...Introduction The meaning of life is in the philosophical and religious conceptions of existence, social ties, consciousness, and happiness, and borders on many other issues, such as symbolic meaning, value, purpose, ethics, good and evil, existence of one or multiple Gods, conceptions of God, the soul, and the afterlife. Relating to religion, life means to know and understand the mystery of God; to love and glorify God by enjoying Him forever, be at the heart of the Divine; to have a pure soul and know oneself, others and the will of heaven. Hinduism In hinduism, life's meanings are defined four goals (aims) of human life which are called the four purusharthas. The four purusharthas are: Dharma, Artha, Kāma and Moksha. In Sanskrit, ‘Dharma’ means one's destiny or purpose. In general, it refers to one's vocation or career. Dharma also means righteousness, duty-conscious, being virtual, living morally and ethically at all times. Artha is prosperity, wealth, money or success in worldly pursuits. In addition to leading a virtuous life that meets specific social and personal obligations, a Hindu should strive for success, in any given activity through lawful means within the bounds of dharma. Kama means the physical, emotional, and intellectual desires of a person. As stated in bhagavad gita, “he who performs his prescribed duties out of desire in the right manner will obtain the fulfilment of all the desires and reach the deathless state”. Moksha, the ultimate...
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...Elements of Religious Traditions Your name REL/133 December 13, 2012 Marcial Lopez Elements of Religious Traditions Religion is a way of life founded upon the apprehension of sacredness in existence. Religious rituals are often symbolic reenactments of a religion’s key stories. In the following paragraphs, I will explain how religious traditions describe and encourage the relationships with the divine, sacred time, sacred space or natural world. I will then include examples of various religious traditions. Relationship with the divine Divinity is the power of having attributes and the quality of being divine. In earlier times, divinity was believed to give an explanation as to why natural disasters happened. The divine reasoning for things like hurricanes, eclipses, and even volcano’s erupting were explained. Over time, the same reasoning still is the basis to explain the ways that miracles happen. People believe that divine intervention takes place and reflects the truth of the person’s religion. Being divine is sacred. In my personal experience. Relationship with sacred time Life goes on as time goes on. When it comes to sacred time, the higher power and divinity comes through. Eternity is the sacred time that most religions live by. Time has no sacredness of its own, but rather, is a tool to be redeemed and employed by humans in order to participate and celebrate the eternal. Sacred time can connect members of the same religion together. It brings congregations...
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...What role do Eastern religious traditions play in modern medicine? Religious eastern traditions have influenced modern medicine in many ways and Eastern medicine has slowly started gaining more popularity in modern Western medicine. In fact, in some countries it is not uncommon to find doctors that include a degree of integration of Eastern and Western medicines into their practice. These doctors use western pharmaceuticals while still integrating Eastern techniques. There are many types of Eastern medicine techniques, also known as holistic medicine or alternative medicine in the United States. Some of these alternative medicines include, acupuncture, aromatherapy, meditation and reflexology. Acupuncture is a Chinese medicine that has been practiced for thousands of years. This practice uses needles that are inserted into the body at different points. When stimulated, these points open or unblock energy flows in the body which ultimately promotes healing and provides pain relief. Aromatherapy is an ancient therapeutic method that uses essential oils and other scented products to aid in disease prevention as well as other ailments. It is also used to revitalize the mind, body and spirit. Many of these ancient cultures used aromatherapy including Egypt, Persia and Greece. Another form of eastern medicine is Meditation. Meditation is a way of freeing one’s thoughts in order to achieve personal development. It involves sitting in silence and concentrating on the present...
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...World Religions Report Rough Draft The religion that was selected by the author of this paper is Hinduism. This is due to his lack of working knowledge on the subject of this religion. There have been a few hurdles in the writing of this paper such as a severe lack of religious diversity in the area of the writer’s home town. This has lead the author to find alternative methods of gaining insight into these religious practices. Hopefully the outcome will be acceptable. As there have been no religious sites near the authors home and the person with which he intended to interview turned out to be Christian most of the information will be garnered from websites dedicated to the education of those who seek knowledge on the subject of Hinduism. There will be full citation for each source as they pertain to the information to follow. Hinduism is a religion that has many gods that encompass all aspects of daily life. Strength and wisdom are essential properties of this religion. By refraining from selfish acts and treating others with respect there can be release from the wheel of life and reincarnation in order to be one with the “One True Self”. This is very dependent upon the caste with which an individual is born to. The first question I ask is “What does it mean to be Hindu?” The answer to which was given by Dr Zakir Naik (What does it mean to be Hindu, 2013). In his answering of a question by a young Hindu man Dr Zakir Naik says,” Hindu is never actually mentioned...
