Tuesday, December 24, 2019

The Story Of Buddhism By Donald M. Rodriguez Jr. - 1743 Words

The Kannon Bosatsu, or Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, is a carved wood statue of a Bodhisattva figure standing about two and one half to three meters tall. This statue shows a high level of detail on the Bodhisattva s body, and is carved so smoothly that it could be mistaken for a stone carving. The show of skilled craftsmanship can be seen around the shoulders with the interaction of the cloth with the jewelry the Bodhisattva. The statue is placed on an ornate pedestal to cause the figurine to appear taller, giving it a feeling of authority, which contrasts with its calm, expressionless face. While the figure appears to be standing in a meditative state like the Buddha, the jewelry present all over the body of this figure distinguishes this figure as a Bodhisattva instead of a Buddha. In his book, The Story of Buddhism a Concise guide to Its History and Teachings, Donald S. Lopez Jr. establishes the importance of imagery in Buddhism. One major point he makes concerning the worsh ip of Buddhist figures, is that the disciples of Buddhism not only believe that the figures are a mere representation of Buddha, but that the figures actually become and are animated by Buddha, an argument which seems to hold merit as truth. Continuing with the theme of visual imagery from this icon, Buddhist icons often carry much meaning in the orientation of the body of figurines, and hand gestures. This standing Bodhisattva has his eyes shut in a meditative state, while the hands

Monday, December 16, 2019

Free Media Essay James Bond Free Essays

â€Å"Pussy Galore†, â€Å"Honey Rider†, â€Å"Plenty O’Toole†, â€Å"Xenia Onatoppe†, â€Å"Octopussy† and â€Å"Solitaire†: All of these names have something in common in that they are all the provocative names of James Bond girls and symbols of an extreme form of the â€Å"Male Gaze† as coined by Laura Mulvey: the passive recipients of a specifically male gaze embodied by the extreme masculinity of James Bond[1]. Neuendorf et al, in a study which examined 195 female characters from the James Bond films, sum up the â€Å"bond â€Å"formula† which has been the catalyst for one of the longest running film franchises in movie history: â€Å"Espionage, innovative gadgets, alcoholic beverages, fast cars, a demonic villain and a plethora of attractive women were instrumental in moulding the â€Å"Bond formula† that matriculated from print to celluloid†¦ The ongoing appeal of the fantasy world represented in the Bond films relies heavily on attractive female counterparts to the Bond character†[2]. I have chosen the films of James Bond to examine using Laura Mulvey’s â€Å"Male Gaze†. We will write a custom essay sample on Free Media Essay: James Bond or any similar topic only for you Order Now While the films from Dr. No up to Casino Royale would seem to be obvious demonstrations of what Mulvey might refer to as a â€Å"patriarchal unconscious†[3] hard at work and cultivated from the novels of Ian Fleming, the last Bond film, Quantum of Solace, has seen a minor revolt against the use of females as passive objects of sexuality. This revolt, albeit in a minor fashion and still, as we will see, framed against a powerful formula which has endured for over half a century, makes the James Bond of Daniel Craig a worthy object of study. The adoption of powerful and partially non-sexualised female characters in both Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace represents a significant step towards Mulvey’s answer to the subordination of women through the lens of the male gaze: the destruction of cinematic pleasure[4]. This case study will also look at some more typical James Bond films such as From Russia with Love and conclude with why these films, so often the very epitome of patriarchal agendas and repressed women, are moving towards what many have perceived to be a feminist approach in Quantum of Solace which does not conform to the traditional James Bond formula[5]. Laura Mulvey first coined the term â€Å"Male Gaze† in 1975 with her seminal work Visual Pleasure in Narrative Cinema[6]. Mulvey uses psychoanalysis as a weapon to analyse the roots of patriarchal control within the pleasures of cinema. Her analysis is centred on the image of women as the castrated â€Å"Other† to the imaginary self of man the escape of which can only be