Final Exam Study Guide on World Religions | RLST 110, Study notes of World Religions

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FINAL STUDYGUIDE HINDUISM  Moksha o Liberation from cycle of rebirth o No more karma o Ultimate freedom  Atman o Fraction of Brahman/fraction of “Cosmic Soul” o Internal reality o Soul (individual)  Brahman o Ultimate reality o Spiritual essence of the universe o Monotheistic o Everything o Divine o No identity, cannot describe  Samsara o “Pnarjanma” o Cycle of rebirth o Transmigration of the soul o World is full of change o Wheel of life  Karma o The chain of cause & effect at every level o “Action” – “to do” o Building up credits of good/bad karma to take to next life o Determines direction of rebirth o Belief that every action has an automatic moral consequence  Bhagavad Gita o “Divine son” or “song of the divine one” o Part of long poem (Mababharata) o Story of Krishna & Arjuna o Prince – Arjuna o Charioteer – Krishna o Written in dialogue  Arjuna o Prince o In Bhagavad Gita o The common man  Krishna o Charioteer & Adviser to Arjuna o In Bhagavad Gita o Interpretation/incarnation of supreme soul (Brahman)  Three Yogas o Path toward liberation/union with Brahman o “Union” o “Margas” – paths  Bhakti Yoga o Devotion Yoga o Worship personal Gods w/ understanding that god is expression of Brahman  Karma Yoga o Action yoga o Deeds done w/o a desire for reward o How actions impact karma  Jnana Yoga o Knowledge yoga o Appropriate for priest/intellectuals  Ahisma o Non-violence BUDDHISM  THREE MARKS OF REALITY o Change – Anitya o Suffering – Dukkha o No Permanent Identity – Anatman  FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS o To Live is to Suffer o Suffering Comes from Desire o To End Suffering, End Desire o Release from Suffering is possible through the Eightfold Path  Nirvana o Ultimate goal of Buddhism o End of suffering o Inner peace o Liberation from limitations in the world  Pure Land Buddhism o Jodo o Devotional form of Buddhism o Practiced by Laypeople & Monks o Repeat a Short Phrase 1 FINAL STUDYGUIDE  Amitabha Buddha o Amida Butsu o Buddha of Western Paradice o A bliss-body Buddha in Mahayan  Zen Buddhism o Ch’an o School of Mahayan o Seated Meditation  THREE VEHICLES -branches of Buddhism o Theraveda  Unchanged Buddhist teachings  Conservative  Sri Lanka & SE Asia  LESSER VEHICLE o Mahayan  GREAT VEHICLE  Nirvana attainable by everyone, not just monks o Vajrayana  DIAMOND VEHICLE  Complex, unique elements  Hidden, not openly taught CONFUCIANISM/DAOISM  Laozi o Lao Tzu o “Old master” or “old child” o May have never been a real person or the blending of historical information about several figured or a mythic creation o Daoists trace themselves back to this legendary figure  Daodejing o Tao Te Ching o Short book of about 5,000 Chinese characters, 81 chapters o Great classic of Daoism, accepted by most Daoists as a central scripture o Can also be called Laozi (Lao Tzu) after its author o References Dao  Yin & Yang o 2 complementary principles in the way universe expresses itself o Light & Dark, Day & Night, etc o Symbolized by a circle of light and dark (emblem of balance), represent the complementary but opposing forces of the universe that generate all forms of reality  The Dao o Tao o Mysterious reality makes nature to be what it is and act the way it does o The way nature expresses itself o Can be experience and followed by every individual thing that has a name o Everything is a manifestation of the Dao o Way or Rhythm of Nature  Zhuanghzi (Chuang Tzu) o Enriched Daoism with his work o Book of writings, 7 inner chapters, 26 outer chapters  Wu Wei o Ideal of effortlessness o “No action” o Avoidance of unnecessary action or action that is not spontaneous o No stern commandments, but recommendations on how to live  Master Kong (Confucius) o Kongzi o From a once-noble family that fled to Lu in time of political danger o 551 BCE – 479 BCE o Later known as Kong Fuzi  The Analects o Thought to record the sayings of Confucius and his followers o “to subdue one’s self and return to propriety, is perfect virtue”  FIVE VIRTUES o Ren – kindness, considerate of others o Li – social propriety o Shu – reciprocity o Xiao – filial piety o Wen – culture 2 FINAL STUDYGUIDE o Jihad  Religious struggle  Struggle with self  Armed struggle – noble  Mecca – preaching to self  Medina – had to protect themselves o Hirabah  Terrorism  Show power/violence against innocents to gain fear  Random acts of violence o Fatwa  Non-binding, but legitimizing legal advice  Issued by scholars  Ali o 4th Caliph o Muhammad’s cousin  Sunni o Follow line of 1st Caliph, majority (85%) o Feeling of equal responsibility, maintaining religious  Shi’a (Shi’ite) o Follow Ali, minority o Structured hierarchy  Hijra o 622 CE, Year 1 o Start of Islam’s calendar year  Imam o Religious leader o Infaliable leader o Leader of shi’ites o Currently not a leader for most  Umma o First Muslim community  Twelver o Largest branch of shi’ites o Imam is hidden  Sufism o Extreme devotion, mystical o Follow jihad of self o Distance from ego, finding God  Wahhabism (Saudi Arabia) o Opposite of Sufism o Military-like o Often thought of as fundamental, militant  Ka’ba (Kabah) o In Mecca o Covered with drape o Central important o Sacred because Qur’an says built by Abraham, etc o Dedicated