christianity, Jesus is Son of God and one with God. Therefore the relationship of man with Jesus is emphasized, since man can be reconciled with God only through Jesus. Unlike the Jews who believe in the coming of the Messiah from the line of David, Christians believe Jesus is the Messiah. Christians are taught to see the Kingdom of God in nature, such as in the teachings of Jesus about the vine and the branches, about a tree that does not bear fruit, about a pearl under the sea, about seeds planted in different places, and many other parts of nature. The relationship between a person to other people is given 2nd greatest importance in the 2nd greatest command Jesus Himself gave – “You shall love your neighbours as yourself.” (Mark 12:31) 2.3 For Muslims, man’s relationship with God is through the Quran, a book of divine knowledge. Dr. Shafaat, A. (1984, par. 1) clarified how the Quran was made available by God to guide the individual in the matter of proper “interactions with others” for the good of humanity. The Quran teaches “not only the greatness of God” (par.4a) but also love (ramah, rafah), peace, patience, forgiveness, grace and many other Godly virtues. Thus, man should obey God because of his being the Almighty Creator, and practice teachings about love and the other virtues towards fellowmen. The Quran furthermore teaches how these virtues are seen in nature. This implies that man should learn from God’s presence also through nature. 2.4 The sources of teachings followed and emphasized by Jews, Christians, and Muslims may be different. But the essence appears the same. For Jews, the emphasis comes from the Old Testament or Scriptures wherein Moses is the greatest prophet who gave God’s Laws. For Christians, the New Testament has greatly modified the Old Testament because of Jesus. Muslims follow the Quran. All believe in good relationships with God, fellowmen, and nature. (Denny, F.M., et. al. 2012) III. Material Culture 3.1 Jews consider materials to be far less important than their culture. Unlike written works, oral traditions, proper practices, and spiritual substance, they believe materials are subordinate. Yet many people observe their abundance in aesthetics and wealth. They would like to portray simplicity and speak, write, and know more about laws and how they are to be practiced in actual living. However, due to the abundance of material wealth, a variety of things reveal the culture of Jews to be a mixture of intangible ideals and tangible wealth. (Shandler, J. 2000) 3.2 Among Christians, the culture is divided between those who consider religious images to be idols and those who consider the same religious images as symbols of the presence of divine characters like Saints, Angels, Jesus Christ, Mother Mary, the Cross. Wealth, for both groups, is just an instrument to glorify God, to do His Will to love. In keeping with the teaching of Jesus to seek the Kingdom of God (where God is Love according to 1 John 4:8), and His righteousness, so that all things can be given (Matthew 6:33), people are taught to think in terms of first doing what should be done because the reward of doing what is right are riches coming from God. 3.3 Muslims utilized all kinds of materials to remind the people about the importance of God in the lives of people, according to Flood, Finbar B..(2012). There were coins, architectural designs, carpets, clothes created to show the influence of religion. They believe that their art or aesthetic works are all grounded on Islamic teachings about “law, morality, theology, and mysticism” (IslamWeb.us 2011) 3.4 There is one thing in common with all these three religions. Each one wishes to communicate the subordinate nature of materials to the religious life. Things have value for the long term if the order of viewing life with respect to materials is made in such a way that God is recognized as the owner or giver of all things. (Denny, F.M., et. al. 2012) IV. Persecution of Religious Communities by Government 4.1 During World War II, the Jews were massacred by the German Nazis. Roughly 6 million Jews were tortured and killed. To this date, the reasons why such brutal killings took place vary. Some say it is because Hitler wanted the German race to dominate because of superiority to other races, while Jews were considered to be an inferior race. Others say it was because of the well-known belief that Jews were responsible for killing Jesus who was innocent. Another interpretation can be that Germans wanted to steal the vast wealth of the Jewish communities. At that time, Germany was experiencing a chaotic economic condition as a result of World War I. Germany was required to pay for war damages and their businesses were bankrupt. In contrast, the Jews were known to be prosperous before the wars. They were money lenders in fact. (The Kopelman Foundation 2011) 4.2 Christians, on the other hand, are also being persecuted even in the present time. In 16 nations as of 2012, “US Commission on International Religious Freedom” (Christian Freedom International 2012) released an annual report about North Korea, Iran, Pakistan, Egypt, China, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Eritrea, and 6 other countries where Christians are being persecuted. Forced labor, torture, imprisonment, and various inhuman treatment were reported in these mostly non-Christian countries, whether communistic-atheistic, Muslim, or Buddhist. In January 2012, CBN News (Barrow, T. 2012) reported a rise in the persecution of Christians in Egypt, Syria, and Saudi Arabia, saying further that “democracy and Shariah law won’t coexist”. 