... Comparing and contrasting Buddhism and Christianity When comparing and contrasting religious topic it tends to assist one understands how others believe. Although not all will agree with certain religious beliefs or groups no one individual should form an opinion but study other religions to broaden ones horizon. Buddhism along with Christianity both covers a large multitude yet they have some similarities and differences. In Buddhism there isn’t really too much talk going on about God but, in the Christianity sector God is known as their personal creator over all mankind. Also in the Buddhism sector it is believed that the world runs by natural power and in Christianity the world is run by God and there is much order unto the world or rather supposed to be. The funny thing about Buddhism is there are some who do not worship Buddha but prefer to worship other Gods. In Christianity there is only one God to be worshipped and there are to be no other God before Him for God has stated this is (Exodus 20:3) (NIV). When it comes to speaking about Heaven in Christianity it’s a known fact the only way for one to see God is through Jesus Christ who died on the cross. In Buddhism their feeling on this subject is basically for an individual to allow themselves to become free from what they may desire it other words they need or should cleanse themselves naturally. No such thing as sin against a high power is believed in Buddhism however, in Christianity sin is none other but...
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...East/West Religious Paper Misanna Gordon HUM 130 July 15, 2012 Vickie Burns- Sikora Religion has in the past and will continue to be in the future one of the main forces that has constantly shaped and drives the world. Throughout many centuries, wars were fought, laws were made, towns and countries were built and broken down all in the effort to make known or protect many of the different religions that exists in the world today. In this paper I will be comparing and contrasting the different western religions which are Hinduism and Buddhism and the eastern religions which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The country of origin for Hinduism is India and Southeast Asia. Hinduism was originated from the word “India” which has the very similar spiritual and cultural practices; this was developed in India more than one thousand years ago. There are several societal and cultural influences that made the religion of Hinduism vital to the region in which it originated. The Hindus of India tends to follow several traditions and social standards. When it comes to culture, the Hindus have several myths indicating that there are multiple faces of the divine, and also myths indicating that the divine interacts in many forms with the believers Hinduism is a religious belief system that lacks unity; it is also referred to as the Santana Dharma. The Santana Dharma means the “eternal religion” (Fisher, 2005). The Hindu religion is made up of several religions that were...
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...| Course Design Guide College of Humanities HUM/130 Version 5 Religions of the World | Copyright © 2009, 2007, 2006 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved. Course Description This course studies the major religions of the world. Topical areas include Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Indigenous Cultures, Islam, Judaism, and Taoism. Students will be objectively studying the origins and major figures and comparing and contrasting each of the major religions. During this course each student will visit a religious site and interview a person of an unfamiliar faith. Policies Faculty and students/learners will be held responsible for understanding and adhering to all policies contained within the following two documents: University policies: You must be logged into the student website to view this document. Instructor policies: This document is posted in the Course Materials forum. University policies are subject to change. Be sure to read the policies at the beginning of each class. Policies may be slightly different depending on the modality in which you attend class. If you have recently changed modalities, read the policies governing your current class modality. Note: All assignments (not discussions) must be submitted along with a Certificate of Originality (COO). The COO is in the Course Materials and is an Attachment to the COO post in the Main section. Course Materials Fisher, M. P. (2005). Living religions (6th ed...
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...Critical Thinking Assignment Buddhism/Christian Worldview Robert Barbour, Jr. Liberty University Online APOL 104 Professor Robert Hunter September 29, 2014 In Aspect I of this essay, I will make an effort to respond on several concerns regarding the overall viewpoint from which Buddhists see and understand the world. I deem that the Buddhists worldview can be very fascinating and complicated in several ways. In addition, in Aspect II, I will display how the Buddhists worldview makes a large comparison in comparison to a/the Spiritual / Christian worldview. Aspect I Presenting Buddhism’s Multiple Viewpoints on Worldview The question of Origin: Buddhism is a religion that involves a wide range of customs, values and methods mostly depending on lessons linked to Siddhartha Gautama. Buddhist believe the world have no beginning or end. “The Buddha added the notion that all creatures, including man, are fictions: there is really no "self"; only a series of occurrences that appear to be individual persons and things.” (The Spirit of Truth and the Spirit of Error 2. Compiled by Steven Cory. Copyright 1986, Moody Bible Institute of Chicago. ). The question of Identity: Buddhism instructs that there is no self, but instead there are individual, ever-changing elements that create who we are. Buddhists also believe “what keeps man in this cycle is known as Karma. Although good Karma can have a positive effect, it is still viewed as a curse; since good and bad Karma keeps a person...
