Spiritual Belief
If you're looking for a sense of purpose that transcends the daily grind, or are just curious about spirituality, it's worth checking out this post. We'll start by briefly touching on the difference between faith and spirituality and then go into some more detail about the spiritual beliefs of five different religions: Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, and Buddhism. Hopefully we can help clear up some misconceptions about what these different faiths believe!
In modern society spirituality is often misconstrued as a form of blind faith in which one uses feelings to determine their course of action. But this is not so; rather it is an openness to your inner self and an outward connection with all others around us. It is a form of knowing that balances the spiritual and material world.
We'll start with a brief overview of the five religions mentioned above, then move into a more detailed description of each one.
Christianity: For many people, Christianity is the religion that seems most familiar. There are several denominations within Christianity, including Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, Mormon (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), Jehovah's Witness and many others. The basic idea behind Christianity is that there are two persons who comprise God: God himself (Father) and Jesus Christ (Son). God the Son took human form in Jesus Christ so that he could serve as the Savior for humankind.
There are many myths within Christian beliefs, but the basic tenet behind the religion is clearly given in Matthew 1:18 and 20: "As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name."
The differences in Christianity have been primarily caused by differences within doctrine between Protestantism (especially Lutheranism), Roman Catholicism and Anglicanism. However, most denominations are still united in a single body of beliefs (The Episcopal Church), as well as a National Council of Churches that has been shared by over 750 million Christians who identify themselves as Episcopalians.
The Old Testament (the Bible) is followed by some Christians and the New Testament (the Christian scriptures) is followed by others. The Old Testament is to a great extent a set of stories, but also included are many laws and prophecies that are considered to be of greater importance than the stories themselves. Much of Jesus' teaching was spoken in parables and was thus not written down for later generations.
Islam: Islam is the name given to a religion based on Judaism, Christianity & Islâm which means 'Submission', or 'Surrender'. Although there are several differences between Islam and each of those other religions, these other religions have been greatly influenced by Islam.
Muslims believe that there is only one God, Allah, who is the creator and Sustainer of the universe. God created Adam, who was the first man. Adam and Eve were both descendants of Prophet Ismail (Ishmael). The disobedience of both father and mother brought about the fall of mankind. All people are born into sin, but can be saved by 'leading a good life', or 'belief'.
Tags:
Spiritual Belief