Strengs Concepts Of Ultimate Dimension And Ultimate Reality Religion Essay

Strengs Concepts Of Ultimate Dimension And Ultimate Reality Religion EssayQ 1. in brief define and discuss Strengs concepts of crowning(prenominal) property and ultimate reality. Choose mavin(a) of these concepts and explain how it manifests in atomic number 53 of the three monotheistic trusts Judaism, Christianity or Islam and give an ensample to back up your explanation.According to Frederick Streng (1985), the ultimate dimension of religious expression is achieved when a per password r individu each(prenominal)yes a deep sensitivity of the ultimate reality and has an put with plan to continue seeing that reality. The ultimate dimension is where a person belongs when he is working toward his ultimate transformation. The ultimate dimension go off be the reality that a person sees as he develops his pitch of reference to distinguish between what is right and what is significant for him. The ultimate reality is one of the common reckon or expression of the ultimate dime nsion as it is the process for good deal to establish their values of tone. When populate decided what is right and what is significant for them, they build their identity and an understanding of the reasons behind their behaviours (Streng, p.6) . In turn, this ultimate bound of reference, which we called wisdom, allows them to further develop themselves into greater beings. The ultimate reality can be seen distinctly according to different good deals perceptions. One of the means to reach ultimate transformation is through religion as it helps people to be aw ar of the cosmic order by performing sc bed rite or an ethical act. In Moslem traditions, Muslims need observe the Five Pillars of Islam which are to bear witness, to pray, to do almsgiving, to fast during Ramadan and to do a transit to Makkah. Those rites of idolisation are to train the mind into understanding graven images sacred laws through practicing the way of backup like the Prophet Muhammad. The sacred laws , which were revealed by graven image through His chosen prophets, are to guide piece to not fear or grieve (Ayoub, p. 69). They were first transmitted orally for centuries until they were written and organized into the Quran. unlike interpretations of Quran and sunnah have encouraged the development of various religious schools such as Islamic mysticism. In extreme cases, some followers have proclaimed their direct relationship with beau ideal through rigorous asceticism and divine revel. For example, in Rabiahs ultimate reality, the only way to understand matinee idols sacred laws is to love paragon so passionately that her entire focus is on Him and not in desiring for paradise or fearing hell. This method allowed her to distinguish what is real for her and what is not. This connection with the reality allows Rabiah to live beyond her limits and away from the destructive forces of common existence (Streng, p.3). No one has the right answer to what is the ultimate reality, but everyone builds their own definition when they reached the take of ultimate dimension. However, we know that seeing the ultimate reality can be a source of joy, goodness, balance wheel or power (Streng, pp.7-8).Q 2. According to Streng, the ethnical dimension of religion includes historical conditions. Briefly define cultural dimension and then discuss some of the historical conditions during the condemnation of deliverer, as puff up as those during the alternate of Islam and the life of Mohammed.All religions have been marked by their historical past The cultural dimension of religion plays an important role in influencing the development of a person and communitys expression of their ultimate values because it is the canonic framework of references of a person or communitys historical, social ,economical and political systems at a given time and place. Those underlying contextual references affect how people organize the expressions of their beliefs, values and behaviour s.During the time of Jesus, he was known to memo full about beau ideal and heal people. He was referred to as the Messiah, which is defined as a figure, who helped the Jews overcome the subject field captivity and religious persecution they were suffering under the Roman Empire (Cox, 34). Romans had power over Jewish people because they were the ruling empire. Religion was ab displace in the society they were living in. The Romans held pagan views and did not accept a variety of religious traditions. Jesus challenged their tradition, and with that became an influential leader and an icon to humanity. He challenged the upper class people and told them that they did not have sympathy for the less fortunate of people. Therefore, the Romans eventually persecuted Jesus and his people. For instance, the Romans invaded Jerusalem and destroyed set apart temples and places of idolise, causing numerous Jews to flee the city, known as the Diaspora. Due to the fact that Romans held a super ior military force, they killed anyone who was seen as a threat to their society. For example, Jesus crucifixion was ordered by the elites since his message of a sassy kingdom threatened the Roman political reign. Jesus righteousness towards women, prostitutes, and the poor were viewed as unacceptable by the Roman Empire, causing him to be condemned. To this day, Jesus struggle is admired and appreciated by many.Another example of historical events impacted on cultural dimension is the story behind the rise of Islamic faith. Islam flourished in the city of Makkah where it was a busy crossroad for trade and exchange of ideas. This cultural openness