Traditions | Tolerance of World Religions

Religions Of Peace And Of Violence ? It All Depends On Our Perspective

Many persons try to categorize different religions on the basis of violence. Some religions are considered aggressive and violent while others are considered passive and peaceful. Well, Christianity was considered a violent religion during the Holy Crusades. Hinduism was considered a violent religion as compared to Buddhism which spoke of peace and harmony without excessive emphasis on rituals. Jainism focuses on an even more peaceful approach where killing a fly was considered as bad as killing a human being.

It is important to understand that religions are a bit like parents. Some parents may advise their children to be aggressive but that does not mean they want their children to get into unnecessary trouble, right? In the same way, some parents advise their kids to keep their head down and focus on studies. However, they don’t want their children to grow up as cowards, right?

A lot depends on the context in which instructions were given. Religions that are based on the life of a single individual must be understood in that context. A person who lived a few thousand years ago would obviously not have predicted the problems that we would face today. Of course, trying the solutions suggested by religion in a holistic and sincere manner will always provide good results.

However, the main reason for failure is that we lack faith in ourselves. We feel that having the biggest stick in hand makes us the safest. The truth is that all holy seers have suggested that dropping the stick and embracing the other person is the best way to ensure peace on the planet.

Filed Under: General, Traditions Tagged With: Perspective, religions, Violence

The Catholic Funeral

It is a ritual. It is an important ritual. If you are a Catholic and you lose a loved one, you know that there will be a few days preparation before the actual funeral. It is said that these rituals are in place so that for at least a few days, we can override our grief reaction if just for a short time. If you grow up in the Catholic faith, you have learned from little up that we are all hoping to share in God’s eternal kingdom one day. It is the ultimate goal, to sit at the right hand of the Father for all eternity. While we cannot fathom eternity, we almost feel a jealousy for those who have achieved it. If a Catholic is admitted to the hospital and death is imminent a priest is called. One of the Catholic sacraments is that of Last Rites, which has since changed its name to the Blessing Of The Sick. It is in this sacrament that the ill person is blessed and prayed over, with those around him praying for a miraculous recovery or the strength to deal with whatever the Lord has coming.

Once someone dies, there are hymns to be chosen for the burial Mass. There are readings to be chosen. The person closest to the deceased will meet with the priest to plan the Mass, as well as possibly with the musical director. Most Catholics have let their loved ones know which hymns they want at their funeral, which readings they want and whom they want to sing or do the readings. We all say goodbye, we have a burial mass in which we share the celebration of the Eucharist and we then take our loved one to their final resting place, knowing that this only their earthly vessel, their soul is in Heaven with God.

Filed Under: Catholic, Traditions Tagged With: Catholic Church, Catholicism, Eucharist

The Chrisitan Holiday of Lent

Lent is a Christian tradition celebrated by Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants alike. The occurrence begins on Ash Wednesday and takes place until Easter. Prayer and self-denial are done to celebrate the death and resurrection of Christ.

People use the period of Lent as a time to shed old habits and reflect to become better. Activities include fasting, prayer, performing charity work and studying religious text. Some doctrines represent Ash Wednesday by applying ‘ash’ on followers’ foreheads.

Fasting

The act of fasting is done differently depending on the Christian group’s beliefs. Catholics are allowed one full meal and must abstain from products made from meat. Some groups, like eastern Catholics, uphold a more stringent fast with products to give up include meat, wine and dairy products. Protestants may choose to withhold from other activities such as coffee or smoking instead of food.

Prayer

Some people use the custom of Lent as a time to start or increase their spiritual or prayer time. An additional prayer may be added daily or time set apart to reflect in silence for reflection. Places of worship may have more services available during this season.

Alms (Offerings)

Contributions are made to the church as tithes and offerings. These procurements are used to further the church’s mission, promote charity work and help the poor. These funds may be used to assist missionary work in other countries.

Scripture

Christians rely on reading the Bible to prepare them for life events and for spiritual growth. Churches may provide literature for members to read and meditate during the time of Lent.

Filed Under: Jewish Holidays, Traditions Tagged With: Chrisitan Holiday

Catholicism and The Belief of The Eucharist

Through the Constitution of the United States, every person in the country has the right to worship as he or she chooses. Every person is free to engage in whatever religious beliefs they find work for them. There are many, many Christian religions, many different sects of Christianity, each with their own unique worship. While all Christian religions believe in Christ, as opposed to the Jewish religion who believe they are still awaiting their Savior, each religion has different worship practices. Most Christian religions use communion. This is a place in their worship ceremony that mimics The Last Supper. In most Christian religions, there is a plate of bread passed around, as well as a cup, or individual cups of wine. For most Christians, these represent the body and blood of Christ that was shared at the Last Supper.

