Religion and Theology Essays

According to Ali (1965), the main concept of Islamic teaching is peace, war is not holy and it is not justifiable in the Islamic teachings. In addition, the Quran insists that there must be no coercion in matters of faith (2.256). It is due to the non-coercion that the Islamic faith spread in many people between 662-1492.

From the comparison of Christianity and Aboriginal Dreaming, different ways in which the history and beliefs of the two forms of religion contribute to an understanding of religion in Australian society today are presented. This provides an understanding of the extent of religious tolerance and intolerance that exists in Australian society.

According to Poynting and Mason (2007), Islamophobia denotes demonizing Islam leading to negative attitudes and feelings towards Muslims and Islam. Johnson (2011) views the term as denoting the prejudice, fear, or hatred of Muslims, particularly as a political force. Bleich (2011) comments that Islam should be viewed as a religion instead of a cultural identity.

This essay shall argue that ‘Tantric Buddhism’ or the ‘Vajrayana’ Buddhism as practiced in Tibet, combines basic tenets of Indian Tantra, Yoga Sutras, and Mahayana Buddhism, and skilfully adapts it to suit the needs of Tibetan people with prior Shamanistic beliefs. In doing so, it appeals to both the intellectuals and laymen because it simultaneously provides a way to confront the problems of everyday existence for the lay.

Additionally, Tibetan Buddhists understood that Buddhas did have suppressed desires and emotions of the worldly life since they were human too. It was therefore important to recognize this fact in order to make it clear that an ascetic path wasn’t necessary to attain Buddhahood as Mahayana Buddhism believed it to be. 

There are a host number of factors that have a direct and indirect influence on the way international policies and relations are formed. Economic factors, historical factors, military factors, security factors, and religious factors, all have a significant influence on the way international policies are framed among nations.

Religion like other elements of distinctiveness among people is a core cause of most of the religious conflict where most of the lives were lost due to these disparities. For instance in central Africa, Christianity and the Muslim community rival over which religion will dominate the country.

Religion is a dominant factor that defines humanity in contemporary society. Over the years, religion has been the central pillar that has built humanity’s moral aspect, given the fact that it unites believers with their creators. Different religions have various ways of worshipping or exercising their spiritual duties. 

Quran has different views concerning the miracles that were performed by Jesus, but it recognizes Jesus’ miracles. The world has several religions based on believing and having faith in a supernatural being with Christianity having the majority believers followed by the fastest growing religion, Islam.

Whenever Maryam (Mary) was rebuked by individuals for conferring wrongdoing, she pointed towards the child who talked that he was designated as a prophet by Allah (Quran 19: 30-33). Talking from the support was Jesus' first supernatural occurrences however it was purposefully kept a mystery by numerous Jews of the time.  

Through this discussion, it is evident that religion presents a strong presence in the Chinese social culture, especially its death ritual- Da Chai. Further, its perception of life and Tao as the path to immortality provides an urge for more research on the practicality of observing all the rituals, practices, and teachings.

This essay examines three important things related to the application of the notion of culture to the issue of Jihadism. First, it defines the concept of culture. Second, the essay examines how the counterculture of Jihadism is constructed through the major components of culture. Third, the essay how different from the mainstream culture the counterculture of Jihadism is and whether it challenges or reinforces the status quo.

Even though Islam has been considered to be adversative to the empowerment of women, a new generation of Muslim intellectuals and activists believe that patriarchal practices, as well as values, could be mitigated by persuading other Muslims that equality between the sexes has been mandated by Islam.

In an expression of its agitation, the group has staged bombings such as the 2002 Bali bombing, the Australian embassy bombing in Jakarta in 2004. Laskar Jihad is heavily linked to the Al-Qaeda group hence an accomplice to violence perpetrated by Al Qaeda. Fox (p, 16) says the group was formed in 2000. 

The roots of Thai Buddhism lie with the religious movement started by Siddhartha in the sixth century B.C. Buddhism had gained widespread popularity in Asia by the third century B.C. Consequently, there were different interpretations of the Buddha's teachings resulting in the foundation of several sects.

Bali is a traditional society and hence the Balinese adore their culture very much. On the other hand, consultants and other visiting experts come mostly from western society which is considered modern. Hence, there is a great contrast in their belief system; each party believes that theirs is the best.

The strategies were effective at the time of the Cold War to a level that was superficial. The majority of the local religions in Eastern as well as southeastern Asia had been tamed and made irrelevant in as far as the day’s big issue was concerned. Most of the practices of religion especially in China vanished from sight.