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...individual’s religious beliefs and practices, and also we are required to maximize the effectiveness of the care provided. An individual’s religious beliefs and practices should be respected and accepted. Although there are different religions that have parallel perspectives, they also have contrasting perspectives that can affect the way care is provided. Today, the religions of Buddhism, Hinduism, and Muslim will be discussed and compared to the beliefs and practices of Christianity. The Buddhist religion is a religion that focuses on the ethical and spiritual well-being of individuals and in turn helps the individual develop wisdom and compassion for all mankind. Buddhist believes in taking a holistic approach when facing health and disease. This practice includes the principles of practice, meditation, technique, and discipline. From a Buddhist perspective, there is no personal God to serve. They believe that optimal health is strongly associated with the effects of good karma. Karma is considered the action and the results of an action. Buddhist believes that nothing is permanent, and that how a person lives their life is how a person goes through life. According to Buddhism, any life lived solely for...
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... |HUM/130 Version 6 | | |Religions of the World | Copyright © 2009, 2007, 2006 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved. Course Description This course studies the major religions of the world. Topical areas include Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Indigenous Cultures, Islam, Judaism, and Taoism. Students will be objectively studying the origins and major figures and comparing and contrasting each of the major religions. During this course each student will visit a religious site and interview a person of an unfamiliar faith. Policies Faculty and students/learners will be held responsible for understanding and adhering to all policies contained within the following two documents: University policies: You must be logged into the student website to view...
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...Compare and Contrast: Buddhism and Christianity Comparative Religions, HUMN 448 Buddhism and Christianity are both popular religions with many followers, and both have had an impact on the history of the world. While these religions have both subtle and drastic differences, they also have similarities of the same manner. To see these similarities, we will compare and contrast three sets of articles. The first is an examination of the early lives of both the Buddha and Jesus. The second set is a comparison of “The Lost Son” parables, and the third set is a comparison of the Buddha’s last words and the interpretation of Jesus’ death in the book of Acts. These examinations of Buddhism and Christianity will help to show just how similar the two religions are, for all their differences. First, we examine and analyze the early lives of the Buddha and Jesus. For the early life of the Buddha—the beginning of his mission—we turn to a story called “The Four Passing Sights.” For the beginning of Jesus’ mission, we read Mark 1:1-13. The Buddha began life as Siddhartha, son of a king. At his naming ceremony, priests foretold that he would grow to be either 1) a world ruler if he followed his father’s footsteps; or 2) a world teacher if he were exposed to the sight of suffering. And so Siddhartha was kept in the palace, surrounded by servants and finery, and was never exposed to the world outside. He asks his father’s permission to go to a nearby park, and his father allows him after...
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...Intro to Fine Art Assignment 3 Question 1. In order to fully understand Roman art, we must understand that “Roman culture was modeled on that of the Greeks.” (Lewis 228) More specifically our textbook states that “while the romans absorb their artistic ideals from the Greeks, they were more realistic than idealistic, more active than philosophical, more pragmatic than creative.” (Lewis 228) One example of the more realistic art contributions made by the Romans is “a tradition of realistic portraits.” (Lewis 228-229) The Roman sculpture of Cato and Porzia exemplifies this realistic portrait sculpture. The portrait is very realistic and descriptive of all of their features despite their somewhat unattractive nature. By contrast, the Greek’s would have preferred a much more idealized sculpture of the couple. Another aspect of art introduced by the Romans can be seen in their architecture. The Romans used many of the Greek techniques but also “borrowed the idea of the arch from the East and exploited its possibilities to construct public buildings of great size, feats of ancient engineering.” (Lewis 230) The Roman Coliseum could not have been built using traditional Greek architecture due to the weight of the structure. In addition to the use of the arch in Roman architecture, “The Romans developed the architectural feature of the dome.” (Lewis 233) The Roman Temple the Pantheon is a great example of the Romans use of the dome in architecture. The Roman use small stones to...
