Religion and Theology

Western civilization was formed from four distinct traditions the Graeco-Roman culture, Christianity, the Reformation and Enlightenment movements, and the Industrial Revolution. Perhaps, among the four traditions, Christianity is the most pervasive and dramatic force of Western culture. Indeed, as Huntington argued, Christianity is perhaps the heart of Western civilization. Christianity institutionalized the sanctity of the individual believer and promoted the idea of a universal church. The individual is not simply a living entity  he is a being who possessed spirit, body, and soul. In short, the individual is first and foremost the object of Gods love. Guided by Christian fidelity, the Church instructed the nations of Europe to respect and obey Gods commandments, to refrain from wars, and to recognize a common heritage. As Toynbee correctly observes Christianity has one universal message  One Faith, One Church, and One Emperor. To this day, this Euro-Christian unity is still pervasive especially in Catholic countries (some scholars argued that the European Union was an offspring of this Euro-Christian unity). Christianity also promoted the Church-state divide. The Church called for submission to an authority higher than secular rulers. This idea evolved into a new idea the separation of powers. The Church might have opposed the separation of the state and the church, but unconsciously promoted the idea of the political-religious divide.

The Graeco-Roman tradition owes its existence from the Christian religion. After the fall of Rome, Europe descended into anarchy. Warring kingdoms fought for control over the former territories of the Roman Empire. If not for the Church, the Graeco-Roman tradition would have been completely lost. Under the guidance of Pope Gregory the Great, the Church preserved Roman and Greek manuscripts and sought to convert the warring barbarians into the Christian faith.

The victory of Constantine the Great at Milvian Bridge over his rival marked the birth of a Christian Empire. Constantines preoccupation with the Christian religion forced the eradication of paganism in the Empire. For the first time in history, Christianity had become the unifying force in Europe, hence the term Christendom. The Church institutionalized Christianity, gave it an immediate and recognizable form, and sought to extend its influence in other parts of Europe.

Western politics, law, and literature has had been shaped by Christian tradition. Christianity provided the common dictums for instructions and complemented secular ideas. This synthesis of ideas led to a revival of the Graeco-Roman tradition.  As a result, the Church founded centers of learning, monasteries, and universities to develop what had been lost.

Philosophy is often called the handmaid of theology. Christianity enhanced and extended Greek and Roman philosophy. St. Thomas Aquinas revived Aristotelianism and gave it a Christian color. This synthesis had several implications in the fields of science, law, art, and literature. In science, empiricism had become the rule of thumb of inquiry. In law, the study of the Canon law formed the foundation of modern legal scholarship. In art and literature, Christianity influenced the development of the Gothic, Baroque, and Romanesque tradition.

In sum, Christianity is the definitive force of Western civilization. It defines the political, cultural, moral, and legal history of Western thought.

The Theology of St. Augustine
For almost 100 years, Augustines philosophy formed the basis of Christian faith. Augustine is credited for having developed the concept of original sin. The concept of original sin is crucial in the development of Christian faith because it expounded the necessity of salvation.

His comments on the book of Genesis are commendable. He argued that the six-day creation is a structured framework of faith  a spiritual rather than physical manifestation of the Divine essence.  Adam and Eve, the forebears of man, are created mortals prior to the fall. However, according to him, man shares in Gods sovereignty in creation. When God said Let us create man in our own image (Book of Genesis), God intended man to be the co-steward of creation. Man, therefore, according to Augustine, is the ultimate expression of Gods magnanimity and love.

Augustines defense of the dual nature of Christ is a central point of Western Christianity. He argued that Christ is both man and God. In order to serve humanity, Christ must be human, able to share in humanitys fragile nature. However, Christ is also part of the Godhead. His divinity is the reason why man is created. As Augustine argues God is not an arrogant expression of power, He is good, justice, humility, and love.

Another important theme in Augustines theology is the concept of physical distance. God is outside the bounds of time  yet an active force in history. God is not part of creation  yet the formal substance of creation. Because God is outside the material world, His existence is distinct from mans existence. It would be an underestimate to say that God is a non-corporeal being  God is a Spirit who cannot be found in the physical world. However, because of His infinite love for humanity, God is active in history. As Michael Schmaus argues The entire history is God revealing itself to humanity, a progression directed to mans salvation.

Introduction
It has been found that throughout the world, major religions have tried to justify terrorism in an effort to overcome religious intolerance.  The main cause of such an influence is that often religion has a strong influence on people and society such that people feel religion can be used as a mean to fight injustice and evil, or use the same as a mean of self-defense.  Often it has been found that a strong attachment to God without worldly consideration may increase the likelihood towards violence.  This likelihood towards violence can develop in spite of a strong sense that all religions of the world consider God as the creator and not the destroyer of the word.  One of the commonest ways a religions group would be using violence would be when it has been threatened by other religious or political groups.  This kind of situation may arise purposefully, accidentally or negligently.  In other situations, religious groups may want to slaughter other people to please their gods (OConnor, 2010).  

Throughout the world, religion has a strong influence on various aspects of peoples life including social, economic, political, psychological, legal, professional and moral.  Religion can be disguised in many ways such as political, social, military, legal or professional to create an influence on peoples lives.  Due to these influence of religion, often it may be difficult to define religion.  According to Durkheim 1915, religion is a set of beliefs and practices arranged in a unified manner such that they mean sacred things, and would exclude certain acts that are forbidden, and would unite the community under a unified moral unit.  Geertz 1985 considered religion to be a set of symbols that would create strong and persistent motivations and moods (OConnor, 2010).

From religion, many cults and groups may be created which can be starting points for the development of various terrorist groups and factions.  Often the cults and sects have a one-way belief in God and do not consider other faiths and beliefs.  They have strong ideas of their religion.  Once a religion gets established, a sect can develop usually from the lower socioeconomic groups of the religion.  The sect could be developing to oppose the practices of the rich in a particular religion belonging to a state.  At this point of time, there depends a lot on whether the sect or group is getting more support or is being destroyed.  If the sect gets more support, it can become an institutionalized group (that would begin the process of becoming an established group).  During this face of expansion or dissolution, the religious group may try to embrace the political world or manipulate the same to a place outside the ordinary world.  If the group manipulates itself outside the political world, then there are chances that it may become aggressive and take up a path filled with violence and terror.  Often cults do not break up from the parent group or established religion.  They may have strong belief in an aspect that is discovered newly or an aspect that has been long forgotten or discarded.  A cult usually develops from the upper strata, and has a charismatic leadership.  When the leader dies, the cult may also come to an end.  A cult usually is not an aggressor but a role victim, and the members would try to establish inner-wordiness.  On the other hand a sect does not control the inner feelings and thoughts of the members.  In cults and sects, suicidal ideas and homicidal tendencies can exist, but often it is found that cults are more dangerous than the sects.  However, often it may be difficult to differentiate a cult from a sect (OConnor, 2010).  

