buy custom World Religion Class Research Paper essay

buy custom World Religion Class Research Paper essay The world as we know or tend to know it is a haven of beliefs. Everyone would like to believe that he/she worships or believes on a more powerful being than the other. However, there is a problem going by that angle of belief. This is not the period when God or gods used to speak to people through prophets and other divine characters. The problem of these beliefs is brought by the fact that the faithfuls of the different religions cannot prove that they are actually worshipping the right being or that their god is more powerful than that of another group. To distinguish the purpose of one religion from that of another would be a tiresome commitment. However, by investigating the Christian religions and the secular religions, a number of similarities in their beliefs would help determine the likelihood that they worship the same being but in variety of ways. This is a research paper whose aim is to determine a number of similarities within the secular and the Christian religions. To Christians Jesus Christ is their savior and to get to God, they believe that they must honor Jesus first. The holy trinity is another of the Christians beliefs that tend to bring a sense of equity but to only a section of the Christian race. Islam on the other hand can be taken as one religion with multiple of teachings. The same way that Catholics and Protestants dont agree on their interpretations of the Holy Bible, Islam has its partitions which read the same Quran but interpret it differently hence drawing in a situation similar to that of Catholics and Protestants. What connects the Christians and the Islam religions is not what they teach but the belief that between them and God there is a link, incarnation and prophesying are methods that God uses to speak to them, and the human existence is made possible by the will of a supreme being. The Link between God and Humans From time immemorial, objectification of God has been a practice for many religions. It is understood that God uses an army of angels and uses prophets to communicate with the world. To draw the objectification point from that, we look at the holy rosary that is used by Catholics and a number of other religions. The holy rosary has been taken by several churches to represent God. The presence of the cross and/or a curving of what is assumed to be Mary mother of Jesus show that objectification is a way of finding a link between human beings and God. When praying, most of the Christian faithfuls who use the rosary tend to think that it is in the best interest of them to incorporate the rosary. This creates a link assumed to get Gods attention and somewhat drawing in a sense of assurance that their prayers would be answered (Brodd, 2003). Who is Mohammed? Who is Jesus? What is their importance to the lives of the faithfuls who believe in the religions they represent? According to the Islam religion, Mohammed was a prophet who created a link a between the Muslim community and God. This context does not play the same role as that of Jesus for Christians. Jesus is the son of God according to the bible and the beliefs of Christians. To the Muslims who follow theteaching of the Quran with a clear mind, Jesus was also a prophet just like Mohammed. The reason why Muslims believe Jesus was a prophet is because they object the claim by Christians that Jesus was Gods son sent to deliver Jews from sin. The argument by Muslims that Jesus was a prophet is logical due to the fact that in both the Quran and the Bible all people are equal before God. So if God saw it important to make a link between Him and Muslims, then he must have seen it important to create a link for every race. Jesus for the Jews and Mohammed for the Muslims ma kes an impression which stand to be questioned logically; if Jesus represents Jews and Mohammed represented Muslims and they are son and prophet respectively before the eyes of God, why is the imbalance between the two races so pronounced (Shrotri, et al. 1999). There is no point in trying to question why God or the supreme being of whichever religion chose to do things in a certain way or another. Imagining like a god is way off the league of humans, but humans themselves tend to make their own symbols which they believe act as channels of connection between God and themselves. The Cow for Hindus, the Rosary for Catholics, the beads and beards for the Muslim, and shrines for the Buddhists all give the impression that no matter the religion, faithfuls believe on the act of using a person, an animal, an object or assuming a way of life to be close to God. Incarnation and Prophesying The human race is believed to be bound by sin and this is the reason why according to teachings of many religions, there seems to exist a divine power sent to deliver them from sin. In many cultural and social settings, several people and objects are referred to as Gods incarnations to them. The Christian Holy Trinity comprises of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. With sin drawn to the picture, it can be understood that the son is the Gods incarnation to Christians. Developing in the womb of a human to be born as a human in order to save the world (Jews) from sin; the presence of God was brought closer only in a manner made to make the Christian race