...of the different types of religion, whether that be Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism or any of the other ones, all share many similarities as well as many differences. However, it is these differences that set each of them apart from one another. Two of the most prominent religions in the world today, Christianity and Buddhism, couldn’t be more different, but yet share many similarities. Both Christian and Buddhists ideas and teachings have served to guide and influence the lives and decisions of each of their respected followers for many centuries and both continue to be a dominating force in the world today Christianity offers a distinct and comforting sense of purpose for those who believe. As a human, we are destined to make mistakes. Christianity offers us a way of knowing that we are forgiven of our sins. It shows us that we are loved no matter what, and it gives us a sense of how we should live our lives in order to be who God wants us to be. Christianity provides us with an ideal father figure to look up to and pushes us to live up to his ideals. We believe that our purpose is to work to be the best possible person we could be and to treat everyone with love and kindness. We believe that God made us just the way he wanted us to be and that God has a path already laid out for us. Many of us will essentially give up our lives to the Lord with hopes that he will guide us down the right path. Christianity offers us a sense of understanding and a way to deal...
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...This paper is a comparison between two very different religions. Specifically Christianity and Buddhism. Coming from opposite sides of the globe these two religions could not be any farther apart in any aspect. I will discuss who Christ is for Christians and who Buddha is for Buddhists. I will also get into the aspects of charity, love, and compassion in both religions and I will be looking at the individual self and how christians see resurrection where the buddhists feel about the afterlife. One thing to keep in mind is that the two religions are very different but they seem to have a very similar underlying pattern. Both believe that there was a savior of their people, Buddha and Christ, and both believe that there is something good that happens to us when our time is done here on earth. This is a very generalized summarization but in order to go in to depth I need to explain the two religions more to fully convey this theory. The Christian religion, like all other religions has its strengths and weaknesses in our modern society. Perhaps the strengths out weight the weaknesses as this is one of the largest religions in the world. Hundreds of people follow the Catholic/Christian religion yet still a greater number follow yet other religions. Perhaps this is because they see the weaknesses or perhaps it is simply because their parents have taught them that it is a sin to follow this religion. The Christian religions do however present much more of an appealing atmosphere...
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...Running head: The Comparison of Buddhism and Christianity 1 The Comparison of Buddhism and Christianity World Religion 212 November 3, 2013 Running head: The Comparison of Buddhism and Christianity 2 Buddhism is a polytheistic religion, however, it does not believe in Supreme Creator Being. Christianity is a monotheistic and believes that Christ is the son of God. Christianity is an offshoot Judaism whereas Buddhism is an offshoot of Hinduism. Christianity is a Abrahamic religion and Buddhism is a Dharmic religion. There is no god in Buddhism anything like Jesus Christ. Buddha is seen more as a really great person that once lived that reached a higher level of consciousness. Buddha wanted to teach how people goo free themselves and reach Nirvana. Jesus had a set of rules to live in order to get to Heaven. If is really not known or expelled were what Nirvana is, besides a freedom from the pain and suffering from life and the recantation we all must go through. Heaven on the hand is supposed to be a paradise where you in the after life you meet all your loved ones in a paradise, made by god himself. Buddhism was started about 5 B.C.E in India , Christianity started around 33 C.E. in Palestine. Granted they started many years apart but they do have the same basic ethics and commitment to community and family . They have the same basic concept of threat...
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...Christianity and Paganism vs. Buddhism ENG 121 Tara Faircloth Mrs. Jalbert May 23, 2011 In today’s world there are many religions. Most of the religions are based off of one specific religion. Even though they may be similar to each other they are also different. I have chosen to write my paper about three religions or faiths these religions would be Paganism, Christianity, and Buddhism. I have chosen to write about these three because they all have similarities to one another as well as differences. As you are reading this paper you will learn about each of these religions or faiths, what they have in common, and what makes them different. To begin my paper I am going to discuss the faiths of Paganism and Christianity. In today’s world Approximately 400,000 people practice Paganism and seventy five percent practice Christianity. Paganism is the base religion or faith of all faiths that have become of the world. Paganism dates back to the Roman Empire. It is a faith that is based on nature and its practices are used every day. Paganism has many gods or goddesses that they look to. Paganism nowadays is believed to be evil but in all controversy it is not and actually shares its faith and practices with Christianity. It has its own stories that are similar to the stories of Christianity such as the Garden of Eden, forbidden fruit, the snake in the Garden of Eden as well as the great flood. Paganism also shares holidays with Christianity such as Easter, Christmas...
