Download PHIL 200 (Comparative Religion) Lectures Part 1 1. Religion: Part 1

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PHIL 200 (Comparative Religion) Lectures Part 1 1. Religion: Part 1 • Divine Beings
2. Shamanism • Human well-being is created by supernatural forces: “Animism”
• Shaman uses altered states of consciousness to contact the spirit world
• Ecstasy: “ec-stasis”
• Experience of “death”, healing power
• “Charismatic”
3. Séance • Spirit possession
• Drumming & chanting
• Hallucinogens
• Controls spirits
• “worship” demons that cause disease, mental illnesses, social pathology, crime
• Sacrifices to save the afflicted
4. Example of shamanism • Huichol
• Pilgrimage
• Purity
• Spiritual transformation by movement through space
• Peyote
• Is there any difference between “getting high” as a recreational activity, and the ritual exemplified in
this video?
5. Chinese Shamanism & Divination 6. Modern Divination Horns 7. Divination (2) • “The worshipper will hold these together in her hand and ask the god a question. She will then toss
them to the floor. If they both fall in the same direction the answer is ‘no good;’ if they [sic] one
falls face up and the other falls face down, the answer is ‘good.’”
8. Polytheism • Hinduism:
• Gods as the manifestations of Brahman
• Ultimate Reality, Ground of Being
9. 10. 11. Vedic Hinduism • Scriptures of the Aryans: the “Vedas”
• Gods: Indra, Varuna (Religions of the World: 64-5, 86-7)
• Animal Sacrifice
• Agni
• Soma : hallucinogenic drink
• The “caste” system created by Sacrifice of “Purusa”
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PHIL 200 (Comparative Religion) Lectures Part 1 • • • • 12. Major groups All gods are avatars (embodiments) of Brahman
Saktas (female)
Vishnu: (Vaishnavites) order, goodness of life (Religions of the World: 76-7)
Shiva (Saivites) (Religions Of The World: 75)
• Death and life, order and chaos
• Kali: goddess of destruction
13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. Puja: worship, devotion 25. Origins of monotheism • The Israelites and Early Judaism
• • • • 26. Israelites: Origins Jews come from Israelites
Israelites were a people, became a nation around 1000 BCE
The “bridge” between Egypt and Mesopotamia
Language “Hebrew” →“the Hebrew Scriptures”
• = the Christian “Old Testament”
27. Israelites become a People (Religions Of The World: 180-­2) • Abraham, Isaac, Jacob
• “Israel” (eponym)
• “Israelites” enslaved in Egypt (ca. 1500 bce)
• “Exodus” & Moses
• God as “YHWH”
• “Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh”
• I am who (what) I am, or,…
• I will be who (what) I will be
• Yhwh gives Torah
28. “Israel” (the nation) (Religions Of The World: 183) • “Invasion” of Canaan
• Melded with indigenous peoples
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PHIL 200 (Comparative Religion) Lectures Part 1 • Language (Hebrew dialect of Canaanite)
• Yhwh +“Elohim” = “the Lord God”
• Sacrificial religion
• David, c. 1000 bce
• Solomon built great temple
29. 30. 31. 32. 33. “Solomon’s Temple” 34. End of Israel (Religions Of The World, 184) • Separated into two kingdoms
• Israel destroyed 722 bce
• Judah destroyed 586 bce→ Babylonian Exile (Captivity)
35. 36. Origins of “Monotheism” • Polytheism, gods had a place
• God guaranteed success and well-being
• Disaster meant the god had failed
• The God of the Jews moved with them
• God could be anywhere (“Readings,” #5)
• God had power everywhere
• “One God”!
37. Everywhere, all the Time • God not divided into roles
• No other god to turn to
• It wasn’t the god who had failed
• Following “rules” brings well-being
• Gives moral guidance
• = “Ethical Monotheism”
38. • • • • 39. Beginning of Early Judaism 500 BCE (Religions Of The World, 184-­5) Returned to their home land
Temple rebuilt
“Judahites” → “Yudaious” → “Jews”
“Set-apartness”
• “Be separate” (ethnic distinctiveness”
• → sanctification
40. “The Covenant” • Basic idea
• King and people
• “give allegiance to me, I’ll help you”
PHIL 200 (Comparative Religion) Lectures Part 1 • Noah: basic moral laws, don’t eat blood or living animals
• Abraham: Circumcision
• “Mosaic” Covenant: Torah
41. Creation and Evil in the Bible • “…and God said…”
• Humanity “created…in his image”
• He “found it very good”
• Origins of Evil
• “be like divine beings”
• “who told you that you were naked”?
