by P.K. Odendaal - 17 April 2011
Part 1 - Introduction.
We have been asked by some of our readers to explain the different Religions and Philosophies in the World today. It seems that there is confusion between the different religions and philosophies in that people do not know which of them are religions and which are philosophies.
The definition is quite easy in that a religion is the belief in a superhuman controlling power especially in a personal God entitled to obedience and worship. A philosophy on the other hand is just a set of rules to explain our lives in a (non religious) way that we can understand, and it provides rules to live by.
Most religions also have a philosophical part and in the discussion I will differentiate between the religions and their philosophies.
In this regard I classify the religions and philosophies as follows and in the chronological order (from ancient to recent) in which I will discuss them.
Religions :
1. Judaism
2. Christianity
3. Islam
Philosophies :
1. Mosaic philosophy
2. Buddhism
3. Confucianism
4. Christian philosophy
If I feel led, I will also discuss some other philosophies.
Of course I will look at them mainly from a Christian viewpoint, but I will try to review them without bias, as many of them provide valuable insights and perspectives that we can live by.
For instance, most of them are not mutually exclusive which I will demonstrate with an example.
One school of thought might say that we must live healthy lives to live longer, and another one that we must exercise daily to live longer. This is two very different viewpoints, but they can co-exist in any longevity program.
The other point I need to make is that some philosophies, like Buddhism, are thought by some people to be religions, but they do not conform to the basic definition of a religion as I have given above. Just to say that Money is a religion and Mammon is a god, as it is practised by some advanced capitalist nations who worship it, does not make it a religion. It has to conform to the basic definition. For some people football might be a religion, the way they worship it, but that type of religion and that type of god is not what I am talking about.
So my first guest to appear will be Moses... until next time then ...
It would also be interesting to look into the aspect of when a religion becomes a philosophy and when a philosophy becomes a religion, as per your example of money and Buddhism, and vice versa. The teachings of Paulo Coelho - a modern philosopher that claims to be a Christian, seems quite applicable here. To take this further, I find that most Pentecostal Worshipers take their religion into the sphere of philosophy as well. Am I wrong in my assumption?
ReplyDeleteHi Roan.
ReplyDeleteThis is indeed a very apt and pertinent notion, which I did not think of. I concede that people do not go according to the definition to position themselves, but really to what is fashionable at the time, and thereby lose their perspective and faith. If you wish to contribute with regard to Paul Coelho, whose views I also respect, you are free to do so, but bear in mind that he is a philosopher in the first place and we are Christians in the first place. In fact some discussion on plain philsophy is not out of place here, and as I said, I might also bring other philosophers to this table if I feel like it. When I was in Turkey, the tour guide made much ado about one of their own earlier philosophers called Haci Bectas, until one of the Christians in our group (an Aussie) remarked that in stead of him spending his life developing his philosophy of love towards mankind, he could have spared himself all this toil and affort and just read Galatians.