Getting It, Then Getting Along: Understanding the world's five major religions

Copyright: Linda R. Andiric

Print ISBN: 978-1-54399-117-8

eBook ISBN: 978-1-54399-118-5

Library of Congress Control Number:

All rights reserved. None of the contents of this book may be reproduced in any format except for short excerpts used for reviews or comments without the written permission of the author.

Printed in the USA

Table of Contents

Where We Are

Judaism

Christianity

Islam

Hinduism

Buddhism

Going Forward

Notes For Discussion

IMPORTANT to read!

My goal in writing this book is for the reader to learn about five major religious paths that are practiced by a majority of peoples in the world today–most likely because of their heritage and/or place of birth. If, after gaining a broader insight into each of the spiritual practices, the outcome is a better understanding of the religious beliefs of others, I have achieved my mission. Greater understanding will hopefully translate not only into respect for others’ beliefs, but religious diversity may even be valued.

The earth is large enough to accommodate us all, regardless of our different perspectives and ideologies. Ultimately this acceptance and respect for our different ideologies might save our planet and all of us together may be able to resolve our greatest threats.

Please consider carefully the information and explanations in the interim chapters describing the five major religions and seek to walk momentarily in the shoes of others who follow each path. Try to develop empathy for them. The worth of any book is to change the reader for the better in some small way. My aim for this book is to help halt the violence against others by fostering understanding in reference to their spiritual beliefs. The reader is encouraged to regard our differences with a positive attitude and consider that the sum of our beliefs might be truly greater than our individual philosophies and together as a global community, we can work together to find solutions needed by all. As a result, our planet could be free of war, disease and the misuse of nature. If this can work for religion, it can also work for race, gender, politics or any of the things that divide us.

My sincere thanks also to: Sally Ryden, Ghada Chatila, Phyllis Bransky, Marie and Jim Akers for their valuable suggestions and critiques of this manuscript.

Dear Reader,

When I was five years old, I went to Sunday school and listened as my teacher read stories from both the Old and New Testament. My mother also read them to me from a Bible storybook that had pictures of Noah and pairs of animals marching to the ark; or baby Jesus in the manger; or Jesus with fishermen, and Jesus with small children. The illustrations in the book were very colorful and remain embedded in my memory.

But some were also scary. For example, Abraham was poised with a huge dagger to murder his own son. I didn’t understand God at all in regard to that one. Not many could pass that test! In Sunday school, after the teacher finished reading, we had a picture to color relating to the story we had just heard. Sometimes we had a Bible verse to remember and we would usually sing a song or two. I felt happy and pleased with my Sunday school experiences. I liked to color, and it was a joyful time with the other children in my class. The pictures were meaningful to me since we had just heard a story about them, and I liked to imagine how my picture related to the story.

I was about ten years old when I attended an evening special service at our church with my parents. The guest speaker talked about the New Testament scripture that stated that Jesus said, For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). The speaker emphasized that Jesus was the only way to salvation and if we didn’t accept him and believe that to be true, we would be lost to God. I liked Jesus, so my first thoughts were that this posed no problem for me. Then from the audience, the question arose: What if someone had never heard of Jesus? What if they lived very far away in the deepest darkest part of Africa or in the Amazon jungle? Were they lost to God? Were they dammed and not saved? That then, really began to upset me as I listened to the message that unless one believed in Jesus, they were excluded from salvation and would not be able to get into heaven! How could God be so mean, I asked myself? If a person never heard of Jesus, how could they be blamed and then punished for it?

I didn’t ponder this a lot afterward, but from time to time when I remembered this admonition, I found it difficult to fathom a god with such unfair and biased rules. But church was an important part of my life; it was our family’s Sunday routine, and when I became a teenager, I became further involved with the church’s youth group. It was at a youth meeting when I was sixteen that I had my first and only charismatic religious experience. It was strange and enigmatic. I had never felt such excitement and exhilaration as my heart began to beat rapidly and I felt like I was radiating energy and light. I wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. I felt hot and chilled simultaneously.

We spent a week at a youth conference at a Presbyterian College in Muskegon, Ohio and it was during the final closing candlelight ceremony that I had this most unforgettable experience. Approximately 500 youths were in attendance and each of us had been given a candle, which was lit while we walked in a procession from the chapel service, downhill to a meeting place on the moonlit lakefront. It was during this processional that my strange physiological feelings occurred.

