Download Christianity Powerpoint

World Religions -- Overview
Opener:
Important Definitions
• Deity – a god or goddess
• Polytheism – belief in many gods
▫ Hinduism
• Monotheism – belief in one God
▫ Judaism, Christianity, Islam
Hinduism
• Oldest of the five
major religions
•Originated in the
Indus River
• Collection of many
religious beliefs
•No central authority
•Grew unchallenged
until Muslims arrived
in the 11th century
• Sikhism attempted
to merge Hindu and
Muslim beliefs
Hindu Beliefs
• Three main sects
– Vaishnavites
– Shaivites
– Shaktites
• Reincarnation and Karma
– Rebirth in any form of life
– Determined by a person’s
actions (karma)
• Hindu gods
• Sacred texts/scriptures
– Three main gods (Trimurti)
– Sruti and Smirti
– Written in Sanskrit
• Shiva “the destroyer”
• Vishnu “the preserver”
• Brahma “the creator”
Caste System in India
• All Hindus are divided among
four “varna”
▫
▫
▫
▫
Brahmins (priests)
Kshatriya (warriors)
Vaishya (workers)
Sudra (servants)
• Untouchables
▫ Believed to be unclean from
birth
• Influence of castes
▫ Marriage
▫ Jobs
▫ What one can touch and/or
eat
Buddhism
• Began about 500 years after
Hinduism
• Originated in India
• Founded by Siddhartha
Gautama
• Two main branches/sects
▫ Theravada Buddhism
 Monks and nuns
 Follow Buddha’s teachings
▫ Mahayana
 Found mostly in Korea,
China, Japan, and Tibet
 Apply teachings to people’s
lives
The Buddha-Siddhartha Gautama
• Born into the warrior caste
and a life of wealth
• Became aware of the troubles
of the world during four
chariot rides
• Left his life to seek
enlightenment
• Meditated beneath a Bodhi
tree for seven weeks
• Proposed a “Middle Path” to
finding enlightenment
(nirvana)
• Believed everyone could
improve their karma
Buddhist Beliefs
• Sacred Text – Lotus Sutra
• Central deity –Human spirit
• Four Noble Truths
▫ Suffering exists
▫ Suffering is caused by desire
▫ To end suffering you must
end desire
▫ To end desire one must follow
the Eightfold Path
• Eightfold Path
▫
▫
▫
▫
▫
▫
▫
▫
Right understanding
Right intent
Right speech
Right action
Right livelihood
Right effort
Right mindfulness
Right concentration
Reincarnation and Karma
• Karma- a person’s actions and
behavior in a current life
becomes their destiny in a
future life
• People are caught in a cycle of
death and rebirth
• People can free themselves
from this cycle by reaching
“nirvana” (enlightenment)
Five Important Terms
• Abraham- Founder of Judaism.
• Torah- The first five books of the Hebrew Bible
containing the laws and teachings of Judaism.
• Sabbath- A weekly day of rest, prayer, and
study.
• Jerusalem- An ancient city in western Asia;
capital of present-day Israel.
• Diaspora- The scattering of Jews to many parts
of the world.
Judaism
• Originated about 2000 BC in
northern Arabia
• Jewish tribes were enslaved by
Egyptians
• Moses guided them through
the Sinai Desert toward Israel
• At Mount Sinai God delivered
Moses the 10 Commandments
• Reached Canaan after 40 years
and fought against the
Canaanites and Philistines.
• Sacred Cities
Elements of Judaism
• Jewish Bible has three main
parts (Law, Prophets, Writing)
• Torah consists of the first five
books of the Old Testament
▫ Jewish laws
 613 Commandments
• Talmud– modern writings and
interpretations of the Torah
• Sects of Judaism
▫ Orthodox
▫ Reform
▫ Hasidic
Christianity
• Began in Judea
▫ alternative view of Judaism
▫ Many people were debating
the true definition of Judaism
• Jesus was considered by the
Jews to be a heretic
▫ Claim of being the Son of God
• Jesus of Nazareth’s teaching
angered two groups
▫ Judaic leaders
▫ Romans
• In 33 CE Jesus was arrested by
the Romans and eventually
executed (crucified)
Growth of Christianity
• Beliefs
▫ Jesus was the Son of God who
sacrificed himself for the sins
of humanity
• Religious text (Bible)
▫ Old Testament
▫ New Testament
 Written by Jesus’ followers
• Christianity was legalized in
313 by Emperor Constantine I
• Branches
▫ Catholic
▫ Eastern Orthodox
▫ Protestant
The Great Schism
• “The” Christian Church was
the Catholic Church
▫ Prior to 1500 Christians
throughout Europe were
united under the Catholic
Church
• Issues: Papal authority,
politics, and jurisdiction of the
Catholic Church
▫ Two popes in Europe
• Black Death 1347
▫ 1/3 of Europe’s population
died
▫ Many blamed the Church
Protestant Reformation
• Martin Luther (German monk)
• 95 Theses
▫ Nailed to the Wittenberg
Church
▫ Led to his excommunication
• Issues
▫ Selling of indulgences
▫ Attacked the idea of seven
sacraments (eventually
argued there were only two—
baptism and marriage)
Islam
• Founded by Muhammad in
Arabia 610 CE
• Muhammad was born in
Mecca but moved to Medina to
spread his message
• After Muhammad’s death his
followers continued to spread
his message
• Main sects
▫ Sunni
▫ Shiite
Islamic Beliefs
• Sacred Text: Koran
▫ Written after Muhammad’s
death
▫ Revelations sent from Allah
to Muhammad
• Five Pillars of Islam
▫ There is no god but God
(Allah) and Muhammad is
the prophet of God
▫ Pray 5 times a day
▫ Zakat—monetary gift to the
church
▫ Fasting during Ramadan
▫ Hajj– Pilgrimage to Mecca
Abraham
• Important to Jews, Christians,
and Muslims
• He is believed to be the first
man to make a spiritual
covenant with God.
▫ He would be the father of a
nation
• Abraham was married to Sarai
(Sarah)
▫ Two sons – two women
▫ Ishmael (Muslims) and Issac
(Jews and Christians)
Crusades
• Began in 1096 and continued
on and off for hundreds of
years
▫ Christianity had been strong
in the Roman Empire but
when Rome fell the Muslims
added territory
• Began when Christians set out
to recapture the Holy Land
from Muslims
Jerusalem
• Temple Mount
▫ From where Jews believe they
will ascend to heaven when
the Messiah arrives
• Dome of the Rock
▫ Muslims believe this is where
Muhammad ascended to
heaven
▫ Jews mark the same place as
where Abraham offered his
son for sacrifice to God
• Wailing Wall
• Al-Aqsa Mosque