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...World View Chart Assignment Branda Darling Elizabeth Jarnagin World Religion June 16, 2015 This course has been very interesting and creating the World View Chart over the past ten months has taught me a lot about many different religions. When I started this course I expected there to be a lot of differences between the religions. I was shocked and even excited to find that the religions I studied all have something very interesting in common. When looking over the World View Chart, I noticed that the View of Human Nature of all the religions are very similar. All of the religions believe that humans have the capacity to be generous, kind, loving and even divine. It is true that the views of human nature are alike between the studied religions, however the way that humans start aout differs greatly. For example, Zoroastrians believe that humans are essentially born with good in them. Whereas Christians believe that because of the sin that Adam and Eve committed, humans are born with sin in them. “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” (Psalms 51:1). As you can see, these two beliefs are very different but they become similar. Both of these religions believe that humans have free will and can choose to good, choose to treat others with love and respect. Another example can be seen when you look at the Hindu religion and the Buddhism religion. Hinduism believe that when humans are born they are like a blank slate. They can either be good...
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...WORLD RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS II REL/134 FEBRUARY 7, 2010 DISSWALLY AQUAS DESCRIBING RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS ABSTRACT IN THIS PAPER I WILL EXPLAIN HOW RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS DESCRIBE AND ENCOURAGE THE RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE DIVINE, THE NATURAL WORLD, SACRED SPACE AND TIME AND WITH EACH OTHER. INCLUDED IN THE PAPER I WILL PROVIDE EXAMPLES OF VARIOUS RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS. I WILL DISCUSS THE NEED FOR MAN TO DESCRIBE NATURAL DISASTERS THROUGH DIVINE INVOLVEMENT. MAN STILL USES DIVINE INTERVENTION AS A WAY TO EXPLAIN EVENTS THAT ARE SEEN AS MIRACLES. SOME TYPES OF EVENTS LEND CONFIRMATION TO THE BELIEF OF A DIVINE BEING OR PRESENCE. THE RELATIONSHIP DEVELOPED WITH THE DIVINE COMES SEEMS TO BE CONNECTED TO THE HUMAN BEINGS DESIRE TO EXPLAIN HIS EXISTENCE. MOST OF THE TIME THIS DEVELOPMENT OF THE DIVINE GOD OF A CULTURE SEEMS TO ALSO BE CONNECTED TO HISTORY OF THE CULTURE. THIS CREATES A RELATIONSHIP OF A BENEVOLENT GOD TO ITS PEOPLE. THERE IS ALSO A NEED TO BELIEVE THAT THE SAME GOD ALSO HAS THE CAPABILITY OF BEING A PUNISHING GOD BASED ON WHAT THE CULTURE PERCEIVES TO BE BEHAVIOR OR CIRCUMSTANCES THAT DOES NOT PLEASE GOD. THIS RELATIONSHIP IS ALSO INFLUENCED OVER TIME BY TRADITION. THOSE WHO BELIEVE ARE ABLE TO EXPLAIN CREATION AND THE ORIGIN OF THEMSELVES, THEIR FRIENDS, FAMILY AND NEIGHBORS THROUGH THIS RELATIONSHIP. THOSE WHO BELIEVE ALSO DEVELOP A RESPECT FOR AND UNQUESTIONING FAITH IN THE POWER, BENEVOLENCE AND WRATH OF GOD. SACRED TIME IS “THE TIME...
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...The Historical and Religious Significance of the Bombing of Civilians in World War II By Patrick Taylor For as long as there has been war there have been soldiers, and as long as there have been soldiers there have been civilians. A civilian is defined as any person not in armed forces yet time and time again people have launched attacks against these neutral parties for both political and economic reasons. Although these attacks have taken many forms, one of the most severe and vicious ways this has been done is through aerial bombing. This tactic can be even more harmful than other forms of attack due to its very nature. While bombings kill as many civilians as other similar attacks, aerial bombing can destroy the buildings and infrastructure of a place as well, devastating the area for years, even after the bombing has stopped. Many areas have been affected by aerial bombing through history, but possibly none as much as London and the rest of Britain during the Blitzkrieg on Britain during World War II. Beginning on September seventh in 1940 and ending on the tenth of May in 1941, this blitzkrieg killed over 40,000 civilians and wounded more than three times that. Over half of these casualties were in London itself and at least one million of its homes were destroyed. These figures are impressive, however they cannot show exactly how much damage was actually done. When people’s homes were destroyed they had few places to go. Then during the next bombing they might...
