When the word religion comes to mind many think of religions that consist of one God, such as Christianity. These religions are called monotheistic. According to the New World Encyclopedia, theism is defined as the belief in God. It also states that it can also be referred to various religions that assert the existence of one or several personal deities. Buddhism is sometimes seen as a non-theism religion because Buddhists don’t believe in one god. Non-theism is actuality considered as someone who can’t answer the question of God and his existence, not that they don’t believe in a god; they just need hard evidence of his existence. Therefore, Buddhism is a theistic religion because they have an answer to the creation of all their Gods. Since
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Christianity is a great definition of the divine command theory, although one can still be a Christian and not believe in this theory. Divine command theory is the view that morality is somehow dependent upon God and that moral obligation consists in obedience to Gods commands (Austin). According to this theory morally right actions are something that God commands of you or is required by you. Overall, morality is based on the commands of God. Divine command theory tells the followers of the religion what is right and wrong according to their god. It explains what they should do and what they shouldn’t do. There are many advantages to divine command theory as an ethical theory. It provides an objective metaphysical foundation for morality; it explains to its followers where their morality comes from (Austin). Secondly, it gives us the answer as to ‘why be moral’ (Austin). According to the divine command theory the answer to this question is that we are held accountable for our actions by God, therefore, we must be moral human beings to receive the salvation God can provide …show more content…
But many people view the Buddha Gotama as the God of Buddhism, because he was the one who re-discovered all the teachings of Buddhism, and create the moral standings. In Harvey’s book An introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, history, and practices, it explains that people who believe in Buddhism do worship the Buddha. They have home shrines to show devotion to the Buddha. Also almost all temples have some kind of shrine room, or image hall to show their devotion to the Buddha (Harvey, 1990). Another reason why outsiders of the religion believe that the Buddha is a God is because his followers worship him. However, there are two different kinds of worship. One kind of worship is worshiping a god by praising him, making offerings, and asking for favors believing that he or she will hear their praises and answer them (Dhammika). The other kind of worship is paying your respects towards someone or something (Dhammika). This is the type of worship that Buddhism practices, they are paying their respect towards Buddha Gotama who helped find Nirvana and end suffering. When praising the Buddha in song, or praising a statue of the Buddha it reminds everyone to strive to find peace and love within ourselves. Nun Thunbten Chodron expressed her thoughts on Buddhism by saying, “…God, who has infinite love and wisdom and who is free of
Christianity is a great definition of the divine command theory, although one can still be a Christian and not believe in this theory. Divine command theory is the view that morality is somehow dependent upon God and that moral obligation consists in obedience to Gods commands (Austin). According to this theory morally right actions are something that God commands of you or is required by you. Overall, morality is based on the commands of God. Divine command theory tells the followers of the religion what is right and wrong according to their god. It explains what they should do and what they shouldn’t do. There are many advantages to divine command theory as an ethical theory. It provides an objective metaphysical foundation for morality; it explains to its followers where their morality comes from (Austin). Secondly, it gives us the answer as to ‘why be moral’ (Austin). According to the divine command theory the answer to this question is that we are held accountable for our actions by God, therefore, we must be moral human beings to receive the salvation God can provide …show more content…
But many people view the Buddha Gotama as the God of Buddhism, because he was the one who re-discovered all the teachings of Buddhism, and create the moral standings. In Harvey’s book An introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, history, and practices, it explains that people who believe in Buddhism do worship the Buddha. They have home shrines to show devotion to the Buddha. Also almost all temples have some kind of shrine room, or image hall to show their devotion to the Buddha (Harvey, 1990). Another reason why outsiders of the religion believe that the Buddha is a God is because his followers worship him. However, there are two different kinds of worship. One kind of worship is worshiping a god by praising him, making offerings, and asking for favors believing that he or she will hear their praises and answer them (Dhammika). The other kind of worship is paying your respects towards someone or something (Dhammika). This is the type of worship that Buddhism practices, they are paying their respect towards Buddha Gotama who helped find Nirvana and end suffering. When praising the Buddha in song, or praising a statue of the Buddha it reminds everyone to strive to find peace and love within ourselves. Nun Thunbten Chodron expressed her thoughts on Buddhism by saying, “…God, who has infinite love and wisdom and who is free of