believe. Arguing from a personal perspective of how it would have been if God chose to represent himself to deliver man from sin; how would it feel like if he introduced himself to Pilate as, Hey, I am God. Different races especially the African traditional settings tend to believe that they have felt the presence of God through a certain elder of their community. Besides what people may assume to be experiencing or believing, hallucination is part of being human. The Hindus do not worship the cow but they assume that the cow is a holy creature responsible for their ways of life. It is believed that Jainism and Buddhism are some of the Indian religions that honor the cow as a holy animal. Is there any aspect of incarnation or prophesy in this belief? We cannot be sure for certain but how about reflecting the teachings and believes of other religions? Christians believe Jesus was the son of God send to earth to deliver Jews from sin. Going with that belief we deduce that the cow in the Indian relligion is Gods incarnation not send to them to deliver them from sin but to help them deal with the day-to-day challenges. The cow in India in used by the Hindus, the Janis, and the Buddhists as a holy animal whose milk nourishes children to a healthy growth, whose dung is a source of energy and an ingredient for the ritual mark on the forehead (tilak). While Christians honor the birth of Jesus Christ by celebrating Christmas, Hindus, Janis, and Buddhist honor the cow with Gopastami (the cow holiday). Brahmans are considered to be high-cast priests whom to their respective duties they are considered prophets in the Hindu religion. Several prophets are used in the Bible to symbolize the use of people by God in connecting with others. Mohammed is considered a prophet in the Islam religion. The faithfuls of all these religions attach special importance to the presence of prophets. They all believe that God work through people to get through to others. The Mormon Church is an example of a secular religion whose doctrines and teachings tend to oppose the teachings of the Quran and the Bible. But conceptually this religion believes that God, prophets and divine elements make up the spiritual world. They believe that God is perfect and they strive to emulate the same. Human Existence and Presence of God Civilization has brought understanding to man in terms of his roots and has laid a foundation for the destination. If we exist now, it means that a much powerful being must have existed before us. Before civilization that took the bible to the Africans, who did the Africans worship? Just like animals, humans have instincts. These instincts work together with the conscious brain to draw reasons as to why things are like they way they are. Both religious and freelancer groups believe or tend to owe their existence to some supreme being. Long before civilization, worshipping was part and parcel of communities all across the world. Even after theories that tend to detach man from Gods creation, it is still believed that a supreme being is responsible for creation or the existence of man. Devil worshippers tend to oppose the teachings of the holy books and tend to honor Lucifer; funny enough they attach the existence of Lucifer to a rather much powerful being. Conclusion People of different denominations owe their existence to some ultimately powerful being. It has been known for ages that the supreme beings responsible for our existence are too powerful that they may cause death if they were seen by us. But in order to make the human race feel close to them and protected, they incarnate themselves to humans and other objects. Neither do we believe in the same teachings nor does our social settings and cultural differences allow for it. This is the reason why there are so many religions in the world. Their teachings are different but all are similar to one another in one way or another. Christians and Muslims believe in the presence of Gods representatives amongst them. Buddhist, Janis and Hindus honor the cow because they believe it is holy and send to them to help them with their day-to-day lives. Buy custom World Religion Class Research Paper essay

Timeline of the Medieval Traders on the Swahili Coast

Timeline of the Medieval Traders on the Swahili Coast Based on archaeological and historical data, the medieval period of the 11th through 16th centuries AD was the heyday of Swahili Coast trading communities. But that data has also shown that the African merchants and sailors of the Swahili Coast began to  trade in international goods at least 300-500 years earlier. A timeline of the major events on the Swahili coast: Early 16th century, the  arrival of Portuguese and the end of Kilwas trading powerCa 1400 start of Nabhan dynasty1331, Ibn Battuta visits Mogadishu14th-16th centuries, a shift in trade to the  Indian Ocean, the heyday of coastal Swahili townsCa 1300, the  start of Mahdali dynasty (Abul Mawahib)Ca 1200, first coins minted by Ali bin al-Hasan in Kilwa12th century, a rise of Mogadishu11th-12th centuries, most coastal people converted to Islam, a shift in trade to the  Red Sea11th century, start of Shirazi dynasty9th century, slave trade with the  Persian Gulf8th century, the first mosque built6th-8th centuries AD, trade established with Muslim traders40 AD, author of Periplus visits Rhapta The Ruling Sultans A chronology of ruling sultans