What is Religion?

NOTE:This article may seem offensive towards some particular readers.

The first line is obvious: What Is Religion?

There may be different views towards religion depending upon various types of people found in this world. They have different philosophies, thoughts and way of expressing it. But one thing is surely common about those religion. The thing is "all religions say that they are the only one who is right. All the others are wrong". To this I feel deeply sorry for those ignorant folks who practice dictatorship in the form of religion.

Do we know that religion is created to follow its norms, not to spend the precious time fighting and arguing about it? .But the fact is that religion has become an open arena for people following different religions to show their powers and fighting capabilities.

The eternal reality is that religion is just a way to lay our faith upon GOD. It's not a big deal. In simple words, religion is HAVING FAITH in what you BELIEVE.

Religion is one of most affluent force that is hidden deep inside a man like patriotism. It is very much practiced that man is ready to sacrifice himself for saving his religion. The different religion created by HUMANS are what we are following now. But if we really want to be contended in what we have we don't have to follow any religion. We just have to have Strong Faith in GOD and THAT'S all we need to survive...

For example, if we have a peek in the lives of world renowned simple people like Guru Nanak, Mahatma Gandhi, Lord Buddha, Confucius, we don't find any religion or caste or creed or ethnicity embedded in their life.

Personally, I was HINDU by birth, but now i've changed. I don't follow religion any more. I am free from the narrow human-made walls of caste, ethnicity, religion, place and even sex. This is because I think soul is the only alive thing the whole universe. Only it appears in this world in different biological forms like the body of male, female, animal,etc.....

SO how about changing your perspective of religion from now?

Different Types of Religions

Religion defines who you are, what you are, and your views about the world around you. You must understand, a religion is much more than deity worshiping. Religion is the philosophy of life and a belief system. There are as many as four thousand and two religions in this world. Surprisingly, people know only a handful of religion.

Some of the popular religions of the world are Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism, Islam, Sikhism, Buddhism and Jainism. Apart from these there are Zoroastrianism, Bahai, Santeria and so on. There are many followers of Zen around the world. Religion in general gives meaning and purpose to the life of an individual. Each religion has its own glorious past. It is said, a religion instills hope, faith and trust in an individual.

Types of Religions

Christianity is one of the oldest religions of the world and has a large number of followers. It is estimated that Christianity has over two billion followers around the globe. Christianity practices a few beliefs and traditions of other religions. Like the Judaism and Islam, Christianity as a religion believes in the concept of one God. Hence, Islam, Judaism and Christianity are known as "ethical monotheism".

You must remember that Christianity was originally part of Judaism because Jesus Christ was a Jew. Jesus Christ lived from 3rd BC to 30 AD. Two major reasons why Christianity became separated from Judaism are:

    * Jesus was worshiped by Christians as a God in human form and the Jews were not ready to accept this.
    * Jews or the believers of Judaism followed a covenant. This covenant is an agreement between God and the Jews and contains a set of religious laws and ethical principles and traditions that need to be observed. Christians were not happy with this and formed a new religion that included the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Judaism is older than Christianity and this religion is the oldest of Abrahamic religions. Judaism is based on laws and principles of the Hebrew bible known as Tanakh. The Old Testament of Bible describes the struggles of the Hebrews or the Jews. After Moses frees them from the Egyptian captivity, they wander for almost forty years before they reached Jerusalem, the "Promised Land". Today there are 14 million Jews in the world.

Islam has 1.3 billion religious followers. It is one of the fastest growing religions in the world. Followers of Islam religion worship Allah and consider Muhammad as their prophet. Like the Christians and the Jews, Muslims believe in one God. Hence, it is one of the three "monotheistic" religions of the world. Quran is their holy book and this religion follows strict religious discipline and customs. The life of a Muslim is guided by the Five Pillars or the five principles such as Shahadah (faith), Sala (ritual prayer), Zakah (alms tax), Sawm (Ramdan fasting) and Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca).

Islam is an Arabic term and means surrendering to the will of God. You could say Islam is a system of belief that gives importance to family life, way of dressing, cleanliness and ethics. It also stresses on the importance of religious rituals and observances.

There are many religions that follow their own system of beliefs, rituals and traditions. These religions are classified as prophetic religion, revealed religion, sacramental and mystical religion.

Hinduism is considered to be one of the most tolerant religions in the world. The ultimate aim of any Hindu is to attain moksha from the cycle of rebirth. Historians believe over the centuries Hinduism had adopted many spiritual traditions and practices, which are seen even today in the homes of many Hindus. It is not easy to generalize the beliefs of Hinduism because the practices vary widely among the believers of this religion.

