User talk:Funman13ozz

IM working on a big essay, if you have any corrections, write them at the BOTTOM of the page and tell me which paragraph/sentence. Thanx

The obvious route could be to launch into this essay full speed, comparing and contrasting every detail of everything, but you will not understand a word of it, because you will not know the history, or even basic guidelines of the religion. Shinto is a polytheistic religion that believes that any natural object in its completely natural state could be a Kami, or god/spirit. You do not actually have to believe in the Kami to be Shinto; you only need to follow the basic rituals, which are the four affirmations, as follows: tradition and family, the main mechanism that traditions are passed by, so one family's Shinto could be different from the one next door. Love of nature, natural objects hold the Kami, as long as they are undisturbed by people. The only unnatural place that the Kami go is the shrines, and that is only because of the torii, gates to the immortal world of the Kami. The next is physical cleanliness, to be clean (pure is used more often) is the basis of Shinto. Evil acts, unlike Islam, "sins" per se, are not looked down upon; they only make you feel "dirty" or impure. Last is the Matsuri, the name for any festival dedicated to the Kami. There are many of these each year, some equivalent to the Day of the Dead or Halloween. Shinto was founded in around 700 B.C.E. and was made Japan's national religion much later. It lost this status after WWII. Islam is a monotheistic religion that focuses on the common God of Abraham, called Allah by Muslims. They believe that Allah sent a final prophet after the rest, who were not divine; this final prophet was Mohammad, who spread Islam to be what it is today. Muslims believe in the five pillars of faith. Firstly, there is profession of faith, which entails that you must openly practice Islam to fulfill your life. Second is prayer five times a day, prayer is practiced by facing toward Mecca, the holy city, and if you are in Mecca face toward the Kaaba (Ka'bah), a large cube from paradise. The next is Almsgiving, which is the belief that all people are equal and they should share the same wealth, so you give alms to the poor. Fourth is fasting during the month of Ramadan, a holy month in the Muslim calendar. During Ramadan, Muslims do not eat all day until the evening when they have bread and water, and then about an hour later they have a small meal. Last is Hajj, or pilgrimage, to Mecca. Every Muslim must make this journey once in their life, unless poverty or lifelong disease. Islam was founded by Mohammad, and he defended the religion against those who did not agree with it. Most people think they have an idea as to the religion because of the extremists you hear about on the news, etc. but really, the extremists are just extending their belief in the "sixth" pillar, Jihad. Mohammad told his followers there is always an inner war against the infidels (non-Muslim people). Islam was not a popular religion at first, but after Mohammad started to spread the religion, it grew to be one of the biggest religions existing. The basic rules of the religion are similar, as they both have a strict guide for prayer. Shinto depicts that you must follow all the prayer rituals when you pray, which pertain of the four affirmations, physical cleanliness being a strong ritual. Shinto has no ritual for any actual prayer, but they thank for their food before a meal by saying "itadakimasu" ("I will humbly receive this food"), though this is more to the animal that lost its life to make the food than to the person who prepared it. There is also a ritual cleansing to be done in the mouth of a stream, so you are at one with the Kami. Islam has a ritual cleansing to be done before each prayer session called Wudu, (ritual ablution) which entails washing your hands, teeth, face, nose, arms, hair, ears, and feet three times in a certain order. When there is no water you can use sand to clean yourself. If you use water you are cleansed of all past sins and do not need to perform Wudu before the next prayer unless you do something that requires it. Using sand is only a temporary cleanlisness that must be repeated before next prayer. Sin is not a large issue in Shinto, because there is no evil that a human can do, only uncleanliness that you clean only for personal satisfaction. In Islam sins (dhanb ذنب) are taken very seriously as an offense to Allah, and some, including murder, theft, adultery, and in sometimes apostasy can be punishable by law in an Islamic state. Others are left up to Allah to punish. Both Shinto and Islam have holidays during the year, though holidays in Shinto follow the steriotype of being happy or joyous occasions, while Islamic ........thats all I have, more later