Body
Established religions of the world
The major religions of the world are Christianity (33 of the worlds population), Islam (20), Hinduism (13), Buddhism (6), Jewish (0.2) and others.  Religion has an effect over culture and today in different parts of the world, cultural clashes are occurring due to clashes and conflicts between 2 or more religions.  In the Yugoslavian religion, there is a conflict between various Christian factions.  In India, there is a conflict between the Hindus and the Muslims, and in the Middle there is a conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.  In parts of Africa, there are conflicts between Muslims and Christians.  Many of the established religions from all over the world may choose terrorism as a route and would provide the terrorist with respectability.  However, a lot has deviated from the Just War Doctrine that was established thousands of years back.  The Just War Precept would provide the circumstances when the people of the religion could go for a war.  However, none of the religions have accepted weapons of mass destruction to be used against humanity.  According, to the Just War concept, war or violence can be accepted as an option only as a last resort, when other modes have been seriously attempted and have failed.  War has to be sanctioned by certain individuals of a society who have a legitimate interest in the group.  War can only be organized to overcome any sufferings, injury or other wrongs that are meted out on a particular society.  Only if there is a realistic chance of success should the Just war concept be adopted.  The main aim of Just war would be to bring about peace.  This means that war can only be organized to bring back normalcy in a community and not as a method of destroying other communities.  The violence that is permitted in the Just War concept should be equivalent to the amount of damages that have suffered.  Besides, wars should be organized only to destroy the enemy and not to attack any innocent party such as women and children.  There are certain moral constraints in religious warfare which need to be strongly respected.  These are the reasons why Just War concept can be considered to be a justified and reasonable.  On the other hand, terrorism would cross all the boundaries of fairness and would also feel that they have been morally superior for the actions.  Socially, their actions would not be considered as morally superior.  Religious terrorists have a morality that is based on their personality and have no external supporters for their acts of terrorism (OConnor, 2010).

Most of the terrorist groups in the world derive motivation from the belief that they have a sacred duty in their religion to please God.  However, there may be a difference between religious terrorism and a holy war (jihad or crusade).  A religious war would be having a spiritual objective.  However, terrorism is unpredictable and involves certain individuals who would be dedicated to doing anything such as a terrorism conflict.  Today most of the terrorist groups are not considered as a part of any mainstream cult or sect, or they may have been in the past a part of such a group or sect.  Today most of the terrorists are considered as fundamentalists, extremists and true believers that can be differentiated from the mainstream religion practitioners.  Most of the individuals who engage in terrorism may interpret the sacred texts to directly or indirectly demand that the true believers of the religion have a sacred duty.  They feel that the mainstream religious practitioners may be neglecting their sacred duty even if it involves picking up a violent path.  Religious terrorists may consciously not enjoy violence and for this reason may not consider themselves to be terrorists.  Instead they may consider themselves to be Soldiers of God or Religious Activists.  As religious terrorists do not enjoy violence, for this reason, it is not considered as the most dangerous type of terrorism.  Various other forms of terrorism such as political and social terrorism may succumb to military, political, diplomatic actions and negotiations, but religious terrorism would not succumb to these.  Many of the religious terrorists may want to fail in their mission and offer martyrdom to demonstrate that they have failed in a world filled with evil.  This may be dangerous for the world, as often they are involved in suicide attacks that would destroy other people.  The world is really at a huge risk, if the religious terrorists have weapons of mass destruction in their hands (OConnor, 2010).

Relationship between Religion and Terrorism
There are four aspects of religion that may encourage terrorism.  Firstly, religion requires the community to take part in rituals.  Secondly, the religious believers have to believe in the supernatural and means of means of pleasing God.  Thirdly, there would be someday a judgment day in which God would separate out the good from the bad, the sacred from the irreligious.  Fourthly, the adolescent or the teenage phase is important for the development of religious values and beliefs (Sosis, 2007).

Hoffman (1998) strongly believed that a rise in religious motivation could result in lethality of the terrorist attacks.  Of all the terrorist activity since 1980 to 2003, about 3 have been religious terrorist, but it accounts for about 50 of all fatalities.  Hoffman 1998 considers that religious motivations could result in greater suicidal attacks.  The highest cases of suicidal attacks from a terrorist group have been from the LTTE in Sri Lanka which is not a religious terrorist group.  It has been observed that religion can help to institute a suicide attack of terrorism in an individual or a group.  Recent research has provided that several factors for terrorism may be different from what was previously anticipated (Sosis, 2007).  Berrebi 2003 considers that the Palestine suicide bombers had a better educational status than the average population and had a better socioeconomic status.  Krueger 2002 found that socioeconomic status did not play a role in participation in terrorism.  Besides, the psychological status of people who participate in terrorism seems to be normal.  Many religious terrorist groups believe that the people who are a part of the group have a normal mental status.  Besides, it can be said that although the suicide bombers end their life, they do it with a purpose and hope of bringing good.  However, since the terrorists are not crazy then why is there is a strong relationship between terrorism (Sosis, 2007).  However, Bloom 2005 considers that religious terrorists may not even have certain religious goals, but may in fact have certain political goals in mind.  Besides, it is found that religion influences politics strongly.  Religion may in fact be a mean of the way the terrorists would achieve their goal.  It is here where religious motivation can help the individual to justify the violence to be caused.  Many of the terrorist group would convert their political struggles into religious issues and use the same to demonstrate that people have been persecuted by religion.  As the cause of such liberations is justified and attributed to be divine, strong motivation and participation would be expected.  Bin Laden has been converting his grievances with the US into motivating terrorists to kill and destroy the Western World.  Many of the terrorists feel that they are fighting for a morally strong cause, which would further improve the motivation for such terrorist attacks.  For many terrorist groups, it feels that they are good who are fighting evil.  Here again religion is used as a tool to demonize opposing views.  Often a suicide terrorist would like to kill individuals belonging to other groups.  For example, the LTTE which is a Hindu group is hugely successful in suicide attacks over the Sri Lankan population which is predominately Buddhist.  Another huge motivation for the religious terrorists is certain spiritual and eternal rewards that seem would make them feel that they are larger than life images.  In certain cases, dying for a religions cause through terrorism would mean that the individual would have several after-life benefits in another world.  For example, it is believed that the hijackers of the 911 attack are now in heaven.  The motivation would also be higher if certain religious symbols, myths and rituals are being used than social or political symbols.  The religious terrorists are better united through such symbols and myths (Sosis, 2007).

