The two religions I will compare and contrast are Buddhism and Hinduism. Both Buddhism and Hinduism acknowledge becoming one with the earth, and finding peace. They both believe in karma, and they both believe in the cycles of births and deaths. They both believe in several levels of Heaven and Hell, and both exercise non-violence.
The way they are different is Buddhism has no need for priests or rituals. Hinduism was not founded by a prophet, where Buddhism was founded by Buddha.
Both Buddhism and Hinduism practice non-violence so I don't believe that a war could be started due to the fact that they disagree. However, if they do go into a war I think it would be a "who can meditate the longest" type of war. I don't think people would go to such extremes.
The way the promote peace is through yoga and meditation. Finding inner peace with oneself and the surroundings. They can promote peace by showing they find true peace and and happiness through your religion.
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Mr. C
12/4/2013 04:20:57 am
You have brought up some interesting points, Emily. I think one key difference between Buddhism and Hinduism is a belief in the caste system. Buddhists are unique from Hinduism in that they believe all have access to enlightenment. I would also argue Hindus have used war in the past...look at the Hindu-Muslim wars of India and Pakistan in the 1940's. Buddhists look inward perhaps more than any other major religion while Hindus seem the pragmatism to organizing a social/economic order to society. Perhaps Buddhism's concern for the individual creates a different kind of context for harmony, where other faiths, including Hinduism, invite hierarchical systems to enforce ideas like peace and harmony (which may lead to violence). Interesting thoughts...
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Emily Muller
12/5/2013 03:42:51 am
Kick me while I'm down, man! I looked more into the similarities and differences but I didn't look into the war past as much as I should have. But that is interesting to learn all that stuff. Although, you hated on my answer! Just kidding...but seriously.
Mr. C
12/5/2013 04:28:55 am
i did not hate your answer. I am just trying to construct meanings from it. No need to concern yourself with being wrong on this assignment...rather, I hope you find new possibilities in how you view the world.
Lunu :D
12/3/2013 03:59:15 am
Catholics and Protestants have many of the same and different beliefs. They both believe one needs to be baptized, they just have different ways to perform baptism. They both believe in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They both believe in faith and works in order to be a good "Christian". Catholics believe that in saints, praying to saints, many different ideas about Mary versus Protestants, and very importantly, the Eucharist. They believe it's the actual body and blood of Christ; whereas, Protestants call it communion and view it as a symbol of what Christ did for us. They both have Bibles, but Catholics have more books than Protestants because they took some of the books out. Also, Catholics have a leader and many important "rulers" so to speak. The "leader" is the Pope. Protestants don't believe in that, though. They mainly believe that you have to accept Christ as your Lord and Savior and then be baptized, but Catholics believe it's much more than that. There's more in what they think needs to be done out of actions along with beliefs. They could lead to war because there are many anti-Catholics and anti-Protestants instead of pro-Catholics and pro-Protestants. It's okay to be all for your own religion, but not okay to bash others. If they hated their differences too much, it could lead to violence, hate, and ultimately war. They could promote peace by accepting and trying to understand one another or maybe even coming to some agreements. They need to be open and ready to listen and not judging and hateful. They could either promote peace or influence war. And they all lived happily ever after. The end.
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Mr. C
12/4/2013 04:42:31 am
This is a great answer, Lunu (?). Additionally, I think Catholics tend to show more sympathy for people considered poor or disadvantaged. Perhaps this has some correlation to rise the capitalism being at a similar time in history as the rise of Protestantism. I agree with your points about war and peace concerning the two faiths. Do you think these dynamics are influenced by the notion of good vs. evil? If a person believes his/her way of understanding the divine as righteous or good, so too other understandings can be viewed as evil. Thus, violence in the name of good vs. evil is easier to justify. Sometimes I think both Catholics and Protestants have come to resemble the values of Rome as opposed to the teachings of Christ.
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Elayna
12/5/2013 03:42:53 am
Sorry, I felt like using my nickname. I think these dynamics are influencec by the notion of good vs. evil. Every single individual has their own opinions, but religions themselves have certain "rules" or opinions that have to be accepted in order to claim yourself as part of that religion. Although, many people may feel differently about baptism for example, they agree that it must be done in order to attain salvation. Except for special cases, of course. Good vs. evil is all about what kind of person you are and where you are standing. Perspective.If you were taught to hate someone, you will, but if someone was taught to hate you, you'd be hurt. You'd call yourself good in both cases becauses you don't think you did anything wrong to deserve the other persons hate. Is that a good ananlogy?
