Van Nguyen
Stanford
Human Event
2 November, 2016
Parallels and divergences can be found in two texts, and this includes the religious texts of Sufism and Christianity. Both similarities and differences present thoughtful insights into the creation and underlying doctrine of the religions, along with possible inspirations from each other. Farid ud-Din Attar’s “The Conference of the Birds” and the Old Testament’s story of Moses and the Hebrew people features suffering as an aspect in the interactions with God, but differ in the role of suffering in the interactions. The significance of the focus and role reveal the deeper motivations and purpose of the religions. Within “The Conference of the Birds”, suffering is presented clearly in the Seven Valleys of the Way. The birds must undergo physical toil in the great distance of the journey, combined with emotional and mental toil due to the effects of each valley, such as …show more content…
The creation of mankind begins with man being made in the image of God, and then woman being made in the image of man. Within the garden of Eden, the snake convinces Eve to eat from the tree so “ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil” (90), and therefore is the first example of trickery and deception. This deception leads to the revelation of knowledge, both good and evil for man, as “the eyes of them both were opened” (91). These explanations are all found within the beginning of Genesis, and help to explain the physical creation of mankind and why good has to come with evil even in a world where God is omnipresent. An even bigger concept covered within the beginning of Genesis is the creation of the world itself, which was created by God in seven days. This story further emphasizes one purpose of Christianity, which is to serve God, especially since he created the
Stanford
Human Event
2 November, 2016
Parallels and divergences can be found in two texts, and this includes the religious texts of Sufism and Christianity. Both similarities and differences present thoughtful insights into the creation and underlying doctrine of the religions, along with possible inspirations from each other. Farid ud-Din Attar’s “The Conference of the Birds” and the Old Testament’s story of Moses and the Hebrew people features suffering as an aspect in the interactions with God, but differ in the role of suffering in the interactions. The significance of the focus and role reveal the deeper motivations and purpose of the religions. Within “The Conference of the Birds”, suffering is presented clearly in the Seven Valleys of the Way. The birds must undergo physical toil in the great distance of the journey, combined with emotional and mental toil due to the effects of each valley, such as …show more content…
The creation of mankind begins with man being made in the image of God, and then woman being made in the image of man. Within the garden of Eden, the snake convinces Eve to eat from the tree so “ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil” (90), and therefore is the first example of trickery and deception. This deception leads to the revelation of knowledge, both good and evil for man, as “the eyes of them both were opened” (91). These explanations are all found within the beginning of Genesis, and help to explain the physical creation of mankind and why good has to come with evil even in a world where God is omnipresent. An even bigger concept covered within the beginning of Genesis is the creation of the world itself, which was created by God in seven days. This story further emphasizes one purpose of Christianity, which is to serve God, especially since he created the