The Religion of Catholicism - Term Paper Example

Religion Chosen: Catholicism. The religion that I have chosen for this paper is of “Catholicism” based on the fact that I have always found it intriguing and would like to avail this opportunity to get to know what it is all about. The first step that I have done is to collect a few basic facts concerning the basics of this religion from the Saint Thomas Aquinas forums along with a few other sources that has been mentioned throughout the study. A quick overview of which can be given as follows: Introduction of the religion: Catholicism is a religion that has its beliefs in the eternal god as being categorized into three forms: The Father, The Son (Jesus) and The Holy Spirit (Chavis, 2009). It believes in the spreading the message of Christ to the entire world and making all the people as the children of god on the basis of baptism. Jesus Christ is considered as the founder of it with the date of its origin being around first millennium AD (Chavis, 2009). In terms of creation of the man, this religion holds to its belief of man as being created by god with a soul and Adam as being the first man. Catholicism has a firm belief in only one supreme authority that is of god, that alone is the creator of heaven and earth. He is the infinite power that embodies all the traits of wisdom, goodness, justice and love; all of which are reflected in his creation of universe and human kind. The main source of the authority for the Catholics comes from the Bible, Tradition, the Creeds, the Bishops and the Pope among others but the ultimate authority is in the hands of the Christ (Bennett, 2010). The religion of Catholicism also comes with the belief that the human race was created in perfect innocence and justice but later it got tainted by the temptation of Satan the angel of evil. Adam and Eve, in the influence of Satan deferred to selfishness and lack of trust in their creator and hence this first sin of disobedience resulted in the death of the spiritual side of the human race. But god being all merciful and kind provided the human race an opportunity to be graced by the eternal life from god in return from his/her practice of baptism (Bennett, 2010). The religion also embodies the belief that Jesus is the true god and all the things were created through him. He was crucified by the human enemies in order to meet the divine justice for the disobedience and sins of man and he became a human (Bennet, 2010). The religion of Catholicism is also of the view that the act of sin corrupts a man and is an act of shunning god, which in turn robs the grace of man’s soul and deprives him of the divine life. Catholicism also advocates the inevitable coming of a judgement day when the Christ will gather the living and resurrect the dead and judge their souls. The righteous would be gifted with new life and their body and soul will be reunited while the unrighteous would be punished with an eternity in hell. The main foundation of Catholicism is itself formed based on the idea of saving one’s divine soul (Chavis, 2009). The religion of Catholicism shows that any act of evil is considered as disobedience against the god and a rejection of his infinite love. It was through Satan that the factor of evil got induced in the god’s creation. It is also their belief that even Satan was once a good angel created by god, but by the power given to him he refused to follow the will of god, in preference to his own personal beliefs and was expelled from heaven. Name and location of the review site: The location chosen by me for the review of the religion og Catholicism was Saint Ann Catholic Church that is located in Anson, Texas. The sun was gleaming high in the early October sun as I entered the church which was moderately filled with people for the prayers as it was Sunday. After the end of their ceremony I approached a middle aged man and requested for a brief interview to which he agreed to quite cheerfully. The summary of my interaction with him is given as follows: Interview Summary: What section from the Christian religion do you practice? To this question my interviewee said that all the Catholics who have even a tiny drop of faith would have inculcated the norms and beliefs of Catholicism in their lives in one way or other; be it consciously or subconsciously. As for his personal case he said that being a catholic, one of the most fundamental sections of Catholicism that he practices in his life would be the avoidance from the deadly sins and trying to inculcate all the good traits in his own being as much as possible. How often do you pray or go to the church? To this question he said that he did make a point of attending the Mass in the church that is held on Sundays. Other than that, he said that though according to his religion it has been asked to always keep the thought of god and his prayer in mind and practice, he finds it hard feel up to it and more often than not is so bombarded with work that he hardly finds anytime to reflect on his religious ambitions. But he does say a prayer whenever the thought and remembrance of it comes to his mind. In addition to that, to stay at peace with his mind as well as god, he does make a point of going to the church on every Sunday whenever possible. What would you say is the best lesson that your religion teaches? The best lesson taught by Catholicism according to him is of moral values. He also adds that inculcation of the acts of kindness and mercy in hand with the wisdom of justice, prudence, temperance and fortitude is a package that if rightfully adopted by any being will inevitably lead them to a path of success as well as peace of mind. What would you say you most disagree with about our religion? At this question the interviewee was a little apprehensive and said that the belief on one’s religion is not shaped by one’s own perceptions, but rather the perception of the person are shaped by the religion that he follows. Moreover, having adopted and having complete faith in his religion of Catholicism; he does not believe that any aspect of it, as is determined by the god and not been meddled with by man, is objectionable. What is the one thing in religion that affects you in daily life? To this he said that it was the feeling of mercy and kindness that he felt for others when he saw people that were not as fortunate as he was. It was the one thing that always brought to him the fact that god loves all and maybe he is the one destined to extend his hand towards the helpless and become their hope for happiness even for a short time; for as little contribution as it may be. What do you praise most from the Bible? According to the interviewee the one trait that he most praised about bible was its purpose of bringing peace, sanctuary and refinement of the divine soul to all the mankind. Its good will and the ambition for the development of a better man with high morals and ethics is a lesson that is the most worth of appraisal. How often do you feel you pay homage to your religion? The