In this 21st century of autonomous cars, robots,
virtual realities etc., people are not getting time to think about the creator
who created this whole universe. This beautiful world today has more gods than
I think more species of animals in it. That is the state of the people in this
present time. People worship every type of god’s from different kinds of
animals to different kind of evil rituals to the so called Guru’s or Preachers.
People even worship themselves like looking into the mirror after coming from
Gym and saying that wow this body is worth worshiping or this face is beautiful
than angels in heaven etc. I am not telling we should get away from fitness or
day to day heath activities but those things should be given a place in life
for just keeping us healthy and not for showing off or making a role model for
ourselves. Today we just worship whatever makes us happy and not focusing on
the real creator of the world who is the true God.
In today’s world we have people who believe God exist and
some are of the perspective that God does not exist. People who believe that
God does not exist are phrased as “Atheist”. Atheism is usually defined
incorrectly as a belief system. Atheism is not a disbelief in gods or a denial
of gods; it is a lack of belief in gods.
Older dictionaries define atheism as "a
belief that there is no God". Then there are some people who believe
that there is God and such people follow certain religions that are currently
in the world. There are 1000’s of religions in the world and some of the most
famous are Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism etc. And there are
sub religions or sub casts for many of them, such as for Christianity there are many denominations like Orthodox, Catholic,
Protestants, Restorationists and others, for Hinduism there are denominations like Vaishnavism, Shaivism,
Shaktism and Smartism, for Islam
there are denominations like Sunni, Shia, Sufism and others etc. etc. and the
list goes on, for Buddhism there are
3 major denominations which are Mahayana, Theravada, and Vajrayana. So many
people who follow at least one of the religion are having to worship in
different ways which leads to the question that, is there really 1000’s of god’s
or saints who are to be worshiped.
We will now go little deep in to some of the major religions
to analyze the above question of is there really 1000’s of god’s or is there
only one True GOD.
Christianity
First we will take the case of Christianity which is considered as the world’s largest religion. The
Christian share of the world's population has stood at around 33% for the last
hundred years, which says that one in three persons on earth are Christians.
Christianity can be mainly divided into 4 kinds of churches:
- Catholicism
- Protestantism
- Orthodoxy
- Nondenominational
The Western or Latin Church
22 Eastern Catholic Churches
a.
The
Latin Church
The Latin Church (not to be confused with the Roman Rite, which is one of
the Latin liturgical rites, not a particular Church) is the largest and most
widely known of the 23 major Churches that together make up the Catholic
Church.
b.
Eastern
Catholic Churches
All of the following are Particular Churches of the Catholic Church. They
are all in communion with the Bishop of Rome and acknowledge his claim of
universal jurisdiction and authority. They have some minor distinct theological
emphases and expressions (for instance, in the case of those that are of
Greek/Byzantine tradition, concerning some non-doctrinal aspects of the Latin
view of Purgatory). The Eastern Catholic churches and the Latin Church (which
together compose the worldwide Catholic Church) share the same doctrine and
sacraments, and thus the same faith.
i.
Albanian Byzantine Catholic Church
ii.
Armenian Catholic Church
iii.
Belarusian Catholic Church
iv.
Bulgarian Greek Catholic Church
v.
Chaldean Catholic Church
vi.
Coptic Catholic Church
vii.
Byzantine Church of Croatia, Serbia and
Montenegro
viii.
Ethiopian Catholic Church
ix.
Greek Byzantine Catholic Church
x.
Hungarian Byzantine Catholic Church
xi.
Italo-Albanian Catholic Church ; a.k.a.
Italo-Greek Catholic Church
xii.
Macedonian Catholic Church
xiii.
Maronite Catholic Church
xiv.
Melkite Catholic Church
xv.
Romanian Catholic Church
xvi.
Russian Catholic Church
xvii.
Ruthenian Catholic Church ; usually called the
"Byzantine Catholic Church" in the United States
xviii.
Slovak Greek Catholic Church
xix.
Syriac Catholic Church
xx.
