Originally written August 6, 2010
Farcical short story idea: Based on the poem, The Bagel by David Ignatow
Good Anti-War Poem. All Quiet by David Ignatow
Baha'i Faith = Nine Manifestations of God.
The Nineness
The Oneness
Showing posts with label Baha'i. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Baha'i. Show all posts
Friday, August 6, 2010
Monday, April 23, 2007
Eschatology in various religions
(Originally written April 23, 2007 in Book 15)
Chapter 7: Eschatology & Hope for the Future
Time plays crucial and different roles in various religions.
A Geometry of Time
The modern secular view of time is entirely linear. Time is a sequence of moments.
Most believe that time had some origin (whatever they claim it to be), but others like the physicist Stephen Hawkins deny that time has a beginning or an end.
Conversely, the Western monotheistic religions believe time has both a beginning and an end. In addition Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Zoroastrianism each have a mid point.
Pre-literate cultures believe that (according to Mircea Eliade) time was not linear, but circular. Time in our world mirrored the "time of the gods".
Eliade makes notice that as cultures move from preliterate to literate they drop the circular conception of, but not wholly. Anniversaries, holidays and birthdays are hold overs from circular time conceptions.
Eliade notes that archaic people (pre-Literates) have no hope or notion of the future. Likewise pure secularists have no hope for the future because they deny any telos (goal/end) for time.
Jainism's conception of time is divided into six ages and moves from best to worst then worst to best again.
Hinduism believes time is cyclical.
Buddhism also has a cyclical conception of time.
The Future in Traditional Religion
In African culture there are two modes of time:
1) Sasa - time of every day events
2) Zamani - Mythological time
People like in sass time. When they are born they are actualized into sass. When they die that actualization is completed and the process of de-actualization begins. As the ones who know them slowly die off the dead move further from the sasa into the zamani. Eventually they are engulfed in Zamani time.
Zamani gives purpose to sasa, but does not extend it.
The Christianization of Africa has taken two forms:
1) A traditional European style
2) A syncretism of traditional African religion and Christianity (independent churches).
The "independent churches" of Africa have adopted an eschatology, thus giving them hope for the future which traditional African conceptions of time denied them.
The Future in Western Religions
The future of Western Religions is tied into their messianic figures.
Judaism
Judaism had several messianic expectations by the time of Christ. Many the Messiah would liberate the Jews from Roman oppression and reestablish Israel.
The Essenes at Qumran expected at least two messiahs: a messianic king and a messianic priest.
The Saducees and the ruling priests might not have anticipated a messiah at all.
The messiah was expected to be human, but equal to God's first created being, the angel Metatron.
Also, the messiah would be the Son of David and heir to the throne.
The messiah would restore Israel politically and spiritually.
The messiah would liberate Jews from oppression.
Judaism has had a history of messianic pretenders. Bar Kokhba in the 2nd century and Sabbatai Zevi in the 17th century are the most notable two.
The Hasidic movement has shied away from claiming messianic status of their leaders and even opposed the creation of the modern state of Israel because they believed it was blasphemous to have Israel without a messianic king.
Reform Jews have given up the search for a Messiah.
Islam
Islam hopes for the Mahdi (the right guided one) as the last messenger of Allah.
The Mahdi is based on the Hadith, not the Qur'an.
The majority of Muslims are Sunni muslims and do not have a specific Mahdi theology.
The Shi'ite Muslims believe the Mahdi has a theological role.
Jesus Christ is the second most important prophet in Islam. Islam believes that Christ will return before the judgment and lead the faithful in prayer. But usually Jesus is not considered the Mahdi.
Shi'ite muslims claimed that the imams had the same spiritual authority as Muhammad. They have a super human standing.
The last imam to have this authority, according to the Shi'ites did not die, but went into hiding. He will return as the Mahdi.
Islam has had a number of Mahdi pretenders.
Umar II, one of the caliphs of the Umayyad dynasty was revered as the Mahdi for a while.