allowed the devotionping of various deities and word sense of pre-existent Jewish and Christian cultural values or practices. The pre-Islamic Arabs viewed Allah as the supreme creator, but he was one of the many deities that Arabs worshipped. In addition, they entrustd that time was synonymous with death or fate in that locationfore, Arabs did not call back in afterdeath experiences and enjoyed life materialistic pleasures instead to live their lives to the fullest (Ayoub, p. 66). Politically, the country was divided among the leadership of numerous tribes. Therefore, a membership to a tribe is very crucial in gaining protection from persecution. It was under those circumstances that Muhammad was natural and lived. Due to the initial influence from Christian and Jewish faiths, Arabs were already acquainted with the idea of monotheism and expectation of a prophets arrival to save humanity. Therefore, it was not surprising for those people to hear about his disapproval of idol worship of his people and experience of Gods revelation. However, Muhammads new ideology demanded religious, social and moral changes that challenged the tribes powers. Since his uncle passed away, Muhammad was also persecuted until he arbitrated between cardinal feuding tribes and reunited them into one new Muslim community. Afterwards, this event marked the start of the growth of Islam and transformed many impost of the Arab community.Q 3. Define Strengs concept of the in the flesh(predicate) dimension of religion. As an example of this, discuss the Five Pillars of Islam, giving a brief description of each. Which Pillar does M. Ayoub associate with granted the status of protected peoples to non-Muslims? Explain why.According to Streng, the personal dimension of religion is defined as a persons own interpretation of a religious life. This inhering process demands a person to form reactions, decisions and meanings towards the different aspects of religion from his life experiences(4). For example, Islam traditions recognize that humans can choose to totally submit to Gods will or to reject this faith. Therefore, it is a choice to recognize God and Muhammads way of life as a guide to Gods kingdom. There are Five Pillars of Islam, which are rites of worship representing the stepping stones of Muhammads transformat ion to a faithful servant of God. The first pillar is to declare that there is only one God and that Muhammad is the Messenger of God. The second pillar is to perform obligatory prayers five times a day. The prayers followed a prescribed structure and wording originated from the opening surah and Quran. Ritual washing is performed before each prayer to come to impurities. Almsgiving is the third pillar which consists of offering money or other gifts to the poor and needy. This rite of worship is to purifies a person from greed and attachment to material possessions (77). The zakat is an obligatory welfare tax of 2.5 per cent employ on the surplus of income earned by Muslims. The fourth pillar of Islam is fasting during Ramadan to honour the special calendar month when the Quran was revealed to the prophet Muhammad. During this month-long fast, Muslims must not eat food, drink, smoke and have sexual relations until old in order to devote their mind to the worship of God. Finally, the fifth pillar is to do a pilgrimage to Makkah in remembrance of the experience of Abraham, whom the Quran recognizes as the father of all prophets and the first true Muslim (78).The pillar among the Five Pillars of Islam that is associated with granted the status of protected peoples to non-Muslims is Shahadah or bearing witness. This rite of worship consists of declaring that there is only one God and that Muhammad is the Messenger of God. Judaism, Christianity and Islam are shared the common view that there is one God who is the sovereign Lord, creator and sustainer of all things(Ayoub, p.65). Therefore, everyone who is Christian or Jew is also considered as pile of the Book and is allowed to obtain the status of protected people if they make a declaration of the shahadah to become Muslim (Ayoub, p.75). Muslims believe that the only one who can judge a persons faith in God is God himself and that people will only discover the truth on the mean solar day of Judgement. Islam is characterised by its inclusive disposition as it recognizes prophets from the Old and New testament and believes that Muhammad was another messenger of God to give the final revelation. Muslims believe that God uses prophets and messengers to transmit His intentions through scriptures and implement his sacred laws in the communities(Ayoub, p.69). According to the Islamic tradition, there are differences between prophets and messengers. Prophets are the ones who need to transmit a message from God to his people while messengers are prophets who need to transmit Gods message and implement a set of sacred rules to help his people to be aware of their obligations to the one and only sovereign Lord and warn them against heedlessness and disobedience (Ayoub, 69) . The five primary(prenominal) prophets are Noah, Abraham , Moses, Jesus and Muhammad . Therefore, the second declaration of Muhammad as the Messenger of God is important to assert a persons commitment to Islam.Q 4. Judaism, Christianity and Islam are often referred to as Biblical faiths. Define the origins of and describe the sacred text of each of these religions. Refer to the shared concepts of Creation, Revelation, Redemption and Covenant to discuss the differences and similarities among the three scriptures.The three religions Christianity, Islam, and Judaism shared numerous similarities and