Religion and Theology

The Church must change with changing times and be prepared to take difficult positions whether or not its followers or political environments approve of her views. It must remain a true independent voice that ca be counted on at all times. Even so, it is also through that unless the church remains pragmatic in the face of the varied challenges, it risks losing it relevance all together as such a proper balance needs to be struck between the religious principles and the cold blooded realities of the changing World.

Stalin considered religion as archaic and rightly dyeing backward superstitions to be replaced by rationalism. This belief was backed by the cold, ruthless muscle of the Soviet Union that clumped down on religion, closing down churches, killing or incarcerating priests etc. In her desperation to stem the spread of Communism, The Catholic Church and Pope Pius IV supported the fascist and ideologically Nazi-like Ustasha movement in the Balkans which was to become the murderous regime in Croatia. A Country that owed her existence to Hitlers invasion of Yugoslavia and led by Vatican supported Ante Pavelic who had been involved in the double assassinations of political leaders abroad and was in fact convicted and wanted for murder in France (Phayer 2001)

In 1941, the Ustasha issued decrees abolishing Jewish Citizenship in Croatia as well forcing Jews to wear the star David as well as the subsequent detention of thousands of them which marked the onset of the genocide that in turn heralded the holocaust across Europe. To all these Church turned a blind eye and even when it finally broke ranks with the Ustashi, some among the churchs hierarchy continued their support for the government as indeed did many Catholics in Croatia. Genocides occurred not just in Croatia, perpetrated by Catholics, but in Poland as well where Catholics bore the brunt as well. And even as the Holocaust came it caused little or no condemnation at all from the holy Sea, lest the Vatican incur the wrath of Hitler or the allied forces. (Appleby 2000).

Even though the church despised Nazism as well as the heinous activities by those it initially supported, church failed to publicly denounce in good time those crimes. It never should be misconstrued that the church was responsible for actions of the anti communist movements nor that it ever was the role of the church to stop the war or the killings, but owing to her great power and influence across the world, which it should have employed better, its silence created a dubious impression not just among her murderous followers in Croatia, but also among anti-Semitic Nazi government.

Criticisms of the popes conduct over look the difficult conditions that existed then, namely that there was a world war and most of the globe including the Vatican as well as her followers were under the grip of either the Axis or the allied forces and bound by the rules of war. In addition, the perceived influence that the church was thought to wield over her subjects was really non existent in the face repression and occupation by the Nazi. It is easy not to see the importance of the neutrality of the Vatican, bearing in mind the enormous pressure from both side of the war for the Vatican to come down on their side as well as the effect that any such denunciations would have had on safety of detainees in the hands of the Nazi.

Theologically, the church recognizes the inevitability of war, the threat of war plagues humanity in as far as man remains sinful and until the second coming of Christ and calls upon Christs supporters to not only work for the establishment of a just order but be prepared to wage warLet he who doesnt have a sword sell his mantle and buy one

The churchs theology is pacifist, insisting on utmost respect of human life, and pursuance of legitimate defense. Keeping off war at all costs except if and only if the war is just i.e. meets the strict criteria namely war can be waged against annihilationist aggressor, who has inflicted such grave, certain as well as lasting damage on a community or country, where all other means of putting a halt to the war prove ineffective, where the is a real possibility of winning the war and the use of arms must not lead to the perpetration of greater evils than those the war aims to mitigate against, a detail that would have rendered the support of the church to the allied forces and the use nuclear bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki problematic. In addition, church doctrine lays the burden of deciding the above on the shoulders of those entrusted with the responsibility for common good which is the political government.

The strict guidelines under which the church could support a war or indeed be involved in one, if just made it impossible to take a clear stand on the on going conflict. With such an unworldly view of the war, it appears the church had never been prepared (nothing could ever prepare it nor was anyone else prepared), to cope with monstrosity of the second world war especially when the church had still been struggling to cope with her violent past dating back to days of the crusade, reformation etc.
Thus emerging from a conflict with a bruised image about which it had an ambiguous stand, the church has struggled to reassert her high moral ground, the Churchs moral standing in society suffered immensely.

For her position against communism before the war, the church was to come out of the war and face the grim reality of persecution of her followers in communist especially in the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe and across China, which resulted in a complete loss of presence of the church in Yugoslavia. This set up the Church for a different role that it was to play during the ensuing cold war.

The Second World War also resulted into the creation of the modern Nation of Israel and its sequel, the Arab Israeli wars that have lasted decades with no end in sight. The need to for Jewish people to have their own State is not difficult to see, which has to be weighed against the needs of the Arab populations especially in Palestine. The Church has had to toe a thin line between sticking up for the interest of the Palestinians while fiercely guarding the right of Israel to exist.

Flowing in part from the Middle Eastern conflict is the need to forge closer relations among the world religions, particularly Christianity and Islam. Even in the face of several religious conflicts in varied countries across the World not Least Northern Ireland, Bosnia etc, not to mention the emergence of religious fundamentalism that has in turn spawned terrorism across the world.

There is also the problem of evolving roles, and expectations of the church, changing definitions of morality, theological interpretations etc. (Kent 2002). Emerging issues call for the church change to suit the times, these have included World War 2, the cold war, genocides in Rwanda etc and the continued emergence of such grave matters would forever remain a challenge to the church. Besides, the church has had to learn to manage societys expectations on what the church can and cannot do.

