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Commonalities of religion
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For centuries there has been a countless debates regarding do all religions share a common thread and which religion is actually correct? The major commonality of all religions is the pursuit of the truth however each religion has it own understanding of this truth. The interesting fact is each religions believes that there can be only one truth, subsequently, they bash each others ideas and path explaining that they’re belief is the right one. The next question is: which religion actually offers the answer to this truth. To understand this question we must look into two positions: exclusivism and pluralism. What is exclusivism you might ask? Religions exclusivism is the belief that only one religion is true. Exclusivists believe that
Between 600 BCE and 600 CE, religion played an important role in the social order of the Middle East. The introduction of monotheistic religions challenged earlier polytheistic religions and caused people to have faith in in one almighty god. Social order was affected by these new understandings because people began to believe that those who sided with God would be granted everlasting life while those who were on the side of evil were sentenced to eternal punishment.
As we all know, many philosophers and theologians have their own views and opinions on the idea of religious pluralism. One particular philosopher of interest is the famous John Hick. According to Hick, “The fact that there is a plurality of religious traditions, each with its own distinctive beliefs, spiritual practices, ethical outlook, art forms, and cultural ethos, creates an obvious problem for those of us who see them, not simply as human phenomena, but as responses to the Divine.” (Hick, p.54) While John Hick describes what he believes is religious pluralism, he also explains the problem of religious diversity. While some similarities exist among certain religions, there are also many differences between the spiritual beliefs and practices
What do we do when we face so many religions? The fact that there are so many religions is what causes doubt in people and brings the question as to why they should believe in one religion over another. It is apparent that the innumerable religions of the world are diverse. Theists believe that there is one personal God. On the other hand, Hindus believe in many gods, agonistics hold no judgments on religion and do not believe in god or disbelieve in god and atheists deny any God exists. Just by evaluating the variances in beliefs it is observable to distinguish the difference. Thus, any religion that makes an allegation that it has to be the only true religion must be considered as false. John Hicks wants to say that religious pluralism is the better option compared to exclusivism. Religious pluralism is the idea that all the great religions in the world lead to God. John Hick’s religious pluralism argument attempts to do a couple of things. Hick’s believed that each major religion has a different interpretation of same ultimate reality, of the ...
Embedded quote: In each religion, “there is only one right answer to a sum”, which indicates that there is only one right belief system and all others are wrong.
Religion can be representative of a person’s fundamental, spiritual beliefs whereby he or she follows a certain set of principles that allows him or her to worship a particular entity. Some individuals hold the belief that there is only one existent God, while others believe there are multiple Gods; thus leading to the ideas of a polytheistic and monotheistic religion. In present day, there are many religions that fall within the aforementioned categories, but two particularly interesting ones are Hinduism and Islam. These two religions encountered each other and flourished in the motherland, known as India. However, through the extreme differences in religious beliefs, major wars influenced by politics, and the development of architectural
This view is along the lines of the theory which was presented to the world by John Hick. He {Dalai Lama} understands that there are other religions out in the universe and understands that his is just one of the many that are able to be offered to people. However, beneath his receiving and acceptance, His Holiness comes off more as a religious exclusivist (SLU 659). Using John Hick’s theory of religious pluralism as a base, this paper will allow the reader to identify how the Dalai Lama is an advocate of religious diversity, but still upholds an exclusivist perspective concerning
All too often in modern society it is the differences and conflicts that serve to separate religious groups that are emphasized. The mainstream media, fundamentalists’ propaganda, and other sources choose to ignore the numerous similarities that many religions share, and instead focus on the divisive elements. In this paper, I will attempt to shed light on the many commonalities in dogma that I believe exist between the major religions of the world. I also want to illustrate the fact that in addition to having similar core teachings, many religions have histories that have either endured or arisen during times of persecution. It is ironic that in many cases, the persecution that a particular group faces happens to be at the hands of the mainstream of a society who at one time or another had been persecuted themselves for their religious beliefs.