For Catholics their belief takes this to a higher level. In the Catholic religion, during the Consecration, the priest has the power to change the bread into the Body of Christ and the wine into the Blood of Christ. This process is called transubstantiation. The Catholic religion is the only Christian religion to practice this. They believe that the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ. This is why the Catholic religion does not participate in the communion of other Christian religions, as these religions use their bread and wine as symbols only. While they are constantly seeking for full communion with all Christians, they believe that they should only receive communion as the Body and the Blood of Christ. When Christians attend other Christian ceremonies, they do partake of the passing of the bread and wine. When a priest takes his final vows, he is given this power, to perform transubstantiation during the Consecration of the Body and Blood at Mass.

This is another way in which all Christian religions, while sharing many of the same beliefs, have their differences to set them apart from one another.

Filed Under: Catholic, Traditions Tagged With: Christ, Christian, Christianity

What Is Prayer?

These days we have so many forms of communication. There is still the regular telephone line and old-fashioned letters, but now we also have mobile cellular phones, email and social networking sites to keep in touch. But how does one keep in touch with God? There are times when we can over generalize things or make it more complicated than it really is.

Thus there are moments in which some people can hear about prayer but not truly understand the act and meaning behind praying. Prayer is the way that we can communicate with God. It is like the telephone or cellular call to the Creator in which we should speak, but also wait to hear Him speak. Just like our mothers would encourage us to call more often, even more so with God.

He seeks to communicate with us and prayer is one of the ways in which we can do so. It does not have to be complicated. In the same way that we would contact a friend or loved one daily to keep the relationship going, this should be the same attitude towards prayer.

Also when we pray we should remember that it is not just about asking for things that we would like to see happen. We shouldn’t try to dominate the conversation. This would be similar to having a conversation with a friend in which they call you and spend the conversation asking you to different something without waiting for your answer.

You would be surprised at the end of the conversation when they end by saying that they enjoy speaking to you, when all you probably said was “hello”. Instead prayer could and should be used as a time to seek the heart of God. We can spend this time thanking Him for everything or even asking Him for forgiveness. Just by using simple words in a reverent manner.

Filed Under: Traditions

Understanding Religions To Become Tolerant Knowledge Is A Must

Religion is all about humans and human society. Just as it is impossible to categorize human beings in stereotypes, it is impossible to categorize religions into the same stereotypes. Morality tells us that being violent towards one’s fellow human beings is wrong. However, the same morality tells us that protecting the week and innocent by punishing evil is good.

Punishing evil involve violence. How to settle this moral issue? It is obvious that you cannot adopt a literal and casual approach towards the whole affair. You will have to adopt a pragmatic and sensible approach.

Contradictions are inherent in each and every aspect of human life, religions included. To simply focus on the literal meaning of the words spoken and to ignore context and theme – this is the primary reason why the problem of intolerance arises.

Many persons see and understand only what they wish to see and understand. The end result is that people end up with false notions about their as well as religions belonging to others. To classify religion as militant or peaceful does not make sense. These attributes can be attached to human beings alone. As far as religions are concerned, it is the behavior of followers that makes it good or bad. Sadly, this level of maturity is virtually absent in all those who claim to be religious.

If you want to really understand the meaning of religion, you will have to study not just your religion but all the religions in the world. Thankfully, the religious teachings of different individuals belonging to different sects can be found easily. Even the internet can help in this regard. The next step is to understand the lessons without any preconditions or prejudices. More often than not, we allow what we think or feel to cloud what really is.

The third step is to put the teachings into practice. That is when we find that all religions teach the same lesson.

Filed Under: Traditions Tagged With: Academic Departments, Human, Morality, New Religious Movements, Religion, Religion and Spirituality, Religious studies, United States

Jewish Holiday Customs

: Image by . SantiMB . via Flickr

With the winter holidays approaching it is a great time to think about customs that different cultures may celebrate during this time. The winter season is a season full of Jewish celebrations and traditions. Jewish custom celebrates Hanukkah and Tu B’Shevat. These two holidays are both important traditions in the Jewish religion, with both having significant meaning to those of the Jewish faith.

Hanukkah, also called Chanukah, is the Jewish Festival of Lights. It celebrates the victory of the Maccabees and their subsequent rededication of the temple. Hanukkah also celebrates the oil that burned brightly for eight days in Jerusalem after God supplied one day’s worth of oil to the people. The Hanukkah holiday is celebrated for eight days, beginning in the middle of December. Since this is the Jewish festival of lights, candles are lit every night of the celebration. The candles are put in a candelabra that holds nine candles, with one being lit every night. The middle candle is the candle used to light the others. Other Hanukkah traditions including eating fried foods to celebrate the miracle of oil, playing the spin the dreidel game and giving and receiving gifts during the eight day celebration.

Tu B’Shevat, the Jewish Arbor Day, is celebrated in the month of February. In Israel the weather is quite mild at this time and it is a time for farmers to plant their crops. The Tu B’Shevat holiday is a celebration of the upcoming Spring season, the time when crops starting growing and producing. In the United States many families plant parsley seeds during this holiday, and use the parsley for their Passover green vegetable. This holiday should be celebrated by eating fruits, nuts and grains-all items that are given to humankind by the planet Earth. During Tu B’Shevat candles are lit, wine and fruit eaten and stories are read about fertility, seasons and nature.

