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Sunnis vs shiites comparison
Sunnis vs shiites comparison
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On the Harmony of Religion and Philosophy gives us insight to the philosophical views of a certain sect of Islam, and how it influenced it 's followers to view the world around them. Although it is helpful, this is written from a very biased position and it cannot be said that the views of the author are the views of Muslim culture as a whole. There is a constant attack on another religious group throughout the article that helps us to understand what this specific sect deems right and wrong through comparison of the groups.
The author is attacking a religious group called the Asharites throughout the writing on the basis of their views of religion. This attack throughout the article is evidence that there was split in the views of Islamic philosophers. The Asharites appear to have a less strict view on how the idea of God should be presented and about how perfect he has created the world. The author writes "They think that the creation does not lead us to the knowledge of God through any of His goodness, but through possibility, that is, the possibility which is found in all things...
Religion and philosophy greatly affect life in many different cultures. Some of these cultures include those of the Ancient Indians and Ancient Chinese.
Thomas W. Lippman gives an introduction to the Muslim world in the book Understanding Islam. He has traveled throughout the Islamic world as Washington Post bureau chief for the Middle East, and as a correspondent in Indochina. This gave him, in his own words, "sharp insight into the complexities of that turbulent region." However, the purpose of the book is not to produce a critical or controversial interpretation of Islamic scripture. It is instead to give the American layman an broad understanding of a religion that is highly misunderstood by many Americans. In this way he dispels many myths about "Muslim militants," and the otherwise untrue perception of Islamic violence. In this way the American reader will become more knowledgeable about an otherwise unfamiliar topic. However, the most significant element of Lippman’s book is that it presents Islam in a simple way that makes the reader feels his awareness rise after each chapter. This encourages him to continue learning about the world’s youngest major religion. Understanding Islam dispels many misconceptions about the Muslim world, and presents the subject in a way that urges his reader to further his understanding of Islam through continued study.
Like others before him, Ibn Rushd was critiqued for proposing that faith must be guided by reason. In his view, the noblest manifestation of love was to study God through His creation, the function of the brain. Ibn Rushd's rationality was in the custom of predominating Islamic scholasticism, with endeavors to orchestrate Islamic logic and reason in light of the accessible Greek legacy. In the book “On the Harmony of Religions and Philosophy (Kitab fasl al-maqal) he brings forward five interesting “problems” as he has called them. They are: Problem First: the Creation of the Universe, Problem Second: The Advent of the Prophets, Problem Third: Of Fate And Predestination, Problem Fourth: Divine Justice and Injustice, Problem Fifth: The Day of Judgment. I believe that Averroes’s main arguments in the book are questions that come into every human beings head subconsciously. The questions of where do we come from? And who created us? The divine law teaches that the world is created by God and so are the living things such as humans. None of it was created by chance or by itself. Now that it is clear through the divine law that the world is created by God, we start to linger around the question of “why”? Why it all was created? What’s the purpose? And here is when philosophy comes into the picture. Philosophy being a study of the basic nature of existence can help towards a better understanding of religion. Averroes argues that philosophy and religion can never be in conflict because simply truth does not contradict truth. It only makes sense to correlate philosophy and religion due to the fact that that they complete each other. Philosophy is the way of thinking; religion being reason.
Burns, Thomas J. "Islam." Religion and Society. OU Campus' Dale Hall, Norman. 14 Apr. 2014. Lecture.
Islam, a religion of people submitting to one God, seeking peace and a way of life without sin, is always misunderstood throughout the world. What some consider act of bigotry, others believe it to be the lack of education and wrong portrayal of events in media; however, one cannot not justify the so little knowledge that America and Americans have about Islam and Muslims. Historically there are have been myths, many attacks on Islam and much confusion between Islam as a religion and Middle Easter culture that is always associated with it. This paper is meant to dispel, or rather educate about the big issues that plague people’s minds with false ideas and this will only be touching the surface.
Renard, John. Islam and Christianity: theological themes in comparative perspective. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2011. Print.