Philosophy of Religion

Religion is an important part of one's life. For some, their religion is their life. Most of the rich cultures all around the world have their roots in the respective religions. In simple words, religion is nothing but the way of life. And so, philosophy of religion is about studying life. Philosophy of religion includes philosophical study of religious doctrines, religious scriptures, religious stories, religious beliefs and practices, religious history, and religious arguments, etc. that determine and influence the way we live. Philosophical study is conducted in a reasoned and disciplined manner where every aspect of religion is tested for its trueness. Philosophy of religion is about a quest for understanding the justifications behind the faith in god and religion.

What is Philosophy of Religion

Philosophy of religion is essentially a metaphysical study that is conducted to understand the concept of God. It also studies and analyzes various grounds that people have offered to justify believing in God. Many people confuse philosophy of religion with religious philosophy or theology. Theology is defensive in nature and is committed to defend a particular religion, having a firm belief on every aspect of that religion. Whereas, philosophy of religion is the scientific investigation of a religion. For example, theology considers religious scriptures as supreme and authoritative but in philosophy of religion such scriptures are the objects of study and investigation. Its ultimate aim is to examine religious claims to establish rational explanations, if any.

Given below are some of the primary and perennial questions and areas that are studied in the philosophy of religion:

    * God: myth or reality?
    * Argument on God's gender: what is God like?
    * What does God mean to human beings?
    * Who is the creator of this word?
    * Are religious beliefs reasonable?
    * What is the aim of world religions?
    * What is the nature of religious language and experiences?
    * What is the value of religious belief, faith and practices?
    * Why praise God?
    * How big is your God?
    * Is evil a part of God?
    * Why does evil exist?
    * Where is God when I suffer?
    * Can God forgive everything?
    * Is God inside your heart?

Perspectives on Philosophy of Religion

Philosophy of religion can be studied from different perspectives by different people. For example, atheist philosophy of religion is different from theist philosophy. Since, atheists do not believe in God, they don't believe that religion is created by God. They study religions as phenomenons created by human beings. They tend to focus more on religion as a man made belief system and study the ethics, principles, morals, and identity of a particular religion and people following it. They often neglect the role of religion, what religion is, and how reasonable it is, etc. But, an atheist who is non judgmental, unbiased, and who is concerned about philosophy and religion can study the philosophy of religion well.

Theist tend to study religion as it is. In fact, theist perspective on religion cannot be called as philosophy of religion, as mentioned before, it is religious philosophy that glorifies a particular religion. According to theism, God does exists and hence the world is created by God and every human being is born for a purpose. It tend to restrict human freedom but at the same time it affirms our values. Theist do not agree to the atheist perspective because if the man has come from dust and is going to return to the soil then in what sense he is important. Well, both the perspectives are essentially contrasting in nature.

The crux of philosophy of religion is that it tries to find out the links between faiths and reasons. Our beliefs, faiths, unbeliefs, are nothing but the way we live our life and philosophy of religion is nothing but finding out the rationals behind them.

The Difference between Meditation and Prayer

The basic idea behind most forms of meditation is to focus the mind on turning inward, to pay attention to your inner self and center your consciousness so that your mind is open and clear. During meditation, the purpose of this inward concentration is to remove all outside distractions and quiet the chatter inside your head so that you can hear the voice of God.

Prayer is essentially the exact opposite of meditation. During prayer, you clear your mind of all outside distractions in order to be able to focus your thoughts on the prayer itself and the answers you hope to find by praying. In essence, we meditate so that God can speak to us; we pray so that we can speak to God.

Every religion known to man instructs believers to have faith in a Higher Power to listen to their prayers, and to be confident that everything that happens in life is orchestrated by that Higher Power. Because of having faith in God to take care of everything in life, praying selflessly is considered to be the ideal way to pray. It is totally unnecessary to pray for oneself if God is in control and everything happens for a reason known to God. The stronger your faith, the easier it is to direct prayers outward for others rather than inward for self. For example, a person whose faith is uncertain or not fully developed may pray that God will relieve them from suffering or troubled times. But a very faithful person who does not doubt the power of God will consider that their own troubles may be a gift from God, or a test to make them stronger in their faith and in their life. As a result of this recognition, faithful people will likely send prayers to God for others to be relieved from suffering. Spiritual growth depends on having faith that God will take care of you, and therefore spending time praying for others, selflessly.

People who pray selflessly are usually the people who are most likely to meditate regularly as well. The meditation practiced by such people is typically free of selfish desires already, because their prayers are outwardly focused, and therefore they will be more open to filling their inner selves with God’s inspiration and direction. In fact, there is a specific "prayer meditation" that combines the best elements of both types of spiritual journeys.

To practice prayer meditation, sit quietly and center yourself as usual. But instead of focusing on clearing your mind, imagine yourself praying to God. Witness your prayer silently, objectively, without comparisons or judgments, and then say a prayer to God for yourself. Say a prayer for another person. Pray for everyone you know, and everything in your life. Continue praying steadily - ten times, a dozen times, or however many times it takes for you to feel as though you have prayed enough.