Filed Under: Jewish Holidays, Traditions Tagged With: Hanukkah

Ethiopia: A Model of Tolerance

Dr. Shiferaw Tekelemariam, Ethiopia’s Federal Affairs Minister, believes that the world can learn about religious and cultural tolerance by looking to Ethiopia as an example. He and other Ethiopian leaders hope that their country can serve as a model for other countries of the world that are struggling with religious and cultural tolerance.

Tekelemariam was recently a speaker at the seminar Religious Tolerance, Traditional Conflict Resolution, and Federalism: Contribution of Ethiopia to the Alliance of Civilizations at the UN Conference Center.

Ethiopia is the second largest country in Africa with a population of over 80 million. Ethiopia is also made up of over 80 different ethnic groups of diverse religions. The country is home to 84 different indigenous languages. For centuries, these groups have lived together in Ethiopia peacefully.

Ethiopia is a common ancient site of Islam, Christianity, and Indaism. Many Jewish scholars also believe that modern day Ethiopian Jews are actually the historic Lost Tribe of Israel.

Officials have sought to make Ethiopia an example of cultural and religious tolerance that has sustained and built the foundation of a society. Ethiopian officials believe that the dialogue between these diverse groups of people is at the foundation of sustaining peace and building a prosperous state.

Pastor Daniel Gebreselassie, president of the Justice for All and Prison Fellowship Ethiopia, has spoken out against extremists that seek to destroy peace and destabilize countries like Ethiopia. Gebreselassie sees balance, peace, and respect are the ultimate goals in any society.

Ethiopia became part of the Alliance of Civilizations in November 2008. The Alliance of Civilizations, established in 2005, is part of the United Nations and includes 127 member states. The Alliance of Civilizations seeks to build a network of states, develop projects that support and promote understanding and tolerance, and facilitate dialogue between cultural and religious groups that are experiencing tension and instability.

Filed Under: Traditions Tagged With: Ethiopia

The Jewish Wedding Ceremony

Jewish weddings are full of meaning and rituals. The rituals are meant to symbolize the responsibilities of the bride and groom to each other, their families and the Jewish community.

Jewish culture believes that the wedding day should be one of the happiest and most spiritual days of a person’s life. On this day, all prior mistakes are forgiven and life starts anew.

On the wedding day, the bride, or the chatan, and the groom, or the kallah, fast from the time they awake until the wedding ceremony ends. This is the same ritual that Jews perform on Yom Kippur, one of the most important holidays for Jewish people. The wedding day is considered to be a private Yom Kippur for the couple.

Jewish customs call for the couple to avoid seeing each other for one week prior to the ceremony. Since they are not supposed to see each other before the wedding, the couple greets their guests separately.

While the bride and groom greet their guests, their mothers participate in a ceremony called Ashkenazi. The women stand together and break a plate. This symbolizes how serious the ceremony is. Just as it is impossible to perfectly repair a broken plate, so too is it impossible to perfectly repair a broken relationship.

The ceremony is performed under a canopy, which is meant to symbolize the home that the bride and groom will create together. The couple is officially married under Jewish law at the point in the ceremony when the bride gives a valuable object, usually a gold ring, to the groom. After the groom receives the ring, he declares his devotion in a short oath and places the ring on the bride’s hand. At that point they are married.

The wedding ceremony is one that is central to the Jewish faith. It is full of ritual and spirituality and an excellent example of the Jewish religion.

Filed Under: Traditions

Jewish Traditions: The Rituals and Customs of the Funeral

: Image via Wikipedia

Every religion all over the world has a custom and tradition that they follow when a person passes on. Each religion is filled with customs and traditions that are unique and original to their specific religion.

The Jewish religion is no exception. It has some of the most well known traditions and customs for funerals and funeral preparations.

Here is a look at some of the traditions that many Jewish funerals follow.

Jewish tradition calls for the coffin to be that of one made of simple wooden pine. There are no elaborate embellishments or gold encrusted caskets.

Cremation and embalming are forbidden by Jewish tradition.

The ceremony is very brief. It begins with the loved ones and those closed to the person who has passed starting out with a simple tearing of their garments to signify the loss that they are going through by losing the loved one. Sometimes this tearing of garments can be done by the Rabbi but most of the time it is done by the loved ones themselves. Some forms of Jewish religion now engage in tearing of a black piece of garment and have the loved ones pin it on them instead of actually tearing their clothing.

The actual ceremony consists of Psalms, a eulogy and then a memorial prayer. At the end of the ceremony the casket will leave the building with loved ones following it. The casket is wheeled out by members of the community that are known as Chevra Kaddisha and are usually male.

At the cemetery there is a tradition that requires that the casket stop 7 times before it reaches its final resting place. After the burial those attending the funeral will form two lines, one for the family one for the supporters. They will pass the loved ones and recite a blessing to them.

After the funeral there is a period of morning for the family that lasts 7 days.

Filed Under: Jewish Values, Traditions Tagged With: Casket, Cremation, Death, Death Care, Funeral, Jews, Judaism, Psalms