Mr. C
12/5/2013 04:08:19 am
Nicknames are fine...I just wasn't sure who I was responding to. I like your analogy. So are one's religious values based mostly on what the person was taught? If so, it seems difficult to understand why a person would be damned because he/she was not baptized if he/she was not taught to be baptized. These are some great threads! Thanks for blowing my mind:)
Mr. C
12/5/2013 08:08:19 am
That is a smart comment, Lunu. I think culture, which heavily influences what is taught and what is not taught, plays a significant role. Does not our culture teach us about alcohol? If I had no experience with alcohol, say my cultural never introduced me to it, could I choose to be an alcoholic? In the same way, what if someone's cultural background prevented them from having certain religious experiences?
Arjana Begzati
12/4/2013 11:39:34 am
A lot of good information there, Elayna! I also believe that there should be great respect and tolerance between religions. Especially when it comes to for example branches of one religion, I really do not understand how you can emphasize your differences so much more than the common main belief.
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Elayna Muller
12/5/2013 07:06:01 am
Mr. Conn, they aren't solely based on what you were taught. How and what you were taught definitely affects a person, but everyone makes choices to either let it affect them in a positive or negative way. For example, two kids may grow up with a drunk parent. One may choose to never drink because they don't want to be like their parent and the other may choose to become an alcoholic as well because he "understands" why his parent was drunk and decides to do it himself.
Arjana, I agree with you! What don't you understand?
Arjana Begzati
12/3/2013 04:00:48 am
Two philosphies and main religions in the world inclued Christianity and Islam. Together with Judaism, those religions believe in the same God and many common prophets. Both religions have a sacred scriptures that teach to be good to others and sacrifice by fasting in a certain way. An important difference to be mentioned is the time period they were founded. Christianity was founded around 30 AD, while Islam spread 600 years later. Both have houses of worship, with different names and some differences in their construction and decorations. For example, Orthodox Christians have many pictures of Saints in their churches, while Muslims do not have any pictures of animals and humans, since they believe that only God can create life.
Both religons have led to a common war known at the Crusades. This was the case due to both religions seeking to expand their faith and have access to the some holy place. Because of their quite close relation to differnt things, like a holy place, and their ambition to expand their faith, it is not surprising that they face problems. Despite that, both Christianity and Islam teach be believe in God and do no bad to others, which is a definite principle that encourages peace.
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Mr. C
12/4/2013 04:08:44 am
Interesting choices to compare and contrast. Also, I might add, both Christianity and Islam were engendered under the Roman Empire. I think this characteristic has a lot to do with their conceptual framework- a world empire and world religions. While Rome thought it could be the answer for the wolrd's problems, so too Chirstianity and Islam suppose they can offer a solution or a hope to the world's problems.
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Kristyna Zakova
12/5/2013 03:18:05 am
Buddhism and Hinduism are among the top five major religions around the globe. Today, Hinduism ranks third as an organized religion and is much older than Buddhism. Buddhism and Hinduism have survived for centuries and are still widely practiced around the world. Buddhism is based on the teachings of Lord Buddha who had been a Hindu before attaining Nirvana, and therefore given this fact, it follows that Buddhism share many similarities. Buddhism and Hinduism share some differences and similarities in beliefs and the practice of mediation. Hinduism is believed to have no known founder, no central authority, no universal texts and no widely known creed but it has a caste system. Hindus believe that everyone has their place in the world and they cannot overstep their roles. On the other hand, Buddhism is viewed more like or philosophy and not a religion. Due to this thinking it put everyone on equal grounds. The caste system is one of the core beliefs of Hinduism.
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Sierra Martinez
12/5/2013 03:36:05 am
Kristyna you gave a lot of interesting information and even though you didn't type a lot (I'm not saying you didn't type enough) I felt as if for me you typed enough information for me to really understand Buddhism and Hinduism I think you did really great on this one. :)
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Emily Muller
12/5/2013 03:40:23 am
I think you made so very valid points, and you have so much interesting information and facts. Although, I wish you would have went more into detail about the "Castle System".
