.... few rituals that frequently appear in many different regions and tribes across North America. Two of these widespread rituals are the ritual of the "sacred pipe," and sweat lodge ceremonials. The sacred pipe ritual is loaded with symbolic meaning, and offers a generous insight into Native American belief systems. This essay will first look at the dynamics of the sacred pipe ritual and offer some explanation into its religious significance, then draw some parallels to the more common sweat lodge ceremony. If a recurring spiritual theme appears in separate rituals, it can be considered evidence of a consistent, structured belief system. The use of smoking pipes in Native ....

.... which enable them to help people who are suffering. Of course this power can only be given by God, and Sufi's in no way equal to God's power. In fact, Sufi's that claim to be at the same level of God cannot be classified as a Muslim. (Frager 11) Sufi's stress love, because they believe that love will help you in the Day of Judgement. That the people who you truly love, will give you their good deeds, so that you may enter Paradise. Normally these people who give their good deeds away are known as dervishes (this is quite different from the belief in Islam). Sufi's also stress the remembrance of God, which is called Zikr. They try to get close to God, to be one with Go ....

.... were believed to give shelter to bodies through eternity. We have cemetary's filled with graves as a way of recognition of our existence. As human beings we have a difficulty in accepting death and an ending of our personal existence. Different types of religions, beliefs and gods evolved, along with prayer. There are different types of prayer. From quiet contemplation to complete ectasy or chaos in my opinion. Religious orders, specifically, differentiate from contemplative cloistered to active, or a little of both. Once I visited a different church with a friend and I found it incredibly hard to accept the way born again christians prayed so freely and openly co ....

.... year 35); "exitialis - deadly"(Tacitus); "prava et immodica - wicked and unbridled" (Plinius); "nova et malefica - new and harmful" (Svetonius); "tenebrosa et lucifuga - mysterious and opposed to light" (from "Octavius" by Minucius); "detestabilis- hateful" (Tacitus); therefore it was outlawed and persecuted, because it was considered the most dangerous enemy of the power of Rome, which was based upon the ancient national religion and on the emperor's worship . I interrogated them and even tortured them to get them to admit to the crimes , only to find that they are an harmless group . I discovered nothing more than an innocuous superstition . Christians faced persecution ....

.... in Akiba's classroom. First we must note that God is distinctly "tying wreaths to the letters" of the Torah, so that Akiba can decipher their meaning later. Moses the writer of the document is then taken to Akiba's classroom and shown the sophistication that the Rabbis have when they interperit the Bible. Moses is put in the back of the class witht the new students as a symbol that he is not the master of the Bible. Moses was the writer. He had no say in what it meant or contained. Rather he was the first to interpret the words of God and write them. The fact that God put in the Bible, obscure text for future Rabbis is a symbol that he expected them to pick apart at eve ....

.... structure of the book; 2) to explain and paraphrase the meaning behind the passage; 3) relate the verses to similar passages expressed elsewhere by Paul; 4) and lastly to touch upon some of the controversy associated with the verses. 1 Corinthians was written around 54 C.E. and was addressed to the congregation which was made up primarily of gentiles and was located in Corinth. At the time, Corinth was a highly urbanized and religiously diverse city which made it very conducive to the early Christian movement. Paul's first letter to the Corinthians was written as a response to a letter he had received (which did not survive) from the Corinthians in which Paul was ask ....

.... light spread through ten thousand worlds; the blind recovering their sight, as if from desire to see his glory" After birth the future Buddha (Gautama) supposedly talked and walked while lotus leafs formed in his footprints. Gautama's father was said to have been told his son's destiny for greatness, either as an emperor or as a religious leader. Therefore Gautama's father decided to isolate his son from the outside world, where he might "see how the other half lived" and maybe even be tempted to belong to a different religion. Since the complete seclusion as Gautama's father had wished was impossible and Gautama was a curious young man he did venture out and ....

.... churches. The pope made many decisions that have affected history (i.e. Crusades, King Henry, etc.). Many of the lower-ranking bishops strove to become the pope, yet they took part in adultery, murder, and the like. They also persecuted anyone of another religion, and tortured him or her until confession. These examples do not speak highly of the man and religion that now do not want their good name smeared. Yet, times change. In modern times the Catholic Church has changed dramatically, and the view on religions has as well. Hopefully, there is no more adultery amongst bishops and torturing has stopped. For as long as the living of today remember, the pope has inde ....