Syro-Malabar Catholic Church
xxi.
Syro-Malankara Catholic Church
xxii.
Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
2. Protestantism
- These are the churches "which repudiated the papal authority, and
separated or were severed from the Roman communion in the Reformation of the
16th century and of any of the bodies of Christians descended from them."
Three fundamental principles of traditional Protestantism are the following:
a.
Scripture
alone - The belief in the Bible as the supreme source of authority for the
church. The early churches of the Reformation believed in a critical, yet
serious, reading of scripture and holding the Bible as a source of authority
higher than that of church tradition. The reformers rejected some of the
traditions of the Western Church because they did not find justification for
them in the Bible.
b.
Justification
by faith alone - The belief that believers are justified, or pardoned for
sin, solely on condition of faith in Christ rather than a combination of faith
and good works. For Protestants, good works are a necessary consequence rather
than cause of justification.
c.
Universal
priesthood of believers - The universal priesthood of believers implies the
right and duty of the Christian laity not only to read the Bible in the
vernacular, but also to take part in the government and all the public affairs
of the Church. It is opposed to the hierarchical system which puts the essence
and authority of the Church in an exclusive priesthood, and makes ordained
priests the necessary mediators between God and the people.
3. Orthodoxy
- Eastern Orthodoxy comprises those churches in communion with the Patriarchal
Sees of the East, such as the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. Like the
Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church also traces its heritage to
the foundation of Christianity through Apostolic succession and has an
episcopal structure, though the autonomy of its component parts is emphasized,
and most of them are national churches. A number of conflicts with Western
Christianity over questions of doctrine and authority culminated in the Great
Schism. Eastern Orthodox Christian theology is the theology particular to the
Eastern Orthodox Church. It is characterized by:
a.
Trinity
b.
Sin, salvation and the incarnation
c.
Resurrection of Christ
d.
Bible
e.
Holy tradition and the patristic consensus
f.
Territorial expansion and doctrinal integrity
g.
Theotokos and saints
4. Nondenominational
- Non-denominational Christian institutions are those not formally aligned with
an established religious denomination, but are historically Protestant, or that
remain otherwise officially autonomous. This, however, does not preclude an
identifiable standard among such congregations. Nondenominational church
congregations may establish a functional denomination by means of mutual
recognition of or accountability to other congregations and leaders with
commonly held doctrine, policy and worship without formalizing external
direction or oversight in such matters. Some nondenominational churches
explicitly reject the idea of a formalized denominational structure as a matter
of principle, holding that each congregation is better off being autonomous.
Islam
Islam is a
monotheistic and Abrahamic religion articulated by the Qur'an, an Islamic holy
book considered by its adherents to be the verbatim word of God (Allāh), and
for the vast majority of adherents, also by the teachings and normative example
(called the Sunnah and composed of hadith) of Muhammad (c. 570–8 June 632 CE),
considered by them to be the last prophet of God. An adherent of Islam is
called a Muslim. Most Muslims are of two denominations:
1.
Sunni
2.
Shia
1.
Sunni
- Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam; its adherents are referred to in
Arabic as ahl as-sunnah wa l-jamāʻah, "people of the tradition of Muhammad
and the consensus of the Ummah" or ahl as-sunnah for short. In English,
its theological study or doctrine is called Sunnism, while adherents are known
as Sunni Muslims, Sunnis, and Sunnites. Sunni Islam is the world's second
largest religious body (after Christianity) and the largest religious denomination
for any religion in the world. Some Islamic scholars faced questions that they
felt were not explicitly answered in the Quran and Sunnah, especially questions
with regard to philosophical conundra such as the nature of God, the existence
of human free will, or the eternal existence of the Quran. Various schools of
theology and philosophy developed to answer these questions, each claiming to
be true to the Quran and the Muslim tradition (sunnah). Among Sunni Muslims,
various schools of thought in theology began to be born out of the sciences of
kalam in opposition to the textualists who stood by affirming texts without
delving into philosophical speculation as they saw it as an innovation in
Islam.
a.
