Introduction Researchers, who adopt a functionalist approach to religion, believe that it strengthens the unity of the community. Moreover, this institution is believed to eliminate the risk of social conflicts or at least minimise their impacts. This idea has been advocated by Emile Durkheim and his supporters (1965, p. 44)....
In Matthew 6: 19-24, Jesus has three main teachings for Christians to apply in their lives. First, he talks about the importance of storing treasures in heaven where they cannot be destroyed (Bible Gateway, n.d). He explores the concepts of storing treasures in heaven (spiritual) and on earth (material). This...
Introduction This paper examines the differences between the beliefs of the Roman Catholicism and the mainstream Protestant Christianity. During Protestant Reformation in the 16th century, “several groups of churches separated from the Roman Catholic Church” (Walton 40). This marked the beginning of differences in beliefs and unity of Christendom among...
When it comes to discussing how a particular religion responds to ecological crises, it is important to outline ecologically relevant theological postulates of this religion and to define the qualitative aspects of how it reflects upon psychological/behavioral leanings of its adherents. In my paper, I will aim to explore the...
Distinguish between key concepts and subordinate ideas. Concisely summarize these The key concept of ‘Creation and Wisdom’ by Phillip McMillion is that creation plays a vital part for a minimum of three ways in the acumen of the Old Testament: Wisdom and ethics, wisdom and idolatry, wisdom and praise. The...
The Fall – Then What is revealed about human nature? In Christianity, such a notion as human nature has two major assertions. The first one is the statement that a human being was created in God’s image. It means that our human nature, to a limited degree, has some attributes...
Introduction Latin America covers “an area of around 19.2 square kilometers” (Socolow 5). The region has twenty sovereign nations covering the Caribbean and South America. Most of “the countries in Latin America are characterized by the use of different Romantic languages” (Socolow 9). The landing of the Europeans in Latin...
The first chapters of the Gospel of Mathew in the New Testament relate an account of how Jesus Christ has begun his earthly ministry to people. In this paper, chapters 3, 4, and 5 will be observed in detail with an objective to narrate my insights into Jesus’ thinking as...
Introduction The views of Thomas of Aquinas and Saint Augustine contain many similar points. However, some difference exists between the two thinkers. Aquinas and Augustine had different attitudes to philosophy. While Augustine offered individual ways to cognize God, Aquinas presented logical proofs that God exists. Unlike Augustine, Aquinas acknowledged earthly...
From the point of view of Hinduism samsara is a cycle of being born, living, dying and then being re-born again. This cycle will repeat many times, while the person is tied up by their own karma, which is the law of causes and consequences that determine an individual’s quality...
Introduction Today, many Christians neglect the Old Testament, considering that it only contains bedtime stories and is not relevant for the modern believers. However, this approach is not correct. Studying the Old Testament gives a modern believer knowledge on the relationship between God and people, explains certain universal principles, helps...
Samsara is the process of birth, dying, and being reborn. Karma stands for action. It shows that every cause or activity has its consequences. It looks at humans in general (Brooke 490). Each choice made by an individual, whether good or bad, has its outcomes. Good deeds bring about happiness,...
Homosexuality is the manifestation of sexual desire towards a member of one’s own sex or the erotic activity with a member of the same sex (Strauss 1). Every Bible believing Christian, who has read the scriptures and understood what they say about homosexuality condemns homosexuality and should be oppose to...
Christians should be allowed to kill depending on the case at hand. Though Christians through the Bible in Hebrews 12:14 are encouraged to pursue peace (The Bible 835), love one another in John 13:34-35 (The Bible 749), be compassionate in Matthew 9:36 (The Bible 675), and forgive others when wronged...
What do (or should) Christians mean by the word “Salvation”? The Christian definition for salvation is deliverance from wrath of God brought about by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Salvation is a process which Witherington describes as: “one believe in ones heart that Jesus Christ is Lord, He...
One of the questions which remains unanswered among Christians concerns how the Bible came into being. How were the writings collected and organized into what is presently used as the holy Christian Book? Who exactly collected the writings composed in the New Testament? These and other questions address the entire...
No one can deny the role of history in our day to day lives. We are and will remain to be products and by-products of past events. What the world experiences today in the name of postmodernity is simply a complex transformation of what was practiced in the early days....
Introduction Modernism and postmodernism belong to the same movement. Both are based on changes in cultural, economic, and social movements. However, the two movements differ when it comes to the way of thinking. This essay will explore which world view, the modernity or the postmodernity, is more conducive to Christian...