interviewee said that having a strong faith in the norms of his religion and following its unfaltering beliefs, he regularly observes all the religious tenets and follows the religious norms and teachings and tries to inculcate its virtues in his life as much as possible. Can you tell me one story from the bible having a strong impact on you? According to the interviewee the most influencing incident that made a strong impact on him is as follows: The Midianites had a strong rivalry with the people of Israel and they demolished everything that the Israelis cultivated, as they did not want them to settle down. The people suffering then appealed to god for help against the Midianites but god said to them that he had helped them time and again but they still dared to disobey his teachings. Then the god’s angel came to a tribe of Manasseh to a man named Gideon and told him to rescue the Israelis for which he would also be assisted by the god himself, despite of him being a very insignificant and unimportant person. He followed the commandment along with everything that he was told over a period of time. He was told beforehand that he would be given victory over the target enemy which in the end he did. This was the incident, the interviewee tells us, that had made him realize that god has a place and purpose for everyone of his creations and all one has to do to be in that right place and fulfil his purpose is to listen to the god’s spirit in his or her heart and look for salvation. Are there any people/stories in the bible you show seriously doubt in? If so, which story? To this the interviewee said that the answer to this question would be the same as the answer to another question asked previously in relation to any of his disagreements to the religion. He said that he has a strong faith in all that it says, teaches and narrates and there is no aspect of it, be it the people or the incidents that he doubts. Comparison with another religion: The religion that I have chosen to compare with the religion of Catholicism is Islam. Catholicism and Islam have quite some common basics, though with different perspectives. In terms of speaking about the fundamentals in Catholicism Jesus is the god while in Islam it is Allah but they are no way the same. Jesus in Islam is considered as a prophet of Allah while in Catholicism he is viewed as god himself being a member of the trinity. While the religion of Catholicism does believe in the trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) Islam has no such concepts and believes in only one supreme authority of Allah. Both the religions do place a firm belief in the judgement day and the afterlife and both lead to the gateways of heaven or hell. The difference in terms of the beliefs of the judgement day in both the religions come to the point that the Muslims believe that the judgement day would occur on the end of the world, while those following Catholicism believe that judgement occurs immediately after death. As for the Holy Scripture, Catholicism follows Bible while Islam is a follower of Quran. Another interesting fact in terms of the religion’s scripts is that Quran exists today in exactly the same condition as at the time of its advent while for Bible was codified into the present version by a council of church fathers and elders in the early days of Christianity (Gaudet, Mills & Ali). Islam is of the view that every being is responsible for his own sins and not someone else’s while Catholicism is of the view that all mankind is held accountable for the sins of Adam and Eve. Catholicism states that the Jesus was crucified on the cross while Islam is of the view that Jesus was neither killer nor crucified by the Jews but was in fact taken up to god. In terms of the conception of the prophets, Islam and Catholicism do not give them the same stature. Another difference that can be stated in terms of the moral code is that in Islam morality and law are not treated differently while in Catholicism these two factors are placed on different grounds. In terms of more common everyday differences, Islam does not allow the consumption of swine or alcohol and intoxication. While in Catholicism has no issues with the swine and alcohol consumption but intoxication is forbidden (Gaudet, Mills & Ali). While considering the prayer practices, in Islam prayer patterns are very specific and almost the same for all the Muslims around the world while Catholicism with a few exceptions has no specific set of pattern for prayers. Also, unlike Catholicism, there is no structured hierarchy of the religious leaders in Islam. In addition to that polygamy is allowed in Islam but not as a method of domination while it is forbidden in Catholicism (Gaudet, Mills & Ali). We do also see many similarities in the two religions in terms of the basic concepts such as the God is the creator of the universe and that he has a unique relationship with the humans, having also made agreements with them. Both the religions do also place a firm belief in the concept that the world will one day come to an end and no one knows when. Satan as well as the other evil spirits is the enemies of humanity and they will be defeated at the end of the world. Both Islam and Catholicism also believe in the embodiment of the spirits/soul in the physical being of the humans which is eternal and would continue to exist even after the death of the physical being (Gaudet, Mills & Ali). We do also see similarities in the Quranic and Biblical versions of many stories. All the ethical and moral lessons are also more or less the same as is the case with almost all the religions of the world. Also in terms of the similarities between the two religions, there can also be seen an affinity in their practices such as the prayer as being a means of communicating with god. In addition to that the acts of charity or self sacrificing activities such as fasting leads to spiritual rewards as reiterated by both religions (Gaudet, Mills & Ali). Conclusion: Catholicism is a religion that is one of the oldest religions of the world with quite a number of following. It is a religion that has its own history and beliefs and its own various incidents and events some of which also overlap with other religions such as Islam. The basics of this religion, just as all the religions of the world, is in the goodness and betterment of human kind based on the teachings of the supreme authority that they consider, which in this case is Jesus, following the principles and guidelines of the holy scripture, that for Catholicism is Bible. References Brennet. D. (2010). Basic Catholic beliefs and practices. Ancient and Future Catholics. Retrieved October 5, 2010 from http://www.ancient-future.net/basics.html Chavis. J. (2009). Catholic religion basics. eHow. Retrieved October 5, 2010 from http://www.ehow.com/about_5384687_catholic-religion-basics.html Gaudet. J. A. R., Mills. R., Ali. S. M. Islam and Christianity. Retrieved October 5, 2010 from http://muslim-canada.org/islam_christianity.html Read More