Mohammad Ahmad in the 19th century sought to overthrow the Ottoman Empire from Sudan. He claimed to be the Mahdi. His revolution was put down by the Turks, the British and a counter-Mahdi, Sanusi Al-Mahdi.
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian claimed to be the Mahdi, the second coming of Christ and an avatar of Krishna. There are two groups that follow his teaching still.
Baha'i began as an offshoot of Shi'ites.
The Bab claimed to be the Mahdi in 1844.
Baha'ullah declared himself to be the successor of the Bab and established Baha'i.
In the future another manifestation of God will follow if there needs to be one.
Zoroastrianism
Zoroaster is to be succeeded every 1,000 years by his direct descendants.
Three times, a thousand years apart, a virgin will bathe in the lake and become impersonated with his sperm.
Aushetar, Aushetar mah, and Saoshyant will be born as prophets like Zoroaster. Saoshyant will restore true religion and usher in the purification of all human beings.
Chapter 7: Eschatology & Hope for the Future
Time plays crucial and different roles in various religions.
A Geometry of Time
The modern secular view of time is entirely linear. Time is a sequence of moments.
Most believe that time had some origin (whatever they claim it to be), but others like the physicist Stephen Hawkins deny that time has a beginning or an end.
Conversely, the Western monotheistic religions believe time has both a beginning and an end. In addition Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Zoroastrianism each have a mid point.
Pre-literate cultures believe that (according to Mircea Eliade) time was not linear, but circular. Time in our world mirrored the "time of the gods".
Eliade makes notice that as cultures move from preliterate to literate they drop the circular conception of, but not wholly. Anniversaries, holidays and birthdays are hold overs from circular time conceptions.
Eliade notes that archaic people (pre-Literates) have no hope or notion of the future. Likewise pure secularists have no hope for the future because they deny any telos (goal/end) for time.
Jainism's conception of time is divided into six ages and moves from best to worst then worst to best again.
Hinduism believes time is cyclical.
Buddhism also has a cyclical conception of time.
The Future in Traditional Religion
In African culture there are two modes of time:
1) Sasa - time of every day events
2) Zamani - Mythological time
People like in sass time. When they are born they are actualized into sass. When they die that actualization is completed and the process of de-actualization begins. As the ones who know them slowly die off the dead move further from the sasa into the zamani. Eventually they are engulfed in Zamani time.
Zamani gives purpose to sasa, but does not extend it.
The Christianization of Africa has taken two forms:
1) A traditional European style
2) A syncretism of traditional African religion and Christianity (independent churches).
The "independent churches" of Africa have adopted an eschatology, thus giving them hope for the future which traditional African conceptions of time denied them.
The Future in Western Religions
The future of Western Religions is tied into their messianic figures.
Judaism
Judaism had several messianic expectations by the time of Christ. Many the Messiah would liberate the Jews from Roman oppression and reestablish Israel.
The Essenes at Qumran expected at least two messiahs: a messianic king and a messianic priest.
The Saducees and the ruling priests might not have anticipated a messiah at all.
The messiah was expected to be human, but equal to God's first created being, the angel Metatron.
Also, the messiah would be the Son of David and heir to the throne.
The messiah would restore Israel politically and spiritually.
The messiah would liberate Jews from oppression.
Judaism has had a history of messianic pretenders. Bar Kokhba in the 2nd century and Sabbatai Zevi in the 17th century are the most notable two.
The Hasidic movement has shied away from claiming messianic status of their leaders and even opposed the creation of the modern state of Israel because they believed it was blasphemous to have Israel without a messianic king.
Reform Jews have given up the search for a Messiah.
Islam
Islam hopes for the Mahdi (the right guided one) as the last messenger of Allah.
The Mahdi is based on the Hadith, not the Qur'an.
The majority of Muslims are Sunni muslims and do not have a specific Mahdi theology.