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...developments are Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, and Hinduism. There have been new religions forming, such as Mormonism, which have been aiding in the reshaping of our societies and tolerance. For a good part of human existence, religion has been a factor of life, shaping the mind of the Homo sapiens. Hinduism is viewed as the world’s oldest religion, dating back to 2nd century BCE. Hinduism had gone through great change over the centuries, beginning with the change of the Aryan Gods, originally including Indra, Soma, and Agni, with Vishnu and Shiva as minor deities that become the main deities by 300BCE. Mahatma Gandhi has become the ‘face’ of Hinduism since the 1950’s, when he attempted to abolish the caste system within the religion. Hinduism has segregated its followers into ‘castes’, which include the Brahmins, the ritual priests, Kshatriyas, the warriors, Vaishyas, the merchants, and lastly the Shudras, the manual laborers (Kinnard, 2012). The caste system is separated much like the class system of earlier eras where Church was at the top, followed by Nobles, merchants, and the lower class of laborers. Buddhism was created out of dissatisfaction for Hinduism in 5th century BCE by Siddhartha Gautama, who left his luxurious life to discover his own self and find an antidote to human suffering through meditation where he found enlightenment to become who we now call the Buddha, the “Enlightened One” (Gascoigne, 2001). Two of the morals within Buddhism are karma and merit...
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...Lindsey “Buddhism vs. Christianity (Baptist)” Christianity (Baptist) is my religion. Christianity Baptist Churches were established in the American colonies from the mid-17th century. In 1639, Roger Williams founded a church on Baptist principles in Providence, Rhode Island, and this is usually regarded as the beginning of American Baptist history. Also established in the 17th century was a small group known as the Seventh Day Baptists, who required rest and worship on Saturday based on the fourth commandment. Even though this true, I go to church on Sunday. This is because Jesus rose from the dead on Sunday morning. The resurrection is so important that if it didn’t occur, Christianity would be false. In the Bible 1 Corinthians 15:17 Paul writes, "...if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins." Baptist Churches have baptisms to show the world that you have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your savior. We also have communion. At my church we have communion every first Sunday. But if you are not baptized you are not allowed to take communion. Buddhism originated in India in the 6th century BC. Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices. It consists of the teachings of the Buddha, Gautama Siddhartha. Of the main branches of Buddhism, it is the Mahayana or "Greater Vehicle" Buddhism which found its way to Japan. After its arrival from China and Korea in 538 A.D., Buddhism spread rapidly...
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...cultural diversity in the health care field. The goal was to investigate the faith beliefs of Baha’ism, Sikhism, and Buddhism, and compare their spiritual perspective on healing, as well as the critical components of healing. These were compared with Christianity to determine the similarities and differences. This will be reviewed to better educate caregivers as they minister to various cultures in the hospital and community. Introduction Religious faith and beliefs of the patient must be integrated with the scientific medical care in order to provide holistic care to the patent. Religion and the health of individuals and populations play an important role in the social, behavioral, and health sciences. Coping strategies, health behaviors and attitudes are influenced by one’s religious believe. Health care providers caring for patients from different religious traditions must understand the diversity in faith in order to provide religious and culturally sensitive high quality care. Over 1200 different religions are practiced in the USA (Bryan, 1999). This paper will discuss the brief background of the three religions, address obstacles according to the religion that are being discussed but not all religions have them and the important component of healing process of three religions. These religions are frequently met in healthcare are Baha’ism, Sikhism and Buddhism. First faith: Baha’ism Baha’u’llah is the founder of Baha’i faith and his main memorandum is that all human...
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...Comparing Religions By Lillian M. Floyd COM/150 Joss Hevel December 19, 2012 Religion is an important part of American society. There are many different religions that people follow for their own reasons such as Baptist, Protestant, Lutheran, Catholic, Muslim, and Buddhism. Each religion has different followings and ways to receive faith through the religion. Which religion has the most faith and why does that religion has the most faith? This essay will examine comparisons between the Baptist religion and other religions such as Catholic, Protestant, and Lutheran. These religions are some of the most important religions in the world today. Some of the other religions that can be compared to the Baptist religion are Buddhism, Muslim, and Sangria. The differences are far and wide, but there are some similarities between religions. The first religions that will be compared are Baptist and Catholic. There are many differences between the Baptist church and the Catholic Church, but most are not seen at first. Most of the differences between Baptist and Catholic churches have to do with theological differences, or the study of God of each church (Catholic vs. Baptist, 2012). The main difference between the two churches is the Communion of each church. The Roman Catholics takes communion at every mass while Baptists take communion on special holidays such as Easter and Christmas. The next difference between Baptists and Roman Catholics is the level of decoration within...