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...may be offensive to some of you, but that is not the intentions of the author. The author realizes that most of the audience holds deep spiritual and religious beliefs. It is not the aim to cause insult, but if the audience feels insulted, understand that it is not the objective of this paper. The author disclaims all responsibility for any harm caused by the paper. Please take this essay with an analytical and introspective approach. Atheism is one of the least understood philosophies of all time, but has been around for as long as religion has. There is always been someone to question the validity of gods or goddesses; someone who does not believe the world was created by a supreme being in 7 days. This paper outlines some of the contrasting points between religion and Atheism. It talks about deities and the history of Atheism and its migration to America. Many believe a Supreme Being, king, or lord created the Constitution of the United States, but it is clear that people wrote the constitution for the people. Many Atheists believe that a belief in God is based on irrational immature needs and wishes, but atheism or skepticism is derived from a rational, no-nonsense appraisal of the way things really are. "I don't know that Atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God." -President George Bush Whether god exists is a question that cannot be answered with complete confidence by people of great faith or...
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...Diverse Interpretations Assignment COMPARISONS TO FOCUS ON: * The causes for the decline of the Roman, Han and Gupta Empires * Understanding of how and why the collapse of the empire was more severe in Western Europe than it was in the Asian Empires. * Comparison of the role that religions played in the declines * The impact of missionary outreach of the Christians and Buddhists in these empires RESOURCES * Upshur – “The Decline of Empires” * Stearns - Decline of Empires. * Frank Smitha - “Decline and Fall” * Johnson and Johnson – “Why Don’t Empires Last?” * Spodek – “China and Rome: How do they compare?” * Bulliet pages 168-170 and 186-189. ASSIGNMENT 1. Construct a Venn comparing and contrasting the causes for decline of the Roman, Han and Gupta empires. Information will come from the documents and not the lecture…you already wrote the lecture notes once, why write them again? Rome Han similarities Gupta 2. Write 3 comparative analytical mini-paragraphs about the decline of empires. (generalization, facts, analysis…) Remember that analysis answers the question “why?” Example: The AP World History teachers have very different tastes in beverages. Ms. Forswall likes tea while Ms. Patch likes cola. Green tea and Earl Grey are Ms. Forswall’s favorites; they taste nothing like Pepsi or Coke because soft drinks are much sweeter. Ms. Patch usually chooses a diet style of soda, because she is thinks regular soda is...
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...City Report: Tokyo and Karachi Mackenzie J. Kiene Cleveland State University Abstract Upon comparing and contrasting the two megacities of Karachi and Tokyo it is apparent that these are two very dissimilar metropolitan areas with only a handful of similarities. On one hand, there is Karachi, a city with one-third of its population in poverty and 40% of its residents living in the slums. On the other hand there is Tokyo, which has been deemed as one of the cleanest, most efficient, and safest megacities in the world. With such differing characteristics it is easy to use these two cities as complete opposites despite their status as two of the largest megacities in the world. It is particularly interesting how two cities with two of the largest populations in the world can be so vastly different and harbor citizens with such contrasting lifestyles. Keywords: Populations, Economy, Socio-political, Environment, Culture, Religion Population Demographics: Karachi Karachi is one of the most heavily populated cities in the entire world with an approximate population of 21.2 million people which is still growing at a rate of about 5% per year. Karachi has grown from a population of 500,000 in 1947 to its approximate 21.2 million today. Angotti and Beckel (2001) believe that this huge population spike is due to Karachi’s key situation in the strategic and economic scheme of British trade in the 20th century. Karachi has a very...
