Incarnation
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.
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.
Ancient Egypt
The Pharaohs of Anccient Egypt were sometimes said to be incarnations of the gods Horus and Ra.
Bahá'í
In the Bahá'í Faith, God is described as a single, imperishable God, the creator of all things, including all the creatures and forces in the universe. The connection between God and the world is that of the creator to his creation. God is understood to be independent of his creation, and that creation is dependant and contingent on God.
Buddhism
In the Buddhist tradition, an incarnation is a person believed to be the rebirth of someone previously deceased, in most cases a lama or other important master/teacher. This concept differs from reincarnation in Hinduism, however, since the Buddhist teaching of anatta (non-self) implies that there is no fixed soul that could move from one life to another.
Christianity
The doctrine of the Incarnation of Christ is central to the traditional Christian faith as held by the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, most Protestant churches. 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.
Hinduism
In Hinduism, incarnation or avatar generally implies to the incarnation of god Vishnu, the preserver in the Hindu Trinity. Other gods like Ganesha and Shiva do have avatars, but these are less popular than those of Vishnu.
Sikhism
Sikhism supports the concept of incarnation.According to sikhism there are 84 million forms of life. And one goes through these forms with human being as the supreme form of life. According to Sikhism, it is the one's deeds which decide how many time he will be incarnated. Meditation is the only form to liberate a soul from the process of incarnation.
Islam
Islam completely rejects the doctrine of the incarnation of God in any form. In Islam God is one and neither begets nor is begotten. Qur'an, (112:1-4). 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.
Judaism
Rabbinic Judaism rejects this doctrine.
Rastafari
The Rastafari movement views Haile Selassie as God incarnate.
References
- Smith, Peter (2000). "God". A concise encyclopedia of the Bahá'í Faith. Oxford: Oneworld Publications. pp. p. 116. ISBN 1-85168-184-1.
- `Abdu'l-Bahá (1981). Some Answered Questions. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá'í Publishing Trust. pp. 202–203. ISBN 0877431906. http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/ab/SAQ/saq-53.html.iso8859-1#gr5.
- Cole, Juan (1982). "The Concept of Manifestation in the Bahá'í Writings". Bahá'í Studies monograph 9: 1–38. http://bahai-library.org/articles/manifestation.html.
- Hatcher, W.S.; & Martin, J.D. (1998). The Bahá'í Faith: The Emerging Global Religion. San Francisco: Harper & Row. pp. 118. ISBN 0877432643.
- Qur'an, (112:1-4).
- L. Jacobs 1973 A Jewish Theology p. 24. N.Y.: Berman House
