Taoism vs.. Buddhism vs.. Christianity

Tao (pronounced ”Dow”) is based on the yin-ying, which means opposites. It’s a Chinese religion based on a psychology and philosophy approach which dates back to 604 BC. The Yin (on the right) expresses everything that is light and good in the universe. In addition, the yang (on the left) expresses everything in the universe that in evil and dark in the dark in the world. According to the the Ying-Yang theory,  you can’t have one without the the other. For instance, everything that’s born will eventually die, if you have day then you must have night, and if you have pain you must have joy. This religion focuses more on expression and experience rather than core beliefs.

The main focus on a path and this will carry you through life. It’s encouraged you focus on the Thi Chi, which is a form of exercise with slow, meditating movements. Taoism is a religion where its followers are taught to not accept the world’s pleasures and not strive for the best. Instead, it teaches its followers to be content with their lives. Taoists are believers that by nature everyone is a good person. In order to practice this belief, they treat everyone with kindness and love. They believe that every individual is born into purity and capable of doing good deeds. 

Where as the afterlife is concerned, Taoists believed it shouldn’t be feared. They consider it part of the yang, just like life is part of the yin. Furthermore, Taoists consider the meaning of life to be constant discipline through diet, health and exercise. While this religion is centralized in China, it has followers worldwide. Across the world, the have over 20 million followers in Taoism. 

Buddhism, which originated in India around 424 BC, has become a major world religion. Siddartha Gautama, an Indian prince, left his wife and son for six years to live an ascetic life. He starts to meditate and after he sees the light of truth, he turns in the Buddha. It’s during this time that he discovered the four noble truths: 1) Life is suffering; 2) Suffering is due to attachment; 3) Attachment can be overcome; and 4) there is a path for accomplishment. He also discovered the eight-fold path: It teaches followers right understanding, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration. All of these are taught through the art of meditation and exercise, similar to Taoism.

One key belief to Buddhism is the belief in karma. It simply states that your actions in this life prepare you for the next life. If you’re good and righteous, then in the next life you’ll be rewarded. However, if you’re evil and condemning, then you will be punished. Another belief they hold is that anything negative can be worked through with meditation, in the sense that meditation allows their followers to feel more positive and relaxed.

Whereas Taoists don’t fear death, Buddhists embrace death. Once you die then you are born again into a new life. Your actions in your new life will depend on how you behaved in the past life. These cycles will be persistent in continuation until the Buddha detaches their self completely from the world around them. The Buddha did not continue onto to another life because he became “enlightened,” and this is the ultimate goal for all Buddhists. This is the fourth largest religion in the world.

Christianity is the oldest religion in the world with millions of followers. It only has one God, Jesus Christ, who is celebrated several times throughout the year. Christians celebrate his birth on Christmas eve/day and he death for their sins around Lent (Easter.) It’s believed that he was born to the virgin Mary and lived his life completely without sin. The New Testament of the Christian Bible is also considered the sacred text to those in the Judaism and Hinduism faiths, and it tells Christians the story of their true savior. Throughout his life he created miracles such as turning water into wine and bringing the dead to life.

When it comes to Christian beliefs, many of them are the same. However, unlike Taoism and Buddhism, Christianity has gotten so large that it’s broken down into several smaller denominations. These are such beliefs as Catholics (oldest of the Christianity religion,) Baptists, Lutherans, Methodists and so on. It’s impossible to go into every belief for every belief, but I’ll cover the big ones. 

First, baptism is a belief that varies widely across the denominations. Lutherans, Methodists and United Church of Christ all baptize their members when they are infants. Similarly, Latter-day Saints baptizes children once they are eight, and Baptists wait until a child reaches their teens. Many of the other denominations either baptize as adults or believe they are saved through their founder of their religion. 

Another varying belief among the denominations is the theory of the afterlife. Catholics believe you go to heaven, and they believe in purgatory–which is the “in between” your soul goes if you have left life with unfichrnished business.In fact, they believe after death the soul is purified for the next afterlife. Silimilarly, Mennonites believe Christians will be raised out the dead from their graves to be with Jesus. In contrast, Assemblies of God and Southern Baptists both believe in rapture and the second coming of Christ. 

While Methodists are the only denomination who declare a belief in judgement, all denominations believe in an alternative of hell as a separation of God and salvation. They believe it’s a place of misery and unhappiness for the deeds done in the past life. The only denomination that believe in heaven as a final destination for the soul are the Catholics, Presbyterians and Methodists. 

Salvation, what you receive through baptism,  varies throughout Christianity. While the Catholics believe that salvation is given upon baptism, they believe it can be lost by mortal sin. The Anglican and Methodist religions both believe that salvation is given upon righteous before God. In contrast to all these, the Presbyterians believe that they God chose them first.

Finally, the resurrection of Christ spreads across the denominations. This is probably the most interesting of the beliefs of all. For instance, Catholics believe this is a real event that is historically verified. The Lutherans and Presbyterian belief that’s it’s a declaration of faith and divine. The Angelican and Methodist beliefs are the only ones that mention Jesus rising again.