As a student in the Religion and Theology class, I had some knowledge on all religions, though after going through the course I gained more knowledge about the same that I never knew before. Some of the knowledge I had before enrolling for the course only turned out to be a misconception after the new readings, viewings and lecturers which brought about a new insight altogether on all these religions, more so Hindu and Islam on the connection between soul, body and life of a human being. This brings about the concepts of eschatology and thanatology that explains death (Lewis, 2009).
Body
Being a Christian, earlier on I had some little knowledge on other religions before enrolling for the course. I knew that death at some point was a punishment from Allah on those that had committed certain crimes. The Quran puts it clear that for every nation, there is a doom, that is after they have committed sin, so when their doom comes, they shall surely go. When reflecting about the future world, Muslims always make articulations on both the realities that provided information on their healthy lives and what they expect of conditions in another world that would provide them utter respite in the Garden or the fire’s intensified toil (Lewis, 2009).
Pertaining to Hindu Funeral rites, cremation is made to most Hindus as per the belief that it helps in escaping their soul at a quicker rate than the body. This is one is conventionally known. However, upon going through the course materials, details of the various rituals that may take place around the dead body are discussed. They include; placing of a lamp by the dead body’s head, singing of hymns and praying, placing of rice balls in the coffin, sprinkling of water on the body and putting a necklace of wooden beads around the neck of the dead person, all of which have a deeper ritual meaning.
After going through the course work on various religions, majoring on Islam and Hindu religion, the readings, viewings and lectures I have gained new insights and relevant pieces of knowledge from the course works. As pertains the Islamic religion, I learned that when punishing men for their wrong doing, he does it to all, not leaving any single creature, but he gives them a stated terms respite that upon the expiry of their term, they would not be in a position to delay the punishment for even a single hour, just the same way they would not be able to anticipate it for even a single hour.
Conclusion
Some of the misconceptions and ‘blanks’ that I had before going through the course about other religions, more so the Hindu and Islam religion, being among the major religions include; I knew that in the Islam religion, soul was removed but the body enter an imaginable state and wait for the judgment day. However the readings made it clear that the person is theologically questioned by angels such as Nakir and Munkar but does not await the judgment day like it is the case on my Christian religion (Lewis, 2009).The work has corrected this. Before going through the course, i used to think that cremation is done uniformly across the globe but now it is made clear that how the cremation takes place all depends on where it happens.
Reference
Lewis, D.A., (2009) Islam and the Afterlife, W.W. Norton & Company. Print.
