Archive for the ‘Spirituality’ Category
What Is Astrology?
December 10th, 2010 |What Is Astrology?
The stars and planets have always sparked in humans a remarkable sense of amazement. Human beings have looked skyward to see the face of God, or too figure out what the future holds for us. The movement of the stars and planets represents a grand cosmic dance–but this movement is also personalized, occuring in the bright eyes of anyone who decides to look up at a starry night.
The simplest wasy to define astrology is to call it the study of patterns and relationships. As planets and stars move, our birth chart, the…
What Are Pentecostal Beliefs?
February 28th, 2010 |What Are Pentecostal Beliefs?
Pentecostal Christianity is one of the least understood Christian denomination. Most of what people know about “Pentecostals” (as they are called) is surface — the women wear very modest clothing, never cut their hair, etc.
Pentecostals get a bad wrap probably because the faith started (and flourishes in) low income parts of the country. Besides that obvious obstacle, they have a very strict view of Christianity which requires them to dress and act a certain way.
Though there are half a billion Pentecostals around the world, this faith is basically looked over by most Christians.
Pentecostals…
What Are Confucianism Beliefs?
February 27th, 2010 |What Are Confucianism Beliefs?
Unlike the other religions in our Beliefs series, Confucianism cannot be defined properly as a “religion”.
Confucianism is more of an ethical system of philosophy originating in China. Though Confucianism is practiced as a religion these days (in countries like Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, and even the US) it wasn’t meant to be a religion when it was developed.
Most followers of Confucianism follow some semblance of traditional Chinese religion, which is a blend of old school Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, and any number of localized traditions and ritual.
History of Confucianism
A Chinese writer named K’ung Fu…
What Are Muslim Beliefs?
February 26th, 2010 |What Are Muslim Beliefs?
The religion of Islam is still a mystery to much of the Western world. Though there are nearly 2 billion Muslims and Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world, it is mostly misunderstood by Americans as the religion that terrorists belong to.
Much like Judaism, there is no set of laws which a person must strictly adhere to in order to be a good Muslim. A recitation of something called the Shahada will do just fine — this recitation is “There is no God but God, and Muhammad is his Prophet.”
Beyond this core…
What Are Jewish Beliefs?
February 25th, 2010 |What Are Jewish Beliefs?
Judaism is one of the most important religions in world history. Why? Christianity, the world’s largest religion, sprung directly out of Judaism. That means that you can credit Christianity’s 2 billion members to the existence of Judaism. In fact, Christianity and Judaism are so closely related it would be impossible to think of them distinctly.
Jewish Dogma
Unlike Christianity and Islam, Judaism does not really have an offiicial set of doctrines or political associations. In fact, all that is required for a person to be considered “Jewish” is their ethnicity. Because being Jewish means being a religion…
What Are Christian Beliefs?
February 24th, 2010 |What Are Christian Beliefs?
Christianity is the world’s largest religion, claiming between 1 and 2.2 billion believers depending on what count you believe. Anywhere from a quarter to a third of the world’s population identifies as Christian.
Christianity is a religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth (real name — Yeshua Ben Yosef or Joshua of Joseph) as laid out in the Bible, a collection of religious texts and teachings.
Though Christianity is a massive religion it is relatively young, having been “founded” by Jesus of Nazareth and his followers only two thousand years ago or…
What Are Catholic Beliefs?
February 23rd, 2010 |What Are Catholic Beliefs?
Catholicism is relatively simple to understand due to a large number of recited prayers, statements of belief, and a centralized structure built around the infallibility of their church leader, the Pope.
Whereas other spiritual traditions like Buddhism reject the kind of patriarchal order found in most Christian sects, Catholicism is a well-ordered system with very little variation from church to church or family to family.
The Basics
Catholicism is considered the first Christian denomination, since it was started by the apostle Peter who is considered the first Pope. When Jesus picked Peter to…
What Are Hinduism Beliefs?
February 22nd, 2010 |What Are Hinduism Beliefs?
Hinduism is the oldest known spiritual tradition. Thousands of years before anyone was talking about Christ or Buddha, people in India were worshipping a set of Hindu gods and practicing their spiritualism.
Many historians and followers of the religion claim that some form of Hinduism has been practiced on Earth since before recorded history. We know for sure that as long as 6,000 years ago the people of current-day India were practicing Hinduism.
For being the world’s oldest religion Hinduism is a mystery to most of the Western world. We have stereotypes (lots…
What Are Buddhism Beliefs?
February 21st, 2010 |What Are Buddhism Beliefs?
It is just as difficult to describe the “beliefs” of all Buddhists as it is to describe the same for all Christians. Religions often have different sects, belief systems, even different core philosophies while still sharing the same name. Think of a Baptist church in Mississippi compared to a Catholic mass in upstate New York just for one example.
Still there are some basic principles about Buddhism that are common to all people who call themselves Buddhist. In this article, we’ll take a look at rebirth and reincarnation, the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, and…
What Are the Top Ten Christmas Decorations in 2009?
October 23rd, 2009 |Top 10 Christmas Ornaments in 2009
It’s about time to start thinking about Christmas decorations for 2009.
If you have to get the ornament crates out of the attic, it’s always nice to buy a few special Christmas decorations to add into the mix and excite you as you decorate your Christmas tree again.
To give you ideas for new Christmas decorations to add to your holiday collection, I’ve compiled a list of the top Christmas decorations in 2009.
Seasons Greetings!
- Thomas Kinkade White Christmas Animated Snowman Figure – The Thomas Kincade Collection from Ashton-Drake is among the most
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What Do Buddhists Believe?
October 21st, 2009 |Common Beliefs of Most Buddhists
Buddhism was created in the sub-continent of India somewhere around the year 563 BCE by Siddharta Gautama, more famously known as the Buddha. Buddhism has in common several beliefs with another major world religion which originated in India, Hinduism. These beliefs include cause-and-effects ethics in the form of Karma, the illusionary nature of the world (known as Maya) and the cycle of reincarnation, known as Samsara.
To break the cycle of reincarnation, Buddhists seek enlightenment, which will lead nirvana (an end to hatred, greed and delusion) and involves paying off a karmic debt, which is…