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Rediscovery through Faith Tourism

missujn — Sun, 12 May 2013 00:46:00 +0000

Most people are familiar with the idea of faith tourism because it has existed for a very long time among human beings. To put it simply, this is the kind of tourism where people visit places that they consider significant to their different faiths. They often visit these places in groups and they do this for reasons ranging from missionary reasons to fellowship or even leisure purposes. There are very many places in the world where this kind of tourism takes place and each of these places will have a special connotation in the hearts and minds of certain people.
It may be true that some people visit these places simply for sightseeing and to witness the various historical locations in the world. However there are people who visit these places for some kind of spiritual rediscovery and soul searching. Many of such people believe that if they take part in faith tourism, they can very easily receiving blessings and therefore they go ahead with the tourism not just for personal reasons but to keep their faiths strong and firm. Depending on how significant these different places are, there are people who will go to the furthest places on earth just so they can get the spiritual rediscovery that they are yearning for.
Whatever reasons one might have for taking part in faith tourism, there is always the fact that it is a very great way to explore the world. It is also a very great way to get to meet new people and learn new cultures. This helps to improve one’s ability to live in unity and peace with other people. The more people meet and interact with people of different cultures, the more they are likely to learn how to associate with them peacefully. Therefore this tourism removes barriers of ignorance, hatred and disunity and it creates an open platform for all people to associate freely.

Places of religious worship

missujn — Wed, 01 May 2013 21:21:41 +0000

All religions have a place of worship somewhere in the world. This place of worship has a special significance to certain religions. These cities are associated in some way with the religion, whether it be the birthplace or a religious leader, the location of their most popular temple or the origin of which their God comes from. Jews, Muslims, Christians and even Scientologists have a special place in the world that means something to them. Some even share a place of worship. Here are list to name just a few.

Bethlehem, Israel.

Bethlehem is a holy city and a place of worship because many believe this is where Jesus Christ was born. It is also a place of worship for Muslims because they also believe in Jesus Christ. In the Old Testament is says that Bethlehem as the home of David, therefore Jews also see Bethlehem as a holy place. Bethlehem is also very recognizable because it features in many Christmas carols.

Varanasi, India.

Varanasi is located in North Central India. Hindus worship this city. They believe that if they die in this city, they will be given salvation and allowed into heaven. Varanasi is also known as one of the oldest cities in the word. The city contains over 1,500 places of worship and is on the banks of the River Ganges.
Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

Muslims hold Mecca as the most Holy city in the world. The reason this city is their chosen place of worship is because it is the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H). Thousands of Muslims make pilgrimages to Mecca every year, and every Muslim in the world aims to visit this Holy city at least once in their lifetime. Mecca’s economy thrives off the amount of visitors they get throughout the whole year.

Do You Know These Religions?

missujn — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 10:47:50 +0000

Nobody has ever been wrong like you if you thought that your religion is the only one that exists. The world is amazingly full of religions. Some have grown and dies as they are overshadowed by others, their followers die or even get merged with other bigger religions.

Sometimes it is hard to notice these religions because we tend to focus only on the large and common of them like Christianity and Islam. A keen interest in little known religions you will find out that though there are beliefs that are rather weird, most of these believe in the same God and share couples of more beliefs only the name of the religion and the following is different. Take a look of these religions and decide whether they are actually little or it is me who is less informed.
Taoism is a religion based on the belief in Tao. Tao is the force of life and the origin of the world. To followers of this religion, nature is very important and should not be interfered with. People should live in kindness. Here, there is no God or gods neither is there praying. Meditation is the link of nature with man.

Everybody is equal before God in Sikhism. At least here there is God and man should strive to establish a good relationship with him.

Animalism and Shamanism believe in animate and inanimate things. They have the capacity to know things that happen in the world of man. These things have a soul, therefore they can die.

Harmony and well being of the people in a society is key in Confucianism. Believers believe in the existence of god who requires people to live in harmony and exercise compassion, honesty and love.

Zoroastrianism this is probably the oldest religion on earth. Modern common religions draw there. The lead belief is in one god the creator of heaven and earth.

Uniquely Bizarre Religions

missujn — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 10:44:08 +0000

You have probably heard of cults and free masonry. All these claim to be religious organizations founded on certain beliefs of a supernatural being. While it is not our mandate to judge them, it is increasingly becoming important to be critical of what we believe.