The Shi'ite Muslims believe the Mahdi has a theological role.
Jesus Christ is the second most important prophet in Islam. Islam believes that Christ will return before the judgment and lead the faithful in prayer. But usually Jesus is not considered the Mahdi.
Shi'ite muslims claimed that the imams had the same spiritual authority as Muhammad. They have a super human standing.
The last imam to have this authority, according to the Shi'ites did not die, but went into hiding. He will return as the Mahdi.
Islam has had a number of Mahdi pretenders.
Umar II, one of the caliphs of the Umayyad dynasty was revered as the Mahdi for a while.
Mohammad Ahmad in the 19th century sought to overthrow the Ottoman Empire from Sudan. He claimed to be the Mahdi. His revolution was put down by the Turks, the British and a counter-Mahdi, Sanusi Al-Mahdi.
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian claimed to be the Mahdi, the second coming of Christ and an avatar of Krishna. There are two groups that follow his teaching still.
Baha'i began as an offshoot of Shi'ites.
The Bab claimed to be the Mahdi in 1844.
Baha'ullah declared himself to be the successor of the Bab and established Baha'i.
In the future another manifestation of God will follow if there needs to be one.
Zoroastrianism
Zoroaster is to be succeeded every 1,000 years by his direct descendants.
Three times, a thousand years apart, a virgin will bathe in the lake and become impersonated with his sperm.
Aushetar, Aushetar mah, and Saoshyant will be born as prophets like Zoroaster. Saoshyant will restore true religion and usher in the purification of all human beings.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Morality & Guilt in various religions
(Originally written April 11, 2007 in book 15)
Chapter 4 - Morality & Guilt
Some fundamental distinctions
There are many moral concepts that are universal to all religions.
Duties in Religion
1. Moral Norms
2. Religious Norms
A. Obligatory Actions
B. Ritual avoidances
i. Defilement of self
ii. Defilement of the Holy
The Common Core
There are similarities in moral codes from religion to religion, but upon closer examination they can be seriously different.
Some principles may seem similar like Thou Shall Not Kill of Judaism & Christianity and the principle of ahimsa - the 10 precepts of Buddhism. But, "Thou shall not kill" means do not murder, while ahimsa is no harming of life whatsoever.
Other principles are completely contrary from religion to religion. The second commandment, "Thou shall not bow down before any graven images" is contrary to the statues of Buddhas, an integral part of Buddhism. Ahimsa is contrary to the animal sacrifice of the Old Testament.
Religious and ethical considerations go hand in hand. An ethical concept of a religion cannot be isolated from the overall context of that religion.
The Ceremonial Dimension
Sin and defilement are very different. Sin (a breaking of a moral rule) involves intent, whereas defilement (a breaking of a ceremonial rule) completely disregards intent.
Moral, religious, and ceremonial concepts can be isolated only in theory. In practice they work hand in hand and no such distinction is found among practitioners.
Case in point: Christianity
Christianity is not an ethical religion like Judaism or Islam. It is a redemptive religion The heart of Christianity is not its moral code (it does have one) but a historical event leading to the salvation of men.
The Law within Christianity operates in a few ways:
1) It governs life so that life is actually livable.
2) It functions as a "schoolmaster" (Galatians 3:24). It prepares us for adoption into God's family. It shows us that we are incapable of earning admittance into God's family and that we can enter only by Grace.
3) The keeping of the law is only possible via the regenerative work of the Holy Spirit.
"Christian ethics apart from a Christian supernatural setting is pointless" (Corduan, 88).
Christian religion and Christian ethics are utterly and wholly intertwined. Without the theological underpinnings of Christianity all that is left is an impossible moral code.
From its inception Christianity ahas been against many of the ritual prohibitions that were integral parts of Jewish and Gentile societies.
The only occurrence of ceremonial purity in the New Testament is Paul's admonishment of the Corinthians' treatment of the Lord's supper (1 Corinthians 11:17-34).