Since the dawn of civilization, the Jews have encountered persecution and just like them, the people of England are not an exception. During the Elizabethan Era, it can be noticed that the English have an anti-Semitic action towards the Jews and this negative bias was clearly illustrated in William Shakespeares The Merchant of Venice. Shylock, the main character of the story is a Jewish antagonist that has been portrayed prejudicially as a villain and he is labelled as such because of his Jewish affiliation. This misconception about the Jews has been carried over until the 20th century genocide perpetrated by Hitlers army. This inhumane tragedy marked the point that caused the people to notice the suffering of Jews. Therefore, in the eyes of a reader, the characterization of Shylock as a villain was refuted.

Englands negative feelings towards the Jews has an interesting history. It was ardently displayed under the rule of King Edward IV in 1290 when he staged a mass deportation of the Jews to England. Kind Edward ordered all the Jews in his territory to flee France. For the next couple of hundred years the population of the Jews drastically decreased to a few hundreds until they were reinstated to England and was allowed to establish their own communities in 1656 by Cromwells Commonwealth. During the medieval times, the national treasure of a country was held by the King. Way back then, the money lending with interest was orchestrated by the Jews. This system targeted the monarchs and the first one to go was King Charles I in 1649. he was responsible for permitting Jews to return to England to extend financial aid to Cromwell. It is noteworthy to mention the great uncle of Oliver Cromwell was Thomas Cromwell, the one responsible for Henry VIII divorce and separation from Rome. He was the one who trained for money-lending and usurer in the city of Venice. As part of the settlement, the second part of the deal was allowing the Jews to return to England. In 1693, the revenue of the country was less than the estimate expenses and it was the bankers and the Amsterdam Jews that financed the invasion of William Orange. After this event, Amsterdam and Venice both permitted the Jews to live in their territory ( The National Debt and the Bank of England ).

Aside from the deportation and return of the Jews, there was a highly publicized trial before Shakespeare finished writing The Merchant of Venice. In the year 1593, a Jew convert named Dr. Lopez who was Queen Elizabeths doctor was condemned to death for conspiracy against the life of the Queen. He died claiming his innocence and there were evidence that Elizabeth believed him but the trial sensationalized all accusations against the Jews. Dr. Lopez knew Earl of Essex who was a dear friend of Henry Wriothesley to whom Shakespeare dedicated his two works. This chain of connection may prove that Shakespeare was aware of the poor doctors fate (Best).

The Merchant of Venice is a satirical comedy written by William Shakespeare during the time when Jews were greatly prejudiced by the society. The story is about a Jewish money-lender named Shylock and the Christian merchant who is a generous as Shylock is. There are different types of prejudice displayed by various characters like Portias discrimination against ethnicities and Shylock, the main character whose life is filled with plenty of obstacles. Through the discrimination of Portia towards the royalties of different countries and against the people who have Jewish roots, it is not hard to recognize the prejudice that Shakespeare centers on. A critical analysis about this Shakespearian masterpiece is a challenge because no one will truly know what he meant. He may or may not be an anti-Semitic but The Merchant of Venice clearly have traces of anti-Semitic tones. The life of Shylock falls during the time of disturbance for the Jews. He was robbed of his dignity and justice (Shakespeare).

Critics of today feel that this is a troublesome play because of the sensitivities involved. During the Medieval times, the church was extremely strict about usury and doing it was against the doctrines of Christianity. Making money by lending with interest was frown upon for many reasons. It was against the Old Testament for the Jews to engage in such a commercial trade and the Christian churches have adopted this principles since the ancient times. At this point in time, both the Jews and the Christians were viewed fundamentally separate but there is an undeniable symbiosis between them. The Jews were not allowed to loan money with interest to their fellow Jews and the Christians were likewise forbidden by their Church engage in usury with anyone. As such, there was nothing that prevented the Jews from lending money to the Christians. As a result, the Jewish people began to play a huge role in the capitalistic economy of Europe. While the Christians are forbidden to loan money with interest, they lack in motivation to engage in other business risks without any guarantee of return of investment. Therefore, the Jews were despised yet needed at the same time ( The Merchant of Venice ).

It is set in the cosmopolitan center of trade. In this English play, the relationship of the people towards the Jews are filled with tension during this period and because they were banished from England, it is possible that Shakespeare never met or seen any Jewish person and if he had, he probably was unaware of it. This is the extent of his familiarity with a race that he so freely vilifies. It is therefore worth taking into consideration that he gets his understanding of the Jewish people not from his personal experience but from the literature in circulation during his time. Sensitive readers are sure to notice that the villain Shylocks evil nature was not shown to originate from his Judaism and there are other Jews that were depicted in a different way. It is also hard to ignore the fact that Shakespeare is sensitive to the ironical cultural presuppositions that the truth that these moneylenders are needed greatly by the Christians who condemn them because of their being Jewish. In the story, the character Antonio was described as a nice guy but he often abuses Shylock and treats him in a way that seems to be inconsistent with his respectable behavior. This is particularly cited as one of the reasons why Shylock was very eager to have his revenge (Shakespeare).

