History, Theology, and Traditions That Make Up World Religions - Essay Example

World Religion Many religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianity differ from each other in beliefs and traditions. However, some may have similar traditions but different ways of implementing and practicing their norms and ethics. The thesis of this paper is to find the history, theology and traditions that make up these religions including; Christianity (difference in Catholics and protestants), Buddhism and Hinduism and how they relate to humankind and the reality. In the famous section of katha Upanishads, “the simile of the chariot,” an analogy of the chariot is used to reveal the nature of atman as I (self). This has been made possible through equation of the chariot to the body; here the body has been depicted as only as a carrier that will need so many other aspect to function well. The body is equated as independent, however, dependent to function, minds have been equated to the reins; in this passage, they depict the minds as the aspects that are on the control. Intellect has been equated to the captain or director of the chariot and the owner of the chariot have been equated to atman (self). The idea behind the passage is to bring into the fore that atman is very independent of body, mind and intellect. That atman as the controller of the chariot, which is equated to the body though independent, is the owner of the body. The intuition is the mind the reins, the chariot-driver, the senses the horses, and the objects of the senses the paths. It goes ahead and explains that those with undisciplined minds would never reach their goal and end up being reincarnated. Those of disciplined mind will always reach their goals, and will not have to go through the rebirth cycle. In my opinion, this is not a realistic approach to reality, since there is nothing that can be compared to the final reality. There is no analogy in all the ideas that is comparable to what it is understood to be. The scope of these analogies is limited to point it out (Smith p50). Buddhism arose in the 500 B.C in rebellion against Vedantic Hinduism of that time. It advocated for individual effort, explicit language and uncomplicated means. The question of Buddhism is about removing the arrow of suffering came in to context because of the message of the Buddha, which described his message as the Four Noble Truths making up the basic means Buddhism advocated (Smith p117). Life as suffering is one of the four means making up the four noble truths. It starts by explaining life as accompanied by inevitable pain (pain that we must endure as long as we are alive), sickness, decay and death, and when one chooses to live, one has to suffer. Suffering in Buddhism refers not only to physical pain, emotional pain, and unrequited love, but also to the existential sense that life is disjointed permanently. That suffering is a pervasive condition where no one is spared (Smith p120). It also substantiates that suffering is caused by attachment and that nothing is permanent, since everything changes. It also states that everything changes and suffering arises. This means that nothing in the grasp of ordinary human can provide everlasting happiness. In Buddhism, attachment extends beyond the sense of clinging to pride as in Christian tradition. Buddhism perceives freedom from attachment as the cure for suffering as it tries to argue that if we can be freed from attachment, then we can also be freed from suffering. The concept behind attachment is separation, or the isolation from self, which all other attachments are derived fro, and experience other sufferings. Buddhism further teaches a path known as the Eightfold path, which it states as a way through which suffering can be found. The path guides believers away from self-sustained suffering towards a more enlightened and compassionate life. This is attained through the pursuit of wisdom, meditation and morality (Smith p89). History changed when Protestantism arose in the 1500s. This was in rebellion against Catholicism on what it believed some of the things, which were being taught and done in Catholic Church were wrong and the protestants insisted on strict adherence to the writings in the bible. Although Catholics and Protestants do and believe on many common things, they also have other different beliefs and way of doing things. Some of the differences entail the fundamentals that make the so core values. The key issue is that Catholics believe in other different norms and practices from protestant who are strictly instructed by the bible. Protestants believe this issue is critical since Catholics chose to be guided by what other individuals and traditions say, and not what God teaches in the bible. The issue of tradition being seen as more significant than God’s words is something most religions grapples with, since they are both guilty of committing them. Although this has changed, the tradition of bible study is one of those issues that led to the split of Protestants from Catholics. The Roman Catholic discouraged personal bible reading and only certain people were allowed to read or spread the gospel; a tradition Protestants did not agree with. The catholic bible also included books known as the apocryphal books. These additional books have teachings that Protestants believe were not inspired by God. This is because they believe the writings were referred to as Scripture neither by Jesus Christ nor by his disciples (Smith p30). The issue of Virgin