accomplished by voyeuristic or fetishistic mechanisms. The female image acts as a signifier and is, in the words of Mulvey, â€Å"bound by a symbolic order in which man can live out his own fantasies and obsessions through linguistic command by imposing them on the silent image of woman still tied to her place as a bearer, not maker, of meaning†[7]. The spectator, equipped with the â€Å"privilege of invisibility†, can observe without being observed and are drawn into the illusory world of looking at female characters through a male gaze which is constructed by the film maker and filters d own even to the hands of those cameramen who are shooting the film: all are complicit[8]. In this world of sexual imbalance, in which the spectator is male[9], the pleasure derived from observing has been split between â€Å"active/male† and â€Å"passive/female† where the male gaze projects the fantasy upon the female form[10]. From here Mulvey’s analysis splits visual pleasure into two parts: a voyeuristic pleasure and a narcissistic pleasure. For the former Mulvey derives inspiration from Freud’s look at scopophilia[11] as a way of taking people as objects and subjecting them to what is described as a â€Å"curious and controlling gaze†[12] in the private world of the auditorium. The distance between the audience and the screen serves to reinforce the feeling of being a voyeur[13] and Mulvey’s analysis seals both the audience and the film within a â€Å"hermetically sealed† auditorium which serves to expose and highlight their fant asy of voyeurism[14]. On the latter Mulvey observes: â€Å"The cinema satisfies a primordial wish for pleasurable looking, but it also goes further, developing scopophilia in its narcissistic aspect. The conventions of mainstream film focus attention on the human form. Scale, space, stories are all anthropomorphic. Here, curiosity and the wish to look intermingle with a fascination with likeness and recognition: the human face, the human body, the relationship between human form and its surroundings, the visible presence of the person in the world†. As many theorists have noted[15] Mulvey’s analysis in this aspect are very much inspired by Jacques Lacan in developing his theories of the pivotal moment of a child’s self recognition in the mirror in the formation of ego and self. Mulvey find’s a resonance between screen and mirror, fictional characters and the child’s self and the ability of both to shape the ego. This resonance is particularly strong when considering the ability of cinema, in the words of Mulvey, to both deprive us of and augment our egos: a dichotomy which Mulvey identifies with â€Å"that pre-subjective moment of image recognition† first propounded by Lacan in children.[16] The active/male and passive/female divide referred to above is important only as a spectacle and not as a driving force of the narrative as Mulvey observes: â€Å"The presence of women is an indispensable element of spectacle in normal narrative film, yet her visual presence tends to work against the development of a story line, to freeze the flow of action in moments of erotic contemplation†[17]. The image of women so constructed provides a neat mirror between the desires of the male characters in the film and the spectators in the audience. Using strong male leads is a quintessential ploy by Hollywood and for Mulvey allows the spectator to identify with this more perfect version of self. A male movie star, for example, creates the action and commands the screen space in a way the passive female is never allowed to. Cinema is unique, in Mulvey’s theory, in building the way a woman is looked at into the spectacle of the film itself as opposed to, for example, strip-teas e where a spectator’s gaze is still very much under his/her own control. The distinctiveness of film derives from the ability to snap a person’s attention to a particular part and allow â€Å"a perfect and beautiful contradiction† to crystallise[18]. At the end of her famous article Mulvey opines on the possible answers to the patriarchal nature of cinema but concludes that the real answer is to destroy pleasure: â€Å"Women, whose image has continually been stolen and used for this end, cannot view the decline of the traditional film form with anything much more than sentimental regret.