Free Essay Example. Sin and Salvation

Sin and salvation are some of the most critical issues in religion, particularly Buddhism and Christianity. Salvation mainly refers to deliverance or preservation from trouble or harm. While both Buddhism and Christianity teach about sin and salvation, they differ regarding their perspectives and interpretations of the concepts. Recent years have seen an attempt to mitigate the aspects of retribution while focusing on the positive and uplifting views of life. Regarding the Christian teaching on salvation, the perspectives are based on the Bible (Stearns, 2008). The Bible narrates the story of Adam and Eve regarding the disobedience of God, which is interpreted by Christian teachings to indicate the stain of the original sin. The continuation of the sinful rebellion against the commands of God throughout the history of humankind is associated with this original sin. Based on Christian teaching, salvation in Christianity regards an understanding that requires recompense or even repayment for that sin.

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Christianity teaches that the repayment is provided through faith in God and the Incarnation in Christ Jesus through the subsequent death on the cross. Christian churches are considered the intermediaries between God and the believers through the assurance of entry into paradise through faith as well as the participation of different services like baptism and communion where the sacrifice of Jesus is remembered or re-enacted (Shipton, Coetzee & Takeuchi, 2014). On the contrary, salvation in Buddhism follows a different paradigm since religion teaches that human evil is not a consequence of sin against God or the violation of His commands. Buddhism teaches about human evil, which is not based on ignorance of the laws of God but rather blindness towards the nature of humans through the passion of humans, greed, and the delusion of our goodness. In Buddhism, karma tends to engage the actions that have roots in boundaries beyond human consciousness. Salvation in Buddhism can be considered to be a liberation from bondage by transforming the human consciousness and the awakening of the true nature, the nature of Buddha. In this regard, it is evident that while both Christianity and Buddhism teach about sin and salvation, the concepts differ.

Classmate 1 Response

The first classmate defines sin as it is expressed in Christianity as some actions that go against the will and commands of God. The will of God is highlighted in the Bible, among other traditional foundations. Therefore, it is evident that salvation is the act of saving the human soul from the soul through forgiveness by God. However, points out that sin is similar in Christianity and Buddhism, which may not be expressly true. He goes ahead to discuss the differences in a general viewpoint of religion, where each religion has different interpretations regarding sin and salvation, thereby concluding correctly that humans are responsible for their actions in the afterlife.

Classmate 2 Response

The second classmate pinpoints correctly that Christianity and Buddhism have different viewpoints regarding the concepts of sin and salvation. He discusses the origin of Sin in Christianity as taught through the Holy Scriptures in the Bible. Through the discussion, it is evident that Christianity is a religion that dictates how people should live by the teachings of God to receive salvation. On the contrary, Buddhism does not consider sin as a result of disobedience to God, as highlighted in the discussion. Buddhism considers that life is lived through experiences of rebirth, which is followed by karma depending on the deeds of someone when alive. This illustrates the differences in the viewpoints.

References

Shipton, W. A., Coetzee, E., & Takeuchi, R. (2014). Worldviews and Christian education: Appreciating the cultural outlook of Asia-Pacific people. Partridge.

Stearns, P. N. (2008). World history in documents: A comparative reader. New York: New York University Press.