Incarnation which literally means embodied in flesh, refers to the conception and birth of a sentient creature (generally a human) who is the material manifestation of an entity or force whose original nature is immaterial. Controversy over the beginning of pregnancy usually occurs in the context of the Abortion debate Sentience is the ability to feel or perceive subjectively. It is an important concept in the philosophy of Animal rights, in buddhist philosophy and in An entity is something that has a distinct separate Existence, though it need not be a material existence

In its religious context the word is used to mean the descent of a divine being or the Supreme Being (God) in human form on Earth. While Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism are perhaps the most widely-known traditions to employ this concept within the context of their respective belief systems, they are by no means the only ones to do so. Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings Hinduism is a religious tradition that originated in the Indian subcontinent. Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices

Ancient Egypt

The Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt were sometimes said to be incarnations of the gods Horus and Ra. Pharaoh is the title given in modern parlance to the ancient Egyptian kings of all periods Ra (pronounced Rah and sometimes as Rê, is an Ancient Egyptian sun god.

Buddhism

See also: Rebirth (Buddhism)

In the Buddhist tradition, an incarnation is a person believed to be the next rebirth of someone deceased, in most cases a lama or other important master/teacher. Rebirth in Buddhism is the doctrine that the consciousness of a person (as conventionally regarded upon the death or dissolution of the aggregates ( Skandhas Lama ( is a title for a Tibetan teacher This concept differs from reincarnation in Hduism, however, since the Buddhist teaching of anatta (non-self) implies that there is no fixed soul that could move from one life to another. Reincarnation is a core belief within Hinduism. In most Indian philosophical traditions including the Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh and Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices In Buddhist philosophy, anatta ( Pāli) or anātman ( Sanskrit) refers to the notion of "not-self"

Christianity

Main articles: Incarnation (Christianity) and God-man (mystic)

The doctrine of the Incarnation of Christ is central to the traditional Christian faith as held by the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and most Protestants. The Incarnation is the belief in Christianity that Jesus Christ is the God of Israel in the flesh God-man refers to the divine Incarnation as described within various religious faiths including early Roman Catholicism and Christian mysticism. Christ is the English term for the Greek ( Khristós) meaning "the anointed " The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian Communion in the world Protestantism refers to the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated in the 16th century Protestant Reformation. Briefly, it is the belief that the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, also known as the Son or the Logos (Word), "became flesh" when he was miraculously conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary. SSC RF "Troitsk Institute of Innovative and Termonuclear Research" or TRINITY for shprt Троицкий Институт инновационных и термоядерных grc-Latn Logos (ˈloʊːgɒs ( Greek, logos) is an important term in Philosophy, Analytical psychology, Rhetoric and Religion In the Incarnation, the divine nature of the Son of God was perfectly united with human nature in one divine Person. This person, Jesus, some churches believe was both truly God and truly man. Jesus of Nazareth (7–2 BC / BCE —26–36 AD / CE) Hypostatic union (from the Greek, "hypostasis" translated reality or person) is a technical term in Christian Theology employed This doctrine is specifically referenced in the Bible in John 1:14 and Colossians 2:9. It is known as the hypostatic union. Hypostatic union (from the Greek, "hypostasis" translated reality or person) is a technical term in Christian Theology employed

Hinduism

Main articles: Avatar and Svayam bhagavan

The term avatara literally means "descent" and usually implies a deliberate descent into lower realms of existence for special purposes. Avatar or Avatara (अवतार IAST Avatāra) is often inaccurately translated into English as incarnation This article is about a Hindu philosophical concept the original or absolute manifestation of God It is not a synonym of incarnation, as the incarnation presumes taking a material body, but the word avatara also assumes descent in the original form. ^[1] Many denominations of Hinduism, such as Vaishnavism and Saivism, teach that occasionally God comes to Earth as a human being to help humans in their struggle toward enlightenment and salvation (moksha). Vaishnavism is a tradition of Hinduism, distinguished from other schools by its worship of Vishnu or its associated avatars principally as Rama and Shaivism, also spelled "Saivism" names the oldest of the four sects of Hinduism. In Indian religions, Moksha ( Sanskrit: sa मोक्ष mokṣa) or Mukti ( Sanskrit: sa मुक्ति literally "release" Such an incarnation or discent of God is called an avatar. Avatar or Avatara (अवतार IAST Avatāra) is often inaccurately translated into English as incarnation In some respects, the Hindu concept of avatar is similar to the belief found in Christianity that God came to the earth in the form of Jesus. Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings Jesus of Nazareth (7–2 BC / BCE —26–36 AD / CE) However, whereas most Christians believe that God has assumed a human body only once, Hinduism teaches that there have been multiple avatars throughout history and that there will be more and does not assume material body, thus some disagree with this assumption. ^[1] Thus Krishna, who is not only viewed as an incarnation but also source of all incarnations, svayam bhagavan, says:

Whenever righteousness declines
And unrighteousness increases,
I make myself a body;
In every age I come back
To deliver the holy,
To destroy the sin of the sinner,
To establish righteousness. Krishna (कृष्ण in Devanagari kṛṣṇa in IAST, ˈkr̩ʂɳə in classical Sanskrit is a deity worshiped across many traditions of Hinduism This article is about a Hindu philosophical concept the original or absolute manifestation of God ^[2]

The most famous of the divine incarnations are Rama, whose life is depicted in the Ramayana, and Krishna, whose life is depicted in the Mahabharata and the Bhagavata Purana. Rama ( IAST: rāma Devanāgarī: राम Khmer: Phreah Ream Thai: Phra Ram Lao: Phra Lam Tagalog: The Rāmāyaṇa ( Devanāgarī: sa रामायण is an ancient Sanskrit epic attributed to the Hindu sage ( Maharishi) Valmiki Krishna (कृष्ण in Devanagari kṛṣṇa in IAST, ˈkr̩ʂɳə in classical Sanskrit is a deity worshiped across many traditions of Hinduism The Bhagavata Purana (also known as Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, or simply Bhāgavatam) is one of the Puranic texts of Hindu literature The Bhagavad Gita, which contains the spiritual teachings of Krishna, is one of the most widely-read scriptures in Hinduism. Krishna (कृष्ण in Devanagari kṛṣṇa in IAST, ˈkr̩ʂɳə in classical Sanskrit is a deity worshiped across many traditions of Hinduism

Islam

Islam rejects the doctrine of the incarnation of God in any form. For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation. In Islam God is one and neither begets nor is begotten. ^[3] Islam specifically rejects the Christian idea of Jesus as a divine incarnation, but rather sees Jesus as a prophet (nabī) and messenger (rasūl) of God. In Islam, a rasul ( Arabic: رسول, "messenger" plural rusul) is a Prophet sent by God with a

Judaism

Rabbinic Judaism rejects this doctrine. ^[4]

Rastafari

The Rastafari movement views Haile Selassie as God incarnate, in much the same way as Christians view Jesus. The Rastafari movement (also known as Rastafari, Rastafarianism or simply Rasta) is a monotheistic, Abrahamic, New Testament Haile Selassie I ( Ge'ez: am ኃይለ፡ ሥላሴ "Power of the Trinity " 23 July 1892 &ndash 27 August 1975 born Tafari Makonnen, was

References

External links

• Detailed information on Incarnation in Christianity
• Article on Incarnation in Rastafari