† So what place does James Bond have in Laura Mulvey’s male gazeThe applicability of the famous franchise to Mulvey’s theory is at first sight so compelling it would be no surprise to find out that Mulvey developed all her theories from a single viewing of Goldfinger. As outlined above Bond films have a certain tried and tested formula which, in the words of Neuendorf, serve to reinforce that which Mulvey sought to destroy: â€Å"Western society’s patriarchal, individualistic culture is demonstrated in Bond films. For example, the lead character, James Bond, promotes stereotypical, sex-typed male attitudes, especially when interacting with women. In the Bond world, Bond single-handedly takes on any â€Å"bad guy,† saves the world and always gets the girl.†[19] The ability of Bond films to dehumanise women is well exemplified in From Russia With Love. In this film two gypsy girls must fight for the affections of the same man and ultimately end up in Bond’s bed with the prospect of a sexual battle having to take place before either of them can be worthy of his attentions. It was these films in the 1960s (From Russia With Love was 1963) which exemplified what Yan calls â€Å"tittilation† and no more with the most excruciating example being â€Å"I think he’s attempting re-entry† in Moonraker[20]. As feminism spread its wings in the 1970s the Bond women seem to shrink in terms of character depth. The femme fatales then underwent an independent phase, often bestowed with PHD’s but this was, in Yan’s opinion, just a divertion from real subordination[21] and the 1980s and 1990s followed the formula with few exceptions. The Daniel Craig era of Bond films have produced a different kind of Bond: grittier, tougher and with less of the traditional formula which had relegated the franchise under Pierce Brosnan. Peter Bradshaw sums up the plot but the story, much criticised, takes a back seat to the role of women[22]. The female characters serve both to reinforce and destroy the traditional view of Bond women as being surplus to plot requirements and subject to Mulvey’s â€Å"male gaze†. The two female characters, Strawberry fields and Camille[23] represent such contrasts as to be compelling. While Fields, working for the CIA, succumbs to Bond in a 1960s throwback fashion with the usual witticisms and appears in a trenchcoat like â€Å"some sort of MI6 strippogram†[24], is typical Bond fair, Camille is arguably an equal of Bond and driven by a desire to avenge the rape and murder of her sister and mother. She does not succumb to Bond at all and importantly the actress has said that her character does not exist because of Bond but exists in her own right. Using Mulvey’s analysis this character advances the story and doesn’t simply provide a spectacle in the way that Strawberry Fields undoubtedly does. In conclusion the Bond films of the Daniel Craig era present a somewhat confusing picture of women: at first glance conforming to a tried and tested formula which is simply the quintessential expression of the male gaze and a formula born of the 1960s and Ian Fleming, but at a deeper glance is indicative of a move away from the patriarchal grip on cinema and tried and tested female submission. The character of Camille, in the same vein as Vesper Lynd from Casino Royale, is a plot driver and offers hope that the moment for a female James Bond is close: â€Å"Camille shows that Vesper was no lucky one-off. Fields shows that not everything has changed and that the same speculation must exist for â€Å"Bond 23† on whether the next film will have a realistic female lead or something more formulaic.†[25] Bibliography Balducci, Temma (2010) ‘Gaze, Body and Sexuality: Modern Rituals of Looking and Being Looked At’ in Kromm Bakewell (eds) A History of Visual Culture: Western Civilisation from the 18th to the 21st century Berg: Oxford New York Bradshaw, Peter (2008) Guardian Film Online accessed on 28th March 2011 and available from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2008/oct/18/jamesbond1 Kuhn, Annette (1994) Women’s Pictures: Feminism and Cinema (2nd ed) Verso: London, New York; Penley, Constance (1989) The Future of an Illusion Routledge: New York, London Mulvey, Laura (1999) ‘Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema’ in Film Theory and Criticism: Introductory Readings pp833-844 Neuendorf et al (2009) ‘Shaken and Stirred: A Content Analysis of Women’s Portrayals in James Bond Films’ in Sex Roles vol 62 pp747-761 see also Brosnan (1972), Dodds (2005) and Pfeiffer and Worral (2000). Quantum of solace script: accessed on 28th March 2011 and available from: http://www.script-o-rama.com/movie_scripts/q/quantum-of-solace-script-transcript.html Sherwin, Miranda (2008) ‘Deconstructing the male gaze: masochism, female spectatorship, and the femme fatale in Fatal Attraction, Body of Evidence, and Basic Instinct.