Religious terrorism in various parts of the World
Religious terrorism has been seen throughout the world including Ireland, Sri Lanka, India, Israel, North Africa and Eurasia.  In Ireland, most Catholics resided in the South and Protestants resided in the North.  The first time conflict arose between the 2 groups was in 1916, when the town of Dublin was destroyed by the British.  This lead to the form of the Irish Republican Army and finally a peace truce was decided in 1994 to end with a cease fire.  Michael Collins was the founder of the IRA.  They strongly believed in protecting their homeland from abuse from the British forces.

In Sri Lanka and South India, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have been a Tamil-speaking Hindu group that opposite the ethnic Sinhalese Buddhist-dominated rule.  They demanded Tamil-speaking parts of North Tamil Nadu as a separate state.

In the Indian State of Kashmir, there is a conflict between the Muslim groups of Kashmir and India, for the demand of Kashmir as a separate state.  Thousands of people die each year and several hundred of thousands of troops are involved.

In central Europe, there is conflict between the Chechen Muslims and the Russians since the year 1991.  Many Chechen terrorist groups have connections with the Al-Qaeda and the Mujahidin.  Several other nations of central Asia and Europe are involved in this conflict.

In Sudan, there is a conflict between the North Arab population and the Southern Christian population.  The current government in Sudan is Islamic and they have introduced strict Islamic code, destroying the Christian communities and ensuring that training camps are held to spread terror to other parts of Africa.  

The Middle East region consists of huge number of Muslims, Christians and Jews.  Most of the wars in the region of Palestine have been over land.  One of the strong Palestine groups that is responsible for causing terrorism in Israel was Fatah.

Conclusion
Often it has been found that terrorist groups that assemble under religious issues may not exactly have religious issues.  Studies have found that most of the issues being present with these groups are politically motivated.  Religion is merely used as an effective tool to create strong motivation through moral feelings, encouraging unification of these groups and further encourage feeling for suicidal attacks (Hassan, 2009).  Religion seems an effective tool to support terrorism.  However religion may be a wrong weapon to utilize with terrorism, as the basic teaching of every religion is peace, non-violence and protection of human life.  Also many terrorist groups utilize suicidal bombings as a mean to devalue ones life for a more important cause for the group.  Having such a cause may not be ideal as God wanted man to protect ones own life.  In case of any conflicts, the Guidelines mentioned under Just War doctrine need to be respected.  There may be serious problems when a terrorist movement shifts from a local problem to a national or a regional problem, comprising the security of the entire state or subcontinent.  Often it may be very difficult to identify religious terrorism (Lizardo, 2008).  However, a close look at the motivating factors may suggest religious terrorism.    

Civilization is connected to the progress in culture and establishment of social order in a society through its political and religious structures. Christianity has influenced a lot of changes in the world, more than any other religion in social order and philosophical thought. Christianity has been close knit to the values, practices and beliefs in Western culture. Its contribution can be linked to four major aspects of civilization which include the economic order, political organization, establishment of moral values and the search for knowledge. Christian teachings can be closely associated to the present day, justice and liberty enjoyed in most western societies which advocates for compassion in provision of all things.

The origin of Christianity can be associated to the Jews who were part of the Roman Empire. This religion established itself as a unique religion which has a collective doctrine, a structure and authority. This helped it to spread quickly within the Roman Empire and gained significant presence within every community in the Western Europe at that time. This helped the region to gain a common understanding in religious faith. During the period which Christianity came to being, Rome had control over quite a large part of Western world. Christianity diffused into the roman leadership which later spread to all its territories which were under its leadership.

During the reign of Constantine, Christianity was made a legal religion. As a result, Christianity gained an upper hand as its values were given a lot of consideration when passing laws. During this reign of Romans in major parts of Europe, the spread of Christianity flourished, which helped Christianity to grow from fellowship of a small grouping to greater numbers of people.  Most of the ideologies and thoughts in political and social life today have a lot of origin from the Roman leadership. As the Roman Empire expanded to most parts of Western world it brought with it values with regards to religion and leadership, which had a lot of foundation on religious faith.

Socially, Christianity has brought about intolerance in the society through its doctrine of believe in only one God, and for those who do not abide to this doctrine are regarded as pagans who will one day perish. In this society, Christianity enforced a strict and a one level of spiritual discipline. Due to the embracing of Christianity, the western worlds have found religion as a ground of treating strangers who do not abide to this faith with reservations. In addition, Christianity has great influence to its belief in Supreme Being God who has great control in all aspects of life.

Politically, Christianity has also imposed a lot of influence in promotion of equality among the Western societies. Through the doctrine all people are equal before the eyes of God Christianity has helped people to develop a sense of equal treatment to others regardless of any other affiliation which has endeared it among many people. This sense of equality among all members of the community has helped to develop an equitable society. This has found a lot of basis on the teaching of treating another person as your neighbor and doing to the others as you would like them to do unto you. The civilization in the Western world has had an outward approach in embracing other people due to the influence of Christianity. Christian teachings have a lot of regard to those in the authority. Through its structure in a society, Christianity has helped the society to embrace leadership which is composed of rulers such as kings, who work close together with religious figures such as bishops, and popes.

The expansive nature in Western civilization into other regions like the United States had a basis of the mandate given to the Christians by God to expand the reach of the religion to other people in the world. Economically, the individual strives to gain wealth at personal level has a basis in the Christian teachings where there is a lot of inference to the payments of hard work.

In the advent of theological and scientific thought, the embracing of knowledge in Western societies can be associated with the verse in the Bible which talks of the destructions experienced by people as a result of lack of knowledge. In pursuit to make clarifications in science and other fields, societies has been encouraged to seek knowledge not only in relation to Christian beliefs but all other fields.

