Religious Beliefs

Religious Beliefs: Encyclopedia II - Origin belief - Religious creation beliefs

Several religions have creation stories, some of which account for the existence and present form of the Universe by the act of creation by a supreme being or the Creator God. Most of these accounts depict one or several gods fashioning things out of themselves, or from pre-existing material (for example chaos or prakriti). The scholastic traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam for the most part speak of creation ex nihilo. This is typified, for example, by the assumption that the first verse of the Christian Bible ("In ...

Belief in religious scripture confines the mind; the trust we repose in an individual, too, is a limiting factor. The intellect can only too often weave a cobweb of theories, and reason can cause mistrust, taking us away from discovering the great scope and depth of an infinite power that's faith, that can otherwise serve as an effective spiritual guide.

Read more here: » Faith and Belief: Faith: Staircase to God

Religious Beliefs: Identity And Form - A Sufi View

" The only thing necessary for evil to triumph ", wrote Edmund Burke, " is for good men to do nothing ".

It is gratifying that in the midst of religious violence in the country many voices of resistance and sanity are being raised. The focus of this movement is promotion of tolerance and respect for diversity. However, I think something needs to be added to the "literary debate" about Islam, Hinduism and the problem of religious intolerance - namely, insight into the human mind's attachment to identity and fear of its loss.

Read more here: » Sufism: Identity And Form - A Sufi View

Religious Beliefs: Gita Was Tilak's Spiritual Anchor

Lokmanya Balgangadhar Tilak was a freedom fighter whose convictions stemmed from a deep and intricate understanding of Indian culture. He wrote a scholarly commentary on the Bhagavad Gita in his magnum opus, Gita-Rahasya and he lived its message in every sphere of his life.

As a child, Tilak was often told by some of his elders that the religious and philosophic life was incompatible with humdrum everyday existence. The only path to moksha or liberation, the highest attainable goal, was the renunciation of desires and material attachments, they said: "One could not serve two masters, the world and God."

Read more here: » Tilak: Gita Was Tilak's Spiritual Anchor

Religious Beliefs: Vedantic Flavour In Puranic Literature

The puranas are among the most widely read religious scriptures in India. The word purana literally means "narrative of ancient times". The puranas are said to be contemporaneous with the Vedas . The Chandogya Upanishad calls them the fifth veda . Eighteen major ( maha ) and eighteen subsidiary ( upa ) puranas are recognised.

The authorship of all the puranas is attributed to rishi Vedvyasa, who also compiled the four Vedas, the Mahabharata and the Vedanta Sutras . The puranas deal with a variety of Gods, mainly Vishnu, Shiva and Shakti, catering to the diverse human temperaments and their varied approaches to spirituality.|

Read more here: » Puranas: Vedantic Flavour In Puranic Literature

Religious Beliefs: Corporate Spirituality Encourages Inclusion

If you are a corporate leader and you would like to include spirituality in your organisation's culture, you are not alone.

Business leaders we've met, and management students sometimes ask us if it's really possible to make spirituality an overt and explicit part of an organisational culture - without causing religious conflicts or being inappropriate to an otherwise secular way of operating.

Read more here: » Corporate Spirituality: Corporate Spirituality Encourages Inclusion

Religious Beliefs: Haj As Submission To The Almighty

The institution of Haj in Islam is quite extraordinary. Haj is the fifth among the five pillars of Islam. The other four are Kalimah, Namaz, Zakat and Roza. The word Haj means 'resolve' and in religious terms it refers to the resolve to visit a holy place. Believers from all over congregate at the holy city of Mecca and perform the rituals prescribed by Islam.

Read more here: » Haj: Haj As Submission To The Almighty

Religious Beliefs: Encyclopedia - Origin belief

An origin belief is any story or explanation that describes the beginnings of humanity, earth, life, and the universe (cosmogony). Such beliefs can be derived from many different venues including scientific investigation, metaphysical speculation, or religious belief. As with any set of beliefs, opinions regarding the validity of particular origins beliefs differ —points of view on these subjects vary widely. Origin belief - Creation myths. Origins beliefs commonly refer to creation myths — mytho ...

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Religious Beliefs: Encyclopedia - Criticisms of Charismatic and Pentecostal belief

Charismatic is an umbrella term used to describe Christians who believe that the manifestations of the Holy Spirit seen in the first century Christian Church, such as glossolalia, healing and miracles, are available to contemporary Christians and ought to be experienced and practised today. The word charismatic is derived from the Greek word charis (meaning a grace or a gift) which is the term used in the Bible to des ...

Including:

Criticisms of Charismatic and Pentecostal belief - Criticisms from within the Pentecostal / Charismatic movement

Religious Beliefs: Encyclopedia - Soul

The soul, according to many religious and philosophical traditions, is the ethereal substance — spirit (Hebrew:rooah or nefesh) — particular to a unique living being. Such traditions often consider the soul both immortal and innately aware of its immortal nature, as well as the true basis for sentience in each living being. The concept of the soul has strong links with notions of an afterlife, but opinions may vary wildly, even within a given religion, as to what happens to the soul after death. Many wi ...

Including:

Soul - Religious views

Soul - Science and the soul

Read more here: » Soul: Encyclopedia - Soul

Religious Beliefs: Encyclopedia - Anthropology of religion

The anthropology of religion involves the study of religious institutions in relation to other social institutions, and the comparison of religious beliefs and practices across cultures. In the 19th century, cultural anthropology was dominated by an interest in cultural evolution; most anthropologists assumed that there was a simple distinction between “primitive” and “modern” religion and tried to provide accounts of how the former evolved into the latter. In the 20th century most anthropologists rejected this approach. Today ...

Including:

Anthropology of religion - Specific religious practices and beliefs

Religious Beliefs: Encyclopedia - Religious pluralism

Religious pluralism is loosely defined term concerning peaceful relations between different religions, and is used in a number of related ways: Religious Pluralism often describes the worldview that one's religion is not the sole and exclusive source of truth, and thus recognizes that some level of truth and value exists in at least some other religions. Religious pluralism often is used as a synonym for ecumenism. At a minimum, ecumenism is the promotion of unity, co-operation, or ...

Including:

Religious pluralism - Pluralism as the belief that more than one religion can teach truths

Religious pluralism - Pluralism is not relativism

Religious pluralism - Intra-religious pluralism between different denominations within the same religion

Religious Beliefs: Encyclopedia - William Penn

For the British admiral, see William Penn (admiral). William Penn (October 14, 1644–July 30, 1718) founded the Province of Pennsylvania, the British North American colony that became the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The democratic principles that he set forth served as an inspiration for the United States Constitution. William Penn - Religious beliefs. Although born in a well-to-do Anglican family, Penn joined the Religious Society of Friends or Quakers at the age of 25. The Quakers obeyed th ...

Including:

Religious Beliefs: Encyclopedia - Religious Society of Friends

History of Christianity Jesus of Nazareth The Apostles Ecumenical councils Great Schism The Crusades Reformation The Trinity God the Father Christ the Son The Holy Spirit The Bible Old Testament New Testament Apocrypha The Gospels Ten Commandments Sermon on the Mount Christian theology Salvation · Grace Christian worship Christian Church Catholicism Orthodox Christianity Protestantism Christian deno ...