can be derived from the Kilwa Chronicle, two undated medieval documents recording an oral history of the large Swahili capital of Kilwa. Scholars are skeptical of its accuracy, however, particularly with respect to the semi-mythical Shirazi dynasty: but they are agreed on the existence of several important sultans: Ali ibn al-Hasan (11th century)Daud ibn al-HasanSulaiman ibn al-Hasan (early 14th c)Daud ibn Sulaiman (early 14th c)al-Hasan ibn Talut (ca 1277)Muhammad ibn Sulaimanal-Hasan ibn Sulaiman (ca 1331, visited by Ibn Battuta)Sulaiman ibn al-Husain (14th c) Pre  or Proto-Swahili The earliest pre or proto-Swahili sites date to the first century AD, when the unnamed Greek sailor who authored the merchants guide Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, visited Rhapta on what is today the central Tanzanian coast. Rhapta was reported in the Periplus to be under the rule of Maza on the Arabian Peninsula. The Periplus reported that ivory, rhinoceros horn, nautilus and turtle shell, metal implements, glass, and foodstuffs were imports available in Rhapta. Finds of Egypt-Roman and other Mediterranean imports dated to the last few centuries BC suggest some contact with those areas. By the 6th to 10th centuries AD, people on the coast were living in mostly rectangular earth-and-thatch houses, with household economies based on pearl millet agriculture, cattle pastoralism, and fishing. They smelted iron, built boats and made what archaeologists called Tana Tradition or Triangular Incised Ware pots; they obtained imported goods such as glazed ceramics, glassware, metal jewelry, and stone and glass beads from the Persian Gulf. Beginning in the 8th century, the African inhabitants had converted to Islam. Archaeological excavations at Kilwa Kisiwani and Shanga in Kenya have demonstrated that these towns were settled as early as the 7th and 8th centuries. Other prominent sites of this period include Manda in northern Kenya, Unguja Ukuu on Zanzibar and Tumbe on Pemba. Islam and Kilwa The earliest mosque on the Swahili coast is located in the town of Shanga in the Lamu Archipelago. A timber mosque was built here in the 8th century AD, and rebuilt in the same location, again and again, each time larger and more substantial. Fish became an increasingly important part of the local diet, consisting of fish on the reefs, within about one kilometer (one-half mile) from the shore. In the 9th century, connections between Eastern Africa and the Middle East included the export of thousands of slaves from Africas interior. The slaves were transported through Swahili coastal towns to destinations in Iraq such as Basra, where they worked on a dam. In 868, the slave revolted in Basra, weakening the market for slaves from Swahili. By ~1200, all of the large Swahili settlements included stone built mosques. The Growth of Swahili Towns Through the 11th-14th centuries, the Swahili towns expanded in scale, in the numbers and variety of imported and locally-produced material goods, and in trade relationships between the interior of Africa and other societies around the Indian Ocean. A wide variety of boats were built for sea-going trade. Although most of the houses continued to be made of earth and thatch, some of the houses were built of coral, and many of the larger and newer settlements were stone towns, communities marked by elite residences built of stone. Stonetowns grew in number and size, and trade blossomed. Exports included ivory, iron, animal products, mangrove poles for house construction; imports included glazed ceramics, beads and other jewelry, cloth, and religious texts. Coins  were minted in some of the larger centers, and iron and copper alloys, and beads of various types were produced locally. Portuguese Colonization In 1498-1499, the Portuguese explorer Vasco de Gama began exploring the Indian Ocean. Beginning in the 16th century, Portuguese and Arab colonization began to decrease the power of the Swahili towns, evidenced by the construction of Fort Jesus in Mombasa in 1593, and the increasingly aggressive trade wars in the Indian Ocean. The Swahili culture fought variously successfully against such incursions and although disruptions in trade and loss of autonomy did occur, the coast prevailed in urban and rural life. By the end of the 17th century, the Portuguese lost control of the western Indian Ocean to Oman and Zanzibar. The Swahili coast was reunited under the Omani sultanate in the 19th century. Sources Chami FA. 2009. Kilwa and the Swahili Towns: Reflections from an archaeological perspective. In: Larsen K, editor. Knowledge, Renewal and Religion: Repositioning and changing ideological and material circumstances among the Swahili on the East African coast. Uppsala: Nordiska Afrikainstitututet.Elkiss TH. 1973. Kilwa Kisiwani: The Rise of an East African City-State. African Studies Review 16(1):119-130.Phillipson D. 2005. African Archaeology. London: Cambridge University Press.Pollard E. 2011. Safeguarding Swahili trade in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries: a unique navigational complex in south-east Tanzania. World Archaeology 43(3):458-477.Sutton JEG. 2002. The southern Swahili harbour and town on Kilwa Island, 800-1800 AD: A chronology of booms and slumps.: Uppsala University.Wynne-Jones S. 2007. Creating urban communities at Kilwa Kisiwani, Tanzania, AD 800-1300. Antiquity 81:368-380.