The world today is full of people who have the sole intention of misleading people. You will notice that my previous articles have not taken a certain course of line. I have been talking generally of things observable. It is still my intention to remain that way. Only what I am doing is state facts that maybe you would rather not listen. Okay I will give it to you straight – These religions are bizarre:

The Church of Euthanasia

One slogan that interests me with this church abbreviated (CoE) is “Kill yourself,” that keeps me thinking why the members have not done so Yet. Chris Korda of Massachusetts U.S.A is the founder of this church. The aim of the religion is to create a balance between human population and that of other living things. What makes it bizarre for me is their commandment “Thou shall not procreate.” It advocates for sodomy and cannibalism.

Nation of Yahweh

It is an organization that turned to church after braking from Black Hebrew Israelites. It consists mainly of African – American who believe that they are the original Israelites and aim at returning to Israel.

Creativity Movement

I must say that this is an overly racist religion for the whites. It was formed by Ben Klassen. After his death Matthew F. Hale became the high priest. There is no god in this religion. The whites are the creators here.

Universe People

Ivo A Benda is at the center of this religion orbiting the earth. It is based on a kind of civilization that center on communication with Iva A Benda.

How Christian Literature, The Bible is Organized

missujn — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 14:41:45 +0000

Like many other religions, Christians have their own literature. The main one is the Bible. It is famous and most common in the word coming from the fact that Christianity is the most spread religion in the world and more dominant in Africa, Europe and America. It is a canonical book. Cannon is a book or collection of many that are believed to be holy or coming from a divine source. The bible seems to have a regular pattern with different books depending on the denomination of the Christian faith. The Roman Catholic bible has some additional books as opposed to the Protestants.
The protestant Bible which has many translations with each having a different name has 66 books. In these, 39 come from a testament that is believed to have been written before the birth of Jesus Christ the savior of the Christians, and 27 books were written after the birth of Jesus Christ.

The books differ in authorship, style, message and time of their writing. The authors are believed to be people who had close relationship with God that he revealed the message that he wanted them to write.

The first book of the complete bible is Genesis which gives an account of the origin of all living things and more importantly that of mankind. The last book of the Bible is called revelation, which gives account of the Day of Judgment in a deep symbolic style.

While most of the books are written in prose, there are other that depict unique styles. The famous book of Psalms is actually poetry while the book of Proverbs just as the name insinuates, is written as wise sayings. There is even a song called Song of Solomon.

The time of writing the bible differ with the content and the situation in which the chosen people of God called Israelites were in.

Islamic Literature – the Quran, How it came to be

missujn — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 14:39:05 +0000

How Islam Literature, the Quran came to be
Being the second most popular and practiced religion in the world, Islam also has a religious literature called the Quran. Those who believe in this religion are called Muslim. Muslims believe in God that they call Allah, the creator of heaven and earth. Allah had a prophet that they called Mohamed how has who have very remarkable impact on this religion and its traditions.
Just as God in Christianity used making to write the Bible, Allah reveled his will and message to his people through Mohamed. At the time of death of prophet Mohamed, there was no concrete Quran, i.e. a complete Quran. It is believed that a close friend of Mohamed gathered the fragments of the Quran together to come up with a compiled fragment of the Quran as they were written by Mohamed.
It seems that from history that the revelations from Allah were not delivered in one sitting but in piece meal at different times. The first chapter of the Quran to be revealed is called Surah – Al –Fatiha.

The order of the bible is widely influenced by the revelation of Allah to Mohamed. Followers of Islam prayed behind this prophet and recited the Quran in the order in which Mohamed spoke. Scholars argue that there is evidence that upon receiving the revelations, Mohamed revealed to the followers that the Arch angel called Gabriel gave instruction on this particular order.

Mushafat is the Islamic jargon for a physical copy of the Quran. Although some books were revealed earlier than others like Surat – Al – Alaq, they were not indicated first in the Quran a topic that calls for further study and a keen sense of history on the Quran in order to come up with a concrete answer. However, part of the answer can be drawn from the order in which Mohamed recited the revelations

Preaching In Islamic Culture

missujn — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 21:58:14 +0000

There is just no second question about the fact that religious believes play an important role in determining the course of cultures and traditions in a particular area. There are different religions in the world and the followers of each of these religions are sensitive about the norms, ethics, regulations and rules of spending lives as lay down by their respective religions. And all these codes of conducts mentioned in the religious books largely affect the way human beings in a particular community live. Islam is one of the most dominant religions of the world. Though it is not as old as most of the other religions, still it has influenced the world more than any other religion. Billions of Muslims living round the world share many a things in common which are actually instructed by Islamic code of conduct. And this makes Islamic culture a pretty diverse and dynamic culture.
Though there have been many misunderstandings about Islamic culture in the West, still this culture has got a lot of charm, harmony, message for peace and brotherhood in it. The label of extremism and fundamentalism has been brutally tagged to Islamic culture in the last ten tor fifteen years which is absolutely unfair. History tells that all religions have been under criticism in the past due to certain misunderstandings but that does not declares a religions unworthy or respect and proper status. Looking into the different values Islamic culture offers, it becomes clear that Islam is actually religion of peace and harmony which values the life of a common man more than any treasure in the universe. And this makes a good sense why Islam focuses so much on developing an air of mutual cooperation, harmony among different religions and different sects. Islamic culture thus preaches universal peace to all!