Comparison and contrast among theologies of Martin Luther, John Calvin, and John Wesley
In his theology, Martin Luther considered the need to have a change in the church on how it perceived the issue of repentance. He based his argument on the scripture and questioned how pope could offer forgiveness to people whilst forgiveness could only be granted by God alone. He went ahead to criticize the belief held on the need to have good deeds so as to ensure one acquires salvation. According to him, salvation could only be guaranteed from faith alone, which is a component of a gift from God. He opposed the sale of indulgences in church as a form of punishment for the sins committed by the followers.  Luther saw it as a commercial undertaking which was not intended to safeguard the soul of a person but to gain revenue for the church. His movement in the new view of the doctrines in the church such as the justification through faith and the authority on the scriptures has had a lot of significance in the church reforms. His arguments led to his excommunication from Catholic Church. Most of his views were adopted by reformers of church and has formed a basis of argument for many Protestants in the modern day.

John Calvin is closely associated with the theology of Calvinism which has a lot of reference to the destiny of mankind and the issues that relate to wickedness and the autonomy of God on the life of a man. After the excommunication of Martin Luther, those who followed his doctrines started to form evangelical or protestant churches. The doctrine of Calvinism came at this period when the reformed churches were forming at a direction which was completely independent of the doctrines of Luther.
John Wesley brought about the theology of the order of the salvation under the foundation of the existence of original sin and the readiness of God to forgive man of his sins. According to his theology, the origin of sin is enshrined on the justification which progresses with sanctification and the final stage of glorification. The acknowledgement that God created us free of sin forms the justification. The occurrence of death is as a result of our connection to Adam. According to Wesley, the need for salvation is as a result of the requirement of humankind to attain justification which is a Godly state free of sin.

Introduction
Since time immemorial, sacrifice has been considered as an integral part of religion. Sacrifice is a common feature of all religions.  All monotheistic and polytheistic religions show evidence of a form of sacrifice to which religious importance are attached. The motivation for sacrifices comes from different aspect of religion. Sacrifice is considered to perpetuate, intensify, and reestablish connection between human worshipers and the divine.  Sacrifice is intended to help worshipers gain divine favor or call for intervention to placate an impending divine wrath.  Sacrifice takes different forms, which implies that different things can be used for sacrifice. Fruits, flowers, crops, human, animals, and other things can be used for sacrifice.

In mainstream religions, incident of sacrifices have been greatly reduced.  Most mainstream religious groups have formalized their sacrifices to mere offerings which are given during proceedings of a religious worship. However, there are other religious groups which still maintain human and animal sacrifices. Human and animal sacrifices have attracted criticism and even some religious groups have been sued in a court of law seeking court ruling and interpretation of freedom of worship. One of such religious groups that have been dodged by controversy is Santeria religion. It is estimated that for the last four thousand years, Saniterians have been practicing animal sacrifice and recently, there are controversies on human sacrifice. This practice has come to be challenged by animal and human rights activities arguing that it fails to respect the right to life. While Santeria worshippers claim that sacrifice is meant to create a connection with divine, others argue that the practice fail to promote cultivation of the human person and fails to respect right to life.  Sacrifice in Santeria religion can be considered as an archaic practice that fails to promote cultivation of human person.

Santeria sacrifice
Santeria is a pre-Christian religion that has overcome the waves of impending religious groups like Christianity to retain its original practices. Santeria is believed to have originated from Yoruba, Northwest of Nigeria, and it arrived in the Caribbean region with the African slaves.  Santeria has become an integral part of religious worships in Puerto Rico and other Caribbean countries.   Recent statistics shows that the religion is gaining ground in United States with the number of people subscribing on the rise. However, the religion has been looked at as a demonic, archaic, and primitive religion owing to a number of practices including human sacrifice.  Santeria incorporates the worship of Orisha or head guardian but it also brings together elements of worship from Roman Catholicism and other religious groups.

Like any other religion, Santeria value sacrifice. It is among the few religious groups that still carry out animal sacrifice as a sign of bonding with the divine. Santeria makes a variety of sacrifices which ranges from animals, foods, caf, money, and many others.  Their sacrifices are carried out on alter.   The most prevalent form of sacrifice among Santeria is animal sacrifice. When an animal sacrifice is to be carried out, it is performed by only a priest, referred to as Babalu.  Individuals can make alters and offer foods, money, coffee, and others but they are not allowed to offer animal sacrifices.  Animal sacrifices are used only during major events like when the worshipers want to appease divine to save life an individual or when one is badly cursed.  They argue that animal sacrifice is important to Santeria as Eucharist is important to Catholicism.

Sine 1987, there has been a ranging conflict between Santeria and organizations fighting for animal rights.  These organizations have argued that use of small animals like chicken and others for ritual sacrifices amounts to infringement of animal rights. Animal rights activists have been fighting not only for the continued use of small animals in rituals like sickness and initiation of new members to the religion but also the manner in which these animals are killed for sacrifice.  However, Santeria defend animal sacrifice on the ground that  animals are killed in humane manner,  animals are eaten later just like other animals that are killed daily throughout the  country,  and animal sacrifices is a ritual that has been practiced in religion for a long time. Santeria also argue that they have to continue with the sacrifice because Orisha need food and because Orisha describes different manifestation of God, it is expression that God needs animal sacrifices.  Santeria also argues that for the last one millennium, animal sacrifice has formed a part and parcel of their religion and even the United States Supreme Court has upheld the need for Santeria to continue with animal sacrifice.

For a long time, Santeria religion has been fighting accusations of human sacrifice.  Critics of the religion have argued that Santeria does not does not have any doctrine and the strength of its faith is based on animal and human sacrifice. There are many incidences which have been related to human sacrifices in Santeria.

 In 1986, the first sign of human sacrifice was linked to Santeria religion. In this incident, a mutilated body of a baby was discovered in Connecticut.   The body was found with other things like pennies, fruits, trinkets, and other which indicated presence of Caribbean cult sacrifice.  Investigations showed that the religious practices could be linked to Caribbean Santeria religion.

In 1989, it was revealed that Police in Mexico had found evidence linking Santeria to human sacrifice.  Police discovered a ground in Rancho Santa Elena which is outside Matamoros, Mexico, which was stashed with mutilated bodies. The human corpses were mutilated in a manner that evidence ritual sacrifice had been performed on them.

Although police were looking for clues that could lead to drug trafficking which could incriminate Adolfo de Jesus Constanzo, who was a know leader of a drug ring.  However, it was discovered that Adolfo de Jesus Constanzo mother was an ardent follower of Santeria religion.  This caused media frenzy across Mexico and United States and it became difficult for Santeria religion to deny their involvement in human sacrifice.  Since then, Santeria has been perceived as an obscure cult rather than religion, which draws its practices from Satanism, Voodoo, witchcraft, and other practices which are considered anti-religions.