The Merchant of Venice tells a story about love, finances and hatred and if there is anything that is connecting these stories, it is the aspect of value. All characters continues to give a reason why they value things. Bassanio claims that he is in love with Portia because she is rich, fair and virtues. On the other hand, Shylock hates the religious beliefs of Antonio and he mourned when his daughter eloped with Christian because she has betrayed him and one of the things that he values was the ring that was stolen by his daughter not because of its cost but purely because of sentimental reasons. The world is governed by many risks and this play teaches the readers to learn how to choose between love and hate, between the world as they know it or a terrible one of their own making and they must give all they have in order to achieve something.

Overview
Buddhism is a religious conviction based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, who lived about 26 centuries ago in what is now Nepal and northeastern India. He became the Buddha, which means awakened one, after an experience of philosophical consciousness of the nature of life, fatality and survival.  In the centuries following the Buddhas life, Buddhism extended all over Asia to be one of the leading religions in the continent.

Buddhism differs from other religions because, the central crucial point of nearly all religions is God, or gods but Buddhism isnon-theistic. The Buddha explained that having faith in gods was not significant if one was seeking to be liberal. He did not teach any doctrines to be memorized and understood, but instead taught how people could grasp reality for themselves. Buddhism is a form of discipline of the truths that the Buddha taught the truth of suffering (dukkha), the truth of the cause of suffering(samudaya), the truth of the end of suffering (nirhodha) and the truth of the path that frees us from suffering (magga). The main aim is not to just believe in the knowledge, but to explore it, understand it, and to test it beside ones own encounter. It is theprocessof exploring, understanding, testing and realizing that is Buddhism.

The roots of Buddhists in America are dated back in 1800s from the Europeans.  Year 1893 is regarded as the year Buddhism came to being in America, i.e. during the first World Parliament of Religions, which was held in Chicago. The first famous Buddhist monk in the Western hemisphere was, Allan Bennett.  He finally changed his name to Ananda Metteya.

As Buddhism began to blossom in America, it began to manipulate significant thinkers, who in turn influenced the religion itself. In the 1980s and 1990s, Buddhism augmented noticeably in America, fed by the invasion of Asian immigrants, attention in martial arts, and the Internet. Presently, approximately 3 million Americans, or around 1 percent of the entire inhabitants, consider themselves Buddhist.
The approach of Buddhism is come and observe for yourself, which attracts many Westerners.

Buddhists are not required to have faith in anything, but to follow the Buddhas guidance to experiment thoughts for ourselves. In fact, Buddhas ultimate words were to, be a lamp unto yourself, make of yourself a light.

Social and Political Life of Buddhists in United States
According to Jones (2003), Americans misunderstood the advice from Buddhist teachers for forming social Buddhism movement for a radical permission to pull out from relationships, from society and from the democratic process of biased conversation. Possibly many of them took to meditation to run away from the demands of normal lives. Buddhist wisdom was being absorbed and interpreted from an American mindset that is extremely money-oriented, selfish, aggressive and egotistical.

In the American Buddhist community, many Buddhists have decided with the Dalai Lamas declaration about the dangers of egoism and vanity in Buddhist practice. ThoseAmerican Buddhists who are trying to correct this trend have coined the term Engaged Buddhism to emphasize the inherent link between genuine Buddhist reflection and social action,Queen (2000).

Comparison between Buddhism and Christianity
Buddhism teaches that, human beings are spellbound in a recurring cycle of birth, life, death and reincarnation. Each successive reincarnation may be into an improved, a worse life, or a similar life, depending upon the persons Karma -- the sins and merits that have accumulated during their present and earlier lives.  Christianity teaches that there is life after death and this life is in Christ Jesus who died and rose again to live with God the father in the internal kingdom. A person only has one life on earth the next life is either in heaven if he believed in God and the life to come or in hell if he rejected the will of God.

The two religions share common behaviors in their practices like Themes of morality, justice, love.These themes are found through both the Buddhas teaching and the Hebrew and Christian Bible. Some traditions within Buddhism trust in the power of prayer while others differ, just like Christians do.

Conclusion
Buddhism has had a great impact on Americans and this has led to the need for learning and understanding what is entailed in the whole practice.  There are many books which function as resource materials for this religion and have helped a lot of people with the intent of being transformed to Buddhists. Again, according to the practices and procedures of this setup, we can conclude that it is not a religion since there is nothing like faith in any god or being as sovereign divine power, but works with own efforts to gain whatever one is pursuing.

Slavery appeared with the first great civilizations into the third millennium BC. The centralization of agricultural management and large irrigation works or planning led to the need for servile labor of great proportions. Slavery was an accepted situation and often essential to the economy and society of ancient civilizations. In ancient Mesopotamia, India and China used slaves in homes, in commerce, in large-scale construction and agriculture. The first trace of slavery attested by Sumerian tablets was during the reign of Pharaonic Egypt and this was about when slave labor was initiated. In the vast Roman domains, slaves were subjected to harsh working conditions and cruel punishments as happened centuries later in American slavery, this led the ugliness of slavery to be repeatedly disclosed, giving rise to the servile wars of 135 -133 and 112-105 a. C.  Slavery as a social and economic practice was a common practice during the Greek-Roman rule, and both can be considered the first slave societies whose very economic system was underpinned by this act. The social status and role of slaves was considered inferior or nonexistent in relation to a free person. The society of ancient Greece was so slavery based philosophically that for Aristotle it was the essential guarantee that free men could devote sufficient time to politics and governance of the city.  The 5th century ADC is the recorded period of the greatest implementation and extension of slavery. During the Roman Empire, slavery began to subside as a result of the behavior influenced by the early Christians and, above all, by the depletion of traditional sources of supply of new slaves owing to the end of Roman territorial expansion. Emancipation was later on established as a means of freeing the slaves.

