Religious Belief Systems

Over the millenniums, many civilizations have come and gone. And with them, each have brought in new ideas and left lasting social characteristics on the civilizations that followed. One thing that almost all civilizations have had in common with each other is the belief in some form of a higher power—deity and afterlife. Today’s societies are no different with the many different religious belief systems. From these religious beliefs in a higher authority than that of man, civilizations and societies have derived teachings, customs, guidelines, and laws by which to live their lives. Many of the various religions hold on to the belief in a God and an afterlife. While these religions have some similarities, they hold some significant differences …show more content…
Buddhist follow the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama (ca. 563-483 B.C.E.), The Buddha, meaning an enlightened one. His teachings were recorded in Sutras by his students and then arranged into a set of four noble truths, eight ways to avoid suffering, and five guidelines for how to live one’s life .
Similarly, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam had their teachings recorded and then passed down from generation to generation. However, the teachings of these three religions are not that of self-realization like the teachings of Buddhism, but the Word of God given to prophets, disciples, and apostles to record and be passed down.
Jews use the Old Testament of the Bible which was recorded by prophets, Kings, Judges, and others of importance in Jewish history, along with the Talmud as their religious authority. Whereas, Christians use the whole Bible as the basis of their authority. The New Testament was recorded by followers of Jesus. Christians believe the Bible while written by man is the directly inspired Word of …show more content…
Judaism accepts Jesus as a man, but he was more troublesome to the Jewish religion and a blasphemer whom they crucified. So, they do not accept him as the Messiah and as such are still awaiting the coming Messiah. Buddhist generally believe Jesus was a good man and a good teacher. However, since they do not believe in a God or the need of salvation, Jesus as a savior makes no sense to them. Islam believes that Jesus was a prophet from God, but not The Prophet nor believe he was crucified. And similar to the Buddhist, they do not see Jesus as a savior because their belief of obtaining paradise is achieved through good works and keeping Allah’s will. Unlike the others, Christians on the other hand believe Jesus was the foretold Messiah, and they accept Him as their personal