to one God  Hadith o Narrative reports of Muhammad’s life Theology – 3 Classic Debates o 1. Free Will/Predestination o Qur’an supports both o 2. Emphasis on faith of deeds? o 3. What is the nature of God? CHRISTIANITY  Gospel o Written remembrances of Jesus’ words and deeds o Strongly colored by the viewpoints of their writers and culture of the period o Can also mean “good news” o Educate believers on Jesus’ life  Synoptic Gospels o Term to refer to the first three gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke), which share sufficient material to allow them to be compared on a systematic basis, looked at together  Gospel of John o World has turned its back on God o World is evil o If you believe in Jesus/God, you will be saved and have eternal life  Gospel of Mark 5 FINAL STUDYGUIDE o Forces of Good v Forces of Evil o Jesus exercises power over evil  Sacrament o Rituals that are understood to be visible signs of the operation of God’s grace o Catholic & Orthodox – 7 recognized o Protestant – 2 sacraments are recognized  Byzantine Empire o Ancient Greek city in Asia Minor, on which site the emperor Constantine established the new capital of the Roman empire, Constantinople o Fall of Constantinople in 1453 to Turkish invaders  Icon o An image of Christ or a saint used to facilitate worship or meditation o Conflict over the proper use of religious images caused the major disputes in the Byzantine church, dividing those two advocated the veneration of icons (known as “iconodules”) and those who opposed religious use of images (known as “iconoclasts”)  Orthodoxy o Means of establishing membership of a religious group on the basis of profession and proper belief o After collapse of Byzantine empire, Orthodoxy also came to refer to the group of national churched united by their allegiance to the patriarchate, traditional rules, and distinctive theology of the Greek church  Jesus’ life – look at handout  Martin Luther o Initiated the Reformation in 1517 by posting the 95 Theses, a set of suggested reforms for the Catholic Church. His mottos were sola fide and sola scriptura, meaning that the mediation of a church was necessary both for salvation and the understanding of the Bible  Sola Fide o Faith alone  Sola Scriptura o Scripture alone  John Calvin o A Reformation leader in Geneva, Switzerland, beginning in 1536 o Known for his belief in predestination (Institutes of the Christian Religion)  Thomas Aquinas o A medieval Catholic figure who is associated with the development of Scholasticism, a movement that attempted to reconcile religious teachings with philosophy, particularly that of Aristotle  William Seymour o Important leader in the founding of Pentecostalism in the 20th century in America o Key figure in the 1906 Azusa Street Revival  The Gospel of Mark o 78-70 CE o Shortest of the 4 gospels o Oldest o No infancy stories, begins instead with the adult public life of Jesus  The Gospel of Matthew o 80-90 CE o Written for Jewish audience  Sermon on the Mount o Matthew 5-7 o Jesus delivers his teachings on a mountain, just as Moses delivered the 10 Commandments from another mountain. o Also contains many quotations from the Hebrew Scriptures, showing that Jesus was their fulfillment  The Gospel of Luke o 80-90 CE 6 FINAL STUDYGUIDE o Sense of wonder o Speaks repeatedly of the miraculous action of the Spirit of God at work in the world o “Woman’s gospel” … portraits of Mary & Elizabeth o Mercy & Compassion, focus on the underdog o Story of Good Samaritan  The Gospel of John o 90-100 CE o Stands by itself o Elaboration of Christian doctrines o Views human life as a struggle between the principles of light and darkness o Portrayal of Jesus full of mystery  Apostle o One of Jesus’ 12 disciples o Early preacher of Christianity  Protestant Principle o The right of each believe to radically rethink and interpret the ideas and values of Christianity, apart from any church authority  Original Sin o An inclination toward evil, inherited by human beings as a result of Adam’s disobedience  Eucharist o “Good gift” o The Lord’s Supper JUDAISM  Torah o “Teaching,” “Instruction” o The first 5 books of the Hebrew scriptures; also, the additional instructions of God, believed by many to have been transmitted orally from Moses through a succession of teachers and rabbis  Tanakh o The complete Hebrew scriptures, made up of the Torah, Prophets (Nevi’im), and Writings (Ketuvim)  Talmud o An encyclopedic commentary on the Hebrew scriptures  Midrash o “Search” o Rabbinical commentary on the scriptures and oral law  Nevi’im o “Prophets” o The 2nd section of the Hebrew scriptures, made up of historical and prophetic books  Ketuvim o “Writings” o The 3rd section of the Hebrew scriptures, consisting primarily of poetry, proverbs, and literary works  Sephardim o Jews of Spain, Morocco, and the Mediterranean region  Ashkenazim o Jews who lived in or came from central Europe  Pharisees o A fraction during the Second Temple period that emphasized the observation of biblical rules  Sadducees o A priestly faction, influential during the Second Temple period  Essenes o A reclusive semi-monastic Jewish group that flourished from 150 BCE to 68 CE  Zealots o An anti-Roman, nationalistic Jewish faction, active during the Roman period of control over Israel  Rabbi o A religious teacher o A Jewish minister 7