Slavery practiced in the United States was a form of labor in which people were employed against their will using threats of detention, violence or death. Slavery remained a legal feature of American soil until the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1865. Most slaves were Africans and were held by Europeans.

Slavery is an issue that has seen a lot of change over time and most especially as the form of slavery practiced in ancient times has been shunned upon time and time again by Christians and most especially by the Bible. In Europe during the middle ages slavery began to slowly disappear and was replaced by servitude. The earliest evidences that sited the disappearance of the slave system would be the Marxist historians, including Karl Marx himself and on the other hand authors such as Georges Duby and Pierre Bonnassie also supported this claim as slavery began to vanish during the feudal revolution. Servants, unlike slaves were free, or rather semi-free, and enjoyed a number of rights but were bound by commitments to work and commitments to the feudal lord. By late fifteenth century, slavery in Europe was very limited. From the mid nineteenth century the Church has been opposed to slavery and humanistic arguments such as immorality, inequality and disrespect have been used to combat this issue. Slavery had always been a contentious issue especially in United States politics constituting a hot topic for debate by the constitution. However, the American civil war in 1861 led to the end of chattel slavery in the United States. And then there was the Lincolns Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 which went a long way in freeing a lot of slaves. The Arizona Organic Art also abolished slavery in 1863. The Reconstruction era led to the complete abolishment of slavery in the United States and with time the Civil Rights Movement brought about equality and full civil rights for every American under the law. Not withstanding, education and illiteracy was a limiting factor and anti  literacy laws were passed to combat this issue. This led to the establishment of many black and white religious institutions whose primary aim was to fund education for those whom needed to be educated to be able to fully embrace their rights.

The claim that slavery is an act that is supported by the Bible is a very debatable one. In as much as the Bible does not out rightly condemn slavery and even encourages servants to be subject to their masters, it should be noted that when the Bible talks about servants, it does not refer to them been subjected to harsh, despicable and inhuman acts. This claim is better appreciated when we truly understand the meaning of slavery. The legal definition of slavery considers the slave as a property of his owner and also declares that the slave can be sold, given away or killed and that all the fruit of labor of the slave belongs to the master.  Slavery has to do with a forceful situation, where someone is bound against their will to become somebody elses property. The point here is that neither slavery recorded in the New Testament times nor under the Mosaic covenant has anything to do with the degradable practice of dark skinned people bought and owned as properties by light skinned people. There is no justification for this abhorring act. The Bible actually commands extreme kindness to be shown to slaves servants reminding their masters that they too were subject to God. So it is clear that the slavery or servitude promoted by the Bible is totally different from what was practiced and should never be used as a justification. One of the fundamental reasons why the Bible supports bond-servants is that, it sees this form of serving as a means of livelihood for the servant. So that the bond servant, tends to benefit from a relationship with his master. A good example of this is recorded in the book of Philemon, where Paul in his letter appealed for Onesimus.

For perhaps he therefore departed for a season, that thou shouldest receive him forever Not now as a servant, but above a servant, a brother beloved specially to me, but how much more to thee, both in the flesh, and in the Lord (Phil 1 15-16. KJV)

Onesimus was once a slave to a believer called Philemon and he had stolen from Philemon and fled. Paul later met Onesimus in prison and it seems Onesimus converted and became a Christian. Onesimus was a slave to a Christian brother, and the reason Paul sent him back was so that Philemon could be responsible for him and that he in turn would serve Philemon both in the flesh, in physical work and in the Lord, as a spiritual assistant to Philemon.

Another instance recorded in the bible about the issue of slavery is seen in the book of Corinthians.
For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free and have been all made to drink into one Spirit (1Cor 12 12  13. KJV)

This verse could be no clearer about equality and respect for fellow man. The Christian belief suggests that we are all a part of Christs body we have all received the same calling as Christians and been made to drink of the same Spirit. So that whether we are servants or masters, we are one body in Christ.  So that in Christianity that huge demarcation stating slaves as properties to be used and maltreated is not even a condonable act. It is totally shunned against, yes, Christianity does not condemn having servants but it is quite clear on how these servants should be treated, and if the history of slavery is accurate, then, the worldly adaptation and use of the term slavery does not come even close to the biblical records and teaching about it. Christ is the definition of liberty for Christians, liberty is a state in which a Christian lives and is completely submerged in the grace of God. So that it does not matter who you are, or whom you are, as long as in your heart you believe and receive Gods grace. This frees every one that believes and true Christians understand that although they may be responsible for, or even own someone here on earth, they know that God is not a respecter of persons and He sees all men as equal.