Corduan believes that this admonition is not so much a command for personal holiness prior to partaking of Communion, but a mandate to understand communion correctly and to treat it with proper respect. Linehan feels that this is a ceremonial purity issue right now (subject to change of course).
Side not: It may not be a call to become personally holy before partaking communion because that would in fact deny the nature of communion, but a more inner ceremonial purity in being ready to partake of communion. As for what communion is I am not ready to give it the Catholic transubstantiation status, but neither do I want to reduce it to a mere remembrance of the event. I think it is a true partaking of something holy and not merely a remembrance of something holy.
In various aspects of Christendom throughout history some ceremonial purity has emerged, but is not a part of the New Testament.
Ethics in the religious universe
Judaism & Islam have similar ethical codes.
Judaism has a longer history and a much more detailed set of codes.
The moral codes function differently in Islam and Judaism. Adherence to the moral code in Judaism is an expression of the relationship between the Jew and YHWH whereas adherence to the moral code in Islam is the way to enter Heaven for the Muslim.
The standards of Judaism also apply solely to the Jews whereas the moral codes of Islam we taken as universally binding.
Zoroastrianism's moral code is similar to Islamic & Jewish codes. All three were revealed by God to a prophet (Zoroastrianism - Zoroaster, Islam - Muhammad, Judaism - Moses).
Zoroastrianism however is preoccupied with ceremonial purity more than ethical obligations.
In Indic religions (Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism) there is a two-tiered arrangement. Monks have stricter codes than the laity.
The Hindu code is hinged on the caste system. All ethical and moral obligations are tied to one's caste.
Hinduism also has duties associated with stages of life.
A man must become a sannyasin and renounce everything, his name, his family, his caste, etc. in order to achieve moksha (release, liberation).
The monks in Buddhism and Jainism are the only ones capable of release from the cycle of reincarnation. The laity can work to have a better rebirth, but cannot achieve nirvana.
Jainism is harshly ascetic. Eventually a monk will starve himself to achieve his goal.
Buddhism considers itself the "middle way" and is not as ascetic as Jainism.
Buddhism teaches that harsh asceticism can be a hinderance to spiritual enlightenment.
Confucianism is above all else a code of behavior.
Confucianism came to exist within other religions (Daoism/Buddhism in China, Shinto in Japan), not along side it.
Confucianism focuses on human behavior and teaches that proper individual behavior will alleviate societal problems.
Confucianism does not possess within itself any religious doctrine.
Violations and their Consequences
There are two major trajectories in the world's religions:
1) Western/Abrahamic Traditions
- Judaism
- Zoroastrianism
- Islam
- Baha'i
- Christianity
2) Eastern/Indic Traditions
- Hinduism
- Buddhism
- Jainism
- Sikhism
- Daoism
These two groups differ radically on the conception of sin.
In Abrahamic religions sin is an offending of God and breaking the human-God relationship.
In Indic religion sin is a negative Karmic effect.
God is the source of moral rules in monotheistic traditions.
The character of moral law is prescriptive and proscriptive, not descriptive in Abrahamic traditions.
Punishment occurs after sin in the West. It could be a warning, salutary, or be a making of an example out of the person.
Punitive action results out of a decree of a personal God. A personal God can also provide mercy or grace to the sinner.
Sin in the Indic traditions is similar to breaking a natural law.
Indic religions have the concept of Karma, which is not tied to a personal God.
In Hinduism, Karma is tied to Samsara, the cycle of rebirths. One's present life is the result of one's previous life.
Karma is not deterministic or fatalistic in Hinduism. One controls one's karma.
Karma is automated in Hinduism. It is not (usually) a judgment passed by a deity.
Karma is negative and pessimistic. It is viewed as perpetual suffering.
The goal of Hinduism is not to accumulate good karma, but to escape the samsara cycle.
There can be a divine intervention in samsara and karma. This is what the Bhagavad Gita tells Hindus.
