Verified Document

Religious Traditions Religion Has Played An Essential Essay

¶ … Religious Traditions Religion has played an essential role in the history of mankind. Throughout history many religious traditions have emerged -- some of them have disappeared -- and there are myriad of differences among religious traditions today. While people profess many religions, each religion then has a great deal of diversity within itself, and within each sect or religious movement (be they within Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, or any other religion), individuals approach these traditions according to their personal understandings, experiences, and sometimes interests. And yet there are certain commonalities that most religions share, albeit often in different forms. In this paper, I am going to look at some basic traditions most religions have historically contained. In particular, I will look at the concept of the divine and an individual relationship with it, the concept of sacred and its relation to time and space, and some key issues critical for studying religion.

One of the fundamentals of an individual's relationship with the divine is the affirmation that there is/are divine being/beings who is/are held to be a supreme being. The affirmation is usually followed by prayer and worship of the deity or deities. Prayer is perhaps the major element of relationship with the divine. Prayers take various forms but in most cases an adherent of a religion confirms the supernatural powers of the deity and considers the divine being worthy of utmost praise, the epitome of good, uncreated and eternal; and considers worshipping this divine being fundamental for survival. This has been the case since ancient times. For example, Zarathustra, the founder of Zoroastrian religion, taught that Ahura Mazda was the supreme God, uncreated and eternal in his being, omniscient ant the absolute creator of all that was good, while Amesha Spentas (Holy Immortals) were his subordinate divine assistants. Zarathustra praised Ahura Mazda in a manner that reflected his helplessness without the grace of Ahura Mazda: "Truly I recognised Thee with my thought, O Mazda, to be First . . ., when with my eyes I perceived Thee to be Father of Good Purpose, real Creator of Truth, by Thy acts Lord of existence"...

75).
Similar approach to defining relationship with the divine, albeit in a different form, is visible in the following Jewish prayer:

You are our King and our father's King,

our redeemer and our father's redeemer. . . .

You, O Lord our God, rescued us from Egypt;

You redeemed us from the house of bondage. . . .

[God] humbles the proud and raises the lowly;

He helps the needy and answers His people's call. . . .

Fulfill your promise to deliver Judah and Israel.

Our redeemer is the Holy One of Israel (Ludwig, 2001, p. 114).

Affirming the supreme and absolute power of God is the fundamental of a prayer. It is also imperative for believers that they remain humble, as only God is worthy of supreme praise and arrogation. A prayer of this form is an element of relationship with the divine in Judaism. Along prayer, another major link between an individual and the divine in most religions is the sacred message revealed or delivered by God/gods to the adherents of a given religion. In Judaism, that message is the Torah.

The importance of the sacred message in a person's relationship with God is especially important in Protestant Christianity. The Bible plays an absolutely central role and "the authority of any creed or confession of faith is subordinate to that of the Bible, and any such document is valid only insofar as it is an accurate representation of what the Bible teaches" (Hemeyer, 2006, p. 65). Any form of prayer must also be in accordance with the teachings of the Bible. The Bible and prayer overlap each other as the link between an individual and the supreme God. In monastic traditions, the relationship with God requires that an adherent goes for a quest, seeking inner dimensions of the faith, by going through hard and enduring experiences. In that way, an adherent reaches a higher level in his or her personal relationship with the divine. There is a similar tradition in Islamic Sufism (Abrahamov, 1993). In Quakerism, the relationship between an individual and God is characterized by the possession of an Inner Light, which allows an individual to have a personal…

Sources used in this document:
References

Abrahamov, B. (1993) Al-Ghazali's Supreme Way to Know. Studia Islamica, 77: 141-168.

Bokser, B.M. (1985) Approaching Sacred Space. The Harvard Theological Review, 78(3/4): 279-299.

Hemeyer, J.C. (2006) Religion in America, 5th edition. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

Ludwig, T.M. (2001) The Sacred Paths of the West. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Yahya, H. (2010) The Relativity of Time Revealed in the Qur'an, retrieved December 15, 2010, from http://us3.harunyahya.com/Detail/T/EDCRFV/productId/28807/THE_RELATIVITY_OF_TIME_REVEALED_IN_THE_QUR_AN
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Religion Comparison Religions in Ancient
Words: 2389 Length: 7 Document Type: Essay

According to Bass, "Hinduism is the only major religion lacking an adequate explanation as to its origin," as no definitive Hindu text exist that that date before 1000 B.C. Indeed, because Hinduism is one of the religions that views time as cyclical rather than linear, what information is available about Hinduism does not give a very accurate picture of its history (Bass 5). What can be gleaned from this

Attitudes Towards Dance in the Catholic and Christian Traditions
Words: 2107 Length: 8 Document Type: Research Paper

Attitudes Towards Dance in the Catholic and Christian Traditions A History of Church Attitudes Toward Dance The Historical Attitudes of the Church Throughout history, dance has been a part of the human experience. so too, religion has played a fundamental role in that experience. It may in fact be truthful to say that dance and religion are essential parts of what define us as human beings. Both dance and religion rely on the

Spiritual Practices Beyond Religion
Words: 2101 Length: 7 Document Type: Term Paper

Spiritual Practices Beyond Religion Spirituality in Modern Psychology Spirituality has previously held a very limited role within psychological and counseling strategies within the context of the Western world. In psychology, more traditional methods revolve around more scientific methods. Thus, spirituality has often been overlooked within the mental health genre as a way to bring greater capabilities to patients. However, as more alternative strategies begin to further intrude onto traditional Western medicines, spirituality

Western Religion
Words: 6937 Length: 21 Document Type: Term Paper

Western Religion In his book, "Western Ways of Being Religious," (Kessler, 1999) the author Gary E. Kessler identifies the theological, philosophical and societal ramifications of the evolution of religion in the West. Christianity, Judaism and Islam can be traced to a single origin but their divergence has been very marked. Kessler sets his thesis very early in the book. He avers that there are two approaches to religion. One is to

Woman Gender Role in Japanese Religious Tradition and Early History...
Words: 1164 Length: 4 Document Type: Essay

Japanese Women Gender Roles in the Japanese Religious and Social Traditions: Subjugation and Isolation as a Means of Domination For whatever reason, most cultures in recorded history seem to be largely patriarchal, favoring the masculine over the feminine and significantly reducing the roles that women are expected or even allowed to play in the public and political spheres. Buddhism and Shintoism, the two major religions in Japanese history especially prior to the

Paine Thomas Paine's Political, Religious,
Words: 5156 Length: 16 Document Type: Term Paper

Throughout the duration of the war, Paine was responsible for publishing a series of propaganda pieces which were published in the Crisis. In these, he often addressed the British Crown and warned of the Americans' united spirit: "In all the wars which you have formerly been concerned in you had only armies to contend with; in this case, you have both an army and a country to combat with,"

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now