Like every religion the foundation of Islam rests upon the five pillars that constitute the fundamental basis of cardiac faith of any person who claims of being a Muslim. These pillars not only mould the faith of a Muslim but also play a pivotal role in enhancing the belief system of Muslims as they believe that the adherence of these doctrines of the religion will help them in earning the pleasure of God and will help them ultimately in getting a place in heaven on the Day of Resurrection. Lets have a look at these pillars of faith. (Ellwood, McGraw 2009)
First and the most important pillar of Islam is the belief in the Oneness of God or the pillar of Tauheed as it is known in Islamic theology. The cardiac belief that is a salient feature of this pillar is periodically reminded at various times in the sanctimonious literature of Muslims which deals that there is no Creator or Sustainer than Almighty God who is the sole controller of all the worlds present. Moreover this pillar also strongly accentuates on the fact that Muhammad is the last messenger of God and therefore it is a general belief that those specific sects of Muslims who do not adhere to this belief are considered discarded from the influence of the religion.
Second most important pillar of the religion is that of Prayer or what is known as Salat. Offered five times a day at different intervals, the pillar of prayer is the most essential component of the religion. The significance of the pillar can be justified from the fact that the offering of prayer cannot be left in anyway whether one is ill or even paralyzed. Prayer can only be offered after performing ablution which is a pre-requisite, moreover it is always considered meritorious for males especially to offer their prayers in congregation in mosque whereas females are supposed to offer prayers in their homes.
Following prayer in terms of significance is the pillar of fasting or Saum as it is known in Arabic. Offered in the Islamic month of Ramadan, it is during this time that Muslims have to remain deprived of food and water supplies for the entire day and are only allowed to resume these activities after noon call of prayers. Fasting is significant in the way as it helps Muslims all over the world to put their tolerance and resistance at test by remaining steadfast to God by abstaining themselves from doing anything and speaking any wrong. It is worth mentioning here that fasting unlike prayer can be left in cases of travelling and disease sufferings whereas prayers are mandatory in every case.
Zakat is the next pillar of Islam which has been rewarded the status of a fundamental pillar in the religion due to its economic significance in Islam. Through the implementation of this pillar homogeneous distribution of wealth and affluence is highlighted so that it cannot get concentrated into a few hands. In addition to this it also stresses on the fact that the poor people of the society must not be neglected and that they must be provided economic benefits though the pillar of Zakat provided by the people to the state. This pillar also like fasting is subjected to various flexibilities people who do not posses enough financial capacity are immune from the adherence of this pillar. (Salamone 2004)
Last of the major pillar of Islam is that of Hajj pilgrimage. This pillar is considered as the toughest in the way that it allows a faithful follower to leave his family and sideline his financial activities to travel to the city of Mecca and Madina to offer the major components of this pillar. Hajj can only be performed in the specific time of Islamic calendar of Zil Hajj and like Zakat and Fasting it provides people the convenience of preventing the offering of pilgrimage only until they do not possess the economic capability to do so but once financial stability is achieved the performance of this pillar becomes mandatory.
The paper would talk about the way a convert, Paul, universalized Christ in spite of facing some confrontations from the side of Jews. Paul, who as a Roman citizen, used to follow Law of Moses and a persecutor of the new Christian sect. later when he travelled to Damascus from Jerusalem for anti-Christ efforts, Jesus the Christ appeared in front of him and asked why he persecuted him. Paul saw himself as an apostle to the Gentiles (non-Jews) and used to pray in the name of Jesus, and also had privileges and duties of being Gods people (File attached, pg)
Paul used to represent Judaism before but later he became the distorter of Jesus and antagonist of the Judaism. His former religion was not properly understood by him and could not recognize the worth of it. Paul found some faults and flaws in Jews and Judaism due to the ignorance of the expectations that Judaism had in the work of coalition between them (Nanos, 24).
