How To Research Religions Properly?
- Monday - 21/02/2022 02:54
- Close page
TOPIC 3
HOW TO RESEARCH RELIGIONS PROPERLY?
INTRODUCTION
Someone said: “All religions had almost a common teaching is to do good deeds.”
There had been a lot of religions and human beliefs in the world. Everybody almost has one or two religions, including human beliefs. Someone has no religion. All of us follow religions or human beliefs due to tradition, culture, and particularly, we follow the parent`s religions (Familysreligion). This was almost obligatory. You were not free to choose on religion for yourself. It had been very seldom that someone researched and selected one religion for themselves. The reasons are not easy to know how to research about religions and human beliefs. Therefore, many peoples follow religions without researching. If you researched and understood religions clearly, then you select for yourself an ideal and proper religion. This religion will benefit your spiritual life. This depends on your decision.
Western scholars and researchers said that you want to study or to research any religion clearly. You should open your mind; you have to use your wisdom and knowledge; you must be objective, then you realize all matters positives or negatives exactly. If you love to trust anyone; you would like to develop your belief absolutely and you realize religions by your subjective opinions, then you can not understand religions' right view and exactly. You are not able to be a researcher for the public. So, if you wish to be a researcher, you should be objective, then your belief will be right view and have ideal.
For thousands of years ago, human beings had undergone a lot of suffering such as sufferings of storms, earthquakes; sufferings of wars; sufferings of starvation; sufferings of injustice in society; sufferings of unhappiness family; sufferings of old age, sickness, and death; sufferings of samsara, etc. Those were reasons why human beings needed a holy person who could liberate their sufferings. Particularly, He could rescue them after death. These are the most happiness for them. From those beliefs, human beings established religions and the names of the object of belief. At the same time, they wrote theory through experiences of human beliefs and human morality. How could we say that? Because the object of belief did not have history. So no one could know them; no one could see them, absolutely not true. The creator god came from dreams and imagination.
So, how can we research and realize religions properly? The western religious researchers said: “If you want to know about religions clearly, then you are able to research about the object of belief”. They guided us to research the following basic items: I. History of religion; II. History of the object of belief; III. Theory.
SUMMARY
Introduction
I. History of religion
1. History of religion
2. Who was the founder of religion?
3. Who was the belief object?
II. History of the belief object of religion.
- History of the belief object.
3. The belief object`s ability
III. Theory
1. To whom did he give teachings?
2. Where did he give teachings?
3. When did he give teachings?
I. History of religions:
* Definition: What is religion?
Firstly, we define what religion is. The researcher said that religion worships the creator god. He created the earth, human beings, and everything. Therefore, human beings worship him and pray for favors, etc. They hope that He rescues them to paradise after death. Without Him, they will be born in hell being. Each religion had a different name of the creator god.
1. When did religion establish?
If you want to know the history of religion, then you have to make questions:
a) When did this religion establish?
For example, it was established in the third century BC.
b) Where did this religion come from?
For example, it came from India.
2. Who was the founder of this religion?
You ought to find out the history of the founder.
a) Who was the founder of this religion?
If there was no founder, then this religion derived from human belief.
b) Was there a history of the founder or not?
You can learn the history of the founder. And what were the reasons that he established this religion? As you know that there were no religions that came from nature.
3. Who was the belief object of this religion?
All religions had the belief object of religions to worship and to pray favors. So, you can find out who was the object of belief; what were his name and his pictures? Then next, you research his history.
II. History of the object of belief:
What is a superstitious person?
If you have believed and worshiped one person absolutely, but he had no history, then he was not true. It means that you were a superstitious person. In this case, you believed and worshiped a person as a holy person. But he actually was not a holy person. Then, you were also a superstitious person. These are reasons why you should research the object of belief before you worship and trust him absolutely. Before we find out the history of the object of belief, then we should know what the definition of the belief object is.
* The object of belief:
The object of belief is worshiped by believers, followers.
