Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and problems for Religion

A baby speaks of its entry into the world, which brought pain to its parents. The world it came into seemed dangerous. It was helpless, vulnerable, noisy, encased in its body like a devil hidden in a cloud.

The baby struggled against the confinement of its father's hands and the swaddling in which it was wrapped. Unsuccessful, it resigned itself to sulking on its mother's breast.

Commentary

For Blake, a fiend was not to be regarded as evil – it was an embodiment of energy and instinct. So here, the baby comes into the world not as a peaceful, meek being, but as one filled with positive energy and instinctual life. However, the response of the parents is ambiguous. Do they groan and weep because:

• Of the physical anguish of childbirth?
• The baby

African Indigenous Religions

African indigenous religions have not all died out.

The Atlantic slave trade

Humanity and life in the present world

High God is both a and b

High God

Many supernatural beings are recognized, and one is elevated to a higher status.

Mali and Burkina Faso

Yoruba religion

An Orisa in the Yoruba tradition

Spirits are all of the above

Improving life in this world

Spirit world: all of the above

A divination system among the Yoruba

Medium

Kenya and Tanzania

Christianity did not completely eradicate indigenous African religions.

The continuing cycle of birth, death, and rebirth

Supreme, unitary reality

Dualistic

330 million

Hebrew

It cannot be translated and is only legitimately scripture when read in Hebrew.

John

The Way

Greek

The Shema

Merneptah... Continue reading "Major World Religions: Key Beliefs and Practices" »

African Beliefs

Their beliefs are called Myth, for them God is Supreme, god has a generic term in this case. They identify the creator by supreme Being. God refers to objects of worship in any religion.

There are 3 varying accounts of the creation of Cosmos.

1. Some believe that it was created in one act
2. Others believe that God created heaven first so that he would have a place standing on Heaven, he created the Earth.
3. Others say that God is still creating new things, excepts souls because Africans think that you need one to live. Ex: People have children. Does God create them or does God equip people with the ability to create them?

They view about the cosmos:

1. For the African, the cosmos is divided into 2 parts, the two can be described as the heaven

No-Self

• Central concept: Buddha denies the existence of a self that is eternal or self-sustained.

• Biggest illusion: Believing we truly know our "self".

• Two bases for denying the eternal self:

  1. Impermanence

     • All entities in the world are impermanent in two ways:

       1. They cease to exist.

       2. They constantly change.

  2. Dependent Origination

     • This framework forms the basis for Buddhists' denial of a "self".

     • All things are products of infinite chains of causality. Nothing is self-sustaining; therefore, nothing has a self.

       • This concept relates to early Indian logic principles of cause and effect.

Reincarnation/Nirvana

• Reincarnation is a cycle of rebirth.

• This concept predates Buddhism, existing long before in Indian culture.

• Different views exist on the mechanisms behind this

1. What does Bhakti movement mean? Ans. A series of Hindu saints & reformers started religious reform movements which adopted the method of devotion (Bhakti) to achieve salvation. Their method of expression of devotion ranged from the routine worship of deities within temples to singing & chanting of devotional compositions.

5. What were Attitude of the Nayanars & Alavars sects towards the cast? Ans. Some historians are of the view that Alvars & Nayanaras started a movement of protest against the caste system & the dominance of Brahmans or at least made efforts to reform them. This view is supported by the fact that these Bhakti reformers came from diverse social backgrounds; some of them belonged to lower classes such as... Continue reading "Bhakti Movement and Sufi Traditions: A Comparative Study" »

Plato: Plato was an Athenian philosopher during the Classical period in Ancient Greece, founder of the Platonist school of thought, and the Academy, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world.

Gilgamesh: The best-known and most popular hero in the mythology of the ancient Near East, Gilgamesh was a Sumerian king who wished to become immortal. Endowed with superhuman strength, courage, and power, he appeared in numerous legends and myths, including the Epic of Gilgamesh.

Monotheism: Monotheism is the belief in a single all-powerful god, as opposed to religions that believe in multiple gods. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are widely practiced forms of monotheism. ... Monotheism is any religion that believes in one god. From... Continue reading "Key Figures and Concepts in History and Philosophy" »

Meaning of the letter A in The Scarlet Letter

Puritanism, a strict Calvinist form of Protestant Christianity, differed from mainline Christianity in five principal beliefs. These beliefs constituted the Puritans' path to salvation and created a religion with a strict and rigid morality. In order to understand the meaning of the letter A in The Scarlet Letter, it is first necessary to understand Puritan Society.

For the Puritans, Original Sin brought total depravity to all humanity. Because of Original Sin, all humans are destined to die and suffer eternal damnation. Unlike Catholics and Christians of other denominations, who believed that Christ died for all mankind, Puritans believed that the death of Christ on the cross did not redeem the entire... Continue reading "The Meaning of the Letter A in The Scarlet Letter" »

Pages 12 and 13

Where did Islam begin?

• Muslims believe in a single God.
• Islam is a monotheistic religion.
• It began in the Arabian Peninsula in the 7th century.
• The Arabian Peninsula is a flat region between the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.
• They were polytheistic until Islam spread across the Peninsula.
• Mecca and Medina were important cities in the Peninsula.

Muhammad, the founder of Islam

• He was born in 570.
• He worked in the caravan trade and learned about the ideas of Judaism and Christianity.
• This religion was based on submission to Allah, or God, and was called Islam.
• Muhammad promoted the new religion, but in 622 he had to escape to Medina. (This event called Hegira marks the beginning of the Muslim era).
• Muhammad's sayings were recorded in the Quran,

God's Motivation for Creation

God creates all things out of a perfectly free act of love to share happiness with creatures and manifest His glory. Reason and revelation agree God is the creator; time began with creation, and all God creates is good. God preserves and guides creation according to His wisdom toward the end He has in mind.

God's Creative Functions

Preservation: Refers to the continued existence and maintenance of created things. Unlike a sculptor and a statue, God's creation constantly depends on Him.

Providence: God's plan for all creatures, leading them to their intended purpose. Every creature is guided by grace and nature according to God's will, which is fulfilled when we seek and conform to it.

Divine Governance: God's work of... Continue reading "Divine Creation: Love, Purpose, and Grace" »

Common Good

The sum total of all social conditions which allow people, either as groups or individuals, to reach their fulfillment more fully and easily.

Social Sin

The effect that every personal sin has on others; the collectivity of such sins which create “structures of sins.”

Social Teaching

The subset of moral theology which is articulated when the Church interprets events in the course of history with the help of the Holy Spirit & Revelation.

Natural Law

Moral knowledge that is written in every human heart and is “co-natural” with human nature.

Solidarity

Virtue of social charity, friendship, and responsibility whereby interdependence among all people is recognized.

Stewardship

The proper use of God’s gift; the care for recreation that... Continue reading "Catholic Social Teaching: Key Concepts and Principles" »