As I looked ahead at the lights from the candles carried by the youths now hidden by the darkness of night, the flickering candles serpentined ahead along the trail as far as I could see. We walked silently and the experience profoundly affected me both physiologically and spiritually as I felt in those few minutes a union with all life but especially my youthful cohort. I have never forgotten the beautiful scene it portrayed and the exhilarating feelings I experienced. When I hear of persons having a born again occurrence or when people say Jesus talks to them, I never discount those accounts because I, too, have witnessed and felt a mystical event that has stayed with me all my life. To again feel that unity with all that exists is my strong desire.

As an adult, my path in life has taken me to many parts of the world and I’ve been lucky that I have been able to observe and befriend many persons from different cultures who have strikingly different religious beliefs than those of my childhood. I’m convinced that, for the most part, people’s beliefs are mostly influenced by their heritage, their culture, and how they are taught within that framework.

In other words, if I’d been born in a Muslim country, I would most likely experience my religiosity as conveyed in the Quran because that would be my sole frame of reference. If my immediate family was devout and more demonstrative in their religious practice, I would most likely be more fervent, also. If their practices were less important to them, they would probably not be a priority for me either unless I was old enough to acquire my own religious thoughts and experiences.

A question I’ve often reflected on is why so many, who have their own quite fundamental beliefs and literal interpretation of their chosen ideology, seem to demand that everyone agree exclusively with their specific philosophy. When in my childhood, the speaker at our Methodist church opined that unless one accepted Jesus as their savior they would be doomed; the message I received was a negative one.

That desperate choice could be the impetus for why many believers are so insistent to spread their doctrine. They feel compelled to save us all from the alleged tragedy of being lost. At first glance, this might be considered to be both generous and unselfish by those who are concerned for our welfare. However, it can become judgmental, unwelcome, and hurtful. Instead of presenting a choice to be considered, it disregards another traditional Christian doctrine, that of free will.

Within each individual is a different heritage, including a uniquely developed intellect influenced by a variety of experiences that ultimately results in an individual viewpoint that defines our specific personal religious beliefs. Just as each person has a different physical appearance, it’s reasonable to expect that each individual will acquire their own understanding, attitude and feeling regarding their personal spirituality. Each is at a different place on the continuum of spirituality that has evolved from their heritage, their experiences, their intellect, their spiritual understanding and interests. Additionally, if one believes in the concept of reincarnation, those things learned in other lifetimes will add more experiences to the emotional, intellectual, and spiritual viewpoint.

For peace to be possible, we must acknowledge that we are each on our own divine path of spirituality that has evolved specifically for and by each individual. Furthermore, our attitudes are most likely defined by the capabilities we possess at this moment or any given future moment. Although the ardent concern for other souls (by those who have the belief that we must all follow their ideology) is indeed intended with the greatest of sincerity, enthusiasts need to be cognizant that others may have different concepts for spiritual practice and they should be respected.

Peaceful acceptance of others’ beliefs is really quite simple then; each must allow and facilitate, but not dictate or cajole others to walk a certain path. We must all walk our own path to find the way to our individual destination.

Where We Are

This is not a book about religious doctrine or dogma. The purpose of this book is not to convince the reader that any one belief system is better than another, or to convert the reader to any one religious philosophy. The intent, rather, is to inform what the beliefs of the five major religions are, their origins, and how they have evolved into what they are today. It should be remembered that there are many other belief systems also–not only the five major ones that will be discussed here. With better understanding, we might recognize the things that unite us and come to respect the things that divide us.

Following 9/11 and continuing throughout the United States today, there has been a surge of violence toward Muslims and those mistaken for Muslims. For example, the Sikhs, a group of people who emigrated from the Punjab Province in India to America, have endured much aggression. They are not Muslim at all but are a religious community who are followers of the 16th century Guru Nanak who rejected the elaborate rituals of Hinduism, but stressed the importance of service to others, doing good deeds and treating every person equally with kindness and respect.

Sikh men don’t cut their hair. They wear turbans, and grow beards. There are twenty-five million Sikh followers worldwide; 500,000 in the United States who are hard-working citizens and typically feel grateful to the U. S. for providing them a means to achieve the American dream. Often mistaken as Muslim, they have been targeted since 9/11 in hundreds of crimes including shootings.