differences in their teachings. The first similarity is that those three religions are monotheistic, which means that they believe in only One God (Epstein 24). Their holy phonograph recordings all somehow relate to the Christian parole, since the Old Testament is actually the Hebrew Bible (the Torah), and Islams Quran contains many of the same holy figures, such as Abraham and his youngest son Ishmael as well as Jesus being a miracle (Ayoub 71). In my opinion, Judaism and Islam are more closely related than Christianity. For example, the rise of Judaism began with the story of Abraham and his sons, which re sulted in the establishment of Israel. Also, all three faiths holy books, the Torah, Quran, and the Bible, shared the major concepts of the Old Testament and acknowledge Abraham as the founding patriarch who was the first to make a obligation with God (Epstein 12). Therefore, these religions all originated from a common source and have evolved into separate faiths, although the core of ideology of their faiths is very similar. Judaism was around for a long time even before Roman religion, but the religion of Christianity was developed from Judaism by introducing Jesus as the son of God and the Messiah. Islam seems to be a combination of both religions Judaism and Christianity, except with the addition of the prophet Mohammed, who was the founder of Islam. Judaism and Islam share common practices like fasting , almsgiving and dietary laws, such as the forbiddance of alimentation pork. Lawful food in Judaism and Islam are the same and mainly differ by address (Kosher for Judaism an d Halal for Islam.). Similarly, both religions practice circumcision for men. However, all of these three religions believe in one divine God, the novice of all creations. This causes them to each celebrate various holidays such as Ramadan , Lent and Passover, in which they must cease a series of rituals and fasting to focus in worshipping God. In addition, Christians believe that God has three personas, the Father, Son, and sanctum sanctorum Spirit, but both Islam and Judaism disagree with the Christian belief in the Trinity and viewing Jesus as God because they believe that the idea of Jesus as God violates the idea of monotheism and was idolatry, which is strictly forbidden in both faiths (Ayoub, 69). Finally, all three faiths believe in the afterlife and are concerned with repenting their sins to at large(p) their souls from the Day of Judgment, when God will punish the sinners and reward those who follow his teachings(Ayoub,74) .Q 5. In Epsteins articles, he concludes that the cornerstones of Judaism are the belief in one God and Israels responsibility to God. Discuss this statement with specific reference toThe reason why Epstein states that the cornerstones of Judaism are the belief in one God and Israels responsibility to God because it was believed that God share a covenant with Abraham first who had the responsibility to influenced his people to give up in worshipping many deities and to worship in one God to have salvation. From the Book of Genesis, God promised Abraham that through his offspring, all the nations of the world would be blessed. Abraham was the one who inform Jews about the importance of circumcising their male babies in order to hold a covenant with God. Judaism along with Christianity follows the life of Abrahams oldest son Isaac. The Hebrew prophets are believed to be descendants of Abraham through his son Isaac (Ayoub 71). The Talmud contains the heart and minds of people seeking God and is founded on Scripture, which its tea chings are in the direct line of development from those in the Torah, Prophets, and the Holy writings (Espstein 24). Judaisms mission was to free individuals from their false beliefs and worship of other Gods and to focus on a monotheistic belief. Judaism accepts that God loves all races and that he chose the people of Israel to spread his word and teachings. The practice of Jewish faith was only getatable by the people of Israel since they were believed to be the direct descendants of biblical ancestors from God and were chosen by God to spread His word. It was very difficult to convert to Judaism at this time since you had to be born into a Jewish family to be considered a Jewish person. A religious practice that cherish the worship of one God is the Passover, which is a Jewish holiday commemorating the Jews escape from their enslavement in Egypt. The Bible states that God had sent out ten plagues upon the Egyptians before they released their Hebrew slaves, with the tenth plague being killing of any first-born son (book of Exodus). The Hebrews were instructed by God to mark their homes doors with the blood of a lamb, so that the plagues would literally pass over their homes, wherefore the holidays name Passover. The Egyptian Pharaoh finally liberated the Hebrews, but they left in a very mammoth hurry and did not leave enough time for their bread to rise. This is why during Passover, Jews eat unleavened bread, or Matza. The Jewish holiday Passover mainly stresses the component of Redemption since it bears a reminder of the salvation of the Jews and how God helped to free them by instructing them on how to avoid the plague. It shows what kind of struggles Jewish people had to endure in order for Judaism to be accepted in ancient Egypt. Today, Passover is celebrated as a holiday or festival of emancipation from enslavement as well as a festival dedicated to the one almighty God, the Lord. The book of Exodus states that all generations of Jews as an eternal decree will celebrate the holiday of Passover by eating unleavened bread for seven days.