Arguably, there are many religions in this world and they differ in terms of the environment that the followers live in, their beliefs as well as other factors. The major objective of these religions is to worship their God in various ways. Evidence shows that other than the fact that all religions are about worshiping and adoring who or what they belief in, there are other similarities as well as differences between these religions as well, (Zizek, 2000, pp. 657-81). Therefore, this essay will be limited to the analysis of the differences as well as similarities between Christianity and the Eastern religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism.
Notably, Eastern Religions refer to those religions that emanate from eastern world in such countries as Japan, China, southern Asia and India. To begin with, according to Eastern religions, more especially the Hindu, take their god as an impersonal god. Precisely, this means that their God has no any personal characteristics; for instance, thinking, knowing as well as loving. It should also be noted that most of the eastern religions worship more than one god. For instance, according to Hinduism there are three gods: Brahma who is the creator, Siva, who is the destroyer, and Vishnu, who is the preserver. Moreover, dead religious leaders as well as ancestors are also adored among the Hindus. Reincarnation is also a common belief in most eastern religions, (Haring and Metz, 2003. Pp. 91-6). They belief that when an individual dies, his/her spirit is offered to other earthly bodies such as another person, an animal or a god according to the kind of life that he/she lived.
On the other hand, Christian God is considered to be a personal God based on the assumption that he poses characteristics. Additionally, unlike most of the eastern religions that worships more than one God, Christians believes in one and supreme God, (Lefebure, 1993, pp. 45-9). Christians do not belief in reincarnation but they belief that when one dies that is sleeping and they will wake up during the second coming of Jesus Christ. Lastly, Christians belief that the sticking to the teachings of the bible is the only way to get salvation, while the eastern religions belief that there are various ways in which salvation can be obtained, (Silk, 2007, pp. 64–81).
Finally, despite all the differences discussed above, the Eastern religion and Christianity have similarities. Notably, both religions believe in God. Precisely, they believe in a certain divine figure who they consider as being their god. The other similarity is that, both of them follow a written book. Christians follow the teachings of the bible which they belief was written by people who were being guided by the Holy Spirit. Prayer is common in both religions as well. Lastly, the goals of both religions are to be united with their God, (Eck, 2001. Pp. 123-6).
Work Cited
Eck, Diane, A New Religious America: How a "Christian Country" Has Become the
World's Most
Religiously Diverse Nation .San Francisco: Harper, 2001.
Haring, Herman and Metz. Reincarnation or Resurrection? Maryknol, SCM Press, 2003.
Lefebure, Leo D. The Buddha and the Christ, Explorations in Buddhist and Christian Dialogue,
Maryknol, New York, 1993.
Silk, Mark. Defining Religious Pluralism in America: A Regional Analysis, 612, 2007, pp. 64–81
Zizek, Slavoj. "Melancholy and the Act" Critical Inquiry 26.4 (summer, 2000): 657-81.
