Identifying major themes and different teachings of the religions of Christianity

by | Apr 27, 2023 | agriculture

 

Background Information:

As we have journeyed throughout the semester we have focused our studies on identifying major themes and different teachings of the religions of Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism. We have either directly or indirectly focused on developing a deeper understanding of each religions’ theology, sacred scriptures, code of ethics, prayer and worship rituals, and a brief history of the religion. For the most part, we have looked at each of these religions independently, but now as we begin to wrap up our course we will revisit these religions and begin to examine them critically and ask the intriguing question: What similarities (and differences) do these religions share amongst each other regarding their teachings of a specific topic?

For your final written report, you will select a theme, from the list below, and recapitulate each religion’s teaching on that particular theme. You will then complete a comparative analysis on the significant similarities that each religion has with Catholicism specifically – not just Christianity in light of the topic as well as delineate their distinct differences. Once you have completed the comparative analysis, you will reflect on the following question:

How can (or how has) the knowledge gleaned in this report and in this course change(d) your perspective/outlook on dialogue with people of other faiths?
You can share a personal experience that you have had with someone of a different faith background or how you think having a better understanding of these different teachings will help shape your future interactions with people of different faiths.
List of Selected Themes:

Religion’s Understanding of God
The Divine
Metaphysical and Supernatural Beings
Soteriology
How is salvation achieved?
Eschatology – End Times
Death and the Afterlife
Final Judgement
Creation
Of the Universe
Humanity
Pain and Suffering
Freedom and Free Will
Virtues
Sin and Forgiveness
Treatment of Women or Marginalized People in Society
Prayer and Worship Practices
Celebrations of Life Events or Rites of Passage
Birth
Adulthood
Marriage
Funerals
Initiations into the Religion
Instructions: Adhere to the outline and page length requirements below.

Introduction of the Selected Theme (.25-.5 page)
Identify the selected theme
Describe the theme is in general – not related to a specific religion
Explain why you selected the specific theme
Ex. You find the theme intriguing and you wanted to learn more about it
Explanation of the Theme in Catholicism (.5 page)
Explanation of the Theme in Judaism (.5 page)
Explanation of the Theme in Islam (.5 page)
Explanation of the Theme in Hinduism (.5 page)
Explanation of the Theme in Buddhism (.5 page)
Similarities with Catholicism (1 page)
Identify and describe at least one similarity that each religion (Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism) has to Catholicism in the context of the selected theme.
These similarities can be vague or extremely specific as long as it relates back to the selected theme.
Differences with Catholicism (1 page)
Characterize at least one difference that each religion (Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism) has to Catholicism in the context of the selected theme.
These differences can be vague or extremely specific as long as it relates back to the selected theme

How can (or how has) the knowledge gleaned in this report and in this course change(d) your perspective/outlook on dialogue with people of other faiths?

Sample solution

Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell. 

In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.


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God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.

Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.

To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.

 

References

Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.

Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies, 4(8), 487.

Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.

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