The point I need to drive home here is that slavery as understood by the world, by legal records and by history is not supported in the bible. It is in fact condemned. The bible makes it clear how people ought to be treated and one of the fundamental principles of the New Testament is love. The bible holds out that we must love each other as we love ourselves. Love is shown in the way we treat others, so if this love ought to be practiced, then the issue of world slavery lies in complete opposition to this love. A final verse I would like to consider is in the book of Colossians. Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free but Christ is all and in all. (Col 3 11. KJV) It goes on to talk about how we must put on bowels of kindness and mercy, humblenessforgiving one another just as Christ has forgiven us. This further stresses the point that to God it really doesnt matter, and it shouldnt be to Christians either because once one becomes a Christian, the issue of whether he is master or servant is really insignificant.

Finally, in my opinion, the change that put a stop to slavery is a very positive change because it permits every person under the law his or her personal rights and besides this, it certainly has ended the inhuman acts that were carried out against a particular group of people. It also has in its own way, subjected itself to the word of God by treating everyone equally.

There is a growing concern of ecological crisis due to detrimental activities of mankind, which has uprooted trees, caused soil erosion, polluted the groundwater and rivers through toxic discharge of industrial chemicals, and made the ambient air unfit for hygienic living. As a result of deforestation, the ecological balance has been disturbed, thereby, leading to extinction of species from the forests and the danger of global warming. Moreover, the wars that have been fought on planet Earth have caused significant loss to the environment (World Wildlife Fund, n.d.). Similarly, the groundwater gets polluted when landmines are used and nuclear explosions are carried out by the nations worldwide to test the technological advances in warfare. Besides, the impact of emissions from the industrial chimneys and the vehicles has contributed to the air pollution, which causes allergies and several respiratory diseases, such as asthma, eosinophilia, and lung cancer. The combined effect of these eco-destructive activities by the people has resulted in climate change and global warming, which has caused increase in temperature, melting of glaciers, and rise in sea levels. Based on the data of the Environmental Protection Agency, it was reported that the sea-levels in the US had risen by 25 to 30 centimeters over the past century (University of Wisconsin, 1999). The knowledge of religion, especially, the karmic philosophy of Hinduism and Buddhism can be utilized to purify the mind and check ecological crisis. However, it is pathetic to realize that some religious traditions and rituals also lead to contamination of rivers and ambient air. For instance, the Hindus cremate the dead bodies in open air and disperse the ashes of dead bodies into the rivers because of superstitious beliefs. Hence, religion must be used to explain the causes of ecological crisis and devise effective strategies for solving it, rather than worsening the ecological imbalance.

The Buddhist Hindu Belief of Karma
All living creatures, including human beings, have to face the consequences of their actions. These actions are also known as karma, which is derived from the word karman in Sanskrit language (Ross, 2000). Religion emphasizes good moral conduct for achieving happiness, success, satisfaction, and prosperity in life. Hinduism and Buddhism regard bad karma as the root cause of crisis in a humans life. According to the Hindu belief of Karma, a person gets rewards if the past actions were good, and the person gets punishment if the past actions were bad (Jayaram, n.d.). Similarly, Buddhism uses the philosophy of karma for explaining the discrepancies in the standards of living of people on planet Earth (Sayadaw, n.d.). When Mahatma Buddha attained enlightenment, he concluded that the chief cause of differences among the people for being rich or poor, healthy or diseased, and weak or powerful was the difference in the karma of those people. If some people are born blind, then the cause is the bad karma in their past birth if some people are criminals, then the cause is the bad karma in their previous birth if some humans are rich, then the cause is their good karma performed in the past birth if some individuals are endowed with good health, wealth, and power, then the root cause is the good karma done in the previous birth. Hinduism also uses the law of karma to justify the differences in the standards of living of people as well as the countries. Moreover, the natural disasters, such as hurricanes, typhoons, tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanoes, and global warming can be attributed to the karma performed by the people living in those affected areas. Destiny brings the people with bad karmic record into the zone with imminent natural disaster that claims the lives of people, including children, youth, and elderly. Likewise, global warming and a rise in temperature can be witnessed in some Asian and African countries where economic development is low and crime rate is high. It is because of the bad karma of the people living in these nations.

The Law of Karma and Ecological Crisis
The Earth is witnessing pollution and global warming due to the detrimental activities performed by the people. For instance, people are throwing industrial waste into the rivers that is a source of drinking water. According to the Hindu and the Buddhist philosophies of karma, the humans had performed a bad action (karma) by throwing the toxic industrial waste in the river. As a result of their bad karma, a bad effect was produced that polluted the river water and made it unfit for human consumption. The effect is realized when untreated water is consumed by ignorant people who catch fatal gastric diseases, such as cholera, typhoid, and gastroenteritis. Similarly, it can be noticed that there is an increase in air pollution due to a rise in the poisonous gases, such as sulphur dioxide and nitrous oxide, which are emitted from the vehicles. The atmosphere is polluted with unhealthy smog that is the source to respiratory allergies and diseases. When people report breathing problems, they forget that the root cause of their suffering is their own actions (karma), which they had performed by emitting fumes of toxic gases from their vehicles. Nobody can evade the law of karma and its consequences.