• “knowing good and bad”
• Expulsion from paradise
42. The “true” God and gods • They’re made; they cannot “save” us
• “gods” are “carried” & dressed
• They can’t tell the future
• The “true” God
• Controls creation (don’t fear “signs”)
• He predicts the future and answers prayers
• Were the Jews justified in claiming that their god was the only god? (50%)
43. Daoism and Buddhism • The nature of reality and problem of evil
44. The “Dao” according to Daoism • Dao De Jing
• = Tao Te Ching
• purportedly written by Lao-tzu
• Not “name-able” (Religions Of The World: 140)
• Infinite source
• But “no-thing”
• Not definable, not describable
45. Wu-­nian and Wu-­wei • Non-thought (Religions Of The World: 141)
• Don’t mentally attach yourself to appearances
• Accept life as it is, don’t “label” things
• The unity of the “good” and “bad”
• Non-action (Religions Of The World: 141-2)
• Don’t seek for recognition or assert yourself
• Don’t be “compassionate”
• Don’t attempt to change the world
46. Buddhism (Religions Of The World: 102) • Siddhartha Gautama
• Tradition: circa 560 BCE, prince
• The king’s protection
• Gods intervened with “4 sights”
• Old age
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PHIL 200 (Comparative Religion) Lectures Part 1 • Disease
• Corpse
• Ascetic
47. What is the solution to suffering? • “The great going forth”
• Renounces the world: asceticism (Religions Of The World: 118-9)
• (=“great renunciation”)
• (Religions Of The World: 102-3)
• Doesn’t work
• The Bodhi tree
48. 49. “The Buddha” • • • • • “The awakened (enlightened) one”
Religions Of The World: 120
The Middle Way
The Four Noble Truths (next slide)
The Eightfold Path
50. The Four Noble Truths (summary: Religions Of The World: 104) • First truth: diagnosis of problem
• Second truth: diagnosis of cause
• Third truth: prescription of cure
• “Nirvana”: Extinction/extinguishment
• Fourth truth: Path to cure
• The “Eightfold Path”
• “Be lamps unto yourselves”
51. Tathagata • Where is the Buddha? What is Nirvana?
• §20 a
• Beyond definition
• neither positive nor negative
• nor some combination
• Tathagata: “thus gone”
• Is “evil” a problem? Does it need to be explained? Does it need to be solved?
52. Christianity • Jesus Christ as the incarnation of God
53. Jesus • “the kingdom of God”
• 63 bce: Romans conquer Jewish kingdom
• John the Baptist
• Jesus’ ministry (Religions Of The World: 207-8)
• Healings and exorcism
• “The Beatitudes”; “Pray then in this way”
• “The Son of man”— “in my name” [vice-regent]
• Crucifixion and purported resurrection
PHIL 200 (Comparative Religion) Lectures Part 1 54. Titles of Jesus (Religions Of The World: 215) • • • • Lord
Christ (Greek translation of “Messiah”=“anointed one”)
Son (of God)
Logos: “the Word”
• Mediator between God & World
• Incarnation of Word
• (Fully divine and fully human)
55. God as Trinity • One God
• Fully unified, one divine “intention”
• Three “persons”
• “Masks,” “characters”
• Father, Son, Holy Spirit
• God reveals himself in…Jesus Christ is experienced as divine power…through power of Holy Spirit
56. Religion: Question #2 • How do we organize society?
57. How do we organize society? • Hinduism
• Class and caste
• The 4 Paths of Salvation
• Judaism and Islam
• Sanctification & Purity
• The Five Pillars of Islam
• • • • • • 58. Class System (Religions Of The World: 68) (sacrifice of “Purusa”)
Brahmins: priests→ teachers
Kshatriyas: warriors & rulers
Vaishyas: productive class
Shudras: servants
“Out-castes” = “Dalit”
59. Dalit 60. Classes and Castes • Classes are sub-divided into castes
• Castes are “job sub-classifications”
• A Brahmin could be a scholar, temple priest, or astrologer
• “A place for everyone”[male]
61. The Problem of the Class System • How do we tell a man that he must be what his father was?
• Karma= “Action”
• Present life is “created by” by past lives
• This solution became a problem
• You had to go through cycle of life, death, rebirth=samsara
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PHIL 200 (Comparative Religion) Lectures Part 1 62. The Solution of moksha • “Liberation”
• Asceticism & Meditation
• We are attached to desire, our “self”
• Non-attachment
• self-denial
• The true self is “the Real”
• “Atman is Brahman”
• Religions Of The World: 66 (bottom)-68; 87b
63. 64. 65. 66. 67. 68. Modern ascetic (a “yogi”) • • • • 69. Bhavagad Gita (Religions Of The World: 71-­2, 88-­9) How can one do one’s social duties and still achieve moksha?