Mary having great importance to Catholics has also draw critique from the Protestants, who argue that Mary is only described as the earthly mother of Jesus, and is mentioned a few times in the bible. Therefore, almost everything the Catholics say about Mary is more of a tradition than what is in the bible. Catholics describe Pope as the mediator between God and Mankind and the leader of the earthly church; something protestants sees as going against the bible, which describe Jesus as the mediator and the leader of the earthly Church. Catholics believes people as priests have the power and authority to forgive other people’s sins, meaning they act like mediators between God and humankind. Therefore, sins must be confessed to the priest and one will be forgiven. However, the bible teaches that through Jesus Christ, an individual’s sin shall be forgiven (Smith p100). Penance is the act of doing good work. Catholics believe that not all sins are forgivable. In addition, they amount to spiritual penalties, which can only be reduced by penance. However, according to the bible, good work does not make a Christian, and God’s forgiveness is free for all. Catholics believe they will go to purgatory if they die with unpaid penalties, and that they will pay for there penalties there by suffering. This has caused many Catholics to live with fear for the rest of their lives, and they have never known the peace and joy that comes with knowing that Jesus died for their sins. The belief in purgatory has made many Catholics to lack confidence in the power of being saved, or not leading to the suspense of whether they will go to heaven when they die or not. However, the bible that many protestant cite says that Jesus is the light and if we walk in it, we shall surely see the Lord (Smith p109). Prayer is one of the most powerful deeds that all Christians believe in, however, Catholics often repeatedly say the same prayer. This is something Jesus Christ discouraged as he ordered his disciples not to repeat themselves when praying. Rituals is a common tradition in the Catholic Church; the rituals involve kissing and bowing down to images and statues of Virgin Mary, Jesus and angels; something, which is discourage in the bible as Jesus said people should worship God in spirit (Smith p89). The religious tradition I follow is that of Christianity. This is because it is believed and written in the bible that Christians are people who love the truth. In that case, people who love the truth do not entertain lies or distortion of the truth. Just as the way God loves all sinners, but hates sin, he gave us his only son, Jesus Christ, so that who ever believes in him shall see the light of heaven. These words are what make me so proud to be Christian. Some of the traditions and ways of Christianity that I like is knowledge of what Jesus Christ did for our sins, and that he went to heaven to prepare a place for all of us who believe in him. It further states that he will come back for us, and alleviate all our sufferings (Smith p62). These believe help in giving hope to the poor and hopeless back on earth. It gives assurance that when people are saved, they will get to enjoy the peace and joy that accompanies it. Christianity is entirely based on the belief that there is only one God, an idea that is not common in other religions like Hinduism where they have many lords, for example, the lord of fertility, rain and drought. The bible says we should only bow to him and not any other gods. In the religion of Hinduism, there are so many idols being bowed to, worshiped, and even sacrifices are made to apices them. This idea of following the scripture and not traditions is what make Christianity the best interpretation to what the lord would love to see in His followers. My love for Christianity is also because the “bible” acts as a guide to Christians. It explains what God considers as a Christian way of life, and whoever believes and lives by his saying is considered a true Christian. The issue of faith also comes to bore when you speak of Christian tradition that is; if you have faith and believe in God, then there is no temptation that will come on your way. This faith is attained through prayer. As a Christian tradition, prayer is what is believed as the only way to meditate with the lord. The tradition of equality is also one of the traditions that profess me as a Christian. This is because most other religions as Hinduism are a tradition of rituals and over rely on elite priesthood to administer complex theology. It advocated for a society in, which people were rigidly divided into a system of caste, role and power. This system ensured that there is no equality for people who want to serve or seek favor from the lord. The tradition of being born again as a rite of passage in the Christian tradition also moves me more towards Christianity. This is because with it bore the symbol of one sin being washed away with water, since water is what is used for cleaning dirty linens. Now what does this symbolizes? It symbolizes that no matter the degree of sins, an individual has committed, but he or she believes in Jesus Christ and agrees to be born again, he will wash away your sins just like how water does. In conclusion, this paper discusses religious traditions and how they have threatened to deviate believers from what God teaches in the religious scriptures such as the Bible, and how many religions are guilty. Works Cited Smith H. The Worlds Religions. San francisco: harper collin, 2001. Read More