Introduction Buddhism is believed to have been in existence, way before Siddhartha existed (United Press International, 2007, p. 1). Most scholars observe that the roots of Buddhism are very deep, and though Siddhartha contributed a lot to the development of the religion, many Buddhists believe that he was just one...
First stage The first writings about the main stages of life in Hinduism appeared thousands of years ago, and they are closely connected with the Vedic tradition. The opportunity to follow four life stages is significantly based on the caste system, and it is associated with people’s completing definite duties...
Indigenous religions are based on the strong connection between people and the nature which is reflected in people’s treating animals and their attitude to the environment with references to the natural phenomena as the ways to communicate with spirits. All the natural surroundings are full of spirits or gods, and...
Introduction Buddhism was brought to light about 500 BC by Siddhartha Gautama. Buddhism has not been described as a religion as such but rather as philosophy. The story of Siddhartha Gautama and how he brought Buddhism to limelight is quite moving. In this essay the thoughts of Siddhartha Gautama are...
Introduction The Gospel of Matthew is the first book of the New Testament. It tells about the life of Jesus and His teachings. In particular, Chapters 24 and 25 contain some of the stories told by Him. In this paper, we, utilizing the questions offered in Duvall and Hays’s book...
Introduction The Bible is one of the most influential books in human history. Words τὰ βιβλία are translated from Greek as “the books”; and indeed, The Bible is a collection of books. The Old Testament is generally divided into 39 books (Bible: Old Testament, n.d.). The first of them, Genesis,...
Introduction The history of the establishment of monarchy and the reign of the first Israeli kings is described in the books of Samuel and the books of Kings. The first king, Saul, was appointed due to the fact that people turned away from God’s will; even though his successor, David,...
Introduction The Holy Bible is one of the most influential books in the history of humanity. This is no wonder, for it contains a great amount of wisdom that should be learned from. One of the always timely topics discussed in the Holy Scripture is the issue of diligence and...
Literary criticism Context The Transfiguration of Jesus (Matthew 17:1-13) is often being regarded as one of the most important miracles that took place during the course of the Savior’s earthly service (second only to the Resurrection). This miracle was meant to prove to the most loyal disciples of Jesus (Peter,...
Introduction There is a reason why the Bible is one of the most influential books in human history. It is not only the word of God; it addresses a wide range of issues which are important in our lives, and shows how the Lord wants us to behave. In this...
Introduction Each religion of the East (classical Hinduism and Buddhism) teaches separate principles from one another. Every religion of the East may be similar in some way, but their rituals, books, and views of a higher being are different. Principles can be found in multiple religious traditions, but each religion...
Buddhism is a form of religion that has three major schools of thoughts including Theravada, Mahayana, and Vihrayana. Mahayana originated from India in the 5th CE under the leadership of the Gupta dynasty. The government valued the teachings of Mahayana traditions to an extent of establishing a public university referred...
Introduction Buddha whose real name was Siddhartha Gautama is believed to have been born at around 563 BCE and lived till 483. According to a report by Ascension Gateway, he is believed to have been born on Nepal to a king named Suddhodana, his mother died after giving birth to...
Saint Augustine was one of the philosophers who tried to explain the role of religion in society by observing that any decision has to be based on the teaching of God in the scripture. For instance, he noted that virtue is a rightly ordered love in the sense that individuals...
Introduction The Bible is one of the most influential books in history; the New Testament, having been written almost two millennia ago, still has much to teach people about. To properly comprehend what it says, it is important to see the main principles taught there, as well as to understand...
For centuries, philosophers and thinkers have made many arguments for and against the existence of God. One of the simplest and most powerful arguments made by the proponents of the existence of God is the design argument. The basic premise of the design argument is that the complex and functional...
A defining characteristic of human civilization is the presence of religion, which is the belief in and worship of a supernatural being(s) through rituals. Most people in the world practice a religion and their particular faith influences their worldview and affects how they act. There exist many religions with most...
One of the main epistemological dilemmas, which continues to be faced by philosophers/theologians, is whether one’s belief in God can be considered rationally justified. As of today, the discursive validity of such a belief has been assessed from a variety of different gnoseological perspectives, among which the most ‘proposition-friendly’ appears...
G.E. Lessing created a powerful poem that talks about a father’s love for his sons. The father’s love for his three sons was illustrated through the importance of the ring of power. He will bequeath the ring to his favorite child (Lessing 1). However, he realized that he equally loved...
Introduction In the 14th century, Geoffrethe y Charny, a French soldier, claimed that he possessed the Shroud of Jesus. Since then, there has been controversy among scholars and believers concerning this Shroud, which is currently preserved in Turin, Italy. The first critic to dispute Charny’s assertion was the Bishop of...
