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Sin and Salvation in the World Religions: A Short Introduction
A uniquely global yet concise survey of the role played by sin and salvation in all the major world faiths.
192 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2003
About the author
Harold Coward
63 books11 followersHarold G. Coward is a professor emeritus of history and the founding director of the Centre for Studies in Religion and Society at the University of Victoria. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. He served as president of the Canadian Society for the Study of Religion and was the founding editor of the Journal for Hindu-Christian Studies and editor of the WLU Press series The Study of Religion in Canada. He has authored twenty books along with many edited books, chapters and articles. His publications include Scripture in the World Religions (2002), Mantra: Hearing the Divine in India and America (2004), and The Perfectibility of Human Nature in Eastern and Western Thought (2008).
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December 30, 2021
This book offers stark beliefs regarding sin and salvation prominent among the three Abrahamic faiths (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) and two Eastern religions (Hinduism and Buddhism). The author has succintly debated the varying beliefs present in each religion regarding sin and salvation.
Personally, the main takeaway for me was the incredibe variance at which each religion deals with these topics. For the Jews the main aspect rather than salvation is redemption for induviduals, for the tribe of Israel and for all the nations. This scriptural idea of redemption went through many stages of evolution as a result of experiences such as the Babylonian exile, loss of the Temple in Jerusalem,and, in the last century, the Holocaust.
Theologically speaking, for Christians, salvation is one of the cornerstone of their religions. Mankind was inherently born in sin due to Adam's sin in the garden of Eden and the penance and redemption from that sin can only be achieved by believing that Jesus Christ died for the sins of mankind.
Islam couples belief in God and good deeds as a condition for salvation.
For Hinduism and Buddhism rather than sin, it is man's ignorance that is the main issue. A human being is inherently a part of the divine and as such his main aim is to re-integrate himself with the divine by attaining moksha. Hindus believe that Moksha is only achievable when people can break the endless chain of the cycle of birth and re-birth. To do so an induvidual needs to be virtuous enough to perform lots of good deeds, not for the sake of reward, but as a duty towards mankind in general. Only when an induvidual can attain such a high level of consciousness as to perform absolute nishkaam karma yoga (action performed without any expectation of fruits or results) can one achieve liberation or moksha.
One of the central themes of Buddhism is the concept of Dukkha or suffering/frustation/dissatisfaction. The Buddha was quite clear that there is no God that will save us, rather it is a realization that must be won by each of us through our own effort. What the Buddha did do was to leave his own insight and teaching as an example that we can adopt on the basis of provisional trust and try out for ourselves.But only if it proves out in our own experience should we accept it as a way to release. This teaching was formulated by the Buddha as The Four Noble Truths, including The Eightfold Path to release or enlightenment, and became the scripture of Buddhism.
Personally, the main takeaway for me was the incredibe variance at which each religion deals with these topics. For the Jews the main aspect rather than salvation is redemption for induviduals, for the tribe of Israel and for all the nations. This scriptural idea of redemption went through many stages of evolution as a result of experiences such as the Babylonian exile, loss of the Temple in Jerusalem,and, in the last century, the Holocaust.
Theologically speaking, for Christians, salvation is one of the cornerstone of their religions. Mankind was inherently born in sin due to Adam's sin in the garden of Eden and the penance and redemption from that sin can only be achieved by believing that Jesus Christ died for the sins of mankind.
Islam couples belief in God and good deeds as a condition for salvation.
For Hinduism and Buddhism rather than sin, it is man's ignorance that is the main issue. A human being is inherently a part of the divine and as such his main aim is to re-integrate himself with the divine by attaining moksha. Hindus believe that Moksha is only achievable when people can break the endless chain of the cycle of birth and re-birth. To do so an induvidual needs to be virtuous enough to perform lots of good deeds, not for the sake of reward, but as a duty towards mankind in general. Only when an induvidual can attain such a high level of consciousness as to perform absolute nishkaam karma yoga (action performed without any expectation of fruits or results) can one achieve liberation or moksha.
One of the central themes of Buddhism is the concept of Dukkha or suffering/frustation/dissatisfaction. The Buddha was quite clear that there is no God that will save us, rather it is a realization that must be won by each of us through our own effort. What the Buddha did do was to leave his own insight and teaching as an example that we can adopt on the basis of provisional trust and try out for ourselves.But only if it proves out in our own experience should we accept it as a way to release. This teaching was formulated by the Buddha as The Four Noble Truths, including The Eightfold Path to release or enlightenment, and became the scripture of Buddhism.
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