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...Traditional and Nontraditional Culture Paper By PSY 450 Michele Wagner April 14, 2014 Traditional and nontraditional culture paper America versus Indian culture Around the world, there are numerous cultures that are traditional and nontraditional. Traditional cultures are rules, beliefs, values of rural and non-industrialized group in which their practice is very strict and are non-willing for any social change or innovation (Shiraev & Levy, 2010). Nontraditional cultures are grounded on more modern views and are willing for any modification mostly base on technology, science and media (Shiraev & Levy, 2010. Comparing and contrasting American and Indian cultures would facilitate to identify the traditional and nontraditional values, belief and behaviors among these two cultures Similar Values in Indian and American Cultures Despite being on opposite sides of the world, some values are shared between Indian and American culture. One similar value is the importance placed on religion or faith. While religion is more prominent in Indian culture, it is also present in American culture as it’s seen in the constant battles for keeping the name “God” in the Pledge of Allegiance, in the phrase “In God We Trust,” on American currency, and open discussion of faith. On the other hand, in India pictures and statues of deities are commonly seen, worship takes place openly, and religious expression in fashion and accessories is more prevalent. Another shared value between...
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...do these approaches affect one another? In this paper I will explain both the political approaches of three American states, and religious approaches of Christians and Buddhists on their ethical opinions regarding prostitution. I will argue in defence of the utilitarian approach. The idea of selling sexual favors for money is cause for much debate globally. Separations in ethical ideas of prostitution can partially be attributed to different religious ethics. Two religions that have contrasting beliefs in many cases are Buddhism and Christianity, and this differentiation is clear regarding the topic of prostitution. Buddhist ethics are driven by the avoidance of harm to oneself and to others: Essentially, according to Buddhist teachings, the ethical and moral principles are governed by examining whether a certain action, whether connected to body or speech is likely to be harmful to one's self or to others and thereby avoiding any actions which are likely to be harmful. In Buddhism, there is much talk of a skilled mind. A mind that is skilful avoids actions that are likely to cause suffering or remorse (Buddhist Ethics). These teachings help understand the beliefs and ethics of Buddhist followers. Some Buddhists, when dealing with prostitution, believe that prostitution is not ethically wrong, except in cases when people are driven to...
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...Modern Wicca/Neo-Paganism often sees itself as an attempt to follow the magical practices of the ancient world, for example trying to recover the religion of the Goddess from the past. However, in order to understand the present, it is imperative to understand the origin of these magical practices and where their basis is derived from. In addition, to taking into consideration that these religions are exactly that two separate religions, therefore making uncovering these underlying resemblances and contrasting factors that much more important. Modern Wicca is a neo-paganistic religion in which the main focus varies. There are many texts and even websites nowadays that try to serve as guides for what Wicca really is or should be, but there is...
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...Islamic Civilization Essay Fitzgerald argues strongly that the study of religion does not improve our understanding of societies, but labels them into the structures we associate with Western Christianity. He also argues that religion is not a distinctive phenomenon and should not have its own analytical category. He raises the question of whether or not there is a systematic way of distinguishing between the secular and the non-secular. He also raises the question of whether or not there is a fixed definition of the term religion, if that term is imbued in Western Christian bias, and the confusions that result in this analytically empty but ideologically loaded term. This term is used in so many different contexts that it has no clear meaning. Fitzgerald says that “the word ‘religion’ is analytically redundant and even misleading” (Fitzgerald 5), because religion refers to a “belief in gods or the supernatural” (Fitzgerald 5), and it was of “traditional European usage” (5). Fitzgerald claims that people have “self-consciously attempted to transform the meaning of religion…and extend it as a cross-cultural category” (Fitzgerald 5). The problem is that people have been incorrectly labeling cross-cultural categories under one term ‘religion,’ that imbues Western Christian views that do not accurately reflect the principles of many cultures. According to Fitzgerald, “working with the blurred and yet ideologically loaded concept of ‘religion’ as a starting point can confuse...
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