Paul did realize the confrontations that might have come when universalizing the Christ therefore, he started universalizing Christ in a sensible way by keeping both sides in harmony. There is no doubt that Paul was initially a Jew, nevertheless, he found it better to separate the worship practices of both Christ and Judaism. For the worship of Jesus Christ, house-churches were laid outside Jewish community. Paul smoothly integrated few teaching of Torah (Jewish Torah) into the practices considered by Christians as Holy which calmed down the Jews who used to confront to Christianity. Moreover, Paul taught law-free Christianity, which later was known as Paulinism. He let off those who were not the followers of 613 commandments that were given by the Old Testament.
Therefore, Paul catered to both former Jews and Gentiles due to which he was able to universalize Christ, and guided the path for Christianity to be one of the most popular religions.
Among the Chinese, particularly those who practice Taoism, their faith can be summed up in a symbol that is rather uniquitous to all the yin and the yang. This symbol is represented in a disk with two separate colors, black and white with a dot of a different color found on the opposite sides. This symbolizes the two opposing poles that are prevalent in every aspect of life light and dark, strong and weak, male and female, sun and moon and so on (Asia for Educators). What this emphasizes is that there will always be two opposites one will have and encounter in daily life and in nature.
Furthermore, the two sides appear to be equally balanced. What this means is that neither is superior over the other, thereby creating a balance and that too much of one can be unhealthy (Ellwood and McGraw 190-191). Nothing is absolute as shown by the two small dots that appear on the opposite sides of the poles.
In the purview of religion, there is no such thing as good and evil in the sense that there is no external influence that make an individual commit good or evil deeds. It is within. Among those who are good, they are prone to error as well such as indulging in vices and those who are considered bad like criminals still possess some good within them. It can be further inferred that positive and negative traits are something the Chinese recognize and they never attempt to eliminate one, especially the evil. Instead, what they simply do it curb it to maintain balance. When one does too much good, it can be assumed they are allowed to commit errors for maintaining an upright personality is difficult and one would eventually falter in the long run.
All in all, yin and yang emphasizes the need for balance of the two opposites. It is unrealistic to keep one extreme while eliminating the other. To do so would create an imbalance or loss of harmony in the universe. The Chinese accept this because they saw them as natures essentials for they complement each other and do not try to dominate one another. Nature provides the model to follow in showing how the two opposites are balanced and it is the challenge of people to emulate it.
For the last century, evolutionary anthropologist held that a primitives mind equipment is diverse from that of a civilized man. Since then, different arguments concerning the view that the civilized mind is logical, scientific, and abstract, while feral mind is prelogical, superstitious, and concrete. We must not take this seriously.
The primitive minds lack of knowledge in their worldview does not prove that they are intellectually incapable in reasoning and in perception of things. In some Ethnograpic instance, Furer-Haimendorf (1962) described a Konyak Naga man is not a primitive who lives in the mortal fear of unknown-when an eatrhquake struck its village, in fact, their worldview is simple, Konyak Nagas ideas on nature are derived from logical deduction. Another is Mawries (1981) self interpretation of Khasi religion. A Khasi family having problems financially believes that such events have a cause-displeasing the spirits.
Studies of different tribal groups like the Tharu (Srivastava 1958) and the Khasa (Majumdar 1962), two central Himalayan tribes in North India are good eample of Hinduised tribes. Practicing the beliefs of Hindus concepts of Karma, and observing Hindu rituals, they have adopted the local beliefs of Hindus. Hindu gods and deities are worshipped.
Though there are different principles, there are also similar and common facts about tribal religions. It is common in almost all tribal traditions to worship nature. Such celestial bodies like the earth, the lakes, oceans, mountain, some kinds of animals are being praised and glorified.Christians have embraced monotheistic religion (cited in Mao, Tribal Philosophy Concepts, Issues and Methods It had a great impact in the tribal religion). The tribals gave a model of westernization and in some cases, festivals were reinterpreted in term of Christianized myths. Some previously separated tribal groups accepted marital relations acrosstribal boundaries.
