The Anatomy Of Religion By Anthony Wallace

First, this book will guide me to embrace the world as it is. It is written in English, so it may not be same as written by the each religion leaders. Although this book travels freely from Eastern to Western and forth and back to reflect various perspectives, it will help me to see different aspects of the world through others' eyes. Having this kind of view will expand my mind to new things and deepen the understanding the matters.

The book Integrative approaches to psychology and Christianity second edition by David Entwistle introduces the text by explaining how psychology can go in a direction, and Christian theology approach can lead in a different direction. He continued by stating the need for understanding and studying human behavior because people come from different walks of life and different expectations. It leads us to form unique perspectives to help give us an understanding of the individuals you encounter. The Entwistle 's book addresses the relationship between Christianity and culture, Christianity and science, and Christianity and psychology.

In his book, A Critical Introduction to the Study of World Religions, Craig Martin aims to introduce undergraduate students to a socio-functional approach in exposing the methods in which religion disrupts class equality. He succeeds by using intelligible explanations, arguments, and examples to skeptically understand how man is shaped by religion.

The Rastafari movement is a positive movement that promotes peace amongst all, self-respect, self -awareness, and respect for others.

The book Anatomy of the Sacred was an interesting read. I’ve learned a lot concerning

This will be based on the chapter 4 Religion as "Truth-Claims", posted on Blackboard. First of all, Dianne L. Oliver makes a preface about her writings saying that religions claim to get the truth, and followers of diverse religions say that their truth is the only one true, and cannot be compare with any other. Also, she remarks that many of those religion followers use violence to uphold their own version of truth. Moreover, she let us know that she is going to consider the "True-Claims" of different religions, and show how those claims can influence the practices, behaviors, and ideas of religion followers. Next to the introduction, she considers that religion is very essential for understanding the fundamental questions in our daily lives.

The period of slavery in Jamaica have left a number of legacies that the current Jamaican people continues to embrace. Some of these legacies are positive ones while some

Christianity and Rastafarianism are both rooted in Judaism and draw from the Hebrew sacred scriptures. Rastafarianism evolved as a reaction to the Christianity that was imposed upon African-American slaves and their descendents. There are several other aspects in which these two religions are similar, the purpose of this paper is to explore some of those similarities.

“From the shantytowns of Kingston, Jamaica, to the cobblestones streets of Great Britain, reggae music was a powerful and liberating voice for the poor and oppressed. In the last thirty years, reggae stars Bob Marley, Burning Spear, and Alpha Blondy have sung “redemption” songs- messages of human rights and universal love in a “Babylonian” world of civil unrest, political instability, and economic collapse”(Bays, King, and Foster, 2002, p. XI). Bob Marley was the most famous reggae artist to bring popularity upon the music; selling over 20 million records worldwide. His songs such as “One Love” and “Redemption Song” were inspired by the effects of oppression upon blacks in Jamaica. Marley's persona for unity and peace among people throughout the world was an inspiration for Jamaicans. Most blacks in Jamaica during the 1960s suffered from economic hardships and racial discrimination. This in turn marked the beginning of a religious movement called Rastafarinism where reggae music was an element that distinguished Rastafarians from the rest of society. According to Chang and Chen, British colonial authorities and the local establishment viewed Rastafarians; forthright espousal of black unity and pride, and their unconventional appearance and customs, as threats to the existing social order. (Chang, Chen, 1998. p.26) Reggae music allowed blacks to have pride of their culture and not limited themselves to the demeaning social orders in

Huston Smith -----The World's Religions Huston Smith first wrote this book The World’s Religions with the name The Man’s Religions in 1958. Since then the book has remained a renowned literary and religiously popular among the literary as well as the religious circles. The book provides a good source of nearly all the prominent religions of the world, gives us an understanding, and insight and the point of view of these religions. His first chapter of the book is Point of Departure. In this chapter, Huston explains his journey though various religions. Though it is just an overview of his thoughts and beliefs, it gives a premise of what lay ahead. In the fist paragraph of this chapter that reads: “Traditionally, When People Wanted Answers to life's ultimate questions -- Where are we? Why are we here? What does it all mean? What, if anything, are we supposed to do? -- they looked to their revealed texts; or to their ancestral myths if they were oral peoples (it comes to the same thing). Since the rise of modern science, however, they have turned increasingly to it for answers. This is understandable, for controlled experiments enable science to prove its theses; and with those theses it has remade the world. It is a signal feature of our century's close that we recognize that this turn to science was mistaken. Not entirely mistaken, for science (and its spin-off, technology) have their place. What was mistaken was to expect science to answer ultimate questions, for its

Rastafari is an African religion that is still relatively new. The religion was developed in the 1930s in Jamaica after Haile Selassie was named the King of Ethiopia. The followers of this religion believe that Selassie is God and that he will return all of the black people displaced from slavery and colonization to Africa. Bob Marley’s music and success helped spread the religion. The Rastafarians believe that black people are the chosen people of God. Some of the religious practices in the religion include smoking and inhaling marijuana. The purpose of the marijuana is to increase a person’s spiritual state of mind and awareness. Most Rastafarians have long

Rastafari is, before it is anything else, a way of life. It offers approaches and answers to real problems black people face in daily living; it promotes spiritual resilience in the face of oppressive poverty and underdevelopment. It produces art, music and cultural forms, which can be universally recognized and appreciated. More important, Rastafari provides a positive self-image, an alternative to people who need and cannot find or accept one elsewhere. Even with its black foundation and orientation, Rastafarianism is open to anyone, of any race, who chooses to discover and is able to accept it.

As long as humans have walked the Earth, we have sought out answers. Answers for questions like: "Why are we here? Where do we go when we die? Where did we come from? and What's that?" How different people answered these questions is important to study because it shows us the spiritual side of human nature. Especially now, a time of conflict between Islam and Western Civilization, it is important to look back and trace the evolution of religion. To see where we started and perhaps, gain some perspective into what is happening now and what may happen in the future.

The music of Jamaica began five centuries ago, when Columbus colonized the land of the Arawak Indians. This dates the start of oppression by first the Spanish and then the English in this area of the Caribbean. Blacks were brought in as slaves by the English, and although Jamaica has had it's independence since 1963, the tension of authority and control still reigns. Jamaica is a story of injustice, international influence, ineffective governing, and unequal distribution of wealth; all of these elements provide a solid base for the theme of oppression and the need for a revolution and redemption in Jamaican music. Reggae in particular reflects these injustices, and the feelings, needs and desires to change the lifestyle that Jamaicans have historically lived. Reggae music has two meanings. It’s generic name for all Jamaican popular music since 1960, West Indian style of music with a strongly accented subsidiary beat. Reggae can also refer to the particular beat that was extremely popular in

Like in the earlier years, it can be seen in this story that Christianity was the most dominant and highly accepted religion in Jamaica. Having contrasting beliefs and practices, individuals would be shunned and ostracized. The author illustrates this idea by showing how Darren’s passionate beliefs in Rastafarianism had resulted in him being kicked out of his house. He was told to “never to come back until he had given up that Rasta foolishness.” Today, the Caribbean has become religiously diverse with a tolerance for different