Shintoism Good Vs Evil
Good and evil: a universal opposite known to humanity since the beginning of time. Whether it is through religion or simply through experiences, humans have been acquainted with these terms in everyday life. The moral or immoral actions humans make are what allow them to be "human;" it is about the moral choices an individual makes that determine whether or not that individual is good or bad. As time goes on, sometimes good and evil are so intertwined with each other that the definition becomes blurred, especially with a vast world like Earth. For example, one view of good and evil can be seen through the Shintoism's concepts of "purity" and "impurity." Although its beliefs are not necessarily popular with other parts of the world, Shintoism
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Just as established, Christians believe that the only thing that can be tainted is humans. However, for Shintoism, humans are not the only beings that can be tainted; like humans, gods can also be tainted as well. For example, a god named Izanagi was said to have lost his spouse, and soon after, went to the realm of the dead to save his wife. With death being one of the factors to impure a soul, Izanagi winds up being tainted as well, thus proving that gods, too, are just as vulnerable to being tainted as humans are (“Shinto Concept of Sin…”). Surprisingly, gods are not immune to impurity, just as how the Christianity believes God is immune to evil. This is because “kami, like people, are unpredictable and are thus subject to base emotions such as jealousy, rage, vanity, lust, and envy" (Elacqua). Because humans cannot understand the world of gods, gods could may as well be as vulnerable to negative emotions as well, not just by death. As a result, the job for humans is to refrain from tainting the gods, which is the reason why such a cleansing ritual is done before entering the shrine area. Then, the question of the difference between humans and gods remains ambiguous. The truth is that there is no difference; in fact, it is believed that as soon as humans die, they become gods that are revered by their family. Once again, they are born out of purity as a god . In the end, the name of “god” seems to only be just the status name of whether or not a person is in the
Just as established, Christians believe that the only thing that can be tainted is humans. However, for Shintoism, humans are not the only beings that can be tainted; like humans, gods can also be tainted as well. For example, a god named Izanagi was said to have lost his spouse, and soon after, went to the realm of the dead to save his wife. With death being one of the factors to impure a soul, Izanagi winds up being tainted as well, thus proving that gods, too, are just as vulnerable to being tainted as humans are (“Shinto Concept of Sin…”). Surprisingly, gods are not immune to impurity, just as how the Christianity believes God is immune to evil. This is because “kami, like people, are unpredictable and are thus subject to base emotions such as jealousy, rage, vanity, lust, and envy" (Elacqua). Because humans cannot understand the world of gods, gods could may as well be as vulnerable to negative emotions as well, not just by death. As a result, the job for humans is to refrain from tainting the gods, which is the reason why such a cleansing ritual is done before entering the shrine area. Then, the question of the difference between humans and gods remains ambiguous. The truth is that there is no difference; in fact, it is believed that as soon as humans die, they become gods that are revered by their family. Once again, they are born out of purity as a god . In the end, the name of “god” seems to only be just the status name of whether or not a person is in the