Religion is one of the most powerful forces known to man. It has created wars, art, architecture, governments, literature, education, and so on. Thus, without a doubt, this powerful force has shaped the charastics and courses of Ancient China and Spain. Confucianism’s strong tie with education rendered China to establish numerous schools and thus enable its society to become more sophisticated. Contemporarily, Buddhism’s strong tie with peace prevented the country from waging wars. On the other hand, Catholicism’s strong belief in ‘giving to the poor’ made the country’s poor richer and rich poorer. In addition, Catholicism’s welcoming gesture to converts encouraged the country to pursue its passion to invade as much of the New World as possible. However, China and Spain are not entirely different in terms of the impact their religions rendered; both countries had leaders who were pressured into benefitting their people in order to uphold by the imperatives that their religions constitute. Therefore, due to the powerful effect of religion, China became secluded yet economically developed, Spain became liberal and imperialist, and both of these empires had long-lasting leaders whose benevolent actions were pressured by the religions that governed them.
Confucianism and Buddhism significantly developed China’s economy, and turned the country against the concept of imperialism. Firstly, Confucianism strongly emphasized the importance of education. “Confucius projected the ideal of a gentleman, best described by his benevolence and self control, a man always courteous and eager for service and anxious to learn.” (Stearns, p. 41) Since most of China’s population was once affiliated with Confucianism, this compelled much of the country ...
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The rise and fall of dynasties is a commonly discussed characteristic of the Chinese. The Shang dynasty (1500-1050 B.C.E.) was the foundation of innovative and progressive movements with the first to achieve a working writing system, metalworking, municipalities, and chariots. They believed in sacrificing the captives, who were excluded to being slaves, to the gods and ancestors for this was thought to be an aim for going to war. The invention of writing proved to be a phenomenal improvement as they could now keep records and deliver messages to the commanders of their armies far off at war. They used the logographic system; a word is represented by a pictoral sign which made literacy a royal attribute. With the successes of this risen dynasty, history tells us it must fall so another can be born for a balance in control can be established. An empire known as the Zhou dynasty (1050-256 B.C.E.) ov...
The accomplishments and success of civilizations are closely linked to their religious outlook and the role of religion in their governments and society. Throughout history rulers have used the influence of religions to control their populations and provide the justification for their power. A society with a greater degree of separation between religion and government promotes a superior level of liberty and creativity amongst its people. By the time of the decline of the Roman Empire in the west, however, the world had come full circle to a return to theocratic dictatorship.
John the Baptist. Life Application Bible for Students, John. Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1992.
Regarding religion, Chinese culture saw the emergence of Confucianism and Buddhism as the major influence. Confucianism stressed filial piety which meant respecting elders and superiors, ruling righteously, and obeying commands and orders. Confucianism was introduced by the Chinese thinker Confucius. Buddhism was brought to China, but originated in India and was founded by Siddhartha Gautama. Followers of Buddhism worshipped Buddh...
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Stefanovic, Ranko. “The Sermon on the Mount.” NTST 617: Theology of Matthew. Class lecture, Andrews University, Berrien Springs, MI, October 8, 2013.
When we look throughout the Bible we can see a consistent theme when there are things to be done: Man needs motivation. Various men rose to the occasion to motivate their brethren and in each case we see great love come forth. Love can do many things. This paper will address three things that love has done and can do. Love can build a temple, love can build a wall, and love can spread the Gospel.
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Religion usually plays a big part in the cultures of the world and is the basis for their beliefs and values. In many countries religion is very important, so important that some cultures use it in every aspect of their lives. China l...
In Japan, they were really pleased with Buddhism, but with China, they liked Confucianism. There were those people throughout both of them who were Christian. Confucianism was big in Ming China. Wang Yang-Ming got a lot of followers for his new teachings, but he got heavily criticized for basically changing th...
Theopedia, an Encyclopedia of Biblical Christianity." Theopedia, an Encyclopedia of Biblical Christianity. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2014. (Theopedia) (Theopedia)