The existence of the world and everything in it can only be explained if there is a God who is the first cause. Aquinas states that it is impossible for any being to be the efficient cause of itself because then it would have to bring itself into being, and to bring itself into being, it would have to exist before it existed. If a being exists, it is because some being prior to it was its cause.Therefore, if no first cause exists, neither will any other being exist. Therefore, there is a first efficient cause--God.
Matter is just as suitable of a conclusion to us as a being and it answers the first efficient cause argument. Matter is not nearly as abstract of an idea and in fact, we are matter, so the notion that matter "is" is not nearly as far fetched as the idea that God "is".The same people who say that God is the first efficient cause also believe in matter. At the same time, more people believe in the concept of matter and what it is than believe in God. In fact, they believe in the very same types of matter while their beliefs of God as the first efficient cause remain very different.
These cultures must have a reason for turning to God rather than matter as their first efficient cause. The reason is that they can give God supernatural powers that do not exist with matter.These supernatural powers differ greatly between cultures, so the main reason they turn to God is very different in similar cases. The reason that cultures turn to God instead of mater is that they can assign these supernatural powers at free will, while the concept of matter is well defined. God is just an easy approach to the unsolved mysteries and theories of the universeHinduismCategorizing the religion of Hinduism is somewhat confusing: Hinduism has commonly been viewed in the west as a polytheistic religion - one which worships multiple deities: gods and goddesses. Some have viewed it as a monotheistic religion, because it recognizes only one supreme God: the panentheistic principle of Brahman, which all reality is a unity.
The entire universe is seen as one divine entity who is simultaneously at one with the universe and who transcends it as well. Some view Hinduism as Trinitarian because Brahman is simultaneously visualized as a triad: Brahma the Creator who is continuing to create new realities.Vishnu, (Krishna) the Preserver, who preserves these new creations. Whenever dharma (eternal order, righteousness, religion, law and duty) is threatened, Vishnu travels from heaven to earth in one of ten incarnations. Shiva, the Destroyer, is at times compassionate, erotic and destructive.Strictly speaking, Hinduism is a henotheistic religion, a religion which recognizes a single deity, but which recognizes other gods and goddesses as facets or manifestations or aspects of that supreme God.
Muslims ? ChristiansThe basic difference between them is that in Islam, "God (Allah) is one, has no children and no father" (Koran: Al-Ikhlaas, Part 30, chapter 112), but in Christianity it is believed that Jesus is a child of God. Islam sees humanity as weak and prone to disbelief in God and to disobedience to His will.Humanity's weakness is pride. In the Christian religion, it was pride that caused the downfall of man, Eve thought that God had no right to tell them what they could and could not eat after the serpent propagated her. In Islam, God sent prophets to communicate His will.In Islam, they also believe in forgiveness, another basic Christian principle, Islam teaches that God is always ready to pardon the individual and restore him to the sinless state in which he started life; in Christianity this is called being "born again".
Conflicts in ReligionsNo, one cannot believe in all three religions because not only three but all the religions in the world have distinct features and because of these distinct values, many conflicts arisesBuddhismWhen you approach Buddhism, you must do it with your eyes open, because of it's diverseness of other religious studies. The creed of Buddhism is set in what is explained as the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. To a Buddhist, life is suffering, and to end suffering one must extinguish all desire.This is an example of reaching a state of Nirvana. The Buddha was a man who you could say just couldn't be satisfied. He was a man who had everything he could ever want, yet he still considered life to be suffering.
in Buddhism, it is believed that by extinguishing all desire, you must end suffering, known as nirvana. Once Nirvana is reached, the rebirth process is stopped and one exists for eternity.AtheistSome don't believe in religion because of there point of view, the existence of God is difficult (impossible) to prove. God is an incredibly complicated hypothesis.
They believe God cannot be felt with normal senses except when He performs a miracle -- and then they may not know whether it was a miracle indeed. For them it's more economical (in scientific terms) to suspend belief in God, since He's so difficult to prove and seemingly so difficult to understand, so they don't believe religion. (http://www.angelfire.
com/)SymbolsI saw many of the religious symbols in life. In Islam there is no particular Symbol which represent it, they believe religion don't require symbols for its popularity and its survival. The Hebrew spelling of the name of the God Jehovah: JHVH, spelled with the Hebrew letters is a direct link to Astrological elements of Fire, Water, Air, and Earth: (http://home.iae.nl/)Buddhism symbols are Begging Bowl, Bell, Conch Shell, Crown, Deer, Diamond, Dorje, Eight Auspicious, Endless Knot, Footprint(s), Ghanta, Golden Fish, Lion, Lotus, Mountain(s), etc. (http://buddhism.
about.com/) Ankh / Cross, Ships, The Boy, nature, birds, food, Jerusalem Cross are the main Christianity Symbol. In Hinduism OM or AUM, swastika, the wheel of sri (of life), the different gods are the main symbols and the Linga and Yoni. (http://religion-cults.com/) BibliographyCosmic Awareness Explains Some Religious Symbols, as retrieved from http://home.iae.nl/users/lightnet/creator/symbols.htm on June 26, 2004 Symbols of Buddhism, as retrieved from http://buddhism.about.com/library/blbudartkey.htm on June 26, 2004 Symbols in Hinduism, as retrieved from http://religion-cults.com/Eastern/Hinduism/hindu1.htm on June 26, 2004 Motives for belief, as retrieved from http://www.angelfire.com/ego/pdf/ng/ft/atheist.html on June 26, 2004