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...Jennifer Villalobos Professor Miles REL 2011- Analysis and Interpretation of Religion October 17, 2011 Buddhism A Whole New World History and Origin When we speak of Buddhism we visualize a monk in an orange robe but there is so much more than that. Buddhism in my opinion is a way of life and not just a religion. The founder of Buddhism was a man named Siddhartha Gautama. Siddhartha said that there were four noble truths and that the only way to save ourselves from suffering was to follow the eightfold path. Siddhartha’s teaching was to help us reach the ultimate goal “enlightment (nirvana), freedom from the cycle of conditioned existence”. It all started with the birth of a child named Siddhartha Gautama who later on is known as the Buddha. Siddhartha was born around present day Lumbini, Nepal around 563 BCE he was born into a wealthy family and was a prince of the Sakya Clan. Siddhartha was raised by his aunt who was his father’s second wife because his mother died when he was seven days old. It is believed that when Siddhartha was a baby a holy man said that he would be either a great politician and unite India or he would be a great religious leader. Siddhartha lived a life of luxury and his father was very careful as to block all negative things from Siddhartha’s sight. His father did not want him to see old age, sickness, death, and a monk. The holy man had warned him that if Siddhartha say all these signs he would become a religious leader. When Siddhartha was...
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...Differences in Religions Religion is known as a personal or institutionalized system grounded in such belief and worship and includes a set of beliefs, values, and practices based on the teachings of a spiritual leader. Religion is different for everyone, but just as important to one as it is the other. There are many different religions, but the one thing that they have in common is belief in something. They all believe in something; however that something is different for each religion. Christianity is known “as the only true religion” (All About Religion, 2002, p. 1). Christianity has evidence to back its beliefs. They feel that Jesus’ life translated in the Bible is true testament. “Jesus lived about 2,000 years ago, was a great roman teacher and does of good works, and that he was crucified on a Roman cross for the crime of blasphemy among the Jews. The only dispute is whether Jesus rose from the dead three days after his crucifixion and that He was, in fact, God incarnate”(All About Religion,2002, p. 1). Christians believe what Jesus has said to be true as Jesus was a good man and one cannot argue that point. Jesus forgives sins, heals the sick, and rose from the dead. The other religions have less reliable information written. Jehovah’s Witness believes in God, different from the Christians. Jehovah’s Witness must follow the Watchtower organization. It is an organization that sets the rules and guidelines for this religion. They do not believe that God heals people;...
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...Buddha and Christ Similarities and Contrasts A number of recent books have proposed the idea that Buddha and Christ are brothers in spirit. Close to the end of Living Buddha, Living Christ, Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh asserted, "When you are a truly happy Christian, you are also a Buddhist. And vice versa." In his controversial book, Jesus and Buddha: The Parallel Sayings, New Testament scholar Marcus J. Borg asserted that both religious founders espoused a "world-subverting wisdom that undermined and challenged conventional ways of seeing and being in their time and in every time." Borg claims that both were teachers of wisdom, not only regarding "moral behavior, but about the 'center,' the place from which moral perception and moral behavior flow." Both, according to Borg, "were teachers of the way less traveled. 'Way' or 'path' imagery is central to both bodies of teaching." In their article, "Are Jesus and Buddha Brothers?", by Carl E. Olson and Anthony E. Clark (This Rock, Volume 16, Number 5, May-June 2005), the authors note that Jesuit Father Robert E. Kennedy . . . holds Zen retreats at Morning Star Zendo in Jersey City. Further, "the St. Francis Chapel at Santa Clara University hosts the weekly practice of 'mindfulness and Zen meditation.' Indeed, the number of Buddhist retreats and workshops being held at Catholic monasteries and parishes is growing." The article also mentions additional books espousing this viewpoint: * Zen Spirit, Christian Spirit ...