The negative aspect of karma is even more noticeable in Buddhism and Jainism.
Buddha taught that there is no individual soul and that each person's an aggregate of effects.
Good karma in Buddhism is karma nonetheless and must be balanced out in another life. The goal is to have no karma at all.
In Jainism, Karma is a dust that accumulates on one's soul.
Only a complet abnégation of life leads to release from samsara.
The goal of a Jain monk is to do nothing and to starve himself to death.
Sin belongs within the framework of a system with a personal God. Karma fits into a framework without a personal deity much better.
Christianity alone possesses the notion of "original sin". At first blush this can appear similar to karma in that everyone is born into a state of condemnation through no fault of our own.
The major misunderstanding with original sin is to tie it to finitude. Our finitude makes it impossible not to sin is a common erroneous belief.
Christ proved that human being can live a sinless life.
Original Sin describes the broken relationship between man and God, not the introduction of finitude.
Healing the Breach
Ronal M. Green distinguishes between four senses of reason
1) Theoretical reason - our conceptualization of the world around us
2) Prudential reason - our capacity for living successfully in the world as we understand it
3) Moral reason - places our priorities in order
4) Religious reason - attempts to reconcile the conflict between prudential and moral reason
Response to the World Parliament Statement
Only the most minimal code seems to be fairly universal (truth-property-life-sex) and even these must not be abstracted from their religious context lest they become equivocations and meaningless.
The statement, originally by Hans Küng calls for an end to prejudice and hate. This is all well and good unless it denies objective truth on matters like abortion and homosexuality. Many Christians are labeled as bigots for their stances on these issues.
Likewise, Küng demands that religions denounce their fundamentalists because they deny peace among religions and without religious peace there can be no world peace. But this world be a denouncement of objective truth on many vital issues.
The 1997 Declaration of a Global Ethic affirms an universal moral code and locates it where it ought to be, within a religious context. But, it does not give any implementation strategy and leave evangelical Christians in a place where they cannot agree with it without giving away too much.
Chapter 4 - Morality & Guilt
Some fundamental distinctions
There are many moral concepts that are universal to all religions.
Duties in Religion
1. Moral Norms
2. Religious Norms
A. Obligatory Actions
B. Ritual avoidances
i. Defilement of self
ii. Defilement of the Holy
The Common Core
There are similarities in moral codes from religion to religion, but upon closer examination they can be seriously different.
Some principles may seem similar like Thou Shall Not Kill of Judaism & Christianity and the principle of ahimsa - the 10 precepts of Buddhism. But, "Thou shall not kill" means do not murder, while ahimsa is no harming of life whatsoever.
Other principles are completely contrary from religion to religion. The second commandment, "Thou shall not bow down before any graven images" is contrary to the statues of Buddhas, an integral part of Buddhism. Ahimsa is contrary to the animal sacrifice of the Old Testament.
Religious and ethical considerations go hand in hand. An ethical concept of a religion cannot be isolated from the overall context of that religion.
The Ceremonial Dimension
Sin and defilement are very different. Sin (a breaking of a moral rule) involves intent, whereas defilement (a breaking of a ceremonial rule) completely disregards intent.
Moral, religious, and ceremonial concepts can be isolated only in theory. In practice they work hand in hand and no such distinction is found among practitioners.
Case in point: Christianity
Christianity is not an ethical religion like Judaism or Islam. It is a redemptive religion The heart of Christianity is not its moral code (it does have one) but a historical event leading to the salvation of men.
The Law within Christianity operates in a few ways:
1) It governs life so that life is actually livable.
2) It functions as a "schoolmaster" (Galatians 3:24). It prepares us for adoption into God's family. It shows us that we are incapable of earning admittance into God's family and that we can enter only by Grace.
3) The keeping of the law is only possible via the regenerative work of the Holy Spirit.
"Christian ethics apart from a Christian supernatural setting is pointless" (Corduan, 88).