Constanzo had been known as a cruel drug dealer who punished his enemies with death.  He had formed his own concept of cult and declared himself as the high priest. She was joined by a young lady Sara Maria Aldrete, who served as the cult priestess and at the same time was a student at Texas Southmont College in Brownsville. Initially, it was perceived that Constanzo had punished his business enemies with death but it was later proved through evidence given by his followers that he had promised them that they would be able in a position to absorb spiritual essence of the victims.  Therefore, it was easy to link human sacrifice with ritualistic practices in Santeria.

In 1998, there was another incidence which raised questions about the company credibility on human sacrifice. It was well known that Santeria had legal fight to be allowed to continue using animals for sacrifice.  However, there were suspicions of human sacrificed perpetrated by Santeria members. In January 8, 1998, a case reported in The New York Times showed that a 17 year old girl, Charity Miranda, had suffocated to death in a plastic bag.  It was reported that Miranda mother and sister had tried to perform exorcism to free her of demons. When police arrived at the scene, they found the two women chanting and paying over her body. However, it was reported that days before, the two women had joined Santeria Lukumi, a doctrine that does not believed in existence of demons. Santeria liturgy does not also contain exorcism rituals. However, here mother was charged with murder but later acquitted due to mental instability. It is widely believed that the death of Miranda was as a result of the routine human sacrifice rituals which are performed by Santeria.

 More evidence which links Santeria to human sacrifice has been documented in other areas of the world. In 2002, the body of a young boy was found floating in River Thames in London. The body has been dismembered in such a way that it reflected that it had been used for human sacrifice.  An autopsy report on the body revealed that the results were the same to that of similar children victims who had been found in France and Germany where such incidences had been recorded.  The autopsy report had shown that the body bore results of ritualistic death.  The nature of wounds, clothing and other body mechanism was matched to ritual sacrifices which are performed in Africa as some parts of the body were mission. More evidence to ritualistic sacrifice murder was linked to seven half-burned candles which had been wrapped in a white sheet on the shore of the river. The ritualistic killing was linked to Santeria because the candle bore the name Fola Adeoye while another name Adekoye Jo Fola Adeoye had been inscribed on the white sheet.

According to Santeria beliefs, human person ranks below Orisha but they are closely intertwined.  In a cosmological system, human begins comes below Orisha. Human beings are considered to have been made by the hands of Orisha, Obatala, and given the breath of life by Olodumare. Although the lives of human beings depend on Orisha, Orisha also depend on human beings.  It is only humans who can make offerings in order to feed Orisha. Human persons also have the ability to sit down in groups and call for intervention of Orisha in their lives.  Parents have a special role as they have to act as intermediaries between Orisha and their human children.

 Under this cosmological system, there is evident interaction between Orisha and human beings.  There is an evident dependence between Orisha and human beings that is mainly through sacrifice. This relationship brings into sharp focus the important of sacrifice in Santeria.  Every individual is composed of specific energy patterns, which describe individual personality and character.  This energy pattern is understood to be Orisha that lives in harmony with one self and when individuals understand ones patron Orisha, they are able to form a spiritual line with energy patterns.

This relationship describes the interconnection between individual self and Orisha. Unlike in other religions, Orisha are not considered omnipotent. However, individuals are closely connected to Orisha through energy patterns. Since Orisha depend on human beings for survival, the relationship underpins the reason why sacrifice forms and integral part of Santeria religion.  Sacrifice enables human beings to maintain a close relationship between human person and Orisha. Without the spiritual energy bond, human persons would not be complete. Therefore, sacrifice forms an integral part of the relationship between human person and religion beliefs.

Considering this relationship, human persons need to nourish Orisha in order to stay in close relationship. Sacrifice in Santeria is supposed to improve the relationship between human persons and the divine but this may not have been achieved through some of the practices.  As was discussed earlier, Santeria is not based on any doctrine but sacrifice forms an integral part of the religious beliefs as expressed by the relationship between human persons and Orisha.  Lack of doctrine in Santeria makes it difficult to assess the real acceptable means of sacrifice. While the mainstream Santeria argue that human sacrifice is not allowed, the above incidence clearly reveal that human sacrifice could form a part of Santeria sacrifice.

The essence of religious sacrifice is to appease divine.  However, does this has to conflict with universal rights of   human life It is evident from the above discussion that Santeria attach more value to human person relationship with Orisha but this relationship does not have to lead to loss of human life.  Though there may be questions that can be raised on the issue  of animal rights and Santeria sacrifice, there  is no evidence which like violation of value of human person value through animal sacrifice. This means that it is only when Santeria sacrifice is perceived through lens of human sacrifice.
 
Santeria sacrifices are meant to create an interconnection between human person value and Orisha. This could explain the reason why sacrifices forms an integral part of Santeria sacrifice. However, human sacrifice, though not ascertained in the mainstream Santeria religious practices seems to form a hidden part of this religion. Human sacrifice does not hold any human person value. In the cosmological system, it is to be found that human persons are at a lower rank than Orisha.  There is symbiosis relationship between human person and Orisha. Since Orisha depend on human person for food through sacrifices. This implies that even in the religious order, human beings are valued as a part of the system  to feed Orisha implying that human sacrifice should not be a part of the religion.

Conclusion
Sacrifices form an important part of any religions. Sacrifices are mostly offered with an aim of appeasing divine to evade an impending catastrophe.  This means that sacrifices are meant to strengthen the bond between believers and the divine and also smooth their relationships.    Like all other religions, Santeria value sacrifices as an integral part of their religious worships. However, there have been reported incidences of human sacrifices perpetuated in different parts of the world where there are followers for Santeria.  In the cosmological order of Santeria, human beings are placed below Orisha but there seems to be a mutual relationship between the two which means human sacrifice would not be sanctioned in the cosmological value. Therefore, human sacrifice in Santeria does not hold up the personal value that is a part of the religious cosmological system.