(Critical essay).’ In Journal of Popular Film and Television vol 35 issue 4 p 174 Stacey, Jackie (1994) Star Gazing Routledge: London and New York, Thornham, Sue (1997) Passionate detachments: an introduction to feminist film theory Arnold: London, New York, Auckland; Yan (2009) from Lucire website ‘ Releasing from Bondage’ accessed on 28th march 2011 and available from: http://lucire.com/2008/1030ll0.shtml [1] Balducci, Temma (2010) ‘Gaze, Body and Sexuality: Modern Rituals of Looking and Being Looked At’ in Kromm Bakewell (eds) A History of Visual Culture: Western Civilisation from the 18th to the 21st century Berg: Oxford New York [2] Neuendorf et al (2009) ‘Shaken and Stirred: A Content Analysis of Women’s Portrayals in James Bond Films’ in Sex Roles vol 62 pp747-761 see also Brosnan (1972), Dodds (2005) and Pfeiffer and Worral (2000). [3] Mulvey, Laura (1999) ‘Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema’ in Film Theory and Criticism: Introductory Readings pp833-844 [4] Thornham, Sue (1997) Passionate detachments: an introduction to feminist film theory Arnold: London, New York, Auckland [5] Yan (2009) from Lucire website ‘ Releasing from Bondage’ accessed on 28th march 2011 and available from: http://lucire.com/2008/1030ll0.shtml [6] Thornham, Sue (1997) Passionate detachments: an introduction to feminist film theory Arnold: London, New York, Auckland; Stacey, Jackie (1994) Star Gazing Routledge: London and New York, Kuhn, Annette (1994) Women’s Pictures: Feminism and Cinema (2nd ed) Verso: London, New York; Penley, Constance (1989) The Future of an Illusion Routledge: New York, London [7] Mulvey, Laura (1989) Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema in Visual and Other Pleasures Macmillan: Basingstoke and London p.15 [8] Stacey, Jackie (1994) Star Gazing Routledge: London and New York [9] And females are compelled to look through a males lens with their choice of either adopting a masochistic stance or adopting the gaze and becoming â€Å"spectatorial transvestites†. See Sherwin, Miranda (2008) ‘Deconstructing the male gaze: masochism, female spectatorship, and the femme fatale in Fatal Attraction, Body of Evidence, and Basic Instinct.(Critical essay).’ In Journal of Popular Film and Television vol 35 issue 4 p 174 [10] Mulvey, Laura (1989) Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema in Visual and Other Pleasures Macmillan: Basingstoke and London p.41 [11] Freud, Sigmund Three Essays on Sexuality [12] Mulvey, Laura (1999) ‘Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema’ in Braudy Cohen (eds) Film Theory and Criticisms: Introductory Readings : New York: Oxford Uni Press pp833-844 [13] Stacey, Jackie (1994) Star Gazing Routledge: London and New York [14] Mulvey, Laura (1999) ‘Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema’ in Braudy Cohen (eds) Film Theory and Criticisms: Introductory Readings : New York: Oxford Uni Press pp836 [15] Thornham, Sue (1997) Passionate detachments: an introduction to feminist film theory Arnold: London, New York, Auckland; Stacey, Jackie (1994) Star Gazing Routledge: London and New York, Kuhn, Annette (1994) Women’s Pictures: Feminism and Cinema (2nd ed) Verso: London, New York; Penley, Constance (1989) The Future of an Illusion Routledge: New York, London [16] Mulvey, Laura (1999) ‘Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema’ in Braudy Cohen (eds) Film Theory and Criticisms: Introductory Readings : New York: Oxford Uni Press pp836 [17] ibid p.837 [18] Ibid p.843 [19] Neuendorf et al (2009) ‘Shaken and Stirred: A Content Analysis of Women’s Portrayals in James Bond Films’ in Sex Roles vol 62 p 759 [20] Yan (2009) from Lucire website ‘ Releasing from Bondage’ accessed on 28th march 2011 and available from: http://lucire.com/2008/1030ll0.shtml [21] Yan notes wryly that even the self-employed Octopussy, steward of a huge empire, still succumbed to the Bond formula in the end. [22] Bradshaw, Peter (2008) Guardian Film Online accessed on 28th March 2011 and available from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2008/oct/18/jamesbond1 – He observes: â€Å"In theory, he is out to nail a sinister international business type: Dominic Greene, played by French star Mathieu Amalric, who under a spurious ecological cover plans to buy up swaths of South American desert and a portfolio of Latin American governments to control the water supply of an entire continent. As Greene, Amalric has the maddest eyes, creepiest leer, and dodgiest teeth imaginable.