A doctor/professor walking in Central Park in New York City was attacked and severely beaten by boys shouting, Terrorist Osama, get him! Those wanting to kill towel heads gunned down a Sikh who was getting into his car in the driveway of his home. Another was shot at his gas station business. Most notable perhaps, was a mass shooting during a Sunday service in Milwaukee, Wisconsin by a white supremacist who killed six and injured four.

Yet, the frequent response from those whose lives have been touched with such violence has not been revenge, but the hope that attackers will be educated and have their hearts awakened.

Multiple reports surfaced around 2005 regarding U. S. military prison guards and interrogators who intentionally desecrated both Muslims and the Quran, the holy book of Islam. One Muslim detainee was photographed being led around with a dog collar and leash. From Guantanamo Bay to Abu Ghraib and prisons throughout Afghanistan and Iraq, reports of urinating on the Quran or throwing the book into the toilet surfaced through official channels and were reported to the world by Newsweek and other media sources. The response from some Muslims was massive and violent.

Throughout the world, in fact, religion-sourced atrocities continue today. In Myanmar, a minority group of Muslims, the Rohingya, who have lived in the Rakhine state of the Buddhist-majority country for generations, are not recognized as citizens by the Myanmar government. The Rohingya are restricted from moving about in Myanmar, they are deprived of a livelihood, and have no rights to health care, education, or to practice their religion. Myanmar security forces continually harass them. Tensions have resulted not only in mass killings, but there are accusations of potential genocide perpetuated by the nationalistic Buddhist majority. A mass exodus across the border into Bangladesh by the Rohingya has overwhelmed that country resulting in insufficient food and shelter.

Because the Myanmar government is no longer led by the military, it might logically follow that the government would have tremendous influence to curb the violence and to recognize the Rohingya’s right to citizenship and protection. The government, and its Nobel Peace Prize leader Aung San Suu Kyi, have not yet addressed the situation and claim it doesn’t exist.

These are but a few of the hundreds of violent occurrences around the world in recent times. It is a fact of our human history that one group or another has been attacked simply because of who they are and what group they have descended from.

Most notably Jews, but often Christians, have been ousted and exterminated throughout history because of their beliefs. All too often, another violent hate-crime or shooting is reported, sometimes within days or weeks of the previous one.

Attacks by white supremacists and revenge attacks by radicalized Islamic terrorists include the bombing of little girls who were accompanied by their mothers at an Ariana Grande music concert in Manchester, England; a mass shooting during a bible study group in Charleston, S. C.; a shooting during a Passover service in a synagogue in Poway, California. Violence against others has become a too-frequent event–many times allegedly carried out for religious reasons by religious people.

Because many of the conflicts throughout history, as well as around the globe today have, at their source, the intolerance of religious beliefs and practices, it is hoped that by examining others’ practices a little more closely, we might see there’s much in common.

A powerful realization is that the major religious philosophies are followed based on where in the world, and into what culture an individual was born and raised.

Could such awareness lead to a more peaceful, tolerant coexistence? If so, even a small step in that direction would be a far cry from the world of today that is fraught with divisiveness, suspicion, mistrust and violence.

Throughout history, accurate information, education and truth have often resolved misunderstandings. A problem today in our instantaneous breaking news culture resulting in instant outrage is that propaganda is often presented and alleged to be factual without corroboration. Social media posts often originate from opinion and then unsubstantiated perpetuation of false information occurs to justify a particular viewpoint or agenda.

We might even consider that misinformation and ignorance are reinforced daily and they are the real enemies. In recognizing this, we must be open to having our own socially-sourced opinions challenged, updated or even changed, and if we’re truly committed to living in peace, it’s up to us, our decision, to be sincere and open-minded in the search for real truth–not settling for or accepting the opinions and statements spread throughout the world via Twitter and Facebook.

The content of this book’s following chapters focuses on five major religions of the world. The information has been researched, read, amended and further clarified or modified by a learned, knowledgeable practitioner from within each of those religions.

The resulting explanations are not meant to be scholarly, theological or of a dogmatic nature that is painstakingly detailed, but rather, they are meant to provide a comprehensive but easily understandable summary of that religion’s origin and evolution and a clear and simple description of what and how someone of this faith practices their beliefs.

My intention is to provide and promote more understanding and a tolerant attitude toward the others who practice their religious beliefs differently from mine–or yours.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama is credited with saying that it doesn’t matter if a person is religious or not; more important is that they