Divinity is the very nature of God. Jesus Christs divinity is exposed over and over again in the Holy Scripture or the Bible from the New Testament to the Old Testament. Jesus reveals His deity in many ways. The passage I and the Father are one (John 14 6-9) is one of the evidences that Jesus is God. When the devil tempts Him in Matthew 410, He bluffs him by saying You shall not tempt the Lord your God (147). It means that the devil himself knows already the divinity of Christ from the very beginning based from the way he tempts the Lord and Jesus doesnt commit any sin. The same story is found in Mark 1 21  28 when Jesus sees a man possesses by a demon. He tells him to Be quiet and come out of him (26) and the demon knows him I know who You are  the Holy One of God (24). This passage means that even the devil recognizes him as God and only the Almighty One can command the devil out of someone else. Another example that reveals His holiness is the content of His sermons. Jesus proudly shares His divinity through His teachings without any hesitation. Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM (John 858) and called God His Father, making himself equal with God (John 518).  No one can rebuke the nature but Jesus ceases the wind and calms the sea when the windstorm happens in Mark 4 35-41. Only God can control the natural world because He is the creator of it, this shows His attribute as God. From John 14 6, Jesus directly reveals that He is the way, the truth, and the life. No one will come to the Father except through Me (6). Another example that shows the divinity of Jesus is when He rises from the dead (Mark 161  8). No individual can do the same as Jesus does. Furthermore, He allows Thomas to experience the insertion of his finger to the print of the nails on His hand (John 20 25  29) just to open up fully the faith of His disciples. The prophesy in the past, happens in the present and still clinging in the near future about and according to Jesus is a very convincing proof of His divinity.

Humanity is the state of showing the human attributes or qualities. Jesus as a human has flesh and blood. When Jesus is conceived and born by Mary in Bethlehem of Judea (Matthew 118-25), He is already considered as human because He experiences the process on how the human is given birth. One more thing, Jesus preaches the good news to all the people who follow them just like the parents to his children. He wants them to know about God and Him at the same time. The statement of Jesus Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nest, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head (Matthew 820), states that since He is human during that time He also feels tired and exhausted.

Another example is when He is sleeping (24) during the windstorm which can be read from Mark 823  25, this simply shows that he is resting the whole hour of their journey. Jesus as a human also eats and drinks just like what He does together with his disciples in the passage of Mark the Last Supper (Mark 14 22  26). If a simple Jew knows how to pray, Jesus does it rigidly and more intensely His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground (Luke 2244), this simply illustrates that Jesus as a human suffers from pain and agony because of the coming torment that He will be facing. During their time, the person who commits crime and an enemy of the government is put into prison and the worst thing that could happen is to crucify him. The human aspect of Jesus is fully shown when He accepts the punishments and all the throbbing done by the soldiers while preparing for His crucifixion. The flowing of His blood, the nails in His hands, and all the physical injuries that He undergoes are indication of being a human. His death on the cross reveals Him as a human but for the deeper meaning of this action signifies His divinity because He even offers His own life just to show His love to all the sinners.

The Ahl al-Bayt (literally People of The House or family) is one of the most important pillars of Islamic history and an integral part of its leadership. The Prophet Muhammad had a family, and his family is venerated by all Muslims, be it Sunni or Shia. The Prophet Muhammads family and household compose the Ahl al-Bayt. However, the number of the family members and the interpretations in the Ahl al-Bayt changes according to the sect of Islam. In Sunni Islamic circles, the Ahl al-Bayt includes his eleven wives (the Mothers of the Believers or Ummu l-Muminn), his daughter Fatimah and her three children, and his cousin and son-in-law Ali. In other sects, the Ahl al-Bayt includes Muhammad s blood relatives, most mention the Banu Muttalib and the Banu Hashim. In Sunni Islam, all Muslims have an obligation to love and venerate the Ahl al-Bayt, while in Twelver and Ismaili Shia Islam, the Ahl al-Bayt are considered in the center of Islam and are believed as the true successors of the Prophet Muhammad. The Shia define the members of the household as Muhammad, Fatimah, Ali, Hasan, and Husayn (collectively known as the Ahl al-Kisa), the descendants of Fatimah, collectively known as the Imams.

Veneration of the Ahl al-Bayt, agreed upon by all Muslims, came from a parallel (Mutawatir) tradition. The Messenger of Allah came upon them and informed them that Allah would leave behind two precious and weighty things, and if Muslims adhere to them, they will never stray from Allahs path. Those were the Book of Allah, or the Quran, and the Prophet Muhammads family or the Ahl al-Bayt. There is no contestation in the origins of the veneration of the Ahl al-Bayt, as those are the words of Allah.

The message of Allah to the people has been narrated many times and quoted by many different Islamic authors. Here is Sahih Muslims narration

Someday (after his last pilgrimage) the Messenger of Allah (PBUHHF) stood to give us a speech beside a pond which is known as Khum (Ghadir Khum) which is located between Mecca and Medina. Then he praised Allah and reminded Him, and then said O people Behold It seems the time approached when I shall be called away (by Allah) and I shall answer that call. Behold I am leaving for you two precious things. First of them is the book of Allah in which there is light and guidance... The other one is my Ahlul-Bayt. I remind you in the name of Allah about my Ahlul-Bayt. I remind you in the name of Allah about my Ahlul-Bayt. I remind you in the name of Allah about my Ahlul-Bayt. (three times). (Sahih Muslim 1980, 1873)

The message in fact was repeated three times by the Messenger of Allah, and there has been no change nor different interpretation by both Sunni and Shia leaders and scholars. This was the word of Allah, and it is absolute. However, Shia scholars claim that this passage and that directive mentioned by the Messenger of Allah is disregarded or worse, denied by majority of Sunni believers, who believe the passage by al-Hakim in his book al-Mustadrak, saying I leave amongst you two things that if you follow or act upon, you will not go astray after me The Book of God and my Sunnah (traditions).

In the Quran however, the mention of the Ahl al-Bayt was mentioned with the following passage
O wives of the Prophet you are not like any other of the women If you will be on your guard, then be not soft in (your) speech, lest he in whose heart is a disease yearn and speak a good word. (Quran 3332) And stay in your houses, and do not display your finery, with the display of the former days of ignorance. Maintain the Prayer, and pay regular Charity and obey Allah and His Messenger. Indeed Allah desires to repel all impurity from you, O People of the Household, and purify you with a thorough purification. (Quran 3333) And keep to mind what is recited in your houses of the communications of Allah and the wisdom surely Allah is Knower of subtleties, Aware. (Quran 3334)

This passage though has some interesting interpretations from both Sunni and Shia scholars alike, especially the phrase from you, O People of the Household, which directly points out to the Ahl al-Bayt. In Sunni tradition, the wives and dependents of the Prophet Muhammad are included. There are several instances that the Prophet Muhammad addresses his wives as his Ahl al-Bayt. In addition, Ali, Fatimah, Husayn and Hasan are included because of their presence in the Ahl al-Kisa. Some also include and recognize another wife of Muhammad, Umm Salamah as another member of the Ahl al-Bayt. Alis immediate family and Muhammads relatives Aqeel, Jafar and al-Abbas are also regarded as a member of the Ahl al-Bayt, and other early jurists like Abu Hanifa and Malik bin Anas included Banu Hashims clan, while al-Shafii included Banu Muttalibs family in Sunni traditions.

