Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume I — Page 89
! ! 89 what exactly religion is, and the issues over which various religions have differed. Upo n close study, one observes that there are three key issues which have caused disagreements. I will not cover these differences in detail , but will in fact, present the various aspects of these religions. Most religions differ on the following three principles. F irst ly , how man was created; s econd ly , for what purpose was he created ; a nd third ly , where will he go after h e dies. These three issues led to differences and the birth of new religions. We will now elaborate upon the problems , which arise from these three issues. Commonality Among Religions In the context of emerging scientific fields another question arises. One should focus on the extent of commonality among religions. That is to say, which iss ues do they agree on , and from which ideologies did they emerge? This quest ion arise s because now people have distance d themselves from religion , considering it to be false. To this end, they have summed up the similarities and differences between various religions and have decided to refuse outside forces. In fact, they value morality and have done away with the need for Divine revelation. They explain the similarities based on shared truths and thus they deny the need for revelation. On the other hand, they assert that the differences between religions reflect the specific circumstances through which various nations have passed, thus excluding God completely from having revealed these religions. This is the modern research on theology and is called ‘ Comparative Theology. ’ Such are the principles applied to religions. Following are the principles explained in some detail regarding the knowledge pertainin g to religions: 1. Islam : Islam is o ne religion among many , and you should do your own research. 2. Christianity: After research ing [the subject of] religions, one will pose the question : w hat is Christianity ? This requires considering its sects, of which there are four: