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Religion: may 29, 2009 all around the world V O L U M E
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Religions: What’s the real deal behind these spiritual paths.
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I S S U E
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Judaism
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Islam
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Buddhism
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Hinduism
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Christianity
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Credits; Advertisements
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M A Y
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N.G.4 Teens: Special edition What faith do you believe in: Christianity, Catholic, or Judaism? Check out these other worldwide religions! You might be surprise!
Praying is one of the many ways to communicating to and with God. What do you do talk with Him?
INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Contents
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Religious artifacts! See the beautifully and unique artifacts from around the world. There are some that people actually worship; for instance, some worship a cow!
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Contents Page 2 — Contents Page 3 — Judaism [Even though life was rough for them, their faith made it through. Here’s the story behind everything.] Church in the fall, by Michael Works.
Page 4 — Islam [Also located in the Middle East; Islam is close to Judaism.] Page 5 — Buddhism [Yes, this is the famous mediating religion. You might be surprise that is not a religion!] Page 6 — Hinduism [Beautiful festivals and a variety of gods, no wonder India is called Bollywood.] Page 7— Christianity [You all know this one, don’t you? If not, read on!] Page 8 — Credits; advertisements.
A Rabbi: spiritual leader in the Judaism belief.
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Judaism We introduce you in our article, the first of the five religions: Judaism! During this “journey”, we saw and record our learning of each religion. Some might sound familiar to you and others are completely new to you. Judaism was founded by a man: Abraham. Formation & History Abraham started Judaism in Mesopotamia. An interesting fact is Judaism is basically the same concept as Christianity! The Jews have different celebrations & holy days though. They don’t believe that Jesus is the son of god; Abraham was supposed to be the son. They worshipped every Saturday instead of Sunday. Along with that Judaism began in Mesopotamia. Judaism believers believe that God is neither man nor woman. Geography Israel is in the Middle East; home to Jewish and next to Syria & Egypt. Around the world 13.2 million people believe in Judaism. In addition Judaism was founded over 3, 5000 years ago in the Middle East. This is one of the oldest
religions. As to where Jews are located now, they’re mostly located in Israel, Europe and USA. Obviously, there are more to come, with so many people out there. Role of God and the individual The role of God is that He is the ruler of the earth and controls what happens. Jews go to a temple named the “Wailing Wall” located in the Middle East. There, they atone for their sins. The Wailing Wall is said to bring peace and harmony to the world one day. And so, Jews pray every day, hope in their souls. Something interesting is the relationship between the believers and God; Jews try to follow every of God’s whim. Those are the interesting fact about Judaism and hopefully there’s more to come. They only believe in the Old Testament and the Rabbi is their spiritual leader. Practices There are many different practices for Judaism. For instance, a Synagogue is a temple to worship God. There is also Passover, in which Judaism believers do not eat for a certain amount of time or days. Men also wear the small, black hats. Make sure you got pen and paper! There are so many interesting facts of the other religions coming ahead in this issue! The Torah: a scroll containing the Old Testament. It is the first of the three sections of the Hebrew Bible.
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Islam Islam, a religion meaning the submission to God. Formation & History The founder and history of Islam; like other religions out there, Islam is unique in its own way. Firstly, the founder of the religion is Muhammad one of the prophets. Since he was the final prophet, the Qur’an was revealed to him. Moreover, Islam was revealed about 1,400 years ago and it also one of the 3 Monotheistic religions (Judaism and Christianity as the other two). Monotheistic means to believe in one holy God and no others. As for how Islam formed, Muhammad – who was 40 years old at that time- had revelations come to him. Those revelations became the Qur’an in Arabic. Of course, this is not the only information on why Islam is now what it is. Geography As to where the religion Islam most located, it is the Middle East. The number of believers is 1.3 billion worldwide. Islam is the second largest religion worldwide. They live in Arabia back then and still do. The proper name for Islam followers are Muslims. Their symbols, like our fish and dove, is the crescent moon and star. Beliefs God is everything to them. Then again, is He not? For instance, the role of God to Muslims is He is just and powerful. When the time is right, He will judge the individuals according to their actions. The name
for God is “Allah” in Arabic. Muslims obey God in every way no matter what. Between them and Allah, is a sacred bond. They want to be with Him, through spirit, body, and prayer. Practices Their practices are unique. What do you expect from a religion different than yours? Muslims pray 5 times a day; the prayers always recited in Arabic. They also face a certain direction and it is best to pray in a Mosque. Like Judaism, they fast and also do charity. Their spiritual leader is call; sheikh or imam. Their festivities consist of holy days; two Muslim in the Islamic law. You’re probably thinking that Islam is much different than you expect it now. You’ll be in a surprise when you read on of other Students trying to learn religions. The world is a strange about the Qur'an. place to be and what are there are stranger and a wonder.
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Buddhism Famous for its mediation and calm, peaceful demeanor, Buddhism is a cleansing for one’s soul and body. You may surprise that Buddhism isn’t even considered a religion! Buddhism is mainly finding yourself and the meaning of life. As to how Buddha’s practice and worship, you must learn diligently and have patience. There is nothing more interesting than wondering and seeing another religion: the beliefs, God and their gods, their religious buildings. Buddhism is unique, with temples and cleansing one soul. We’re just one paragraph closer to learn Buddhism and how they’re different from everybody else; yet, they’re the same. Formation & History Who were the founders, what were the beliefs of Buddhism? We’re about to find out. First off, Siddhartha Gautama was born in Nepal, 500 BCE. Born in a lavish lifestyle, Siddhartha was shelter from his father. The King did not want his son to see the dangers of the outside world. After being married and living in a shelter life, he decided to explore outside the palace. What he saw was terrible. Sick people, families begging for food and money, death; he could not believe this. Upon seeing the depress events, Siddhartha traveled a long journey; getting rid of everything he was once knew. He came across a tree and decided to sit underneath it. After meditating for so many years underneath a Bodhi tree, revelations came to him. He found Enlightenment and those revelations became the 4 noble truths. He also became the Buddha and the founder of Buddhism. There is no doubt that even the luxurious can the bad and good of life.
Geography Alongside with Siddhartha, there are millions of believers. To begin with, there are 376 million Buddhism followers. More so, there is where the believers live: in Asia near Nepal. Of course, Buddhism is mostly in China or India where there are hundreds of temples. Nothing has change; except having Buddhism in other countries! A final fact is you can worship even at your own house; making it all the better. What better way to find your inner mind with the calm and quiet in your house? Clearly, Buddhism is very unique. Beliefs Buddhism beliefs: not connecting with God per se, but finding something deeper. They do not believe in good but the nature of life. Buddha’s believe anything can change; nothing is permanent. Some of their key writings are the 4 Noble Truths. Buddha’s meditate to be able to connect with their inner self. They go to temples and stay in a cross leg position for the longest time. They do not necessarily believe in God but to work with harmony and a life without man-machinery. Buddhism followers mostly search for the meaning of life. Practices
Buddhism incorporates a variety of rituals practices. For example, one of the many practices in meditation (as we have repeatedly wrote). Meditation is mental concentration and mantras. A mantra is a sacred chant or sound that is usually made or said during meditation. Buddhist also practice mudias. Mudias are symbolic hand gestures usually used while praying. In the end, there are many practices that Buddhists get involve in. Still can’t enough of religions? Good, cause we still have two more to go and one you might be familiar with. Have you notice everything we have about Buddhism is mainly meditation? Find another practice that another religion use in their daily life!
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Hinduism India: a country with beautiful temples and colorful celebrations. When thinking about India, what comes to mind: the festivals, colorful and lavish clothing? How about Hinduism; a religion close to God or Braham, as they would call him? Along with that, the history behind Hinduism is interesting. Did you know that Muslims (followers of Islam) try to destroy the religion and built their religious temples, mosques? They also tried to erase Hinduism all together. Of course, Hinduism is obviously alive and kicking to this day, literally. With chants to pray and rituals to do, no wonder India is so committed to their faith. So much do learn, but isn’t what makes a religion unique in its own way; something out there waiting to be revealed? Formation & history First off, there is no founder for Hinduism. It was though, founded around 2,500 years ago in, where else: India. They believe in Karma: “what comes around, goes around”. Geography There are 900 millions believers; most of them living in India back then and now. Hindu’s also live in the UK and the US. Some of their sacred text are the Vedas, Upanishads, Sutras, and Bhagavad Gita. Hinduism means “river”. Beliefs The key beliefs of the religion are Guru; “gu” means darkness and “ru” means to take away the darkness. When a Hindu dies, and they were a good person, you’ll be reborn, becoming a desire
animal. If you were a person with sins, you would be reborn into am undesirable anime, such as a snake or rat.. Practices Another way to look at Hinduism is through the practices of it. Once you do that you would find that most Hindus worship Puja everyday at home. Puja is the act of showing reverence to a god, a spirit, or another aspect of the divine through invocations, prayers, songs, and rituals. They also have shrines. There are many titles and roles of the Hindu leaders. Mahatma is an honorable title to a great individual such as Mahatma Gandhi and means 'Great Soul'. There is also the practice of prayer and the use of meditation. Strategies include controlled breathing, saying mantras, and a number of mind-expanding exercises, like those to bring out unusual powers; to develop onepointed concentration. With that being said, I hope you now have a whole new visual on the Hinduism religion!
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Christianity We’ve come a long way: from Judaism to Hinduism and now Christianity. With about millions of believers, its no wonder that Christianity is the world’s largest religion. Formation & History We have all heard and learn the story: God send his son, Jesus to atone for our sins. Christianity form out of Judaism; with the separated Jews, they form an organization. That became the beginning of Christianity. Christianity was founded in 33 AD. Born to a young virgin name Mary, there is little behind Jesus’ childhood life. After the age of 30 though, the event s involving Jesus had to be recorded. It was too good to believe. Jesus died on the cross; women wept and men somberly try to help Jesus rest in piece. Geography Christianity is mostly found in North America, South America, and Europe. The believers live around the Middle East back then; they still do. There are 2 billion believers worldwide: North America being the biggest with 159 millions, UK being the second with 51 million. Beliefs They pray whenever and wherever. They do not worship the Virgin Mary, like Catholics. Christians believe in Heaven and Hell, not resurrection. God intended to have each of us one life, there is no resurrection. There are 10 commandants we must follow, and
the 7 deadly sins we musn’t follow. Practices Some of the practices Christians do are first communion and the Eucharist. They go to church every Sunday or Saturday. They also baptize the young and old. They do not eat meat on Fridays on certain months. The symbols for Christianity are the dove, fish and cross. Is your head full of facts and wonders about religions? We sure hope so! Thanks for reading this special issue! Bye!
Jesus: the Son of God.
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This magazine was created by: Nayomi Perez, Da’Nesha Miller, and Diana Colin.