In Shia traditions, the Ahl al-Bayt is limited to just the Ahl al-Kisa. The Shia has interpreted a pronoun change in the Quran that made the Ahl al-Kisa the only members of the Ahl al-Bayt. This change in the gender has inevitably contributed to the birth of various accounts of a legendary character, attaching the latter part of the verse to the Five People of the Mantle. The Shia believe that Ahl al-Kisa are Imams who are sinless and infallible and are chosen through divine providence. They are considered a major part of worship in the Shia sect.

Both sects, as mentioned earlier venerate the Ahl al-Bayt and bestow the highest respect upon them. However, the Islamic practices of sadaqa or charity, and zakat or taxes, are not allowed to the Ahl al-Bayt, as the Prophet Muhammad forbade his family to get income from them. Islamic jurists explain that these alms are considered the defilements of the people, who offer them to be free from sin. It would be unbecoming for the family to use sadaqa and zakat as they were considered pure. Instead, they would be given a portion of the spoils of war, according to Madelung. Also, a family who has blood relations with the household of Muhammad are called sayyids or sharifs, and they are given high social status.

Both sects consider the Ahl al-Kisa as part of the Ahl al-Bayt. Looking at them from both Sunni and Shia points of view can clearly tell what came from the Islamic schism that happened that split the Islamic faith in two major divisions. The split came from the debate to who shall be the rightful successor to the will of the Prophet Muhammad. The Sunnis believe that the first four Caliphs (Abu Bakr, Umar ibn al-Khattab, Uthman ibn Affan, and Ali ibn Abi Talib), are the most rightful. They say that Allah had not chosen anyone to become Muhammads successor and therefore should be elected. Shias believe that only the lineage of Ali ibn Abi Talib are the ones who received the Prophet Muhammads will and his chosen successor. Alis progeny according to the Shia, are all in a state of Ismah, or infallibility. Ali is a cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad, and is the rightful successor. Shias call him the first Imam, or leader, and the legitimacy other caliphs were disregarded and rejected. An Imam holds authority by divine right, and holds absolute spiritual authority among Muslims in the Shia faith. The split of the Sunni and Shia, though in part because of Ali, a member of the Ahl al-Kisa and the Ahl al-Bayt, is seen in the minor changes. In the case of the Ahl al-Kisa, both sects have different interpretations. In the Sunni side, the Quranic verse 3333, also talks about Muhammads wives and his servants as members of the household, and they have a spiritual importance and legacy. However, the legacy that is implied in the verse does not mean a physical legacy nor a legitimate succession of the Prophet. In the case of the Shia, the verse only confirms their belief that Muhammad, Fatimah, Ali, Hasan and Husayn are the only members of the Ahl al-Bayt, and it was divine providence that Allah had chosen them to be pure and sinless. This act of divine providence written in the Quran was impetus for the Shia to regard the Ahl al-Kisa as the true members of the Ahl al-Bayt, the protectors and true successors of Muhammad.

Sunnis include more people in the Ahl al-Bayt, like the Banu Hashim and Banu Muttalib. Both are blood relatives of the Prophet Muhammad, and the Banu Hashim is the clan where Muhammad was born to. When Muhammad made it his mission to call the people to worship the One God, Allah, it put him at odds with the pilgrims of Mecca, which was a melting pot of idolatry of various peoples and tribes. Membership in the Banu Hashim made him safe from assassinations and grave threats, yet there was continuing persecution of Muslims in Mecca from the pagans, who in turn fled and to Yathrib, which later became the city of Medina. But in the end, it was the Muhammad that would get the last laugh, as Mecca fell to Muslim hands on 630. Also, the whole of the Arabian Peninsula had pledged allegiance to Islam. His grandsons Al-Husayn and Al-Hasan are part of the Banu Hashim, as they are born to his daughter Fatimah and his cousin Ali. The later descendants of the grandsons of Muhammad are later called Sayed, or sometimes SharifSherif. These people are held with high esteem in Islamic society, even exempt from sadaqa and zakat, as mentioned earlier.

Since the Shia only believe in the Ahl al-Kisa being part of the Ahl al-Bayt, any other person or any other group of people that have interacted with the Prophet Muhammad are disregarded. Their interpretation of the verse has it claiming that there is a word only to the verse 3333, meaning that only one group is clean and pure and need no such instructions on how to live from Allah, while Muhammads wives are not part of the said purification and still need the six stern commandments found in the Hadiths. Those commandments are meant for the Mothers of the Believers and everybody else. Shia writers and scholars say that the verse, though written and delivered in a feminine tone initially, changes to a masculine tone as part of the rhetoric in the verse.

The veneration of the Ahl al-Bayt is an important part of Islamic worship, and commemoration of their contributions to the faith is also a big event that is practiced by all Muslims. One of the most striking activities is the commemoration of the death of Muhammads grandson Husayn ibn Ali, a member of the Ahl al-Bayt and the Ahl al-Kisa, who died in battle in Karbala in modern day Iraq. Called the Mourning of Muharram, it is an important period of mourning and commemoration, especially among the Shia Muslims, who consider Husayn as an Imam, the third Imam to be exact. He was also a willing sacrifice for Islam and the Ummah from the threat of annihilation by Yazid I and the Umayyad Caliphate. To the Shia and the Sunni though, Husayn is a great example of courage and resistance against tyranny. In the Mourning of Muharram, the tenth day known as Ashura, is a time of fasting (for some Shia sects), mourning and self-reflection, as it is held to remember Husayns death and suffering.

In the Mourning of Muharram, Shia Muslims congregate in halls called Hussainia and there will be arranged majalis, or greetings, made to review Islamic teachings and works, as well as to remember Husayns death and sacrifice for the sake of Islam. The congregations continue until the tenth day, or Ashura, where Husayn ibn Ali and 72 of his followers were massacred by Yazid I and the Umayyad Caliphate, and the women and children rounded up as prisoners and sent to Damascus.