It is essential to state that the Second Vatican Council of the Catholic Church proclaimed that Christians should maintain good relations with other people from other non-Christian religions (1965) in line with the thrusts of the Church of “promoting unity and love among men” (Second Vatican Council, 1965, par. 1).

Every religion believes in the existence of God. One of the other cannot claim a monopoly on this belief. Thus, religious pluralism emanates from the fact that whatever religion a person belongs to he is taught that there is a higher being over humanity. They might refer to God in different names.

The Israelites story is actually continued in the Gospel of Luke. This is because the Gospel starts off by clearly elaborating on Zachariah’s story and his wife Elizabeth who was barren. It elaborates that though the two were righteous, they were childless. Other Israelites illustrated in the book are the likes of Anna and Simeon. 

The Council of Tent was constituted for the self-renewal of the Catholic Church and reinforcement of the teachings of the Catholic Church that were under attack by the Protestant Reformist movements. As a consequence of the Council of Trent, the practices of the Catholic Church that had led to the loss of faith were changed. 

While many world religions may like to condemn the Hindu Religion with its Caste system, it provides a strong bond to the people who profess this faith. Even other world nations apart from India condemn this system as being racial but it is not different from other groups in the world that have their own beliefs and practices.

Japan's religion is mostly linked with Buddhism and Shinto. The majority of Japanese people usually identify themselves with fundamentals of various religions rather than mere believers of a single religion, (Reischauer, 1988). These religions are known as Shinbustu Shugo. In Japan, there is freedom of religion allowing such minor religions as Christianity, Sikhism, and Islam to be practiced.

When Francisco de Xavier was contemplating a missionary visit to Japan in the 16th century he is said to have asked whether the Japanese were likely to become Christians. He was told that first of all they would ask many questions and see what he knew. (Ecumenical Buddhism, St Francis Xavier of Japan)

The theoretical objectives of counterinsurgency are far removed from reality. Counterinsurgency is a stratagem employed by the US to acquire and retain control over a troubled region. As such, counterinsurgency is a strategy of domination perpetrated by a country in another country or region. The US is a past master at utilizing counterinsurgency to engender its own brand of neo-colonialism.

Abraham is listed as being the 10th generation after Noah, who himself was the the10th of Adam. Whenever it was it was a very long time ago.  Abraham was born, possibly in about 1800 B.C.E, one of three brothers in Ur. This was a city placed between the two rivers of the Euphrates and the Tigris, between modern-day Baghdad and the Persian Gulf.

The Scriptures should not be taken as entirely literal accounts, but are a means of passing on knowledge by interpretive analogies. Religion began as mankind sought to understand the world around him. It couldn’t just have happened he decided, so he sought for the source  - the creator and found Him in God. 

Jesuses activities stirred up the authorities against him. There were even claims that his powers came from the Devil. The leaders of the people were probably frightened that he would cause the Romans to come down heavily on them for fear of an uprising. Jesus was well aware that he would die.

The religion of Mesopotamia comprises of the religious practices and beliefs of the various people that lived in Mesopotamia which is believed to be present in Iraq. ‘The religion is thought to have existed for about 3000 years starting in the 4th millennium to the first century BCE (Bottéro2007 pp. 201-231).  

Some people hold a strong belief that the Mayan prophesy will come to pass and that the world will certainly end come 2012 while others hold divergent views.  A Mayan expert Coe, a professor of anthropology at Yale University carried out comprehensive research on the Mayan culture and writings, which earned him an award.

Indonesia has a disturbing level of Islamic fundamentalism whose excesses include public beheadings of westerners followed by graphic displays of these ritualistic killings on television and the internet (USA Today, 2004). In the Qur'an, there are specific instructions as to what a Moslem must do in battle when he encounters an infidel soldier. 

The message being conveyed to Moses and the rest of Humanity is that for us to maintain a healthy relationship with God we need to be established and grounded in Holiness. One is only left to wonder what might have happened to Moses if he had failed to obey God’s instruction to remove his sandals and to not get any closer to the burning bush.

Mathew 4:1-11 is a narrative providing details on three temptations Jesus endured in the desert after fasting in the wilderness for forty days. The bible records that Jesus was led by the Spirit of God into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. The spirit noted in this verse is the same spirit that descended on Jesus during the time of His baptism.

