GCSE short course Religous education coursework

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GSCE Religious Education Coursework

Introduction:

 Using my knowledge of both the Christian and Muslim religions, I am going to outline the teachings of wealth and poverty in the Christian and Islamic beliefs. I will look in great depth at both views from each religion and then evaluate and conclude.

a i.)

The Christian teaching on wealth and poverty is that it is tolerable to be wealthy providing this wealth is gained honestly and pledged to help others less financially fortunate like starving children in LEDC countries. The Christian teachings on wealth and poverty is if you are wealthy to become a perfect individual you must share your fortune with the less fortunate, “If you want to be perfect sell your possessions and give to the poor”, This quote taken from the bible shows that being prosperous is not useful if you are not willing to share your prosper with others via feeding and sharing with the poor because Christians believe it is how you conduct the fortune that is essential and also all wealth should be divided equally among all of “Gods people” so every one has equal opportunities in life. E.g. John Templeton is a very rich Christian but uses he’s money to help the poor, Christians believe this is acceptable. However The Iona community disagree. The Iona community is a small group of people based off the west coast of Scotland. The Iona community share all there money with each other and do so because they feel that a life shared with others is better than one where other people are on their own as individuals or in small family clusters. The Iona community believe that it is wrong to be rich and all wealth and possessions should be shared. “Here is a gaping sore, Lord: half the world diets, the other half hungers; half the world is housed, the other half homeless; half the world pursues profit, the other half senses loss. Redeem our souls, redeem our peoples, redeem our time.” This prayer by John bell, of the Iona community suggests that it is wrong from half the world to be rich and the other half to be poor.

Christians believe if you are a charitable person you are rewarded later on in life and being charitable also earns you a place in heaven. (Look for quote to support). Majority of Christians pay 10% of their income towards Christian based charities such as: Carford, Red Cross and Christian Aid. Christian based charities cater for victims of war, natural disasters and disease. This is also known as ‘tithing’.

The Islamic teaching on wealth and poverty shares some similarities with the Christian teachings. All Islamic believers (Muslims) believe they have a duty to care for the poor or for those who are in need. There are three forms in which a Muslim can donate money:
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Sadaqah:
Sadaqah is a good deed committed for Allah. Sadaqah can be represented in many different ways, it may consist of a Muslim dedicating their time, their talents, their money or a prayer. Sadaqah can be given to a person who is not Islamic also. Sadaqah can be given after a person’s death through their will.

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Zakah:
Zakah is the third pillar of Islam. Zakah means purification and many Muslims believe that giving Zakah purifies the money they have left so that no harm can be caused from it, therefore benefiting the giver and the receiver of the money. All Muslims who’s income is at a certain level must donate a certain percentage of their savings annually as Zakah to help the poor. The richer the person is the more they must donate.

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Zakat-ul-fitr- : This is an additional payment at the end of Ramadan. Many Muslims believe that they most learn to identify with the poor during the month of Ramadan.

All Muslims are taught to care for and to be generous to those less fortunate than themselves “He who eats and drinks whilst his brother goes hungry is not one of us” this hadith quoted by Al’Bukhari suggests a Muslim is not a Muslim unless they share there wealth with the poor. It is taught that all Muslims and their wealth come from Allah. Muslims also believe that they need to be caring towards all human beings like Christianity. The key part of a Muslims religion is to care for the unfortunate, dissimilar to Christianity they are given formal duties for each Muslim to complete in life. There are many charities such as Muslim Aid and Islamic Relief which provide help for people in LEDC countries.

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a ii.)

Word development is helping to create a world where everyone has access to the essentials needed to survive/live like: food, shelter, free/affordable education healthcare and social care. 4.4 billion people live in developing countries of these 3/5’s lack basics sanitation, almost 1/3 have no access to clean water, ¼ do not have access to adequate housing, 1/5 do not have no access to modern health services, 1/5 can not attend primary school, 1/5 do not have adequate protein and energy from their food supplies. This totally conflicts with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights ‘Everyone has the ...

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