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...How will democratization, economic liberalism, resurgent nationalism and religious revivals affect world order? INTRODUCTION We cannot certainly say that the whole world would change because there are so many factors that can be manipulated on this statement. As well, it is quite vital that we must look at the fraction of the globe changing to realize if this is influentially enough to alter, firstly, their neighbors and eventually the rest of the Earth. In the other hand, all the countries are somehow connected to each other, either by any kind of agreement; or deal or by security matters or, most importantly, by economic treaties, which is the one that normally rules over. In other words, everything is a hug chain and if one link is moving the rest of the links will follow. This is in different dimensions and magnitudes, per say, the closest ones will move strongly than the far ones, yet, they will move as well. The movement can be facts as little as a strike or as big as a coup d'etat or, why not, a march in favor for homosexual rights. Globalization is commonly the factor raising the masses making the globe shake at the rhythm of those who have the “control”. This is because we are in an era of consuming in which the people look up for spending whatever money they have in their pockets and to posses as many item as one’s economies can allow. BODY There are 4 main different factors that to my opinion make the 4 elements of the question link to each other: globalization...
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...traditional religion as the means for experiencing and expressing religious belief in the world today In this essay, I will be evaluating the view that cults and sects are replacing traditional religion as for expressing religious belief in the world today. To do this I will be referring to a number of sociologists view on the idea of sects and cults. New religious movements such as sects and cults have become more common over the years. Many people are becoming influenced by these religious groups which tell citizens in society if they join them they will lead a better life. Many sociologists have argued that NRMs are increasing in size and popularity due to unjust events people are seeing in modern society. To begin with, many sociologists have argued that NRMs are no big influence on society and are just really to some extent a way of showing societies change, which is sure to happen over the years anyway. Wallis identified three main kinds of new religious movements. These are world affirming, world accommodating and world rejecting groups. Sociologists have argued the one that is short lived than the rest is the world rejecting. This group is usually classed as a sect or cult in which they are always highly critical of the outside world and demand significant commitment from their members. An Example of one of these is the Unification church (the Moonies) founded in Korea. They reject the mundane the secular world as evil and has strong moral rules such as no smoking or drinking...
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...Rowan 1 Ethan Rowan Henderson CRW1 14/4/17 Religious Racism in Europe Religious Racism has been a very big topic in recent years especially after the Holocaust. Religious Racism is the discrimination of someone based on their religion. There are many different forms of racism besides religion. It can come is Race, Religion, Sexual orientation, and many other ways. It has been many years since the Holocaust and Religious Racism has calmed down significantly but it has started to make a comeback against a different religion. The Islamic faith has been the target of many racist views and has caused many people to fear Muslims. There are many places where religious racism is slowly coming back but there is no place that is getting more impacted...
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...TermPaperWarehouse.com - Free Term Papers, Essays and Research DocumentsThe Research Paper FactoryJoinSearchBrowseSaved Papers Home Page » Religion Topics Elements of Religious Tradition Rel/134 In: Religion Topics Elements of Religious Tradition Rel/134 Elements of Religious Tradition UoP Student REL/134 October 24, 2011 UoP Facilitator Elements of Religious Tradition Religious traditions influence people and even more important cultures across the world on a daily basis. Religions have many differing views on what or who represents the divine and offer many perspectives on exactly how to worship or pay respect to those identified as the divine. The subsequent paragraphs will investigate how religious traditions describe and encourage relationships with the divine, sacred time, sacred space or the natural world and relationships with each other will ensure a more thorough understanding of differing religions. Additionally, providing several examples from various religious traditions will go one step farther in enhancing that understanding. The foundation to any successful religious belief is to establish a relationship with the divine. The Divine Since the dawn of time spiritual relationships with the Divine have been prevalent as part of the human existence in the natural world. Different religions refer to the sacred by various names such as Great Spirit, the Holy, the Divine, the Great Mother, the Ultimate, and the Absolute. One of the most...