Robinson, B.A. (2002, October 14). Islam: Is it a religion of violence or of peace.
disagreement. With everyone trying to promote themselves in the eyes of God, or achieve eternal salvation spirituality is no longer about humanity’s deliverance. The individual believes that as long as he serves the word of God he is justified in benefiting himself. Humans have, in a way, made religion into a competition, and with competition comes conflict.
Reason is the ability to think and form logical judgements based on the information provided and rational thought. Through the scientific revolution, Science became considered a form of reason, as the methods used, influenced by the works of Bacon, of gathering evidence, evaluating data and reasoning about the results, fit into the structure and definition of reason that has evolved. Views on the compatibility of reason and religion, however, have changed tremendously from the philosophy of the Greeks to that of the modern day. Richard Dawkins, as the quote depicts, even going so far as to say that faith is “one of the world’s greatest evils” in today’s society. Looking at the views of past rationalist philosophers Locke and Voltaire, and
G. Esposito, John L (2002) Islam; What Everyone Should Know. New York. Oxford University Press Inc.
The first theme that is overlapping is religion. Religion is has been demonstrated as the basic background of the Islam as “a collectivity whose members themselves are not unanimous,” but the fact remains that the “religious actors” concept largely forgoes the problems one might encounter if speaking about religion in general. It covers a wider concept whereby the author of the books uses it to give reference to conduct and behavioral interaction among the
At first glance, many facets of science and religion seem to be in direct conflict with each other. Because of this, I have generally kept them confined to separate spheres in my life. I have always thought that science is based on reason and cold, hard facts and is, therefore, objective. New ideas have to be proven many times by different people to be accepted by the wider scientific community, data and observations are taken with extreme precision, and through journal publications and papers, scientists are held accountable for the accuracy and integrity of their work. All of these factors contributed to my view of science as objective and completely truthful. Religion, on the other hand, always seems fairly subjective. Each person has their own personal relationship with God, and even though people often worship as a larger community with common core beliefs, it is fine for one person’s understanding of the Bible and God to be different from another’s. Another reason that Christianity seems so subjective is that it is centered around God, but we cannot rationally prove that He actually exists (nor is obtaining this proof of great interest to most Christians). There are also more concrete clashes, such as Genesis versus the big bang theory, evolution versus creationism, and the finality of death versus the Resurrection that led me to separate science and religion in my life. Upon closer examination, though, many of these apparent differences between science and Christianity disappeared or could at least be reconciled. After studying them more in depth, science and Christianity both seem less rigid and inflexible. It is now clear that intertwined with the data, logic, and laws of scien...
At the first glance, Islam and Christianity appear to have nothing in common, however; as you go beyond the surface, they appear to have many similarities such as their beliefs of God, their beliefs of life after death, their holy scriptures, and their prayers. These religions, although two entirely different beliefs, share a similar origin. Like many other religions, they both claim to be the one and only true way to God. In order to truly see and understand their similarities, one must date back to the rise and birth of Christianity and Islam. Throughout the course of this essay, I will compare the many facets that show the alikeness between these two growing religions.
Religion can be defined as a system of beliefs and worships which includes a code of ethics and a philosophy of life. Well over 90% of the world 's population adheres to some form of religion. The problem is that there are so many different religions. What is the right religion? What is true religion? The two most common ingredients in religions are rules and rituals. Some religions are essentially nothing more than a list of rules, dos and don 'ts, which a person must observe in order to be considered a faithful adherent of that religion, and thereby, right with the God of that religion. Two examples of rules-based religions are Islam and Judaism. Islam has its five pillars that must be observed.
When first looking at the relationship between philosophy and religion, I found it easier to explain the differences rather than the similarities. I began this paper the same way I do others. This generally involves a profound amount of research on the topic at hand. However, in contrast to the other papers I have done, the definitions of philosophy and religion only raised more questions for me. It was fascinating how the explanations differed dramatically from author to author.