L. Reynolds Andiric - Getting It, Then Getting Along: Understanding the worlds five major religions

Copyright: Linda R. Andiric

Print ISBN: 978-1-54399-117-8

eBook ISBN: 978-1-54399-118-5

Library of Congress Control Number:

All rights reserved. None of the contents of this book may be reproduced in any format except for short excerpts used for reviews or comments without the written permission of the author.

Printed in the USA

Table of Contents

IMPORTANT to read!

My goal in writing this book is for the reader to learn about five major religious paths that are practiced by a majority of peoples in the world todaymost likely because of their heritage and/or place of birth. If, after gaining a broader insight into each of the spiritual practices, the outcome is a better understanding of the religious beliefs of others, I have achieved my mission. Greater understanding will hopefully translate not only into respect for others beliefs, but religious diversity may even be valued.

The earth is large enough to accommodate us all, regardless of our different perspectives and ideologies. Ultimately this acceptance and respect for our different ideologies might save our planet and all of us together may be able to resolve our greatest threats.

Please consider carefully the information and explanations in the interim chapters describing the five major religions and seek to walk momentarily in the shoes of others who follow each path. Try to develop empathy for them. The worth of any book is to change the reader for the better in some small way. My aim for this book is to help halt the violence against others by fostering understanding in reference to their spiritual beliefs. The reader is encouraged to regard our differences with a positive attitude and consider that the sum of our beliefs might be truly greater than our individual philosophies and together as a global community, we can work together to find solutions needed by all. As a result, our planet could be free of war, disease and the misuse of nature. If this can work for religion, it can also work for race, gender, politics or any of the things that divide us.

My sincere thanks also to: Sally Ryden, Ghada Chatila, Phyllis Bransky, Marie and Jim Akers for their valuable suggestions and critiques of this manuscript.

Dear Reader,

When I was five years old, I went to Sunday school and listened as my teacher read stories from both the Old and New Testament. My mother also read them to me from a Bible storybook that had pictures of Noah and pairs of animals marching to the ark; or baby Jesus in the manger; or Jesus with fishermen, and Jesus with small children. The illustrations in the book were very colorful and remain embedded in my memory.

But some were also scary. For example, Abraham was poised with a huge dagger to murder his own son. I didnt understand God at all in regard to that one. Not many could pass that test! In Sunday school, after the teacher finished reading, we had a picture to color relating to the story we had just heard. Sometimes we had a Bible verse to remember and we would usually sing a song or two. I felt happy and pleased with my Sunday school experiences. I liked to color, and it was a joyful time with the other children in my class. The pictures were meaningful to me since we had just heard a story about them, and I liked to imagine how my picture related to the story.

I was about ten years old when I attended an evening special service at our church with my parents. The guest speaker talked about the New Testament scripture that stated that Jesus said, For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). The speaker emphasized that Jesus was the only way to salvation and if we didnt accept him and believe that to be true, we would be lost to God. I liked Jesus, so my first thoughts were that this posed no problem for me. Then from the audience, the question arose: What if someone had never heard of Jesus? What if they lived very far away in the deepest darkest part of Africa or in the Amazon jungle? Were they lost to God? Were they dammed and not saved? That then, really began to upset me as I listened to the message that unless one believed in Jesus, they were excluded from salvation and would not be able to get into heaven! How could God be so mean, I asked myself? If a person never heard of Jesus, how could they be blamed and then punished for it?

I didnt ponder this a lot afterward, but from time to time when I remembered this admonition, I found it difficult to fathom a god with such unfair and biased rules. But church was an important part of my life; it was our familys Sunday routine, and when I became a teenager, I became further involved with the churchs youth group. It was at a youth meeting when I was sixteen that I had my first and only charismatic religious experience. It was strange and enigmatic. I had never felt such excitement and exhilaration as my heart began to beat rapidly and I felt like I was radiating energy and light. I wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. I felt hot and chilled simultaneously.

We spent a week at a youth conference at a Presbyterian College in Muskegon, Ohio and it was during the final closing candlelight ceremony that I had this most unforgettable experience. Approximately 500 youths were in attendance and each of us had been given a candle, which was lit while we walked in a procession from the chapel service, downhill to a meeting place on the moonlit lakefront. It was during this processional that my strange physiological feelings occurred.

As I looked ahead at the lights from the candles carried by the youths now hidden by the darkness of night, the flickering candles serpentined ahead along the trail as far as I could see. We walked silently and the experience profoundly affected me both physiologically and spiritually as I felt in those few minutes a union with all life but especially my youthful cohort. I have never forgotten the beautiful scene it portrayed and the exhilarating feelings I experienced. When I hear of persons having a born again occurrence or when people say Jesus talks to them, I never discount those accounts because I, too, have witnessed and felt a mystical event that has stayed with me all my life. To again feel that unity with all that exists is my strong desire.

As an adult, my path in life has taken me to many parts of the world and Ive been lucky that I have been able to observe and befriend many persons from different cultures who have strikingly different religious beliefs than those of my childhood. Im convinced that, for the most part, peoples beliefs are mostly influenced by their heritage, their culture, and how they are taught within that framework.

In other words, if Id been born in a Muslim country, I would most likely experience my religiosity as conveyed in the Quran because that would be my sole frame of reference. If my immediate family was devout and more demonstrative in their religious practice, I would most likely be more fervent, also. If their practices were less important to them, they would probably not be a priority for me either unless I was old enough to acquire my own religious thoughts and experiences.

A question Ive often reflected on is why so many, who have their own quite fundamental beliefs and literal interpretation of their chosen ideology, seem to demand that everyone agree exclusively with their specific philosophy. When in my childhood, the speaker at our Methodist church opined that unless one accepted Jesus as their savior they would be doomed; the message I received was a negative one.