As a result of a rise in the greenhouse gases emitted by factories and vehicles, there is a rise in the temperature of atmosphere, which is causing global warming and climate change. Who performed the evil karma of emitting the gases in the air Who faced the evil consequences of the karma It was the people who had performed the evil karma, and it was the same people who had to face the evil consequences of their own karma. In 2007, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) forecast that the Arctic might be free of summer sea ice by as early as 2100. It is now apparent that summer sea ice will disappear within five years. (Loy and Stanley, n.d.). Isnt that alarming for us to follow the law of good karma and protect our environment by refraining from eco-destructive activities. Similarly, it was reported that the glaciers in the Himalayan region may vanish by the year 2035 (Loy and Stanley, n.d.). When the snow from these glaciers would finally melt due to the phenomenon of global warming, there would be a rise in the sea-levels, which could lead to devastating floods. Several towns may be completely swept away by these floods. In addition to the global warming, there is a fear of climate change that would lead to extinction of species of the plant and the animal kingdoms (Loy and Stanley, n.d.). Since all living creatures have their natural habitat that is appropriate for survival, any significant rise in the temperature would change the climate and the habitat. For instance, if the temperature of a forest rises by a few degrees, the plants and animals in the forest may gradually die of hyperthermia and accompanying diseases.

Similarly, it can be seen that the temperature in some cities has touched 50 degrees Celsius, and people living in these places are dying because of intense heat, poor metabolism, and deadly diseases. The lives of plants, animals, and humans have been jeopardized by climate change and global warming. It was highlighted that only the Buddhist philosophy of karma can save the planet Earth from an ecological disaster that can happen anytime (Loy and Stanley, n.d.). This ecological disaster has been triggered by the manmade activities, and hence, these evil deeds of mankind must be stopped to save Earth and its inhabitants. How can the disastrous deeds of some people be stopped for preventing an ecological catastrophe Since science and technology have caused these environmentally destructive activities, the solution cannot be completely entrusted upon the scientists, engineers, and politicians. The only possible solution is to understand the law of karma preached by Buddhist and Hindu scholars who live a virtuous life by purifying the mind (Fundamental Buddhism, n.d.). It is important for the people to seek enlightenment by following the teachings of Buddhism and Hinduism, which clearly mention that ones karma is the cause of current effect.

Spiritual Awareness for Preventing Ecological Crisis
The Buddhist and Hindu teachings encourage the human beings to follow the noble path of virtuosity and good conduct. These religions emphasize the truth that by performing good actions (karma), an individual reaps good rewards, while by doing bad actions (karma), an individual gets bad results. As discussed earlier, ecological crisis is the result of bad actions (karma) of the human beings. Since the physical and the mental actions are performed by the mind under the influence of the intellect and metaphysical entity called spirit, the humans must endeavor to elevate their thinking through practice of spirituality. Global warming and climate change can be checked by checking the eco-destructive thinking and actions of the human beings. Some industrialists dispose off their toxic wastes in the river streams because they are not spiritually awakened and are totally bound by their greedy intentions. Had these people used their decision making authority under the guidance of holy spirit, just like Buddhist monks and Hindu saints, they would have made efforts to discard the toxic waste after proper treatment.

Similarly, spiritually awakened industrialists can help in preserving the purity of air by discharging only the treated air into the atmosphere from their chimneys. If every human being starts using the automobile fuel wisely, then there would be lesser emissions into the ambient air. The only attribute that is missing in the contemporary human beings is the will to pursue a virtuous life based on spirituality. The humanity needs to curtail its excessive consumption of natural resources by reducing, reusing, and recycling them whenever possible. The karma of global warming is not nature turning against us- we have turned against ourselves. We are doing something hostile to nature. (Eco-Buddhism, n.d.). Buddhist and Hindu teachings encourage the humanity to overcome ignorance by practicing spirituality, which can definitely prevent an imminent ecological catastrophe.

Need to Check Eco-Destructive Religious Beliefs
Although the law of karma of Hinduism and Buddhism can be practiced for checking the contemporary ecological crisis, it needs to be asserted that an enlightened and spiritually awakened being must not practice eco-destructive activities that are strongly supported by some religions. For example, the Hindus cremate a dead body by piling it on wooden logs and burning the pyre in open air. Since this age-old ritual uses wood from cutting of trees in forests, it is not an eco-friendly practice. Moreover, the Hindus immerse the ashes of the dead body into the river, which causes pollution of river water. This river water is drunk by animals and people living near the river bed, and consequently, they fall victims to fatal waterborne diseases like cholera, gastroenteritis, and typhoid. Isnt the objective of religion to impart knowledge and wisdom to the ignorant population Dont these eco-destructive religious rituals pose a barrier between a learner and the religious teacher who preaches purity of mind, water, and air to the disciples The role of an enlightened spiritual teacher is to elevate the minds of the students and the entire Earthly population by encouraging them to stop the eco-destructive religious practice of immersing the ashes of dead bodies into the river stream. Furthermore, the religious teacher should advise the people to use electric crematorium for burning the dead bodies inside a closed chamber. In contrast to the ritual of cremating the dead body in open air, the electric cremation process does not use woods and does not pollute the ambient air. The spiritual teacher should always give top priority to preserving the purity of the environment instead of following the religious rituals that pollute the air and rivers. The law of karma applies to everybody, including the spiritual teacher as well as the religious priest, and hence, nobody should follow those rituals that involve cutting of trees, pollute the ambient air with greenhouse gases, and cause waterborne diseases through unhealthy discharge of toxic chemicals in the rivers.