The Theravada is commonly referred to. Chen (1964), looks at the tradition of the south which is viewed to be the oldest yet strongest in the southern Asian countries likes Sri Lanka, in this culture treatment of illness traditionally has a massive emphasis on personal accountability for all one’s actions. 

A growing awareness of the plurality of the Australian society and theoretical discussions presented have over time contributed to the development of several courses of “Study of Religion” in Australian senior secondary school.  However, in Australian universities studies in religious education are still struggling to maintain their place.  

It is apparent from the essay that Aboriginal people in their traditional communities celebrate spiritual and socially significant events such as birth, initiation, and death. An example was given of the Northern Aranda Aboriginal people who performed sacred ceremonies that ensured continuity of dreaming.

Multiculturalism is leading to a decline in religion by people from different cultures influencing each other to abandon religion. Work-life balance is leading to a decline in religion in that people are finding it more difficult to balance their time to include time for religion. All these three are the major reasons why there has been a major decrease in religion in Australia.

Catharism is the last evidence and a dualistic idea supporting God of good and the God of evil. In modern Christianity, Satan functions in creating Orthodox dualism. This is evident where most Christians belief in Satan. One is where modern Christians view Satan as soft where they belief in him but can not see him affecting their lives.

According to the utilitarianism principle, an action is morally right if it elicits beneficial consequences than harmful ones. In order to assess whether premarital sex is morally wrong, one must consider all its negative consequences for instance unplanned pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, divorce for the married among others. 

Some of the ancient and very conservative religions have also undergone some level of change. Some of Asia’s traditional religious practices include Buddhism which was primarily practiced by Tibetan people. The Chinese occupation of the Tibetan region stripped Tibetans of their religious freedom and made it difficult to openly perform Buddhism.

Most of the “holy lands” are places where the founder of the religion was born, buried, and received their calling. Other pilgrimage places are those sites where miracles were done or where the people perceive them as having spiritual power. These places are commemorated with temples and shrines that believers are advised to tour to get spiritual nourishment.

He studied this through classroom observation and conversation with the children from which the conclusion was to be drawn. From this study, he also suggested pedagogical implications for nurturing spirituality through the primary religious education curriculum. He argues that there has been very little attempt to describe what is meant by spirituality.

Prophet Isaiah is the earliest prophets in the Bible of Hebrew, preceding Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. The initial 39 chapters prophesy disaster for a wicked Judah and for every country of the world that goes up against God, whereas the last chapters prophesy Israel’s restoration and a fresh creation of the future kingdom of God (Beyer, 2007).

The history of numerology is traced among the Japanese, Chinese, Greek, Hebrews, Egyptians, early Christians, Mayans, all of who have used numerology for thousands of years to obtain a deeper understanding of themselves and the universe. Despite the long history, the word "numerology" had not been recorded in English until after 1907 (Cai, 2001).

This essay explores the similarities and differences in the attitudes of sexuality and the sexual body in Christianity and Buddhism. To explore sexuality in these religions, it is important to understand their basic belief. Christian faith is anchored on the belief that God sent his Son Jesus to die for the sin of humanity.

This can be attributed to the wonderful performances of the main characters as well as the interpretations of its audience through analyzing the film’s semiotics. Semiotics can be defined as the science of signs, and in the case of films, these signs encompass sound and pictures. The great thing about the language of film – pictures, and sound – is that it is universal and that everybody understands it (Bignell 13).

The gender of an individual can either be male or female and there are no intermediate states. Gender is definite and this means that an individual does not choose his or her gender but is born that way. There are a few exceptions to this school of thought as there exist some children who are born with both male and female traits and organs.

In 2014, Hong Kong’s department of health conducted a survey on breastfeeding trends in Hong Kong. The survey revealed that the rate of women who ever breastfed their children at hospital discharge was a bit high at 86% which was an improvement from 83% in 2012. Unfortunately, this rate had declined to only 25% in 2014 by the time the children reach 12 months of age.

In reference to the Christian religion, salvation is the only way to prove that an individual is righteous. One is only justified if he is on the right road. There is a failure to do that the individual suffers damnation to eternal suffering, which makes the individual fear go against the conventions of the Christian religion.

The paper "Machiavelli's Attack on Religion" is an outstanding example of a religion and theology essay. Niccolò Machiavelli is undoubtedly one of the most controversial political thinkers of all time and the analysis of his writings has captivated the imaginations of many a political thinker. His most famous work, The Prince, is at the centre of this controversy and was based loosely on the life of Prince Cesare Borgia of the Papal States.