Baha’i: oneness

                There are several reasons that some consider Baha'i the best religion for the modern world.  One of those reasons is that Baha'i tries to unite various major religions, even though many of them are mutually exclusive.  One of the basic principles of Baha'i is the idea of oneness with everyone on Earth, the entire human population.  Most of Baha’i teachings and practices are derived from this element of their doctrine. It's this belief that makes Baha'i so in tune with our modern day world. Our society is constantly struggling for power on each side of every religion but Baha'i tries to resolve these differences by combining all "religious truths" as one greater truth.  The thought behind this is that God intended on many different ways of serving him so he inspired many people in many different ways.  Baha'i is very fascinating with the argument that if all nations were under one faith, all of mankind could move forward and would grow stronger.  Baha'i also condemns all forms of prejudice, because all lives would be better without it.  Baha'i teachings are also based on the idea of science and religious equality.  There should be no conflicts between religion and scientific knowledge and that "any religion contrary to science is not the truth", as Ali said.  As I scientific research increases, the claims of many religions are proved wrong. Yet despite that there are still many people that will continue to believe in those religions.  There are many more principles of Baha'i but they have generally the same tone, true equality for all in every form that all humans can understand while they live in peace and tranquility. 

God: Acording to Islam

                According to Islam, God is sonless, timeless, and is the only true Creator.  Even though Islam is very similar to Christianity, one of the major conflicts is Jesus being the son of God.  Islam recognizes Jesus as a prophet born from a virgin mother, but does not believe he is the son of God.  The Islam belief is that if God had a son, that would make him seem mortal and God is anything but, as he is undivided.  Muslims believe that there is only one God and his name is Allah, meaning "the God", and he is the God of the entire universe.  The Islam religion also believes that Allah will judge everyone on their actions and deeds.  While on Earth, the good, true, and righteous will receive his mercy, and be spared of all pain and suffering for all eternity.  The pure of heart and soul will enjoy all of the good that can be; some even believe that there will be wine to drink in a garden of paradise. This is important because Muslims are not allowed any alcohol made of grapes nor grains; however mead, a wine made of bee's honey, is another story.  The wicked and evil will receive his divine justice and be sentenced to an infinite amount of pain through Hell's fiery hot winds, thick black smoke and brackish water, but only as much as he sees fit that they deserve, as he is the God of mercy and forgiveness.  Allah, from what the Islam faith believes, will call forth all of the dead at the end of all time and give them their just rewards.

Zoroastrianism:The Belief of Paradise

                Zoroastrianism's eschatology, or the study of the end, has influenced the Western religions. Christianity, Islam, and Judaism have all been affected by the Zoroastrian teachings. The main ideal from Zoroastrianism that contributes to the other religions is the idea of Heaven and Hell.

                Christianity has a Heaven and Hell very similar to that of Zoroastrian. Paradise, or Heaven, is the ultimate goal of Christianity. Upon the end of all life both religions believe in judgment of God, where a person's immortal soul will go one of two ways. Heaven, a perfect place with no pain or anything negative, is filled with angels and the righteous. In Heaven, the Christians will be reunited with their ancestors and God to live forever as spirits. On the other hand the nonbelievers go to Hell, which is filled with a like of fire and everlasting torment governed by the Devil, one of Gods fallen angels. All of these beliefs seem to be in line with the Zoroastrian concept of the afterlife.

                Judaism's afterlife is pretty much the same as Christianity's because Judaism was the original religion of God before Christianity. Christianity is the religion that spawned form the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Prior to 586 B.C. there was no mention of Satan as the Devil, then afterword Satan appears, in their testament, four times and now is a part of everyday life. The Satan, or Devil, figure was inspired by the Zoroastrians' belief. Even the idea of God and the Devil caught in an everlasting battle over our souls came from the Zoroastrians.

                Islam is a religion very similar to Christianity and Judaism in the sense that there is one Almighty Heavenly God. Islam also contributed to the eschatology of Judaism and Christianity but it got many of its religious ideal from Zoroastrianism. These include all of the ideals mentioned before in Christianity and Judaism. All of the religions also believe in angels and demons, another ideal derived from the Zoroastrianism eschatology. Angels are the servants of the Lord and the demons are the Devils kin. Angels are here to help people toward the light and everlasting happiness. The demons trick men in to revoking the teachings of the One.

                It is true that all four of these religions believe in heaven, hell, angels, demons, and judgment for sins, or wrong doing, but Zoroastrianism is the religion that came up with these ethics and principles first. The newer religions obtained knowledge from the earlier religions kept what is important, to them, and were created. They all used parts from the Zoroastrianism eschatology to form their own, which means that Zoroastrianism origin of the difference between Heaven and Hell.

Judaism: Race, Culture, or Religon?

                Many people have questioned what exactly Judaism is. Is it a religion, culture or race?  There are many facts that will be shown to prove that Judaism is in fact a religion.  From these real facts you will be able to see that Judaism is not a race nor a culture but a religion.