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...have an economic impact, but it also has a cultural dimension. This paper discusses the potential ways that religion has an influence on international trade. It will review the most influential world religions, being Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam, on economic activity, and more particularly, their impact on trade. The conclusion will reveal that being open to different religions increases trade performance in different countries. OUTLINE 1. Introduction 2. The effect of religion on work habits 3. Discriminatory and Non-Discriminatory Networks 4. Trade-enhancing networks and religions—Influence of Religions on Trade 5. Effects of cultural tendencies 6. Hinduism 7. Judaism 8. Buddhism 9. Christianity 10. Islam 11. Effects of Religion on Trade 12. Conclusion BIBLIOGRAPHY Anderson, James E. and Eric van Wincoop. 2003. Gravity with Gravitas: A Solu- tion to the Border Puzzle. American Economic Review. 93(1): 170-192. Arruñada, Benito. 2004. The Economic Effects of Christian Moralities. Economics and Business Working Paper Series, 743, March, Universitat Pompeu Fabra. Britannica Book of the Year. 2005. Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica Inc. Barber Benjamin R. 1995. Jihad vs. McWorld. New York: Times Books. Brodbeck, Karl-Heinz. 2002. Buddhistische Wirtschaftsethik. Aachen: Shaker Economic Review 89: 379-99. Guo, Rongxing. 2004. How culture influences foreign trade: evidence from the U.S. and China. Journal...
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...A Study on Violence Against Buddhism by Korean Protestantism: Centering on the Wonmyeong Temple and Bongeun Temple Incidents Introduction: Violent Attacks on Buddhism by Protestants In the past, there have been numerous incidents where extremist Korean Protestants have damaged statues of the Buddha or Buddhist temples. Such incidents pose serious risks to society as these examples of destruction do not only disregard a certain religion, but are also highly violent in nature. Many high-profile cases have been reported: Arson of the Daejeokgwangjeon of Geumsansa Temple in 1986; the destruction of a stone pagoda and lantern of Okcheonam Temple in Hongeun-dong in 1989; the damaging of the Tangible Cultural Asset No. 17 stone-carved Buddha Statue in 1989; the enclosing of a shrine and burning of a Buddha statue by an army officer in Siheung, Gyeonggi-do in 1993; the arrest of a pastor and his fellows by local police officers for destroying a Buddha statue in Thailand in 1994; a Buddhist accidently killed while he was trying to prevent a Christian from intruding into a Buddhist monastery to distribute Christian missionary materials in 1996; the destruction, damage of 750 Buddha statues in Jeju by a Christian (named Kim) in his attempt to transform Wonmyeong Temple into a church in 1998; the damaging of the Buddha statue at Dongguk University in 2000; and the frenzy over a video clip about missionary students doing a performance involving stepping on the Bongeun Temple site...
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...CHRISTIANITY vs. HINDUISM At a time when our great nation is bombarded with a seemingly endless war, unthinkable crimes towards children and ever-increasing unemployment rates it is natural for one to seek religion for answers as well as faith. There are many different religions other than Christianity and Hinduism to include Taoism, Judaism, Confucius, Buddhism and Islam. Regardless of which aspect one chooses to indulge, the premise is the same: to provide comfort and peace in ones everyday life. Two of the religions have many similarities as well as stark contrasts; both will be explored. The parallels will be examined first. Both Christianity and Hinduism share a commonality in the concept of heaven and an afterlife. Spiritual perfection is found in Christianity’s Heaven and Hinduism’s moksha. Cleansing of the soul is also mentioned in both Hinduism and Christianity, with a profound focus on water. Christianity speaks of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit to comprise God, while Hinduism has three primary Gods which many believe act as on in Brahman. Christianity places a strong emphasis on such values as peace, respect, honesty, character, reliability, compassion and faith. Hinduism, too, holds honesty, compassion and selflessness as strong virtues within its teachings, as Dharma (religion) is the duty of every human being that must be fulfilled. Both Hinduism and Christianity share an acceptance of other religions, with the land of Hinduism, India, having...
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...Danielle Copley Professor REL2300 4/7/13 What does it mean to be Human? There are many religions in the world each one is unique. I have often wondered what it means to be human in other religions other than Christianity. We will explore what it means in both the Hindu and Buddhist religions. We will start off with Hinduism. The Upanishads, perceived the individual self or atman as the immortal pure essence of each being. Hindus believe that everything has a soul. The atman is not the body; the body is not eternal. The body houses the atman until the body dies. Atman is immortal and eternal. All human beings are positioned in the all- embracing Brahman or the absolute. The Upanishads describe the Brahman as the eternal, conscious, irreducible, spiritual source of the universe of finiteness and change. Brahman is impersonal being in itself but it can be known through the many gods and goddesses that are manifestations of Brahman. We will look at atman first. . Moksha is the spiritual release from the cycle of life. In moksha the individual soul joins the atman. Atman is the eternal self, refers to the self beyond ego or false self. It is often referred to as spirit or soul and indicates the true self and underlies our existence. The individual soul becoming part of the larger soul of the universe. Achieving Moksha can span over many lifetimes. This process requires loss of attachment to life and the things in life. It also requires a balance of karma by a person’s duty...
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