Download File

Andrews 1
Tyler Andrews
Suzanne Jacobs
World Religions 2300-002
December 2012
Expressing Belief Through Worship
Final Project
Andrews 2
In my observations of various religious groups, I have come up with several ideas on how
they like to do their worship, and how they like to practice the religion itself. Most religions have
a sacred text or manual they follow to help guide them to an upper presence. Some religious
groups live exactly by the book they follow and other groups not so much. The way each religion
shows their love for a certain deity is different in many aspects all over the world. The way I
have seen the people live their different religions almost tells me they do not believe in anything
at all. They do not practice or follow as they say.
So, some religions live by a book or sacred text and that is what they follow to help
themselves feel spiritually engaged. For example, when I was visiting the Jewish Mosque, they
had many different sets of the Torah. They sang and danced a little while performing prayer and
other religious things that were known sacred to them, and they did it with the Torah around. The
members of the congregation were kissing it and saying words of praise as they walked it around
the room.
During my visit of the Sikh religion, they also had a sacred text. The text was up at the
front of the room of worship and symbolic and religious understanding surrounded it. The people
of the congregation and leaders of the Sikhs were singing praise loudly and had English
translation for the language they used. The text of the Sikhs seemed like it was just words in a
book they lived by, but it brought them great joy on the day of their worship and in their lives
totally.
When I visited the Catholic Church in downtown Salt Lake City, we were welcomed with
happiness and joy from other members of the congregation. The Holy Bible is the sacred text the
Christian church uses for teachings of and from Jesus Christ. The Christians read out of the bible
and learn of what Jesus had to teach in his day of biblical times. The prophets in the bible wrote
Andrews 3
of Jesus and that is what the members of the Christian churches try to learn and follow today.
Although there are many translations of the bible, they all say pretty much the same things. The
different sects in the Christianity faith are all held together by a common book, the Holy Bible,
which in most Christian religions is, translated pretty much the same. Jesus Christ was baptized
in the Jordan River. Even though Jesus was said to have been perfect, he was baptized as an
example to people. Baptism is in the bible and the Christian faith believes in it, whether is it
baptism by immersion, water sprinkling, or baptism by fire, the Christians believe in it. Jesus
also gave out the sacrament that people should always remember Him and partake of his body
and blood. Symbolically speaking, bread and wine/water. All these teachings were of Jesus in the
bible.
I do not believe that all religions live by their sacred text. Some faiths will read and tell
you what to do to return back to a heavenly place, but in reality it is hypocritical of them because
they do not follow the faith as they teach. They may not be liars or thieves but they should
definitely try to live the religion they teach more than not live the lives they believe get them to
their happy place.
When I went to the Sikh temple I feel like they represented what they believe in very
well. They were also very nice and welcoming to me as I got in the building. I was offered food
upon my arrival and a nice place on the floor to sit to observe the singing and religious practices.
Both sexes had to cover the top of their head with a turban, towel, or bandana. I just wore a
beanie and that was fine with them. I do not know of all the teachings of the Sikh religion and
the book they possess but it seemed to me that they were living their religion how it teaches them
in the book. I was not initially comfortable being there because I did not know what exactly to
expect from them, but they welcomed me in pretty well.
Andrews 4
The Jewish church seemed to have been living by the book as well. Even though I do not
speak Hebrew, it felt as if they were doing the right thing for the crowd. I was in that crowd, and
it was very interesting to watch them represent themselves the way they did. A young man who
knew I was lost and he pointed me the right way greeted me at first. It was nice knowing the
hope for our future is maybe not as lost as we think it is, or at least not as lost as I was trying to
find the congregation. The Jews welcomed us in with open arms and offered up a type of
Sacrament to go along with the praise. The singing done was pretty cool, it was mostly in
Hebrews and if I could understand it, it may have brought me closer to God. I liked the
representation of the Torah and how they kept it sacred. It shows me even though not all
churches live by the book, they still have good values, but this group of Jewish people really
took it home, the way they represented the Torah.