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Tyna
12/5/2013 10:07:58 am
You are right Emily, so I will try to tell you know. A caste system is a class structure given by birth. Loosely, it means that in some societies, if your parents are poor, you’re going to be poor, too. Same goes for being rich. You're basically born to the certain position in the society.
Tyna
12/5/2013 10:09:33 am
* now * (not know)
Mr. C
12/6/2013 12:46:37 am
Great answer, Tyna. I think it is interesting Buddah offers a way for all to follow in a world context where social order was the epistemology of the dominant culture. This theme was also evident during the time and culture of teachings of Jesus and Muhammad.
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Princess Eleanor
12/6/2013 03:20:16 am
This is a great answer, Tynka. Clap, clap, well done. Through your words, I really got a good outlook on the differences and similarities of Buddhism and Hinduism. So good, just... So, good.
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Sierra Martinez
12/5/2013 04:07:57 am
(this blog was hard or should I say difficult for me just because I really didn't know how to describe two different religious philosophies so I apologize for how bad this is!!!!!). In the 20th century people began discussing the differences and similarities between Christianity and Buddhism. Most people started noticing the issues and wanted to become more interested in both Christianity and Buddhism. Between the two a big difference is Buddhism is calm and enlightened and Christianity is a little more uptight (yes I said uptight its the only word I could think of) and Buddhism is more about the state of mind that's all Buddha wanted. Christianity is more about religion and staying true to what you are. Buddhism includes a distrust intellect, charity, purity of the heart, and communion with god, but there's so much more. Christianity includes purity of the heart, charity, meekness, and a yearning for divine edification, but there's a longer list than Buddhism. The "coolness" of Buddhism is a reason there's not a war over/about Buddhism and Christianity is so uptight like I said that's why war starts so easily. Since there is so much equality of suffering and cause of suffering it shows that Buddhism is very equal. Promoting peace is difficult and hard to do so in all honesty Christianity can show peace or promote peace by showing people that Christianity is good.
(i would really appreciate of you would give me feed back)
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Mr. C
12/5/2013 04:25:06 am
Hi Sierra. You can use the religious philosophies tab on the website to assist you in this assignment. You are doing fine though. I think perspective is important to consider. Some Buddhists take a vow of silence, where they do not communicate with other humans for months even years. This practice may also seem strict or uptight. Perhaps a key difference between Christianity and Buddhism is Christianity is more community-based rather than individualized. They do both branch off an ancient religion (Judaism & Hinduism), and they both challenge the assumption of hierarchies. Both claim all can be saved or enlightened. They seem to overturn prior understandings or laws by offering new understandings of what those laws mean. Both of their founders can be described as pacifists, and both founders try to point to a simpler way of living and viewing the world. It is interesting you chose these to faiths to compare and contrast, because, in many ways, they have lot in common. Does that help?
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Mr. C
12/5/2013 04:47:30 am
sorry, that was "two faiths" not "to faiths" in the second to last sentence. :)
Princess Eleanor
12/5/2013 04:16:51 am
Christianity and Islam are the two largest religions in the world and have many points of contact. I think the major one is the belief in one God and how both religions are based on the teachings and practices of Judaism. The Prophet Muhammad respected Christians and the Jewish, but since his life the mistrust between the two religions has continued to grow. The Christian Crusades in the 11th through 13th century, fought against a large part of Muslims. This, however, only widened the divide between the two. And still there seems to be a mutual dislike between religions, but some argue that it's no longer a religious aspect and, now, more to do with politics and the difference between cultures. I think that Christians and Muslims should try to find common ground if they ever want peace for their religions.
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Mr. C
12/5/2013 04:41:59 am
This a beautiful answer, Eleanor. Perhaps both faiths have been used for reasons of nationalism and uniformity, which causes political agendas to circumvent the ethos of what it means to follow Christ or the live by the Quran. It seems like both Jesus and Muhammad had more to offer than a means by which to justify wars in their names. Perhaps political institutions have corrupted what we understand to be Christian or Muslim.
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