Maturidi
- Founded by Abu Mansur al-Maturidi (died 944). Maturidiyyah was a minority
tradition until it was accepted by the Turkish tribes of Central Asia
(previously they had been Ash'ari and followers of the Shafi'i school, it was
only later on migration into Anatolia that they became Hanafi and followers of the
Maturidi creed).
b.
Ash'ari
- Founded by Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari (873–935). This theological school of
Aqeedah was embraced by many Muslim scholars and developed in parts of the
Islamic world throughout history, Imam al-Ghazali wrote on the creed discussing
it and agreeing upon some of its principles.
Ash'ari theology stresses divine revelation over human reason. Contrary
to the Mu'tazilites, they say that ethics cannot be derived from human reason,
but that God's commands, as revealed in the Quran and the Sunnah (the practices
of Muhammad and his companions as recorded in the traditions, or hadith), are
the sole source of all morality and ethics.
c.
Athari -
Athari, or "textualism", is derived from the Arabic word athar,
literally meaning "remnant", and also referring to
"narrations". Their disciples are called the Atharis or al-Atharia.
The Atharis are considered to be one of three Sunni schools of Aqidah. The
Athari methodology of textual or literal interpretation is to avoid delving
into any extensive theological speculation. They believe in God and his
attributes in the exact fashion that they were mentioned in the Quran, the
Sunnah, and by the Sahabah. They do not attempt to further interpret the
aforementioned texts by giving an altered meaning like the Tashbih (simile or
likening), nor through tahrif (distortion), nor ta`weel (allegory or metaphor),
nor ta'teel (denial). They avoid entering into deep rational philosophical
discussions of matters relating to Islamic beliefs that are not supported by
the Quran, the Sunnah or the understanding of the Sahabah with specific
wording; rather, their discussion and presentation of beliefs revolves entirely
around textual evidences found in these three main sources, while remaining
cautious to avoid taking the path of non-Atharis either. The Atharis believe
this to be the methodology adhered to by the first three generations of Muslims
(i.e. the Salaf), therefore making it the school of Sunni Aqeedah that they
believe is adhering to the truth and keeping to the balanced middle path of
Islam.
2.
Shia
- The Shia, or the Shiites, represent the second largest denomination of Islam.
Adherents of Shia Islam are called Shias or the Shi'a as a collective or Shi'i
individually. Shi'a is the short form of the historic phrase Shīʻatu ʻAlī
meaning "followers", "faction" or "party" of
Muhammad's son-in-law and cousin Ali, whom the Shia believe to be Muhammad's
successor in the Caliphate. Twelver Shia (Ithnā'ashariyyah) is the largest
branch of Shia Islam, and the term Shia Muslim is often taken to refer to
Twelvers by default. The Shia Islamic faith is vast and inclusive of many
different groups. Shia theological beliefs and religious practises, such as
prayers, slightly differ from the Sunnis'. While all Muslims pray five times daily,
Shias have the option of always combining Dhuhr with Asr and Maghrib with
Isha', as there are three distinct times mentioned in the Quran. The Sunnis
tend to combine only under certain circumstances. Shia Islam embodies a
completely independent system of religious interpretation and political
authority in the Muslim world. The original Shia identity referred to the
followers of Imam Ali, and Shia theology was formulated in the 2nd century AH,
or after Hijra (8th century CE). The first Shia governments and societies were
established by the end of the 3rd century AH/9th century CE. The 4th century AH
/10th century CE has been referred to by Louis Massignon as "the Shiite
Ismaili century in the history of Islam". Shia Muslims believe that just
as a prophet is appointed by God alone, only God has the prerogative to appoint
the successor to his prophet. They believe God chose Ali to be Muhammad's
successor, infallible, the first caliph (khalifa, head of state) of Islam.
Muhammad, before his death, designated Ali as his successor.
I will be looking into Hinduism and Buddhism in my next part. The ultimate goal of this multi-part blog is to research and give evidence on who the real God is.
0 comments:
Post a Comment