The Christian church is one that has so many different stories and versions of the faith
that you do not know which one to particularly follow until you find the right one for you that
sounds good. All the Christian faiths have the Holy Bible but they have different versions wit
different teachings. The main idea in the Bible is the same but it is translated so many different
ways that any two different copies could get somebody lost. Not all Christian faiths live as they
are taught, or live by the book. Some people are very judgmental of other people and do not want
to accept them as they are. Jesus never taught people to judge other people, so why do they
Christians do it to each other? Ultimately Jesus is the judge and He taught that in the bible. I am
sure that other religions have controversial topics as well, but Christianity is so big here in the
West that it is almost the only thing you ever hear about when it comes to religions and them not
following what they teach. If Jesus taught a certain type of baptism, should everyone get
baptized the same way or do it differently like they do? Lots of topics can be picked on and
Andrews 5
argued about here but the main point I am trying to get across is that not everyone lives the
religion they worship or show praise to, but the idea of the religion they have could possibly send
them the direction they want.
The Buddhist religion prays to Buddha and believes in reincarnation. They show so much
love for the Buddha and believe that through him, it is the only way to have a perfect state of
mind. The Buddhists in my opinion are very good to the religion the live and they show much
love towards the deity that they feel they will always be blessed and live good lives one day.
Maybe not now or in the past, but possibly in the future they will hit where they want to stay and
be happy forever more.
The Hinduism people also believe in reincarnation as the Buddhists do. The Hindu people
have certain stages of lives they live and get better each time. They have more than one deity
they represent but each is for a different state of being. They have one ultimate they believe to be
a God as in an almighty leader, but they also have other Gods that control other aspects and parts
of life that get them through everyday things. They also show much love for their leaders.
The Sikh people sang a song while I was there about God coming to rescue them. They
were playing instruments and having a good time. The words in the songs of their worship
showed me how much they love their God to, and want to come back to live with Him again.
The Sikhs represented themselves very well and being very kind, which is probably the same
way their God acts towards them and makes them a happy people.
The Jewish people love God and praise him in song and prayer. Jesus was a Jew and held
almost all the tools they thought possible to be the Son of God and be a Savior to them, but
according to them he lacked something special. The Jews look at Jesus as a good man, but not
the Son of God because of the mistakes that were not shown while Jesus was here. As far as the
Andrews 6
Hebrew translation of works goes, it seems to me the Jewish people love their God as well, and
are just waiting for a Savior to come again and lift them up among the world.
The Christian faith can go all day long on the subject of loving their God. Some Christian
faiths believe in the Trinity, which are God, Jesus, and The Holy Spirit are all one being. Other
Christian faiths believe that they are three separate beings, each having their own body of flesh
and blood. Some Christian faiths also believe in Mary as being more important than God because
she bore the baby Jesus as a virgin.
The things I have ultimately learned of this class are that religious diversity is huge in the
world. A great percentage of the people of the world have a different view. None of us know
exactly which religion is the most correct or if a religion really should exist at all. What if there
is no upper superiority or God? Religion could just be a huge waste of time for some people.
Even if there is no God or higher being, people still can follow their religion and be happy.
Religion is a faith-based thing in this life. You obviously cannot see exactly every choice you
make as good or bad in Gods or another deities eyes. The faith people have is what brings them
closer to their god and is what makes them happy. Whether or not you sing and dance in your
religion or just sit there quietly, all representations of a God are of a loving upper being and the
people of the Earths many religions love Him back.
I felt uncomfortable at first walking into the other religions buildings, but as I saw what
they were all about and how they treated me, and each other, I got more comfortable. These
people love their God and they love to sing and praise worship. This is one of the reasons why I
see the inside of looking at a religion and looking at the inside are two completely different
aspects. If you really want to get to know a religion better, you should go visit them and check it
out for yourself before you judge from the outside. It may or may not be for you in the end but
Andrews 7
you will gain some personal experience and learn to grow from it. The outside of a religion can
make them look bad for certain things past leaders have done. The inside of a religion and its
base teachings are the things you need to look at before you judge a book by its cover.
The religions I have studied abroad all show that they have love for their deities and the
people that come each week to support and worship with them. Some may not all follow how
their religion is being taught but they sure will show you some heart hen you get in there. Do not
judge them for what you hear but go experience it yourself and see what you can bring out of it.
Andrews 8
Works Cited
No works cited: All opinions in this paper are based 100% of my observations and experiences.