Example: Someone worships Him as a Saint, a God, a Creator God, a holy person, etc.
* The Priest: The priest who introduces history and theory of the object of belief. They are also representatives of religions. But they are not founders of religions.
* The followers: The follower who worships and studies the theory of the object of belief.
The religious researchers guided us in researching the history of the belief object as following 3 points: 1) History; 2) Practice; 3) Theory
1. History of the object of belief:
Someone asks: “If you trust anyone absolutely, but they did not have history. Are they true or not? You surely reply: “not true”, because they did not have history. No one knew where they lived and how they were.
If they did not have parents, then they did not have bodies. They did not have bodies. What can you base on to know they are good or bad; they are human beings or saints? how about their practices?
If they did not have bodies, then how do they give teachings to others. In this case, they did not have bodies. Can they give teachings to others people by feeling or by dreams? Surely, it is not. Therefore, they had no bodies and had also no teachings. So, who did not have history, it means that he came from in your dreams and imaginations.
That is why we must research the history, biography of the object of belief true or not? In this case, the object of belief did not have history. Then, all followers would be superstitious. Because they trusted a person absolutely not true. Thereby, we research their histories.
2. The practice of the belief object
We should confirm him as a saint, a holy person, a Buddha, or a god. If he was a saint, then, we find out about his study and practice.
The researcher asks: “Are there anyone who becomes a doctor, a dentist without study and practice?” You surely reply no.
The researcher asks: “Are there anyone who becomes a saint, a Buddha, a god without study and practice?” You surely reply no. If the object of belief was a saint or a holy person, then, we find out their study and practice. In this case, he did not have any study and had no practice to become a saint. Then, we conclude that this saint is his only name; He is a fake saint.
3. The belief object`s ability:
If the object of belief had been recognized as a saint, a god, then we find out that he had the ability to guide everyone to become a saint, a god or not?
If someone gave you medical knowledge and guided you to become a doctor, then we confirm that he was a doctor.
So, the object of belief was a saint, a god, then you should know that he had the ability to guide you to become a saint, a god or not? If he had no ability for that, he was not a real saint. He was a fake Saint. Saint is only a name.
III. Theory - Teachings:
Now you make questions like the following:
1. To whom did He give teachings?
2. Where did He give teachings?
3. When did He give teachings?
If you did not discover these three questions above. Then you can confirm these teachings, not from the belief object of religion. This theory was written by human beings.
In this case, the theory belongs to the belief object. So, how can we realize what are negatives and positives? You can base on the following items:
1. No god taught you to disrespect to parents. His teaching can guide you to pay gratitude to parents.
2. No god taught you to do any evils. For examples killing, stealing, telling lies, etc. because no God gets punished for your crimes. Those who committed crimes will be punished. That is justice. If you caused crimes; Police will put you in prison. Then, no God can rescue you from the prison. But Gods are able to advise you to change your mind and guide you on how to create better karmas.
3. The teachings benefit you and others. But if teaching benefits you and on the contrary that harms others. These teachings did not suit moral ethics.
4. Theory must be logic for human morality.
Example: No killing, no stealing, no sexual misconduct, no telling lie, no use of alcohol, etc.
5. Does theory suit cause and effect law or not?
Example: Someone tells you: “Mr. Peter is a saint”. Saint is an effect. Then you ask: “How did he become a saint?” If they did not know or reply that he came from nature. Do you believe that? You surely reply no. This case does not suit cause and effect law.
6. Theory suits the truth and science.
Example: He said that he came from nature. He had a human body like you. How could he come from nature? It did not suit Science and reality. So, we must check it.
7. If the theory is holy teaching. So, can holy teachings guide other peoples to be holy persons? If impossible, then it was not holy teachings.
These are basic items for us to realize positives and negatives.
You trust anyone absolutely, you can not be a good human being. Unless, you must think positive, talk positive, and do positive. Maybe, you will be a good human being. It means that you change your mind, then you can change your life.