By actually witnessing yourself praying, objectively from the outside looking inward, you will discover that praying for others makes you feel good about yourself. So by practicing prayer meditation, you are simultaneously praying for other people while you are opening your inner self to the blessing of God making you happy and taking your troubles away. Combining prayer and meditation is the best of both worlds.

Importance of Prayer

Prayer is not the compilation of long words or flowery lingo. It's not the language of the 'holy people'! It's not some sophisticated language of regular church goers! No! It's such a pity most of us fail to realize what true prayer is! Most of us think it's something we have to do to be good, while others do it because it's something our family, church or culture say we ought to do. Then again, some feel prayer is like an ATM card; you use it when you need something or when you fall into horrendous situations. The problem today is that our misconceptions about prayer have clouded the image of true prayer. Then what is true prayer and what is the importance of prayer in daily life?

What is Prayer

Prayer is the utterance from your spirit to God. In simple terms, talking to God is called prayer. It's the simple opening of one's heart to our Father in Heaven. It's coming to Him and telling Him everything in your heart. Then, why do we find praying so complicated? Those of us who say, 'I don't pray because I don't know how to pray', haven't understood that prayer is just being yourself and talking to God with honesty and sincerity.

When I was growing up, I found prayer very boring. It's because it just seemed like an endless stream of meaningless words to me. However, when I truly understood what prayer means (that it's speaking to God with complete honesty, without any kind of masks or worrying about how and what you talk), my whole perspective about prayer changed. Prayer today is not a burdensome task that I have to complete everyday, but a joyful time I spend with my Lord. It's such a privilege to be able to talk to the King of Kings; to share my innermost thoughts, my deepest desires! However, this privilege came at a price. Jesus Christ died on the cross for me, for my sins, just so that I could enter the throne of God's grace with confidence.

Importance of Prayer

Drawing Nearer to God...
Men and women who opt for arranged marriages are often told to talk to the person and learn more about each other. They are told to communicate and understand each other's personalities and temperaments. Why are they told this? Why is communication a very crucial part of marriage? Because if you do not communicate you will never be able to know the person. Similarly, if you do not pray, if you do not talk to God, you can never learn more about who He is. To understand the Father heart of God, we need to pray. To lead a life in intimacy with God, we need to pray. In John 15:15, Jesus says He no longer calls us his servants, but calls us His friends. Moreover, in 1 Corinthians 3:9, God calls us His fellow workers. But, how can we be His fellow workers if we refuse to talk to Him?

Tool to Bind Powers of Darkness...
Prayer is powerful and you need to remember, the words uttered in prayer have wonder-working power. Ephesians 6:12 says, "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Do not underestimate the power of prayer. The Devil is constantly trying to discourage us, demoralize us and weaken our faith in God. When tempted to fall into sin, pray. Prayer gives us the power to overcome. Pray gives us the strength and the faith to finish the race marked before us in this life.

Prayer Changes You...
Why are parents so worried about the company their children are in? It's because they know the company you are in, can influence you. The influence may be positive or negative, but there sure is an influence. The more time you spend with God, the more your face will shine with the radiance of God. The more your nature will resemble the loving nature of God. Our habits and lifestyles change. We no longer live selfish lives, but love others with a pure and sincere heart. Prayer changes us from the inside, which soon gets reflected on the outside.

Prayer Protects...
It is important to pray for God's protection on your family everyday. Pray for your parents, spouse, children every single day. Moreover, as parents, the responsibility lies with us to make kids aware of the importance of prayer. For children are extremely vulnerable and the choices they make during their growing up years will shape their future. Pray for God's protection upon their young lives.

Sets Captives Free...
Another important aspect of prayer is intercession. Intercession is standing in the gap and praying for others in need. Pray fervently for those around you. There is a lot of heartache in this world, scores of people are suffering from the bondage of sin. Pray in the name of Jesus, that these captives will be set free. Pray for breakthroughs in their lives.

Prayer Heals...
Jesus healed the sick while He was on Earth. He also gave authority to His disciples to heal. Jesus Christ has also given each one of us who believes in Him, the authority to heal. James 5: 14-16, talks about how the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. Pray for emotional, spiritual and physical healing for yourself and for those around you.

Do not let the jet speed pace of this world eat away your prayer life. Begin your day with 'quiet time', then pray constantly during the day. Pray on your way to work, during idle time, pray when you're anxious, etc. Strive for a 24*7 walking-talking relationship with God. There are different Bible Verses on the importance of prayer. Delve into the Word and find out for yourself the beauty of this communication tool. You won't believe it till you experience it!