Inherent Nature of Faith Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Inherent Nature of Faith - Essay Example Two of the religious faiths to consider, would be Christianity and Buddhism. For Christians, they believe in one god, with that savior being Jesus Christ. With those of the Christian faith they believe, "..in a loving God who has revealed himself and can be personally known in this life. With Jesus Christ, the person's focus is not on religious rituals or performing good works, but on enjoying a relationship with God and growing to know him better," ("World Religions", p.1). The strongest characteristic to be found within the central framework of the Christian faith would be the inner belief in a singular god and as such, would be considered to be a monotheistic religion. Christian faith followers would believe in a singular spiritual guide for their spiritual guidance, or teacher, who would show them down the correct path. As for Buddhists, they in fact take a different approach to their faith in this case. For example, "Buddhists do not worship any gods or God. People outside of Buddhism often think that Buddhists worship the Buddha. However, the Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama) never claimed to be divine, but rather he is viewed by Buddhists as having attained what they are also striving to attain, which is spiritual enlightenment and, with it, freedom from the continuous cycle of life and death," ("World Religions", p.1). In contrast to those who refer to themselves as Christians who believe in one god, Buddhists do not elect to believe in a specific god. To put it more simply, "Buddha is just an enlightened being. If you are enlightened, you are Buddha too. All sentient beings can be Buddha," ("Buddhism", p.1). As a central tenet in Buddhist faith, the power has been placed in the hands of the individual faith believer, in comparison to those in the Christian faith, the place such power outside of themselves and instead rely upon the strength of their conviction that Jesus Christ is the true leader of their faith and where their devotion is meant to be placed within. For Christians, their desire to be loyal to Jesus also lies within their feeling that he truly controls the ability to influence all worldly things. In this vein, for Buddhists, "Although Buddha is the most supreme being known in all realms, he has no power to control everything. For instance, he is unable to change the principle of cause and effect. In other words, if you commit an evil deed, Buddha cannot save you by "waiving" the effect caused by your evil deed," ("Buddhism", p.1). As both religious faiths are considered, the characteristic of leadership for each would be one that would seek to place totalitarian allegiance to, while the other would seek to encourage the act of considering every individual follower as holding the true and strongest power and not follow the notion of requiring a specific individual or entity to hold the title of being the god, or leader, of their faith and their followers. Another characteristic of both faiths to consider would be the practice of prayer taken by Christians, while Buddhists seek to take part in meditation. For Christians, they take solace in the act of saying their prayers at times of discord, as well as an act of showing their devotion to Jesus and their strength found within their Christian faith. A very common prayer found within the Christian denomination, would be the prayer referred to as the