Law of Karma as the Panacea to Solve the Ecological Crisis
Religions and theological societies have been functioning for several centuries with an objective to teach morality, good conduct, and social responsibility. All religions preach truth, non-violence, peaceful living, and unity among people from different nations, with different languages, and having contrasting beliefs. However, Hinduism and Buddhism preach the law of karma as the decisive factor that explains the inequality among the people and nations. In simple terms, a good action brings good results, while a bad action brings bad results. If the ignorant human beings are taught and reminded of the law of karma with special reference to ecological degradation, they will stop abusing the natural resources. They will make all efforts to minimize their wastage and use only the necessary resources in required quantity. There are countries that face famine and drought due to the shortage of food and water respectively. Moreover, in case of natural disasters like earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, and typhoons, there is scarcity of food and water in the affected areas. The people across the world must be made aware that they can also become victims of such calamities if they continue to misuse the natural resources and indulge in eco-destructive activities. If they do not check the toxic emission from their vehicles and industries, they can become victims of respiratory diseases like lung cancer. Similarly, if they continue to pollute the rivers with industrial waste, they can become victims of fatal gastric diseases. It is the law of karma that guides their destiny. If they live like good citizens by checking pollution of air and water, then they will also reap the benefits of living in a clean environment. When they check the emission of greenhouse gases, global warming and climate change can also be curtailed. It is the law of karma that can act as a panacea for the contemporary ecological crisis. Hence, spiritual awakening and karmic philosophy of Hinduism and Buddhism can help the technology to develop without harming the environment.

Jainism is an ancient branch of Hinduism which rejects the existence of a God and creation but advocates a deep respect and compassion for every living thing. Those who adhere to this way of life are called Jains. A well-known scholar of Jainism is Mahavira, who promotes a path of strict asceticism and ahimsa (non-violence) to all living beings as the means to real emancipation. What is Ahimsa

Ahimsa is a term in the Ancient Indian language gotten from the root words himsa which means violence and A which means not or negative. Therefore, if translated directly ahimsa means non-violence (A-himsa), and literally Ahimsa means evading violence.  Thus, Ahimsa may be defined as a practice of non-violence towards every living being or the act of evading violence (by every possible means) towards every being.

Notion of Ahimsa as it appears in Jainism.
The Ahimsa concept dates back to 800 B.C.E., it emerged from the all souls are equal doctrine which opines that everyone wants to live, nobody wants to die. Ahimsa is a principle that the Jains practices and preaches, it is the core of their religion. Ahimsa is not only directed towards all human being but towards everything in nature.

Thus, Ahimsa is the foundation of the Jain ethics or philosophy. In short, Jainism considers Ahimsa to be the absolute religion while himsa is considered to be source of all the evil and miseries in the world. It is therefore incumbent on every Jain to practice Ahimsa for their spiritual advancement.
The teaching of Ahimsa is not only limited to obvious physical acts of violence or wars but also to the violence in the minds and hearts of man, lack of concern and love for nature and fellow humans. Jains ancient text explains that the actual harm does not define violence as it may not be intentional. It states further that, it is the absence of empathy or compassion and an intention to harm that makes an action violent. That is, if there is no violent thought there could never be any violent action. The rigid emphasis of Jainism on Ahimsa makes the religion special and exclusive. In Jainism, Ahimsa is not seen as a mere human sympathy it is empathy i.e. an ability or the urge to identify oneself totally with someone elses or other living beings feelings or pains.

The values of the Jain religion
The values of Jain religion are based on five basic virtues in which Ahimsa is the first and foremost. It is also the core of their belief because every other virtue circles round it. Others virtues are commitment to truth, celibacy, non-proprietorship and non-stealing.

Practical consequences of Ahimsa on Jains
The philosophy of Ahimsa puts a restriction on the choice of professions of Jains, in that, Jains are not permitted to pursue any professions that involves killing, suffering or molestation of living things in any form. Examples of which are Farming, hunting, butchering.

Jains are known to always go out of their way to ensure that they clear away all living organisms that their own movement may endanger. Jains do not kill nor do they torment or overpower anyone or anything. Jains either wear a simple loin cloth or no clothes at all. They possess a non-violent reaction to every violent thought. They abstain from from hunting, meat eating, animal fights and every other practice in which animals are subjected to cruelty. They eat during the day and cover their mouth during the night to avoid unintentionally swallowing of insects or germs.

The practice of Ahimsa generally makes Jains compassionate toward every other being which makes them live an ascetic life, not hurting, harming or killing any living thing. The Practice of Ahimsa also makes them to have a deep respect and love for every being.

How Jains seek to protect all life
Jains seek to protect all lives by doing away with every action of violence towards other being, thus every action of a Jain is directed towards avoiding injury to all living organism, either through physical, mental or verbal violence as much as possible. They protect and preserve lives by ensuring the urge to identify oneself totally with other beings and the whole universe in general. In short, Jainism aims at the welfare of not only man alone but also all living beings.

