RELIGIONS OF THE
WORLD ( Page 2) |
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| What I am trying to convey here is the idea that no
one can claim that he or she or a certain system knows all about God
and that any different view is wrong. In our attempts to comprehend
the incomprehensible, we attribute to God different qualities that
could be comprehended by human intelligence. The limitation of the
human intellect to comprehend the infinite nature of God is brought
about in a story about Augustine of Hippo, the great Christian theologian.
Walking on a beach, pondering the mystery of the Holy Trinity, he
came across a boy pouring water from the sea into a hole in the sand.
Asked what he was up to, the boy said he wanted to empty the water
of the ocean into the hole. When Augustine pointed out the futility
of the attempt, the boy said that what Augustine was trying - to understand
the nature of the infinite God by the finite human intellect - was
more futile than trying to empty the ocean into the small hole. Then
the boy disappeared, indicating that he was a messenger from beyond.
The mystic Indian counterpart to the above western story gives another
dimension to man’s search for God. Here the person or the sage
who ventures out to find out all about God is compared to a doll,
made of salt, going down to measure the depth of the ocean. Even as
the doll dissolves completely in the ocean and ceases to exist as
a doll, the best way to know God is to lose oneself completely in
Him and become one with Him. |
| Revelation |
| Christianity, Islam and Judaism are the three major
religions of the West. All these three had their origins in West Asia
and North Africa (Egypt) and can be traced to a single source, the
Patriarch Abraham or Ibrahim. He lived about 3700 years ago, in Mesopotamia.
He had spent some years in Egypt as well. According to the traditions
of the holy Bible and the holy Quran this patriarch had two sons,
Ismail and Isaac. The descendents of Isaac, the Jews, spoke Aramaic
and Hebrew. They were basically monotheistic. But some of them must
have worshipped some idols or minor deities. Hence the strict rule
of Moses against idolatry. In their language, the name for God was
Eli or Alaha. The descendants of Ismail, the Arabs, spoke Arabic.
They worshipped Allah, the creator along with many minor deities. |
| Isaac’s son Jacob and his children came to Egypt
during a famine and settled there. Eventually they were enslaved there
for a few centuries. About 3200 years ago Moses, born and brought
up in Egypt redeemed them from slavery, took them out of Egypt and
led them to the promised land of Canaan. Moses also organized the
Jewish religion in very great detail and gave his people the ‘Laws’
including the Ten Commandments. The first five books of the bible
are attributed to him. While stamping out idolatry Moses taught about
one God who created heaven and earth and everything in it including
Adam and Eve, the first humans. Moses also pictured this God as the
lawgiver and judge to whom you will have to account at the end of
the day. As these five books form the foundation on which these three
religious edifices are constructed, it is right to speak of the Egyptian
or African origins of these three religions. |
| About1400 years ago Prophet Mohammed founded among
Arabs the religion of Islam, which means “submission”
to the divine will. Like Moses, Mohammed advocated monotheism and
taught that polytheism is the deadliest of sins. His teachings are
contained in the holy Quran. A follower of Islam is called Muslim,
which means “one who submits to the divine laws”. In terms
of the number of followers Islam is the second largest religion of
the world, the first being Christianity. |
| Abraham was specially ‘chosen’ by God who
promised that his children would be as numerous as the grains of sand
on the shore. His children are the Hebrews and the Arabs. Moses and
Mohammed were specially ‘called’ by God to be His messengers
or prophets and they taught or wrote what was ‘revealed’
to them by God. Judaism, Islam as well as Christianity are considered
revealed religions and their authority is based on the revealed scriptures. |
| The founder of Christianity, Jesus Christ, can be considered
among other things as a reformer in the Jewish community. He pointed
out how the religious leaders of Israel were going away from the essence
of the Law of Moses. He preached about the ‘Kingdom of Heaven’
and exhorted people to change their ways to attain this goal of salvation.
His teachings contained revolutionary ideas. He pointed out the need
to shift the emphasis of religion, from a God-centred one to a man-centred
one. He wanted His followers to love every one, even their enemies.
According to him, when you serve the hungry and needy fellow beings
you are serving God. According to Christian faith Jesus, the son of
God came to the earth to atone for the evils that humanity has done
in disobeying God’s laws and to bring salvation for the human
race, by the supreme sacrifice of his death on the cross. Jesus is
thus to be considered primarily as a saviour and a teacher. |
| Belief And Knowledge |
| At a time when atheism in the scientific community
was at its highest there was in England a scientist who was a regular
churchgoer, a practicing Christian. He was invited to address a conference
of Bishops in London, to talk about ‘Science and Religion’.
He began his address with the words, “I do not believe that
God exists.” Watching the shocked expressions on the faces of
the assembled prelates he continued, “I do not believe that
there is a God. I know that there is a God.” He was trying to
bring out the element of doubt that underlies the word, belief. The
words, ‘I believe’ implies blind faith whereas ‘I
know’ implies conviction. These represent two levels of faith. |
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