Due to the depth of religious tradition it is difficult to dedicate a specific role and function. Rather religious tradition fulfills several roles and functions, all playing a crucial part in both an individual’s life and society as a whole. Amid the bountiful roles and functions of religion tradition are the most important being explanation, comfort, and governing.
The highly questioned and controversial matter of humanity’s existence raises concerns in society. Humanity’s existence has always been questioned, but as time and technology progressed science has been used to prove how humanity and the world came to be. Though several theories have been proposed with valid supporting evidence, no one can definitely state how humanity came to be. When science fails to answer questions, religious tradition intervenes with an explanation. The history, stories, and tradition of the almighty in a religious tradition are used to explain the origin of humanity. Being that religious tradition heavily influences the mindset of an individual, it plays a pivotal role in the explanation of humanity’s origin. Religious tradition does not only use
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its history and stories to explain humanity’s origin, but also other societal or life questions that science cannot answer Aside from being a source of explanation for the unexplained, religious tradition mainly acts as a source of comfort for individuals.
In many religious traditions suffering surrounds the life of the almighty, but however, suffering is always overcome with prevailing happiness in the end. Individuals correlate the life of the almighty to their own, especially in times of hardship. During these times, the belief that as God suffered, so will I, but like him I will also overcome and prevail. Individuals also use the presence and belief in an almighty to assure security in ones life. For example, In Christianity the belief in God “helps them not worry when things don't go the way they expect. Jesus said we're not to fret, not to worry, not to let our hearts be troubled or afraid. He said we're to trust in you— and also in Him”
(Beliefnet). Religious tradition also functions as a source of governing manner in society. Because religious tradition revolves heavily around the worship of an almighty with acute views on their life and decisions, these actions constitute what is good, bad, right, or wrong. These actions, as well as other teachings in a religious tradition, form the image of what society should be. In turn, society is then created off the life of an almighty and these teachings. This is exemplified in the prayer, “we humbly pray thee so to guide and govern us by thy Holy Spirit, that in all the cares and occupations of our life we may not forget thee, but may remember that we are ever walking in thy sight”. (Beliefnet) Countless religious traditions are present in the world, some intertwine with their similarities, while others oppose with extreme differences. Either way, each religious tradition is composed of distinct history and tradition in accordance to their own almighty, but each tradition essentially reflects the same roles and functions. The various religious communities should be inclusive and accepted of other faiths traditions because that can only expose new ideas, or even old ideas from a different perspective. A new outlook on a situation can help better the existing tradition and overall better the status and lives of its followers. By being inclusive to other faiths, an existing tradition can only become better.
As ancient Rome began to fall, Christianity began rising. Around 2,000 years ago, Jesus of Nazareth was born, later to be known as the Messiah or Son of God. When people of the Roman era began to hear of such a powerful being, they began to convert to Christianity. Why did Christianity take hold on the ancient world; Christianity took hold on the ancient world because it offered immortality, equality, and it was spread like wildfire.
The existence of a God is always questioned, but it is questioned even more so at times of suffering. As Rabbi Dr Louie Jacobs comments “If God exists… how and why could such a Being tolerate all the pain, misery, and anguish that is often the lot of humanity”.
1.) Intro: I decided to focus my Religious Ethnography on a friend whom I recently have become close with. Adhita Sahai is my friend’s name, which she later told me her first name meant “scholar.” I choose to observe and interview Adhita, after she invited me to her home after hearing about my assignment. I was very humbled that she was open to this, because not only was it a great opportunity for this paper, but it also helped me get to know Adhita better. I took a rather general approach to the religious questions that I proposed to the Sahai family because I didn’t want to push to deep, I could tell Hinduism is extremely important to this family. Because this family does not attend a religious site where they worship, I instead listened to how they do this at home as a family instead.
Religions play a crucial role in impacting how adherents live their lives and their understanding of humanities enduring questions of life. Religion is an active system of faith. Christianity is a religion centred on the teachings of Jesus Christ and the bible. A living tradition is one that is active amongst followers in present society. Whereas a dynamic tradition is capable of adapting and amending in order to meet the needs of society. Christianity is formed as a living and dynamic tradition, which is defined by its distinct characteristics. Characteristics include, sacred texts and writings, rituals and ceremonies, beliefs and believers and ethics. Ultimately, Christianity is shaped as a living and dynamic tradition through the characteristics of religion’s impacts on adherents.
The teaching of the Bible should shape the church’s views on humanity. However, the teaching of the church should not be oblivious of the naturalist explanations of the important issues concerning Anthropology, because Christianity makes bold truth claims about the origin of humanity. It has to face the counter-claims with a fair consideration of their merits. For example the antiquity of humanity has been taken for granted for many years until only recently with the challenges coming from natural sciences. This forces Christians to re-evaluate their claims in order to reconcile what they have always believed with the new findings in science. In response, Christians have either rejected all anthropological data, or argued for the non-historical nature of the text of the Bible, or tried to reconcile biblical information with the scientific data.