Religion can be described as a social institution built up around the idea of a supernatural being or beings, and the relation of human beings to them. In addition, religion provides individuals a belief to which they understand their existence as well network of emotional support during times of distress. Moreover, religious institutions provide individuals a proper perspective of life and establish values. Religion involves three major aspects: A conception of the nature and character of divinity (2) A set of principles concerning the duties and obligations between divinity and humanity. (3) A set of behavior patterns designed to conform to God’s will (Thorman, 154). The theme of panopticisim is to assert and maintain power by being unseen. In Christianity, God, unable to be to seen, is a supernatural being with infinite power. In addition, the Holy Bible reaffirms this power and establishes accordance among civilians. The social institution of religion is a form of a panoptic system where individuals are compelled to act accordingly.
Is God a Christian written by Kirby Godsey is a very powerful book that forces its readers to take an introspective journey into not only one self’s religious beliefs, but also the fundamentals of one 's morals, judgment, and principals. Godsey begins his book by answering the title of his book. He believes that God is not tied to any single religion, like Christianity. That rather, the presence, feelings, and support of God should be perceived through a combination of beliefs, experiences, and perhaps even religions in order to understand the entirety of God.
They also believe that the adherents of other religions and even atheists can be saved by responding to God’s revelation in creation or through the elements of truth contained within their non-Christian religion. Exclusivist believes Muslim increased violence as well as the persecution and silencing of scholars who do not agree with their interpretation of Islam. By taking this path, the exclusivists have negated all the principles of tolerance and compassion for which Islam has historically been noted and then added fuel to the flame by resorting to violence. Exclusivist has nothing to do with Islam because it is a religion that teaches peace and harmony. Whenever the name Islam or Muslim is present all people think about or what comes to their mind is “Terror” which should not be.
ASSIGNMENT Philosophy of Comparative Religion TOPIC The Problem of Evil, why people suffer and how to deal with it. It’s the sort of thing the religion was invented for. THE CONCEPT OF EVIL:
Religious pluralism is an attitude towards the diversity of religions. It can be understood as the manyness of religions, where there is a "free existence of many faiths"(Albanese 2013:11), the idea that different religious systems can co-exist in a society together. To certain groups of people, religious pluralism is an obstacle for religious development as it can cause the lost of distinctiveness and challenge the 'one true way '; while other groups welcome religious pluralism as a means to religious freedom, where everyone can practice own religion without being judged. Throughout American history, especially when comparing the periods prior and after the World 's Fair in 1893, the progress for religious pluralism is too much and not enough.
With all their assorted qualities of convictions, the real religions are in accord in one extraordinary instructing: Human creatures are undying and their soul originates from
Ronald Nash’s book Is Jesus the Only Savior? seeks to explain or shed light on this question that has puzzled many in previous generations as well as ours. The resounding answer that comes forth from his arguments is “yes,” Jesus is the only savior of humankind. He starts by taking into account the three schools of thought associated with this controversial question. These are Pluralism, Inclusivism, and Exclusivism. The first six chapters of the book deals with Pluralism, which can be said to be the belief that all major world religions are equal and there is no religion that is superior to the other. Pluralism also emphasizes that all these religions lead to salvation and to God. In the last five chapters of the book, Nash deals with Inclusivism, which entails the belief that one religion is paramount but salvation is possible through other religions. However, all through the book, Nash sets up a strong argument in favor of Exclusivism, which is the belief that salvation can only be found through one religion. It states that one religion is superior to the others . The religion that exclusivists mostly refer to is Christianity, and they base their arguments on Christ’s statement that “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life” found in John 14:6.
All of the worlds religions can be labeled as being either exclusive or non-exclusive based on how false a certain religion regards other religions. Most often exclusive religions are monotheistic and occidental, while non-exclusive religions are polytheistic and oriental. Religions are also either ethnic or universalizing. Ethnic religions can either be simple (based on place or kinship groups), compound (tied to nationality, ethnicity or state), or complex (ethnicity and religion are inseparable). Universalizing religions are classified by how open the religion is to accepting outsiders.