Gain mystical insight into “reality”
Do your duty without desire
Be devoted to a god
70. Ways of “Salvation” • Jnana yoga: mystical wisdom
• Raja Yoga: physical discipline
• Karma yoga: duty
• Rituals, Caste, dharma
• Bhakti yoga: devotion, “love”
71. Karma Yoga (1) • Laws of Manu (200 BCE — 200 CE)
• Three “Debts”
(“twice-born”
males)
• Study
• Sons
• Sacrifice
72. Four Stages of Life (Religions Of The World: 87b-­88a) • Student
• Householder
• receives sacrificial fire from father at marriage
• Retirement, forest-dweller
• Sannyasin, ascetic
73. Judaism and Islam • Purity
• Animal → Human
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PHIL 200 (Comparative Religion) Lectures Part 1 • To be “set apart,” holy: “sanctification”(Judaism & Christianity)
• Judaism: kashrut, “family purity”
• Islam: halal
74. Legal organization of Judaism • Halakha(h): A legal text of Judaism
• Rabbis
• Students
• Teach
• Apply as judges
• Torah: God’s teaching
• Given to Moses
• In two forms: written and oral
75. 76. The Texts of Judaism • Hebrew Bible =
• Tanak (T-N-K)
• Torah = teachings, law
• Nevi’im = prophets (incl. History)
• Kethuvim = writings, “miscellaneous”
77. Texts of Judaism (2) • “No transparency of meaning”
• The Mishnah (Religions Of The World: 186, 200-1)
• Written “edition” of the Oral Torah
• Judah the Patriarch, c. 200 CE
• The Talmud
• The Mishnah + Gemara (“commentary”)
• 200-500 CE
78. 79. The (Dual) Torah • “Independence of Halakhic Judgment”
• “Fencing the Torah”
• Make sure one doesn’t break
• Capture all possible problems,
• Example: “You shall not boil a kid in its mother’s milk.”
80. Sanctification • Higher meaning
• restraint and self–discipline
• Holiness
• God is holy: separate from all impurity
• we (Jews) are to be holy
• “sanctification of the name”: show that God is holy
81. Sanctification • “I give thanks before Thee, O Lord my God and God of my fathers, that Thou has set my lot among
those who sit in the House of Study and the Synagogue, and hast not set my lot with those who
PHIL 200 (Comparative Religion) Lectures Part 1 frequent the theatres and circuses; for while I labor to inherit Paradise, they labor for the pit of
destruction”
82. Islam and the Qur’an • Arabic text of prophetic declarations, 7th century (summary: Religions Of The World: 244-5)
• Became the sacred book of Islam
• 693 ce, “Dome of the Rock”
• Books/chapters = “surahs”
• Muhammad, died 632 ce (acc. to tma)
• Received messages via angel “Jibril”
• Understood to be direct words of God
83. Is there an “Abrahamic” religion? • Judaism: “great-grandfather”
• “I will be your God”
• “I will make of you a great nation”
• Christianity
• Not physical, but spiritual ancestor
• “believed in God”
• Islam
• First monotheist
• Unified religion and “creed”
84. The Tradition and Sayings • Sunna (of umma): Unwritten tradition
• Collective body of wisdom and practice
• The actions of Muhammad
• Hadith: Written traditions of “sayings”
• Develop Shari’a, through consensus and analogy
85. “Islam” = submission • Complete, absolute surrender to God
• All reality circumscribed by him
• Sufficiency within God
• To submit is to be a “Muslim”
• “Success”=salvation
• Threatened by shirk (“idolatry”)
• Idol is less than ultimate
• “Come out on top” = be allied with God
86. Five Pillars of Islam (1): Shahadah • “There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the Prophet of God”
• Religions Of The World: 247 bottom
• Profession of faith
• Tawhid
• Unity
• To unify everything under God
87. Five Pillars of Islam (2) • (2) Salat
• Prayer five times day
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PHIL 200 (Comparative Religion) Lectures Part 1 • Ritual purification (wudu)
• (3) Zakat: religious tax
• (4) Sawm: fasting
• month of Ramadan
• Feast of Fast-Breaking (Eid al-Fitr)
88. Five Pillars of Islam (3) • (5) Hajj
• Pilgrimage to Mecca
• Mentally, physically, and financially able
• Embodies unity of Muslim community
• Enact founding events of Islam
89. “Ihram”: Equality and simplicity 90. Great Mosque at Mecca 91. Great Mosque • • • • • • 92. Hajj <http://i-cias.com/e.o/atlas/ill-maps/hajj.gif>
Circumambulation of Ka’bah
• Seven times, beginning and end
Mt. Mercy
Stoning “the devil”
“The running” to Zamzam
“Feast of Sacrifice” (Eid al-Adha)
93. Reenactment of Abraham stories • (Arabia) Hagar expelled into desert: “running”
• Abraham told to sacrifice Ishmael
• Stoning “the devil”
• “Feast of Sacrifice”
• Sharing with needy (thirds)
94. Circumambulation of Kab’ah 95. “Mt. Mercy” 96. Stoning “the Devil” 97. “The Running” 98. 99. A secondary pillar: Jihad • “Struggle in God’s way with your possessions and your selves” (Q. 9:40)
• “Greater”: “Heart, Tongue, Hand,...”
• “Lesser” = Sword
• unbelievers convert or be killed
• “people of the book” allowed to live if they submitted and paid taxes (jizrah)