Risultati letto da "Ben Kingsley" in Tutte le categorie

The traditional religion known as Shinto was present in Japan from prehistoric times, long before Buddhism and other traditions arrived from the Asian continent. Shrine Shinto, centered around local shrines and seasonal festivals, has greatly influenced Japanese culture. Sect Shinto is characterized by more highly organized institutions, which attract many members; folk Shinto consists of beliefs and practices apart from these institutions, especially in the home.

The early myths of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Asia Minor, Canaan, Greece, and Rome have greatly and continuously influenced all of Western culture and civilization. Myths rely on imagination and intuition; they express fervently held convictions about the ultimate nature of things, exploring the mysteries of life and death, passion and suffering. Today, theological interest is resurging in goddess worship, and other early nature-based religions are receiving a renewed attention.

Hinduism is a very broad term for the religious practices and doctrines of the Indian people. This tradition is believed to have begun in about 1800 BCE with religious poems known as the Vedas. Hinduism is best known in the west through the doctrines of Advaita, the belief that there is only one ultimate reality. Advaitans, however, worshipped a range of icons that represented the separate manifestations of the ultimate Brahman.

Islam today is a rapidly growing religion: Indonesia, the most populous Islamic land, has well over 100 million Muslims. Islam means "submission to the will of God"; Muslims are "submitters" to God's will as it was communicated to the prophet Muhammad in a series of divine revelations. Islam began in the seventh century, and had evolved into various forms, including Sunni and Shi'ah Muslims, Sufi mystics, and others. It has been and remains one of the most significant influences in the world.

Christianity arose within the social and spiritual dislocation of the Roman Empire. Jesus, perceived by authorities as a threat to public stability, was executed in about 30 CE; his crucifixion and belief in his resurrection became a defining symbol for world-wide Christian religion.

The compelling, beautiful narrative of Code Name God is one man's rags-to-riches story and, more profoundly, the vision of a world-class physicist seeking to integrate the findings of science, religion, and spiritual quest.

The religious practices and understandings of small indigenous societies are recognized by many to be in no way inferior to other religious beliefs. Many such cultures still exist; their prescientific, even prehistoric social and intellectual pattern includes shamans, sacrifices, totems, animism, taboos, and certain rituals and myths that reflect their unique and increasingly rare way of life.

North, Central, and South American Indians have a rich religious heritage, though much has been lost since these peoples were conquered by Europeans. Characteristic features of Native American religion included the master of the animals, a protective spirit of a species or of all animals. Shamans, ecstatic medicine men, used supernatural powers to cure the ill. Totemism was a mysterious religious bond between the human clan and their animal guardians.

Confucius (551-479 BCE) taught a moral wisdom that would become a predominant social force in China from the second century BCE until the mid-20th century. Confucianism does not teach a central doctrine that a God or gods should be worshipped, but it does embrace a system of ritual and emphasizes humanistic virtues and values. Daoism is both a philosophy and a religion, seeking a life and a mind in harmony with nature.

Judaism is more than a religion; it is a civilization, including a people, a language, unique laws, a system of ethics, customs, a homeland, and a theology. Jews worship one God and obey a wide-ranging and vigorous moral law centered around the Torah, God's teaching or instruction. Jewish sacred literature preserves the ancient oral tradition through the Hebrew Bible and other writings.

Protestant Christianity began in the early 16th century as a reform movement directed against Roman Catholic doctrines and practices. Early leaders such as Martin Luther and John Calvin laid out the movement's foundational principles, which emphasized the individual's relationship to God and scripture through the Bible and God's grace rather than through the authority of the church.

The longstanding ideas of humanism, agnosticism, and atheism have increasingly challenged traditional religious doctrines or practices. Yet reason alone often fails to secure the commitments and values of a healthy personal and communal life; spiritual and emotional life can diminish to the dangerous level of nihilism and despair. Meanwhile, some theologians have challenged the "truth" of any religion with the radical view that all beliefs are equally true.

The religious ideas and practices of African peoples have much in common with each other, and with related religions in the Caribbean and the Americas. African Islam and African Christianity have developed separately since their earliest time in Ethiopia, Egypt, and the Sudan.

Buddhism began with Gotama the Buddha in the sixth century BCE and has developed two chief forms: Theravada (or Hinayana) is found especially in Sri Lanka, Burma, and Thailand; Mahayana is found in Japan, China, Korea, and Indochina. Zen, a more recent form of Buddhism, is found throughout the world. Some believe Buddhism is not properly understood as a religion, though this presentation describes its religious qualities.