Religion and Theology - Essay Example

Religion and Theology Every religion has its own beliefs and practices, Most of the believers usually insist that their religious beliefs are the best ones; few religious believers can be in a position to argue about the shortfall of their beliefs. Most of the people always insist that their religions are better than others. Religion typically appeals to emotional values of a person as opposed to the intellectual values. Believers always tend to think that an emotional reason for believers is not worthy. A person may be identified according to his/her religion in many ways, such as the dressing codes, the speech of a person and their lifestyle. You can identify a person religion due to the way the person dresses, some religion are strict in the believer’s mode of dressing and therefore are against other types of dressing while others do not care about the dressing mode.the speech of a person can also make you to differentiate people according to their religion for instance Muslims usually include Muhammad in between their conversations while Christians include Jesus Christ, this can help one to differentiate between a Muslim and a Christian. The name of a person can suggest the religion of the respective person (Neusner, 304). For instance the Christians name their children according to the names in the bible. This are only but a few ways one can be identified in regard to the religion he/she belongs to. Despite the difference in religions and beliefs most people believe in one true God. Muslim is one among the many religions. The Muslims believe in Muhammad as the messenger of God. They believe in Quran as the only revelation that is not changed with human influence. Though they agree that there are other revelation but they argue that the other revelation have been altered with time thus remaining with the Quran as the perfect one. The Muslims are tied up by various religious concepts and practices this includes fasting in various seasons such as the Ramadan and alms giving. During their fasting period they dedicate themselves in helping the poor and the needy, this is not usually considered as a charity work thus it is a religious requirement that must be respected by all Muslims. They usually take this as the best moment to be near to God and do his work. Their fasting always starts from dawn and ends at dusk at wich time they ought not to take anything even a drink, pregnant women and the sick people are usually exempted from the fasting because they can not stay for long hours without food. They always pray five times in a day, the five pillars of worship has always been the concept of worship and they stick unto it. Their religion also insists that one must have a trip to Mecca once in a one’s lifetime, at the least. The rituals done during the trip to Mecca include having a walk seven times rounds the Kaaba, if possible one should make sure he/she touches the black stone, they usually run in between mount. Safa and mount marwa seven times continuous, in addition to the above rituals a Muslim is also supposed to symbolically stone the devil in mina. They not only assemble in the mosque for their prayers but also meet there to study different things in regard to life. Children classes are also held in the mosque, Muslims always believe that a child should be taught while still young. When going to the toilet the Muslims usually carries a jerican of water to wash themselves, they do this to maintain cleanliness unlike many religions that their believers use the tissue papers. This seems so interesting but attending their worshipping service is more interesting though not easy if you are a non Muslim to be granted the permission. The Muslims worship every Friday at 1.00 pm, before starting their worshiping session the women are separated from the men. They always have strict rules regarding fornication and hence prevent the intermingling of men and women to the greatest extent possible. This is why they usually separates them during the worshipping session to avoid the mingling. They always insist that one should keep his body holy before God and free from adultery or prostitution. Every one is required to remove their shoes at the door. They remove their shoes as a sign of respect to the sacred ground in the mosque. The Muslims do this in regard to the time when God asked Moses to undo his footwear because he was standing at a holy place. They always believe that the mosque is a sacred place and therefore one should not enter with their shoes and make the place dirty. They always insist on the cleanliness of the place. The second reason may be because of their worshipping mode there are times when their faces touch the ground and this can be unhygienic if one enters with the shoes because the shoe steps on many things including wastes thus insisting on keeping the ground clean. People should wear a long dress that covers their feet in the mosque this dresses are commonly referred to as ‘Kansu’ (Khan, 207). Covering of the body parts is mainly done to prevent the arousal of sexual desires. They tend to believe that when one disposes some part of his body the person is attracting gazes from the opposite sex which usually arouses the sexual desire. As for the women they are supposed to make sure they cover their heads, arms and legs, the Muslims usually believe that God directed this in the Quran to avoid tempting the men. There is always a room near the door for washing if a person forgot to wash at home during the prayers. While in the room one is supposed to wash his arms, legs and head three times they insist that they are supposed to be clean when holding and reading the Quran in addition they believe that they are cleaning their souls from dirt and mischief and therefore they should present themselves clean before God. They usually adhere to the rules of cleanliness and hygiene. Unlike other religions the Muslims do not sit on chairs they usually have prayer rags each person is supposed to carry his or they are built as part of the carpet. This depends with the mosque. Everyone is supposed to sit on the floor on his specific prayer rag. The imam usually stands at the forefront on the men’s side which is always separated in one way or another from the women’s side. The imam’s duty entails reading the announcements and giving the sermon to the Muslims. In addition he also leads them in prayers. All prayers are conducted while a person is facing to Mecca. The prayers are always held in different body positions which include kneeling, bowing down, sitting or standing. At first they usually stand up and say God is greater than everything and then recite the Quran, thereafter they bow and say praise to Allah, then stand up again, prostrate and say praise to Allah twice continuously. The above prayer is usually repeated more than one times depending on the imam’s direction and the kind of prayer. After reciting the prayers they usually sit down with their knees folded before saying the last words and finalizing it with asylum alykom both to the right and left sides. After the worshipping service they usually collect their offering at a box which is usually placed near the door. The strange thing is the way the way Muslims maintain cleanliness this is not usually experienced in other religions who do not care about the cleanliness of a person rather they put more consideration in spiritual cleanliness, also their separation of women and men is so unique most religions do not take this into considerations hence mixing freely with each other even during the church services. In conclusion a person religion depends on his understanding and belief we must respect each others views regarding religion (Sweetman, 151). If one spends most of the time criticizing other religions and trying to analyze them he/she will end up hating his/her own religion. Religion is far much more than a practice or belief; it encompasses a lot. It requires one to have strong faith and dedication. Work Cited Khan, A. Islam, Muslims, and America: understanding the basis of their conflict. USA: Algora Publishing, 2003. Print Neusner, J. World religions in America: an introduction. USA: Westminster John Knox Press, 2003. Print Sweetman, B. Why politics needs religion: the place of religious arguments in the public ...USA: Intervarsity Press, 2006. Print   Read More