Hindus and Buddhists call it karma, the immutable law of cause and effect. One thing leads to another in often predictable, but sometimes indirect ways. For example, I know that if I place my hand in a flame, my skin will burn. However, eating a plate of tainted food might not affect my belly until hours, even days later. Therefore, causality is not always instantaneous. In fact, the concept

Therefore, the Pentateuch plays a very important formal role in the Jewish faith. However, the oral Torah may be as important to the Jewish people. One of the underlying components of Judaism is that the Jews are God's chosen people. As God's chosen people, even the non-religious history of the Jewish people becomes religious. This is because God informs their activities in a way that is not necessarily acknowledged in

Myth According to Kessler (n.d.), there are five main theories of myth. Each of these theories is valuable and valid. Not all myths and related phenomena like ritual and religion can be explained by only one theory. To pick just one theory would be oversimplifying the complex phenomena of myth. Moreover, myths in different cultures serve different functions. The five theories of myth outlined by Kessler (n.d.) are as follows. First, rationalistic

Aghamkar, Atul. “Traditional Hindu Views and Attitudes Toward Christianity.” Global Missiology English, 2, no. 5 (2008). Available at: http://ojs.globalmissiology.org/index.php/english/article/view/244/684 The author describes how the common Hindus of today in India inherited their views from the Hindu Renaissance leaders. Thus, these leaders’ views are helpful in understanding the common approach toward Christianity in India. The article reveals how there remains tension between the Hindus and Christians of the region. Bauman, Chad. “Pentecostals and Interreligious

Religion Qualifications of the divine and the nature of supreme reality are core concepts of any religious tradition. Hinduism and Buddhism conceptualize the divine and the nature of reality in complementary yet distinct ways. Buddhism emerged from Hinduism, in a manner not wholly unlike the way Christianity emerged from Judaism. Therefore, there are several core similarities in the cosmologies and the conceptualizations of divine reality between these two faiths. Moreover, the

Though the idea encompasses any personal relationship with and worship of the divine, it is not nearly that inclusive when examined from a holistic viewpoint. Instead, there are divisions in bhakti worship. "The major forms of bhakti are described by Hindus themselves, not only by their special relation to particular forms of deity, but also according to the various moods of the devotee" (Carman 1987, p. 587). In fact,