† [23] Gemma Arterton and Olga Kurylenko respectively [24] Bradshaw, Peter (2008) Guardian Film Online accessed on 28th March 2011 and available from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2008/oct/18/jamesbond1 [25] Yan (2009) from Lucire website ‘ Releasing from Bondage’ accessed on 28th march 2011 and available from: http://lucire.com/2008/1030ll0.shtml How to cite Free Media Essay: James Bond, Essay examples

Sunday, December 8, 2019

Christianity And Islam Essay Example For Students

Christianity And Islam Essay Christianity and Islam are two of the most significant religions since theircreation. Islam means submission in Arabic, and a Muslim is one whosubmits to the will of God (Islam page 223). Christians were called so becauseof Jesus title Christos, which is Greek for Messiah (Christianity page 198). Both religions are very similar with only some of the beliefs and teachingsbeing different. They also give separate messages to outsiders as to what theirreligions stand for. Both religions are monotheistic with a holy text and theyboth strive to conquer evil. Islam has a set of rules (5 Pillars of Islam) setforth to reach enlightenment while Christians basically just sin, repent, andthen are forgiven for their sins. Christianity is a much easier religion tobelong to because it is a lot more lenient to what you can and cannot do as wellas when and where you can do it. Islam is also more closed doors because the donot really send out missionaries looking for people to convert to Islam. ForChristianity, Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah (the anointed one) Godsdeliverer, whose coming the prophets had foretold (Christianity page 198). Jesustaught the good Word of the Lord, as was his duty as the Son of God. He is alsosaid to have performed miracles such as curing leprosy and blindness as wellwalking on water. Roman and Jewish authorities were disquieted by the threat tothe establishment that Jesus and his followers seemed to offer, and theyconspired successfully to execute him by crucifixion (Christianity page 198). After Jesus was crucified for the sins of all men, he was believed by Christiansto have risen from the dead and then ascended to Heaven. After the death ofJesus, his life and teachings were written with many tall tales (as I liketo call them) about the great battles and accomplishments of Christians as wellas success stories about the followers of Gods Word. All of these stories andsome historical facts are written in the Bible, which is the holy text of theChristians. It explains how God created the Earth the creation of the Earth andman and it teaches how to be righteous. The founder of Islam was the ProphetMohammed who was an orphan from the city of Mecca. Mohammed claimed to bevisited by the Angel Gabriel who gave him the basis for this new religion. TheFive Pillars of Islam are the basic laws to be a good Muslim. Declaring thatthere is no God but Allah, praying five times a day facing Mecca, fasting duringset times, tithing for needy, and a journey to Mecca at least once in your lifetime. Some Muslims have a sixth pillar, jihad, which is translated intoholy war (Variety page 234). Mohammeds teachings were not written untilhis death because there was no compelling reason to set his words down in somedefinite form. After the sudden death of Mohammed in 632, Caliph Abu Bakrordered one of the prophets companions to collect, from oral and writtensources, all of Mohammeds utterances (Quran page 225). They were writtenin the Quran which is basically the Muslim Bible. The Quran is thewritten version of the teachings that Mohammed preached while he was alive. Asecond source of guidance for most Muslims is al-Hadith (Tradition), a vast bodyof transmitted stories of what the Prophet said or did or what was said or donein his presence and therefore approved by him (Foundations page 225). .ua0816e3b9ba6143257324a0ad6398226 , .ua0816e3b9ba6143257324a0ad6398226 .postImageUrl , .ua0816e3b9ba6143257324a0ad6398226 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ua0816e3b9ba6143257324a0ad6398226 , .ua0816e3b9ba6143257324a0ad6398226:hover , .ua0816e3b9ba6143257324a0ad6398226:visited , .ua0816e3b9ba6143257324a0ad6398226:active { border:0!important; } .ua0816e3b9ba6143257324a0ad6398226 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ua0816e3b9ba6143257324a0ad6398226 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ua0816e3b9ba6143257324a0ad6398226:active , .ua0816e3b9ba6143257324a0ad6398226:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ua0816e3b9ba6143257324a0ad6398226 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ua0816e3b9ba6143257324a0ad6398226 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ua0816e3b9ba6143257324a0ad6398226 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ua0816e3b9ba6143257324a0ad6398226 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ua0816e3b9ba6143257324a0ad6398226:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ua0816e3b9ba6143257324a0ad6398226 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ua0816e3b9ba6143257324a0ad6398226 .ua0816e3b9ba6143257324a0ad6398226-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ua0816e3b9ba6143257324a0ad6398226:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: The Background Of Internal Control Systems Accounting EssayChristianity is a very appealing religion because it seems to be so easy tounderstand and become a Christian where as Islam is very difficult. There arefive set times a day in Islam where you have to stop everything and pray facingMecca and Muslims go to church on Fridays. Christians are free to pray any waythey want at any time they want and go to church on Sundays. The Bible isdifferent in that it contains the teachings of Jesus, the direct Word of God,and many religious stories. The Quran contains only the teachings of Mohammedwhich is said to be the Word of God spoken through man. The religious stories ofIslam are in separate sources such as the al-Hadith, The Six AuthenticCompilations, and Gardens of the Righteous (Tales page 230). The Bible and theQuran are similar in the simple fact that they were not written until theprophets of their religion were dead (although Jesus was resurrected and went toHeaven). While Jesus and Mohammed were on Earth, their stories and teachingswere passed on orally, so the need to write them down was not necessary. Christianity is a religion where they welcome outsiders in to convert them andlove everyone, Christian or not, for they are all the children of God. Islamteaches to: Be mindful of you duty to Allah and try to promote accord betweenyourselves (8.2). All believers are brothers; so make peace between yourbrothers (49.11). Fight the idolators all together, as they fight you alltogether, and know that Allah is with the righteous (9.36)(Nawawi page232). Make peace between your brothers, means to make peace with otherMuslims. If you are not Muslim, you are not one of their brothers. They also sayto fight the idolators, which means to fight against those who are notMuslim. This message to hate he who is not of the same religion is the completeopposite from that of Christianitys message. I believe that is why Muslimsfeel compelled to bomb other peoples and fight holy wars. This is another reasonwhy Christianity is more appealing. Both Islam and Christianity offer arewarding eternal dwelling i f you live a righteous life here on earth anddo the duty of Allah or God. Christians believe that their reward for arighteous life is to go to Heaven. For Muslims, the reward for following the 5Pillars of Islam is pleasant dwellings in Gardens of Eternity (Nawawi page 232). These are the sole reasons for having the religions in the first place. Thesupreme goal of both religions is to successfully reach a peaceful afterlife. Asfar as bad afterlives go, Christianity has Hell for those who go against God andare not forgiven for their sins. Hell is an eternal damnation full of tortureand suffering. Hell is a deterrent from sin, which makes people more inclined tolive holy and righteous lives. As Heaven is a reward for living a righteouslife, Hell is the punishment for living a life of sin. I am not sure aboutIslam, although the book does talk about Allah saving someone from theFire and Fire being defined as Hell (Nawawi page 232). I can infer thismeans