Santeria is a setup of credence that include aspects of Yoruba mythology. It was brought to the New world- Cuba, Brazil, Haiti, the Southern USA, Puerto Rico, and Trinidad by Nigerians or “Yoruba slaves” along with Christianity and indigenous American traditions. During the time of transition and oppression, the need for preservation of their culture in a new world became a way of surviving. In order to practice their religion, Yoruba slaves were obliged to merge their customs with aspects of Catholicism which fusion to what’s known as Santeria. Santeria is a religion that aims to strengthen relationships between mortals and powerful spirits called Orishas. Followers believe that spirits will help them in life, if the appropriate rituals are performed. Despite that animal sacrifice it is not the main form of “offering” as a ritual, they are indeed part of Santeria.
Every religion embodies a plethora of recognized rituals that are significant to its teachings. Customs exclusive to each religion can include acts such as: attending a weekly mass, praying five times a day at specified hours, celebrating the transition from childhood to manhood, along with endless others. The similarity shared amongst all religious rituals is that the follower of faith must believe whole-heartedly in what he/she is doing or saying. Dhikr, or the remembrance of God, is a ritual based in Islam that does not receive the attention it deserves from mainstream Muslims, and is highly under appreciated for its value (Robson 238). Its myriad versions allow it to be very personal, whereas other rituals are more structured, which is
The concept of suffering plays an important role in Christianity, regarding such matters as moral conduct, spiritual advancement and ultimate destiny. Indeed an emphasis on suffering pervades the Gospel of Mark where, it can be argued, we are shown how to "journey through suffering" (Ditzel 2001) in the image of the "Suffering Son of Man" (Mark 8:32), Jesus Christ. Although theologians have suggested that Mark was written to strengthen the resolve of the early Christian community (Halpern 2002, Mayerfeld 2005), the underlying moral is not lost on a modern reader grappling with multifarious challenges regarding faith in the face of suffering. In his article "A Christian Response to Suffering", William Marravee (1987) describes suffering as an "experience over which we men and women continue to stumble and fall". The way we view God is crucial to the way we view suffering according to Marravee, who delineates the disparity between a view of God as an ‘outsider’ and the biblical image of God – where God is an ‘insider’ who suffers with us in our struggle. This essay seeks to explain the Christian view of suffering and the purpose suffering can have in our lives.
When modern men ponder the origin of human beings, we often struggle between the theories of modern science and the divine intervention by an unseen God that was predestined to create the first man and woman according to religion. One of the most intriguing questions that faith struggles to discover is that of our beginning. Why did human beings begin on earth? How and when were we made? Was there a creator? What was the purpose that men came into the world? For some, these questions have always been answered by the belief in religious deities. Each religion, no matter how ancient or modern, has sought to answer these most fundamental questions that influence, if not dominate, the attributes of that human civilization. Because of this, diverse
What types of strategies do women of faith traditions employ to negotiate their understanding of gender roles, norms, and beliefs?
Pain, suffering, hurt, and lies make up our daily lives. They consume us. They keep us captive. They beat us down until we think we can never get up. They make us depressed and anxious. They make us want to do horrible things to ourselves and others. Some of us know these pains and lies a little too well. But we no longer need to be consumed by them. There is hope.
The different interpretations of the creation of man and the universe are great for the purpose that they result in a flood of ideas. Although the explanations may not be accredited with scientific backings, there is a value to the myths that may not contribute to the biological theory of the origins of man; however the stories do add to the history of the human intellect and the human spirit.
The Godhead is the most powerful force known to man. The Godhead is commonly known as the "Trinity". The Latin word is "trinnatos" meaning three-fold. The Godhead is one entity with three different functions. God, the Word (Jesus) and the Holy Spirit make up the Godhead. We will discuss the Godhead: God, the Word (Jesus) and the Holy Spirit.
World Religions 110 has been such an amazing class to me. It will be hard to put into words how much I loved taking this class and learning about the different religions. Not only did we learn about religions, but also I feel we also learned about character, compassion, and actualization. Out of all the different topics to discuss, I feel the most important to me are: Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity.
Islam is often viewed as a religious tradition which originates from the seventh century. An important part of Islam is based on the prophet Muhammad, and the great revelations in which he received from God, according to the Quran. However, it is most important to realize that Muslims do not view Islam as a new religion. Muslims believe that Allah is the same God who revealed himself to Abraham, Moses, and Jesus. Therefore, Jews, Christians, and Muslims are all followers of the same living God. Muslims believe that the Quran is the final and complete revelation of God to all people. It is not easy for some people to accept the fact that God exists when there have been so many throughout history. You cannot also say if someone’s religion is right or wrong or the God they believe in is a “Supreme” god. Why Islam and not Christianity? Why Hinduism and not Judaism? Every one of them different and they vary from one another; they have different rules and are all passionate about their belief. But the fact still remains that there is one who is above all and he is God. God is Omnipresent, omnipotent, and Benevolent.