Distinction between Jiva and Ajiva
Although, Jains do not believe in God but they believe that the purpose of life is to attain Kevala which means to bring back the grandeur of the soul. According to Jainism, there are two eternal principles of reality which are Jiva and Ajiva. Jiva refers to soul and consists of infinite identical spiritual units while Ajiva refers to matter in any form which includes time and space. A bound Jiva is linked with karmic forces since Jainism understands karmic force to be a matter while a liberated soul is pure, has peace coupled with a perfect knowledge. Jiva is usually described with mindfulness, life, immaterialness, and space extension. The size of the soul and the body it a Jiva occupies is believed to be the same. Both Ajiva and Jiva are everlasting they were not created neither were they born and will never stop existing. Jains believes that the whole world is filled with Jivas ensnared in Ajiva and that any contact between the two causes the Jiva to suffer, thus, every human being possesses jiva which suffers due to its contact with ajiva.

In conclusion, Jainism is a religion of universal love, friendliness and compassion. It teaches that every individual is indebted to the universal society of all beings. Thus, Jainism offers a far better alternative to Darwinian formula of survival of the fittest.

In Reaching Hispanics in North America Helping You Understand and Engage One of Gods
Greatest Mission Fields, published by North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, the author(s) provide demographic profiles of potential Christians in North America, that is, the growing Hispanic community.  Unsurprisingly, there are plenty of statistics accompanying the demographic profile of this community.  By describing potential Christians among the Hispanics of North America thus, the author(s) have presented a study that can be used to reach out to the Hispanics.  The author(s) describe various features of this community, including its diversity, familial structures, and other personal and social relationships.  This research may not only be used by Christians who seek to deliver the Gospel to the Hispanic community, but also healthcare policymakers and marketers to boot.  After all, there are various entities apart from churches that seek to reach out to this community for its own purposes.
   
Author(s) of Reaching Hispanics in North America have further detailed how meaningful relationships can be built between churches and the Hispanic community in North America.  Such relationships can only be built if churches and ministers are respectful of the fact that the average Hispanic is deeply attached to his or her family.  The author(s) assume that it is essential to appreciate Hispanic psychology before the Gospel can be effectively delivered to the target community.  Clearly, D. N. Entwistle, author of Integrative approaches to Psychology and Christianity An Introduction to Worldview Issues, Philosophical Foundations, and Models of Integration, would agree with this viewpoint.  According to Entwistle, it is essential to appreciate both the Word of God through which Christian faith is birthed, and the works of God manifested as mankind on earth.  These works of God include the Hispanic community with its own set of psychological characteristics.  By increasing its understanding of these characteristics, the church would be integrating science and religion for the reason that God is the author of all truth.
   
Additionally, George Hunter, author of Radical Outreach The Recovery of Apostolic Ministry and Evangelism, would be appreciative of the effort expended to deliver the Gospel to the Hispanic community in North America.  Hunter advises the church of North America to reclaim its right to practically and actively reach out to those that are in need of the Gospel and yet do not approach the church.  The author asks some penetrating questions to point the way to the church.  First of all, what are the differences between the methods of outreach that the New Testament church used versus the methods of teaching that are used by contemporary churches  Certainly, the churches of old were far more successful in guiding people.  So, what was it that gave tremendous success to the early church versus the contemporary church  According to Hunter, the obvious reason for the success of the early church was that it actively reached out to people rather than waiting for the people to enter its walls.  And, the contemporary church that has realized its essential duty is one that forms an outreach ministry offering everything it possibly can to people in order to help, heal, and guide them by way of the Gospel.  
   
The author(s) of Reaching Hispanics in North America are cognizant of the fact that it is necessary to use Biblical examples to teach the modern church how to reach out to the Hispanics of North America.  According to their book, the Bible should be the foundation for every ministry, program, event, and activity that the church plans, promotes, and produces.  Thus, churches of North America that apply the models developed by the author(s) of Reaching Hispanics in North America can follow Hunters advice to boot.  Moreover, the fact that the author(s) of Reaching Hispanics in North America describe the diverse Hispanic community in depth must be appreciated for reasons apart from the ones that have already been explained.  Hunters arguments raise the following question What if Hispanics have previously refused to enter the walls of the church because most churches of North America do not even understand this community
   
Then again, it is not for us to judge whether or not members of the Hispanic community can be saved from eternal damnation even if they have never entered the church or heard the Gospel.  Osburn contends that people can be saved even if they have not heard the Gospel.  Just the same, it is most essential to believe in the right God before attaining eternal salvation.  Osburn explains that knowledge about the Creator of the universe may reach people through Scriptures if not the Gospel of the Christ.  Even those who have had contact with believers must have learned about the one true God without going to church.  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.
   
By no means do Osburns arguments discount the importance of Reaching Hispanics in North America.  Furthermore, Osburns article makes it clear that Hunter should not consider it a failure of the modern-day church of North America if it appears to have failed to reach out to all people.  After all, the church continues to try to deliver Gods messages, and it never stops its efforts in this regard.  Reaching Hispanics in North America is just another step forward.