During the mourning, there are different activities done by devotees and participants. Sunnis however regard this as a time of remembrance, Shiites regard this as a time of mourning. Shiites come together in special places called Hussainia, and there they recite songs of mourning and recite sorrowful poems to mourn the death of Husayn to the accompaniment of drum beats and cries of  Ya Husayn. Passion plays reenacting the Battle of Karbala and Husayns death are also performed. The people offer condolences to the Imam-e-Zamana, also known as the Imam-al-Mahdi. The Mahdi is believed by Muslims to be the redeemer and avenger of Husayns death and bring justice to the world, akin to Jesus Christ coming back to the end of days by the Christian faith.

Mosques provide free meals to the people on certain nights, during the duration  of the Mourning of Muharram, known as nazar. The meals are consecrated in the name of Imam Husayn, and people are going to the mosques to partake these holy meals. It is customary for both the people and the mosques as it symbolizes communion between Allah, Imam Husayn, and the people. Another activity is the pilgrimage by Shia Muslims to the shrine of Imam Husayn in Karbala. For Shiites, it is a major holy place alongside Mecca and Medina. In another activity  during the mourning, Shiites come together in public places and prepare for the ceremonial chest beating known as matam. Matam is done to express sorrow and devotion to the martyred Imam Husayn. People beat their chests and cry out Ya Husayn Ya Hassan. In Shia societies like in Iraq, Bahrain, Lebanon, or Iran, men would sometimes use metal chains for self flagellation during their matam, other people use knives or razors to cut themselves as a sign of grief for the death of Imam Husayn. These practices are called Zanjir-matam if they use chains, an older term for the cutting of oneself during Matam is Qama-zani or Tage-zani. Another activity is the Taziya, which is a theatrical reenactment of the Battle of Karbala, it is something like a Passion Play of Jesus Christ in the Christian faith. Here, special theater groups do the Taziya for the people who in turn, reflect the pious life that Husayn lived as a devotee of Islam. It should be noted that this practice is rarely used now, but smaller scale Taziyas are still being done in rural Iran, and in Muslim India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, the Taziya is known as miniature mausoleums created and paraded during the entire Mourning of Muharram.

For Sunnis, the reason why Husayns death does not require mourning even if he has a member of the Ahl al-Bayt is that the quarrels of the family of the Prophet Muhammad and the Umayyad Caliphate are mainly politically motivated. There was no reason, according to Sunnis, to venerate Husayns death as a form of martyrdom as he was a participant in a war, bit not a holy war (The Umayyads are a Caliphate, hence they are Muslim). For the Shia however, killing a member of the Ahl al-Bayt, and an Ismah (infallible) at that, is unforgivable. For Shiites, the mourning of the death of Husayn ibn Ali is not just a simple mourning, it is also a protest. Also, the rationale to why Husayn and his 72 followers went to Karbala to face Yazid and a force of 4,000 men differs among the views of both Sunni and Shia.

According to Sunnis, since Husayn was involved in a political struggle, he did not know that he was going to get killed or get involved in a major military engagement with the Umayyads in Karbala. He was just going there to receive his Imamat (religious, or spiritual leadership) because he got an invitation by the people of Kufa to get it there. The Shia view it differently, seeing that Husayn knew and was fully aware it was a suicide mission to face the Umayyads, yet he did so, and he died in Karbala a willing martyr to Islam. Though both sects saw Husayn as a reformer of the perceived corruption of the Umayyad Caliphate, they viewed him differently. The Sunni saw him as a pious member of the Ahl al-Bayt who is primarily a political leader, as he led an uprising of Muslims against the leadership of the Umayyad Caliphate, while the Shia saw him as a pious, spiritual force who faced the Umayyad in something much more akin to holy war, or jihad.

Critique
Osburns (1989) article, Those who have never heard Have they no hope is a discussion on whether or not people need to believe in the Gospel of the Christ in order to be saved from eternal damnation that God has prepared for sinners.  The author contends that people can be saved even if they have not heard the Gospel.  Even so, it is most essential to believe in the right God before attaining eternal salvation (Osburn, 372).  The author explains that knowledge about the Creator of the universe may reach people through Scriptures if not the Gospel of the Christ (Osburn, 369).  But, even those who have had contact with believers must have learned about the one true God (Osburn, 371).  What is more, as the God of mercy works in the hearts of mankind by way of His Spirit, knowledge about Him may reach people through visions as well (Osburn, 368).
   
Thus, the author makes a strong argument in favor of God.  All the same, Osburns biased approach to her subject is bound to make her non-Christian readers uncomfortable about the idea that only the Christian faith may lead mankind to salvation.  The author states, The ultimate basis for salvation for OT saints was faith in God (Gen 156 Rom 43, 22 Gal 36), who knew what he was going to do through the cross (Osburn, 368).  But, there is no evidence that the OT saints were aware of Jesus Christ on the cross.  If Osburn or another theologian were to show evidence from the OT that the OT saints did, indeed, possess this knowledge, it would most likely be through symbolic interpretation.  In fact, this is the only weakness of Osburns article  the fact that the author can create an argument corresponding with her faith, without evidence supporting the same.      

Personal Conclusion
Osburn should have taken an objective, academic approach to her subject.  The author surmises that it may be possible for the Yoruba people to be saved through their worship of God (Osburn, 367).  At the same time, however, the article Those who have never heard reads that Jews and Muslims may or may not be saved, even though they believe in the same God who revealed the Gospel of the Christ.  Hence, I opine that the author is somewhat confused about her subject.  As Christ is the Spirit of God, and God is merciful enough to reveal His knowledge through Scriptures, dreams or visions, allowing the heart of man to believe through His Spirit, which all human beings essentially contain  Osburn could have explained belief in God by referring to Jesus Christ as the Spirit of God (Osburn, 369).
 
In other words, when the New Testament refers to the Christ as the sole means of attaining salvation, the writers are mainly referring to the Christ as the Spirit of God.  So, while it is true that belief comes through the Christ, it does not necessarily mean that all people who have been saved from eternal damnation must have heard about Jesus Christ of Nazareth.  Moreover, I believe that it is blasphemous to try to judge the intentions of God from the time He created mankind until now.  As God is merciful and desires to save people through correct knowledge and beliefs, it is not for a religious author to claim that certain groups of people are more likely to be saved than others.  After all, God is too immense to be judged.  It is lack of understanding alone that confuses human beings about the meanings of the Scriptures, including the Gospel.