Indeed, there are many beliefs and views that exist which describe the roots of tribal religion. Cultural contact seemed to be a factor in creating these religions. Some of the non-tribal groups were affected by tribal customs and practices. Understanding ones religion is important in studying a particular tribal life and society. The function of religion in tribal society is refelected in their common goals and objectives.
Many religions have place that are considered by adherents to be specially holy or sacred, places where they feel closer to God.. In Hinduism the river Ganges at Benares , one of seven holy cities where early Hindu scholars established their schools is such a site attracting many thousand of visitors each year.
In Buddhism one of the most important sites is the place where Buddha is said to have received enlightenment. This was under a bodhi tree in the 7th century B.C.E. according to the web page Bohd Gaya, India.
There are Jain temples in many parts of the world, although the majority are in India. One was constructed in Mumbai in 1904. It is considered to be one of the most beautiful because Jains consider this is what their idols deserve.
The Golden temple in Amaritser The building is decorated with words from the Sikh holy book s described on the Sacred Destinations web page. . As with all these holy places visitors are welcome but are expected to respect the beliefs of worshippers and so certain restrictions apply in order to avoid giving offence. In this case these include such things as leaving shoes behind and covering the head.
In Taoism certain high places are considered to be sacred. This is because they are suitable places for contemplation and because of the caves present. Also reaching them is a challenge, often involving rock climbing, to worshippers are more inspired. They are also where certain mushrooms grow which are believed to have holy properties according to the web page Chinese Taoism.
Confucianism has no specifically holy places because it is more of a philosophy than a religion as such as can be seen on the Asian ArtMail web page .
All of these religions or philosophies still have adherents to whom their beliefs are very important. As fellow human beings this is to be respected, even if one does not share such beliefs or even thinks they are rather odd.
Hebrews
As the title signifies, this book or epistle was originally addressed to Jewish Christians. In the early days following conversion through the preaching of some of Jesus original disciples, they became exemplary Christians and had helped supply the needs of other Christians. They had taken cheerfully the loss of their own possessions as they were persecuted for Christs name.
However, at the time this letter was written their original teachers and leaders had died ( HYPERLINK javascript Hebrews 137). Now they were on the verge of slipping back from a confession of Christ into the Judaism out of which they had been converted ( HYPERLINK javascript Hebrews 1313-14). The writer of Hebrews encourages the readers to remain true to Christ even at the price of having to shed their own blood ( HYPERLINK javascript Hebrews 123-4).
What is true from the writings is that the writer was outstandingly knowledgeable of the Christian faith. It would be almost safe to surmise the writer had to have been a leader in the early Christian church. It is not known to date who the writer of the Hebrew epistle was but is generally suspected by scholars that it could have been Apostle Paul. Though the writings are similar in style to how Paul wrote it can not be conclusively confirmed to be true.
From the epistle the Christians must as a matter of principle and survival of faith, draw near to God, hold unswervingly to the hope they profess, for He who promised is faithful, consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds and not give up meeting together.
In deed the writer encourages the recipients in their struggle of unbelief that they keep their confidence of faith in addition to persevering in the face of persecution for the rewards are great. This addresses to a great part the challenges that were affecting the Hebrew Jerusalem church. The attitude of perseverance is the main vein that runs through out the epistle. The writer emphasizes that this can only be gotten by faith
James
Though not confirmed, it is extensively considered that the writer of this epistle was Jesus half-brother. A critical look at the epistle one is able to see the thrust of his words. In the epistle, James addresses to the core of Christian faith. He focuses believers on the qualities of heart and life that he points should be the focus of a Christians devotion. In this he seeks to make Christianity a joy despite the call to suffer for and with Christ. A strong characteristic that is greatly emphasized is that of perseverance. This he surmises is only achievable through asking God and in believing unwaveringly.
Aware of the struggle the baptized were going through in reconciling and understanding the concept of temptation, he points out to them that this does not come from God but is rather a result of individual human beings sinful nature. Instead, his advice for them is to put what they learn into practice as a way of showing their growth and maturity in their Christian faith.