Explore the World through Faith Tourism

missujn — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 18:25:16 +0000

Faith tourism which in other words is known as religious tourism is the kind of tourism where people visit places of religious significance either as individuals or as groups. Most times, when people do this, they are looking for some kind of religious or personal reawakening and it can go a long way in reestablishing their faith. People often go on these trips for various other purposes as well for instance for leisure and even for purposes of fuelling certain religious demands for instance Muslims who have annual visits to Mecca in Saudi Arabia.
The industry of faith tourism contributes greatly to the percentage of tourists in the world today. It is true that many people engage in tourism for so many other reasons but it is no doubt that the majority do it for religious reasons. Almost every religion or faith has got certain locations that are considered sacred and if someone visited these places, they would get some kind of reward. This is why many people are constantly engaging in this tourism to be able to enjoy these rewards.
Through this tourism, one can be able to explore the world and get to learn about so many new and different cultures. They can be able to learn so many new ways of life and experience many new things when they travel across the world. Most times, if someone is planning to engage in this tourism, there are experts who will help to guide and direct you to the various places. These guides will also give you relevant information about the various places that you might be visiting. This is not only refreshing but also eye opening and it is a good learning ground for anyone hoping to travel. Whether you are going to visit a place for religious reawakening or you are simply thirsty for travel, you can always enjoy from faith tourism in so many ways.

God in India 2

missujn — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 07:07:51 +0000

Many Hindu denominations are associated with the worship of gods and godesses.This gods are normally humanoid or partly and have various forms. The gods are used as a symbolic sign of the supreme God. Some of the deities are like

Shiva

Is the most complex and powerful form of deity in India. Shiva represents death and resolution. Due to his powerfulness his shrine has been put separate from other deities.

Krishna

Krishna is godhead of the Hindu trinity most popular to the Hindus due to his influence in the lives of people and the culture. The blue skinned god has influenced the thoughts of people, religion and philosophy.

Vishnu

Vishnu is believed to be the preserve and sustainer of life by the Hindus. He restores peace and order and has the principles of truth and righteousness.Vishnus followers are known as Vaishnavas.

Lakshimi

Lakshimi is a household goddess of many Hindu families as she is believed to be the goddess of wealth, prosperity and goodluck.She is a favorite among women as she stands for purity, beauty and fertile.

Durga

Durga is a mother goddess believed to be the protector of the righteous and destroyer of evil. She is symbolized by carrying many weapons as she is riding from a lion.

Saraswati

Saraswati is a goddess believed to be in charge of knowledge, wisdom, art and music. She is believed to give the Hindus the power of speech and learning.

Hanuman

This god is normally worshipped during times of trouble as he is believed to be a symbol of physical strength and perseverance. He aided lord Rama in the expedition of evil.

These deities are popular with most Hindus in the world and are believed to be an influence and source of help to worldly issues.

God in India

missujn — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 06:33:52 +0000

The worship of idols in India is a part of their religion. the various idols worshiped are believed to control the forces of nature with each god and goddess have its part to play. They have a particular energy to exhibit. They infuse divine conscious in people by controlling the energies. For a person to fully understand the different forces of nature one has to get the goodwill of many gods and goddesses. The goodwill enables one to develop attributes that will help him/her get spiritual perfection in the spiritual path followed. The gods and goddesses have different shapes and appearances that differentiate them. Their characteristics differ depending on what a particular form of deity symbolizes.

Vishnu

Vishnu as a god of peace, order, righteousness, and truth has a bow to symbolize power, a discus which symbolizes the mind for righteousness, a conch which symbolizes eternity and also the lotus which is meant to symbolize the cosmos. Many Indians believe in Vishnu to be the preserver and sustainer of life.

Krishna

As a symbol of culture, religion and philosophy, Krishna is blue skinned. The god posses a flute which is used to symbolize music as a part of culture to the Indians. Krishna’s forehead has a mark and wears a peacock feather on the head. Krishna is considered to be godhead to the Hindu trinity.

Shiva

Shiva a god that represents death and resolution has three horizontal lines on the forehead. His tripendent is meant to represent the gunas which are three.

Brahma

This god has command over creative and religious knowledge. This command is therefore symbolized by the Vedas he holds in his hands.