that they both have a punitive home for the unholy and disbelieving. BothIslam and Christianity have dietary restrictions. Muslims cannot eat fromsunrise to sunset during the holy month of Ramadan. Some Christians fast on GoodFriday as well as giving up their favorite food during the Advent Season. Christians celebrate the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus while the onlyreligious celebration that Muslims have to my knowledge is the holy month ofRamadan. I do not know why they celebrate this but I do know they celebrate theninth month on their lunar calendar and that is the holy month of Ramadan. Ipersonally think that Christianity is a much easier religion to deal with beingthat it has just about the same outcome as Islam does. Christianity also has alot less work involved. I would say that Christianity is a much more convenientreligion. Less time and effort is put into praying and being righteous withChristianity. Plus it is much more believable to me that Jesus was the Son ofGod than it is to believe that Mohammed was visited by an angel that told himwhat to do. They were both doing well although the Islamic message is not quietas nice as the Christian one. Loving everyone as your brother and sister is agood message to give and it is an exceptional way to keep the world peacefuleven if you are not Christian. That is why Christianity is a much moresuccessful religion and it is stronger than Islam will ever be. Christianity andIslam are basically one in the same. They both have one God with and the samebasic beliefs. Both have a holy text with the teachings of their prophets alongwith some religious stories. Both religions are very successful althoughChristianity has a leg up do to its convenience and its willingness to takeothers and convert them. These religions have been around for almost twothousand years and will continue to strive throughout history. .u1a172af75a1f0390b062d3b76ccfcc23 , .u1a172af75a1f0390b062d3b76ccfcc23 .postImageUrl , .u1a172af75a1f0390b062d3b76ccfcc23 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u1a172af75a1f0390b062d3b76ccfcc23 , .u1a172af75a1f0390b062d3b76ccfcc23:hover , .u1a172af75a1f0390b062d3b76ccfcc23:visited , .u1a172af75a1f0390b062d3b76ccfcc23:active { border:0!important; } .u1a172af75a1f0390b062d3b76ccfcc23 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u1a172af75a1f0390b062d3b76ccfcc23 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u1a172af75a1f0390b062d3b76ccfcc23:active , .u1a172af75a1f0390b062d3b76ccfcc23:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u1a172af75a1f0390b062d3b76ccfcc23 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u1a172af75a1f0390b062d3b76ccfcc23 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u1a172af75a1f0390b062d3b76ccfcc23 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u1a172af75a1f0390b062d3b76ccfcc23 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u1a172af75a1f0390b062d3b76ccfcc23:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u1a172af75a1f0390b062d3b76ccfcc23 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u1a172af75a1f0390b062d3b76ccfcc23 .u1a172af75a1f0390b062d3b76ccfcc23-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u1a172af75a1f0390b062d3b76ccfcc23:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Manifest destiny EssayBibliographyChristianity: Conquering the World for Christ Alfred J. Andrea andJames H. Overfield, eds. Human Record I. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.1998),198-199. Islam: Universal Submission to God Alfred J. Andrea and James H. Overfield, eds. Human Record I. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. 1998), 223-224. Nawawi, Imam. Gardens of the Righteous Reprinted in Alfred J. Andrea andJames H. Overfield, eds. Human Record I. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. 1998),230-233. The Quran Alfred J. Andrea and James H. Overfield, eds. HumanRecord I. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. 1998), 225-226. The Foundations ofIslamic Life Alfred J. Andrea and James H. Overfield, eds. Human Record I. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. 1998), 225. The Tales of Tradition Alfred J. Andrea and James H. Overfield, eds. Human Record I. (Boston: Mifflin Co. 1998),229-230. Variety and Unity in Islam Alfred J. Andrea and James H. Overfield, eds. Human Record I. (Boston: Mifflin Co. 1998), 253-234Religion