Peter addresses the various churches scattered throughout Asia Minor (present-day Turkey). But like James, Peters purpose in writing was to strengthen Christians so they could stand firm against the terrible persecutions by the Roman Empire. He begins by pointing out the wonders of the salvation that his readers possess. Then he gives certain commands that when obeyed will help a person to realize the wonders of this salvation.
2 Peter was Peters last message before his martyrdom. This Epistle is a continuation of the theme of 1 Peter. The sufferings that his readers had just begun to endure when that Epistle was written have continued unabated, and Peters purpose in writing this second Epistle is to encourage his readers to endure steadfastly to the end.
John
During his later years, the apostle John settled at Ephesus among Christians who had found Christ through Pauls ministry. While he was there, a certain false teaching became popular which declared that God did not become truly incarnate in Jesus Christ and that a life of actual holiness was not essential to the Christian life.
The first Epistle of John was written to counteract this heresy. However, it is more than a mere refutation it is one of the most beautiful and inspiring documents of the New Testament.
In John 2, it is not exactly clear who the letter was intended for. However, it is intended for a special lady and her family (Verse 1), and the main thrust of the epistle is on loving each other. Additionally, he emphasizes on the love of God while taking time to warn about false prophets.
The principal characters of this Epistle (John 3) are Gaius and Diotrephes. As church leaders went from town to town establishing new congregations, they depended on the hospitality of fellow believers. Gaius was one who welcomed them into his home. John wrote this Epistle to thank Gaius for his hospitality and faithfulness and to encourage him in the faith. Additionally, he takes the opportunity to scold Diotrephes ho he feels was not helpful.
Jude
Among biblical scholars it is believed that Jude was another one of Jesus brothers who was converted after His earthly ministry. He calls himself the brother of James (verse 1), and in verse 17 he indicates that he was not himself an official apostle. In this epistle, he writes to warn Christians about false teachers. Additionally, in his writings, Jude is looking to cheer them up.
Revelation
Among bible scholars, it is accepted that John was the author of this book. At the time of writing it, the Roman rulers are punishing him by making him live alone in an island. The thrust of the book of Revelation is a dream that John was given by Jesus concerning the future. In the book, John recognizes the challenges of being a Christian. In the writings he encourages them to trust God since He can take care of everything on earth. In the dream, john is shown that Jesus is our judge, who will punish the evil in addition to taking Christians to heaven. The bottom line it Jesus is more powerful that men.
The writings in the Bible, particularly the Old Testament, contain a set of text that is called wisdom literature. No one knows precisely when they first appeared or who in particular wrote them. But if there is one thing (biblical) scholars agree to, it is the belief that God is the source of wisdom and these can be found in the passages of the Bible as Christians from all walks of life regard it as the word of God compiled in a book. When there was no Bible yet, people depended on three authorities for guidance the priests, the sages or scholars and the prophets. The relationship between the three though did not sometimes mesh very well, especially how the prophets feel about the other two since they regard themselves as the true spokespersons of God while the other two interpret Gods words handed down to them (Harris, 244). Nevertheless, they are regarded still as contributors to the early development of the Bible through their works.
These works are expressed in various ways such as stories found in most books of the Bible, which also includes that in the New Testament, as well as riddles, proverbs and verses such as psalms. There were scriptures meant to be studied and interpreted by scholars and priests while there are others that were immediately accessible to the public as they were easy to understand since the language was something they were able to comprehend such as psalms and proverbs.
As far as Christians, and to an extent Jews, are concerned, the Scriptures do not only tell the history of their faith, it also serves as a source of enlightenment and guidance to lifes many nuances whether they be good or bad. It teaches one how to have the proper attitude which is pleasing to God as part of the profession of their faith. Professing ones faith is not merely limited to strictly worshipping God, following prescribed rituals and reading the Bible alone, it is about establishing a meaningful relationship with Him by not only reflecting on His words in the Bible, but living them. By living them and experiencing it, one would then understand why the Bible is (probably) the simplest source of wisdom.
