Looking for Meaning

Looking for Meaning

1. Christian funeral rites:

   • Some Christians prefer to be buried while most others want to be creamted
   • At the funeral, a passage is read from the Bible.
   • Some songs may be sung
   • The minister/family members/friends will talk about the person
   • At the end of a burial service, the words "EARTH TO EARTH, ASHES TO ASHES" are said to remind us that God is in charge

2. Muslim funeral rites:

   • Before a Muslim dies, the Adhan will be final words he hears
   • Body will be washed and prepared for funeral
   • Imam leads the prayers at the mosques and graveyards
   • Funeral usually takes place in 24 hours and only men attend
   • Funeral should be as simple as possible

3. How do people respond to God?

   • Muslims pray five times a day as requires
   • Giving money to charity
   • Christians read the Bible and pray
   • Christians tell others about God and His beliefs
   • Christians worship God at home and in Church
   • Muslims go on pilgrimage to Hajj
   • Living the sort of life that God requires
   • Kindness

4. How do people experience God?

   • Awe
   • A revelation
   • Prayer
   • Reading a Holy Book
   • A miracle

5. Islam and Symbols

   • There are 99 names of Allah that express His qualities e.g. Allah the Forgiving
   • The headscarf is a sign of honesty, modesty and comittment to Islam
   • The crescent moon and star symbolise that the Muslim faith will grow as the moon does throughout the month

6. Christianity and Symbols

   • Cross is mostly used to remind Christians of how much Jesus sacrificied to give them life
   • Candle is used as a symbol of light and of good overcoming darkness
   • The trinity is symbolised by water, ice, steam or a three leafed clover

7. Christianity and the Afterlife:

   • Souls stay on after death
   • They will go to either Heaven or Hell depending on whether you have accepted Jesus
   • Heaven is paradise while Hell is a place of torment and pain

8. Islam and the Afterlife (akhirah)

   • Life is a test and how we act in it will determine where we will go in the afterlife
   • Allah is in control; nothing is accidental
   • We will stau in our graves until Judgement Day, when Allah will judge us and when we will go to either Heaven or Hell