4.3 Muslims also reported persecutions in India, very recently this July 2012. Foreign missionaries from religious groups are prohibited from entering India without clearance from government. The Hindu people in power were reported to have passed laws restricting freedom to practice religion. (Braun, B. 2012) 4.4 However, the reasons for persecution may not be due to the harmless religious traditions, but due to disturbance of peace and order during rallies or riots, or simply due to suspicions by government about the people behind troubles. For example, in Syria where rebel forces are being killed, it would be natural for people on the side of the rebels to suspect government connections like the Christians under the current leadership of Syria, as part of the reason for their misfortune. Regardless of who might be the allies of the government, there would always be a high probability of people persecuting their enemies to exact retribution. In the USA, for example, as a result of bombings identified with radical Muslims in America, it appears like stricter rules are being imposed on Muslims. This would look like a form of persecution. In fact, the reason is because of past events identified with the Muslim religion. As of the more recent events, therefore, the persecution may not be due to religious beliefs, but due to political or other reasons. USA government may appear to be persecuting the Jews and Christians by regulating the practice of religion in schools, for example. But it is being done only because of the interest to eliminate discrimination of people with a different religion. Laws on abortion, birth control pills, same sex marriage, and homosexuality are examples of government contradictions to the teachings of religious beliefs. These are the effects of democracy wherein elected representatives to Congress made logical decisions to alleviate pressing issues like poverty and unemployment that were traced partly due to population growth. The situation can change when majority of lawmakers amend laws in the future if and when they realize the importance of religiosity in order to solve more problems. As it is, people do not see how religion can meet the needs of the hungry; how religion can increase employment; how religion can ensure peace and order. It is the government that solves these problems almost always. Works Cited All About God. Christian Charity – Showing Compassion. AllAboutGod.com, 2012. Viewed December 18, 2012 @ http://www.allaboutgod.com/christian-charity.htm Baig, Khalid. What Does Islam Teach About Justice? Neither Love Nor Hatred Can Be Allowed To Compromise Justice. Soundvision.com, 2002. Viewed December 18, 2012 @ http://www.soundvision.com/feedback/feedback.asp?action=readmore&URL=/info/peace/justice.asp&offset=10 Barrow, Tzippe. Persecution of Christians Rising in Islamic Countries. CBN News, January 24, 2012. Viewed December 19, 2012 @ http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/insideisrael/2012/january/persecution-of-christians-rising-in-islamic-countries/ Braun, B. Group. Muslims Stll Fear Persecution in Gujarat: US Report. The Indian Express, January30, 2012. Viewed December 19, 2012 @ http://www.indianexpress.com/news/muslims-still-fear-persecution-in-gujarat-us-report/981544/1 Christian Freedom International. Map of Persecuted Christians. ChristianFreedom.org 2012. Viewed December 19, 2012 @ http://www.christianfreedom.org/persecuted-christians-map/ Denny, Frederick M, Carlos M. N. Eire, Martin S. Jaffee, and John Corrigan. Jews, Christians, Muslims: A Comparative Introduction to Monotheistic Religions. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Prentice Hall, 2012. Print. Flood, Finbar B.. Faith, Religion, and the Material Culture of Early Islam. Byzantium and Islam: Age of Transition, 7th to 9th Century. 2012pp. 244-264. Yale University Press Viewed December 19, 2012 @ http://www.nyu.edu/gsas/dept/fineart/faculty/flood_PDFs/Faith%20religion%20and%20the%20material%20culture.pdf Ibrahim, Raymond. The Dark Side of Zakat: Muslim Charity in Context. Middle East Forum, Research and Writing, Pajamas Media, August 15, 2009. IslamWeb.us. 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