Download A World of Beliefs - Belief Systems in World History (Part I)

A World of Beliefs: Belief Systems in World History (Part I)
Global History and Geography I
Name: ____________________________
E. Napp
Date: ____________________________
Monotheism
Polytheism
Animism
Shintoism
Kami
Judaism
Moses
Ten Commandments
Torah
Resurrection
Constantine
Muhammad
Koran
Five Pillars
A. He was a Roman emperor. He
converted to Christianity. He ended
persecution of Christians.
B. The ethical and moral rules of
Judaism. Moses received these rules
after the Exodus from Egypt.
C. He was the founder of Islam. He
advocated monotheism and ethical
conduct.
D. It is the belief in one God. Judaism,
Christianity, and Islam share this
belief.
E. According to Christians, Jesus is
divine and he rose from the dead. He
conquered death.
F. It is the holy book of Islam.
According to Muslims, it contains
God’s words to Muhammad.
G. Muslims must believe in one God,
pray five times, give charity, fast, and
take the pilgrimage to Mecca.
H. It is the oldest religion in the world.
According to this belief system,
spirits exist in the natural world.
I. It is the oldest, lasting monotheistic
religion. It was founded by
Abraham.
J. He led his people from slavery to
freedom. He received the Ten
Commandments.
K. They are the spirits in the Shinto
religion. They are viewed as kind
and beneficial.
L. It is the first five books of the Bible.
According to Jews, it is the most
important part of the Bible.
M. It is the oldest religion of Japan. It is
animistic. According to this belief,
spirits exist in nature.
N. It is the belief in many gods.
Animists have this belief.
Excerpt from pbs.org
In contrast to many other religions, the basic
practice of Islam is simplicity itself. The
believer's duties are summed up in five simple
rules, the so-called Five Pillars of Islam: Belief,
Worship, Fasting, Almsgiving, and Pilgrimage.
Almsgiving (Zakat)
The fourth Pillar of Islam is to give
alms to the poor. Muslims are
supposed to donate a fixed amount of
their property to charity every year.
 What are Muslims required to
do every year?
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Pilgrimage (Hajj)
The fifth Pillar of Islam is to
undertake the pilgrimage to Mecca at
least once in one's lifetime, if one is
able, during the twelfth month of the
Muslim calendar. People who have
performed this pilgrimage, called in
Arabic hajj, earn the epithet hajji,
which is a title of great respect. The
ceremonies of the pilgrimage are
associated with the prophet Abraham
and center on the Kaaba, which
Muslims believe to be the house that
Abraham erected for God.
 What is the hajj?
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Belief (Iman)
The first Pillar of Islam is for the believer to
testify, in Arabic, that "There is no god but
God and that Muhammad is His messenger."
This phrase, known as the shahada or
Profession of Faith, is central to Islam, for it
affirms both God's oneness and the central
role of the Prophet.
 What is the shahada?
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Worship (Salat)
The second Pillar of Islam is to worship God
five times a day — at dawn, noon, midafternoon, sunset, and nightfall. To do so, the
believer washes according to a particular ritual
and prostrates himself or herself on the ground
in the direction of Mecca, while reciting certain
phrases. This rite takes only a few minutes to
perform and can be done anywhere.
 How do Muslims pray?
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Fasting (Sawm)
The third Pillar of Islam is to abstain from
food and drink, as well as smoking and sex,
between sunrise and sunset during the month
of Ramadan, the ninth month in the Muslim
calendar. Abstinence during Ramadan brings
Muslims to greater awareness of God's
presence and helps them acknowledge their
gratitude for God's provisions in their lives.
 What must Muslims abstain from
during Ramadan?
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At the same time, God gave the
Jews a set of rules that they should
live by. On behalf of Israel, Moses
received torah, traditionally
translated 'law'. This is not law in
the modern sense but rather
authoritative teaching, instruction,
or guidance.
 What is the Torah?
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The most famous of these
commandments are the Ten
Commandments. But there are
actually 613 commandments
covering every aspect of life
including law, family, and personal
hygiene and diet. Most scholars
date the beginning of Judaism as an
organised and structured religion
to this time.
 What are the most famous
commandments?
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It is important to remember that
Judaism is the oldest, lasting
monotheistic religion in world
history.
 Define monotheism.
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Excerpt from bbc.co.uk
One of Judaism's great figures is the man
called Moshe Rabbenu ('Moses our teacher') in
Hebrew. The first five books of the Bible are
traditionally ascribed to him. Moses is the
channel between God and the Hebrews,
through whom the Hebrews received a basic
charter for living as God's people.
 Why is Moses an important person in
the Jewish religion?
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Over a thousand years after Abraham, the
Jews were living as slaves in Egypt. Their
leader was a prophet called Moses. Moses led
the Jews out of slavery in Egypt and led them to
the Holy Land that God had promised them.
The escape of the Jews from Egypt is
remembered by Jews every year in the festival
of Passover.
 How were the Jews treated in Egypt?
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 How did Moses help the Jewish people
in Egypt?
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The Jews were helped on their journey by
God; the same God who'd promised Abraham
that he would look after the Jews. God parted
the Red Sea to help them escape and helped
them in many other ways.
 According to the Jews, how did God
help Moses and the Jewish people?
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When they reached a Mount Sinai, in present
day Egypt, God spoke to Moses high on the
mountain slopes and made a deal (called a
covenant) with the Jews that renewed the one
he had made with Abraham.
 What is a covenant?
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Word Bank: Animism, Shintoism, Monotheism, Polytheism, Kami, Torah, Moses,
Christianity, Ten Commandments, Resurrection, Constantine, Trinity, Islam, Muhammad,
Koran, Jihad, Pork, Ramadan, Hajj, Five Pillars, Kami
More Questions!

What belief is
shared by Jews,
Christians, and
Muslims share?
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
What belief is held
by Christians but
not shared by Jews
and Muslims?
_________________
_________________

What food is
forbidden to
Muslims and some
Jews but consumed
by Christians?
_________________
_________________
Excerpt from bbc.co.uk
Christians believe that there is only one God, whom
they call Father as Jesus Christ taught them. Christians
recognize Jesus as the Son of God who was sent to save
mankind from death and sin. Jesus Christ taught that
he was Son of God. His teachings can be summarized,
briefly as the love of God and love of one's neighbor.
Jesus said that he had come to fulfil God's law rather
than teach it.
 What do Christians believe?
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 What did Jesus teach?
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Christians believe in justification by faith - that
through their belief in Jesus as the Son of God, and in
his death and resurrection, they can have a right
relationship with God whose forgiveness was made once
and for all through the death of Jesus Christ.
 According to Christians, what did Jesus’ death
and resurrection make possible?
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Christians believe in the Trinity. The Trinity is the
belief that God exists as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Some confuse this and think that Christians believe in
three separate gods, which they don't.
 What is the Christian trinity?
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Christians believe that God took human form as Jesus
Christ and that God is present today through the work
of the Holy Spirit and evident in the actions of believers.
Christians also believe that there is a life after earthly
death.
 According to Christians, how is God present
today?
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