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...Assess sociological explanations for the increasing number of religious and spiritual organisations and movements in society today. (33 marks) In society some people hold religious beliefs without belonging to an organised group, whereas others express their beliefs through membership of a religious organisation. Troeltsch distinguished between two main types of religious organisations – the church and the sect. Churches are large organisations with millions of members, run by a bureaucratic hierarchy of priests, who claim a monopoly of the truth. Churches are universalistic aiming to include the whole of society as they place few demands on their members. However people of the higher class tend to be more attracted as they are ideologically conservative and are often close linked to the state. Sects are small exclusive groups opposed to wider society, expecting a high level of commitment from its members. Sects tend to draw their members from the poor and oppressed, many of the sects are led by charismatic leaders. The only similarity between churches and sects is that they both believe they have a monopoly of religious truth. Sects are often short lived organisations only lasting a single generation or less. As well as churches and sects. Sociologists have identified other types of religious organisations such as denominations and cults. Niebuhr describes denominations as lying midway between churches and sects. Membership for denominations is less exclusive compared to sects...
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...unfortunately an everyday fact that occurs around our world while millions of people are unaware of it. Religious crimes date back through ancient times and they have been a global problem since mankind can recall. Fortunately, there have been many countries that have opened their arms and humans have found refugee. Others, however, are the cause of these persecutions due to the fact that their governments lack a justice system that protects these crimes against religions. Analyzing the beginning of human civilization we come across two factors that have always played a role. Those two factors are crime and religion. Man, since we can recall, must feel that it has the power to rule fearlessly. That is why when a group of people decide to put men's beliefs aside and follow a religion or a deity of their own, conflict emerges as fast as explosive granite. For this reason, presently we have so many crimes related to religion because some humans oppose others who have a different point of view. Humans feel the need to be accepted and when that can't be accomplished they go to extreme measurements to reach their goal. It is a shame that we must see crimes in every aspect of our lives. Even when we think religion would be the solution to uphold humanity and make it peaceful, the total opposite takes place. But this is not the worst part. Sometimes religion contributes to violence since some religions teach the concept of self sacrifice. In our world we have witnessed this in many occasions; such...
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...Philosophy Critically assess the claim that all religious language is meaningless. (35) Religious language has been argued about by many philosophers with regards to whether or not the ways in which we speak about religion are meaningful. This issue of religious language is concerned with the methods by which man talks about God in conjunction with theist or atheist ideologies. For some, religious language is meaningful and full of purpose while others see it to being incomprehensible and pointless. If we are to take the logical positivist approach then we would view all religious language as meaningless. For logical positivists the entire discipline of philosophy was centred on one task, which was to clarify the meaning of concepts and ideas. In turn, this led them to look at statements and inquire just what the “meaning” of them was, and what sort of statements really did have any “meaning.” A group of philosophers that known as the Vienna circle took a univocal approach to language, that is to say, that we mean the same thing when we talk about God and man. The logical positivists formulated the verification principle which saw assertions which are only verifiable through observation or experience, can be deemed meaningful. In this case, other assertions are either analytic or meaningless utterances. This approach was built on the work of both John Locke and David Hume, who argued that all philosophical matters must be approached with a strict empirical system. Thus, according...
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...Religious Interactions between the Africans, Amerindians and Europeans in British Colonial America Christopher J. Reed HIS 379 Pamela Huckins October 22, 2012 Religious Interactions between Africans, Amerindians and Europeans in British Colonial America Christianity played an important role in each of the British Colonies, and religious practice was strictly enforced. All colonists that were of adult age had to attend religious services and pay the taxes that paid the ministers. People who attempted to practice a non-Christian belief were often times persecuted. In Europe there was a split in the Protestant Anglican Church and it branched into the traditional Anglicans and the reforming Protestants. These differences continued and led to the colonization of America. “Puritans journeyed to New England for more than reformation of the Church of England, but religious purity was certainably a matter of considerable importance in establishing a city” (Benjamin p. 66). Puritans came to the new world and established themselves as the dominant denomination in the colonies. This gave birth to new movements in the Colonies, such as the Quakers, Methodists and Baptists. It was this religious freedom that allowed Europeans to come to the new world to practice their form of Christianity. Despite the attempts to rule the colonies based firmly on religious grounds, in the beginning there were irregular practices because of the lack of settlers. The lack of women...
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