                Firstly, Judaism is a religion based on tradition and the Bible, a sacred text.  All of the Jews believe in one God.  In the Bible, God said that these people who believe in Him and worship Him as per the instructions passed down from were His chosen people.  After Moses freed all of the chosen from slavery and brought down the Ten Commandments form Mt. Sinai, Judaism was born as the religion of the law of one true God.  Judaism then gathered many followers and expanded its traditions and became a major religion.  Judaism has a form of priesthood and rites of passage as many other religions do.  All of these facts put together prove that Judaism is a religion. 

                The first argument against this is the Holocaust was used to kill the Jews as a race.  The Holocaust, or sacrifice by fire, was an atrocity committed by Nazi Germany during the reign of Adolf Hitler that was intended to kill off the whole "Jewish race".  Hitler came up with all kinds of Jew finding tests, include such things as measuring the length and angle a person's nose.  All of the tests were based on pseudoscientific research and anti-Semitism.  For someone to be Jewish it was not considered they were part of a single race until the Nazi party decided what people were classified as Jews.  The main fault with Judaism being a race is the fact that anyone from any race may choose to become Jewish and someone born a Jew may become a Christian, or part of any other religion.  But, no one may change their race because it is part of there DNA, their biological makeup.

                Lastly, Judaism is not a culture.  There is no one basic way of life that a Jew is supposed to live because there are many sects of Judaism.  If Judaism was a culture then all of the Jews all over the world would have the same morals, values, and taboos.  The Ashkenazi Jews, Sephardic Jews and the Mizrachi Jews all have a different way of life and are descendents form different parts of the world.  The Ashkenazi Jews use Yiddish as their Jewish language where as the Sephardic Jews use Ladino.  If Judaism were a culture shared by all Jews they would all have the same sacred language.

The differences of the sects do not make any of the groups less Jewish then the other.  From this we can conclude that Judaism is not a culture or an ethnic group.

                It may seem complicated when you try to bring all of the people from Judaism together into one group of anything except a religion.  Judaism is not a race nor is it a culture; the only thing that makes sense is it is a religion.  To state otherwise it would be like saying all Catholics are Spanish or all Hindus are Indian. 

Shinto: Japanese Pride

                Domestic Shinto is widely practice here in Japan. Even facing many challenges, Shinto survives in the hearts and minds of millions of Japanese people.

                Domestic Shinto is found in many Japanese homes, as it is simple and has become a part of the Japanese way of life for millions of Japanese.  One way it can be seen is many homes have a shelf, called a kami-dana, where the family places several symbols upon it that have religious significance.

These symbols can be anything.  Some are simple offerings such as flowers and food, while others are talismans, called Ofuda.  I have traveled to many temples here in Japan, at these temples you can purchase a little wooden trinket that has a kami's name burned onto it.  The Ofuda is placed on the kami-dana to protect the house from bad fortune and spirits.

                Shinto has faced many challenges that could have completely wiped it out but Shinto is still just as strong as it ever was and may even be stronger.  One of greatest challenges was the loss of the government support for Shinto as the official state religion.  Despite this lack of government support Shinto is still a part of Japanese culture and their way of life.

Many labor unions and politicians are Shinto based securing Shinto into everyday life in Japan.  With Buddhism as Shinto's rival, many Japanese only see it as a secondary practice.  Even the high rate of industrialization that would cause Shinto to appear to be an ancient and obsolete religion, could not make the religion dissipate and dissolve into nothingness.  

The reason is simple; Shinto helps the average person cope with their daily stress and creates a sense of patriotism throughout Japan.  When we think of Japan and its people what we innately perceive as Japanese is Shinto. Shinto has had the most affect on the creation of the Japanese culture.   

Taoism and Confucianism: Philosophies or religions?

Taoism and Confucianism have both been seen as religions and as nonreligious philosophies and superstitions.  Both religions have many people who call themselves part of a religion, while others state that they are just teachings and not truly religions. 

                Taoism is officially recognized as a religion by the Chinese government.  Taoism was part of the major religions of the Chinese during the third century A.D. after breakdown of the Han dynasty.  Confucianism is considered a major religion of the world even though the Chinese government does not officially recognize it.  Confucianism has rituals and ceremonies, which is similar to many "true" religions. 

                On the other hand Taoism is commonly seen as nothing more then a collection of superstitions.  Taoism in its early stage of development was a philosophy on how to live a life that was very high in quality without the interest of life after death, the heavens or even the "gods".  Taoism started out as a school of philosophers without any Supreme Creator or High God or gods.  Taoists believe in alchemy, turning one thing into another such as lead to gold.  The Taoist believed by doing this they would become immortal and with that there was little or no need for salvation by the gods, at first.  Confucianism is not officially recognized by the Chinese government as a religion it is seen as part feudalism, a type of government.

In Confucianism, there is no priesthood and their sacred writings have never been considered a divine revelation, partly because it has no afterlife doctrine.  Many scholars claim that the teaching of Confucius and his disciples were never intended to develop into a religion but they were more of a philosophy on how to live life.

                Taoism and Confucianism are either philosophies that have religious qualities or they are religions that started out as philosophies.  Both sides have arguments both ways but in either case they had a great effect on the development of the Chinese Empire and its population today.