Introduction Generally, Muslims in several parts of the world continue to experience cold relations with other members of the society with each side having negating stereotypes of the other. Much of the French and Malaysian communities view the Islamic followers as either fanatical in some way or violent in nature,...
Introduction The principle of Religious Syncretism entails the integration of two religious beliefs into an entirely new system comprising elements of both religions. One such combination is between Islam religion and Hinduism religion which has sprung up to a single religion that has come to be known as Sikhism. This...
Introduction Jainism is a religion in South Asia, India in particular, which is founded on the doctrine of non-violence to all creatures. Despite the faith sharing some concepts with Buddhism and Hinduism, it is imperative to note that Jainism is an independent religion. It is an essential component of South...
In consideration of the Methodist’s heritage and the study of it, Methodists are people from many denominations and organizations that attribute their beliefs to John Wesley. In reference to The United Methodist Book of Disciple, (pp. 45), Methodists in the early times were drawn from all walks of life and...
Christianity and Islam are two major religions in the world. Some people often see the two religions as convergent as people practicing them tend to oppose each other. Of course, these religions have some differences but they also have loads of similarities. In fact, Christianity and Islam have a lot...
Introduction One of the most astounding developments in world history was that within five centuries after its inception, Christianity had won adherents throughout the Roman Empire, including the backing of the Roman state. Christianity started as an apparently unknown sect of Judaism. It survived persecution to become an important part...
Hindu religion is the prevalent religion in most parts of South Asia and indeed, the third largest religion after Islam and Christianity. The faith has more than a billion followers, but a billion of such followers are said to be residing in India. There are currently many versions of Hindu...
Summary of assessment findings Spiritual assessment refers to evaluating patients’ religious needs and values to find out whether they have effects on medical health (O’Brien, 2013). It would be important to indicate that most patients associate their illnesses with spirits (Aten, McMinn & Worthington Jr, 2011). Thus, they use faith...
Introduction There is a lot that seems unknown about the similarities and differences of European culture in terms of literature, music, and visual arts. The European culture has broad elements that allowed different artists to delve into development of different kinds of cultural arts, music, or literature. The aim of...
Introduction Mecca has been a significant social, economic, and political hub in the Middle East since the ancient period. Before the rise of Islam, Mecca mainly served as a commercial and religious center in the Middle East. Mecca was strategically located along major trade routes that linked the Middles East,...
Introduction God is the originator of religion. He created the world and the people in it and established some general principles and laws which they were instructed to follow. God spoke through selected prophets who heard him speak and recorded his words (Johnstone 21). He revealed to the people through...
Introduction The Catholic religion is one group that has several rituals that distinguish it from other religious groups. The term Catholic Church is derived from the Greek word ‘Katholikos,’ which means “universal.” Therefore the Catholic group can be said to be a body of believers found across all nations in...
Introduction: Tracing the Discrepancies between the Testaments God’s decisions differ. This statement is often used to describe the content of two Testaments. The scholars of all times have been investigating the sources and the logical explanations of some discrepancies that put a strong line of demarcation between the Old and...
Polytheism was the most outstanding feature of the ancient religious belief system among the Egyptians. Several deities or gods interacted with Egyptians. The gods had full control of nature and that nothing could take place without their influence. Hence, it was the role of individual Egyptians to act according to...
Religion as a phenomenon has a complex social purpose and is typically viewed as a source of spirituality and ethical development of its proponents. However, apart from the chances that religion opens for believers in terms of their personal development, it also provides extensive opportunities for societal progress by building...
Have you ever wondered how different religions influence society? In this impact of religion on society essay sample, you’ll find an answer to this and other questions about impact of religion on society. Keep reading to gain some inspiration for your paper! Impact of Religion on Society: Essay Introduction Let...
Introduction Religion is an integral part of most societies. In the history of humanity, religions have influenced major parts of the way of life of most societies. In many societies, passing religious beliefs to the other members of the society is taken as major duty for existence. In accordance with...
If there are any values in this world that appear to have a purely relativistic essence, it would be the religious ones. This is because religion as a culturally-existential phenomenon does not have innate qualities, despite the fact “representatives of God on Earth” are trying to convince us otherwise. In...
Introduction Buddhism is believed to have been in existence, way before Siddhartha existed (United Press International, 2007, p. 1). Most scholars observe that the roots of Buddhism are very deep, and though Siddhartha contributed a lot to the development of the religion, many Buddhists believe that he was just one...