Christian religion and Christian ethics are utterly and wholly intertwined. Without the theological underpinnings of Christianity all that is left is an impossible moral code.
From its inception Christianity ahas been against many of the ritual prohibitions that were integral parts of Jewish and Gentile societies.
The only occurrence of ceremonial purity in the New Testament is Paul's admonishment of the Corinthians' treatment of the Lord's supper (1 Corinthians 11:17-34).
Corduan believes that this admonition is not so much a command for personal holiness prior to partaking of Communion, but a mandate to understand communion correctly and to treat it with proper respect. Linehan feels that this is a ceremonial purity issue right now (subject to change of course).
Side not: It may not be a call to become personally holy before partaking communion because that would in fact deny the nature of communion, but a more inner ceremonial purity in being ready to partake of communion. As for what communion is I am not ready to give it the Catholic transubstantiation status, but neither do I want to reduce it to a mere remembrance of the event. I think it is a true partaking of something holy and not merely a remembrance of something holy.
In various aspects of Christendom throughout history some ceremonial purity has emerged, but is not a part of the New Testament.
Ethics in the religious universe
Judaism & Islam have similar ethical codes.
Judaism has a longer history and a much more detailed set of codes.
The moral codes function differently in Islam and Judaism. Adherence to the moral code in Judaism is an expression of the relationship between the Jew and YHWH whereas adherence to the moral code in Islam is the way to enter Heaven for the Muslim.
The standards of Judaism also apply solely to the Jews whereas the moral codes of Islam we taken as universally binding.
Zoroastrianism's moral code is similar to Islamic & Jewish codes. All three were revealed by God to a prophet (Zoroastrianism - Zoroaster, Islam - Muhammad, Judaism - Moses).
Zoroastrianism however is preoccupied with ceremonial purity more than ethical obligations.
In Indic religions (Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism) there is a two-tiered arrangement. Monks have stricter codes than the laity.
The Hindu code is hinged on the caste system. All ethical and moral obligations are tied to one's caste.
Hinduism also has duties associated with stages of life.
A man must become a sannyasin and renounce everything, his name, his family, his caste, etc. in order to achieve moksha (release, liberation).
The monks in Buddhism and Jainism are the only ones capable of release from the cycle of reincarnation. The laity can work to have a better rebirth, but cannot achieve nirvana.
Jainism is harshly ascetic. Eventually a monk will starve himself to achieve his goal.
Buddhism considers itself the "middle way" and is not as ascetic as Jainism.
Buddhism teaches that harsh asceticism can be a hinderance to spiritual enlightenment.
Confucianism is above all else a code of behavior.
Confucianism came to exist within other religions (Daoism/Buddhism in China, Shinto in Japan), not along side it.
Confucianism focuses on human behavior and teaches that proper individual behavior will alleviate societal problems.
Confucianism does not possess within itself any religious doctrine.
Violations and their Consequences
There are two major trajectories in the world's religions:
1) Western/Abrahamic Traditions
- Judaism
- Zoroastrianism
- Islam
- Baha'i
- Christianity
2) Eastern/Indic Traditions
- Hinduism
- Buddhism
- Jainism
- Sikhism
- Daoism
These two groups differ radically on the conception of sin.
In Abrahamic religions sin is an offending of God and breaking the human-God relationship.
In Indic religion sin is a negative Karmic effect.
God is the source of moral rules in monotheistic traditions.
The character of moral law is prescriptive and proscriptive, not descriptive in Abrahamic traditions.
Punishment occurs after sin in the West. It could be a warning, salutary, or be a making of an example out of the person.
Punitive action results out of a decree of a personal God. A personal God can also provide mercy or grace to the sinner.
Sin in the Indic traditions is similar to breaking a natural law.
Indic religions have the concept of Karma, which is not tied to a personal God.
In Hinduism, Karma is tied to Samsara, the cycle of rebirths. One's present life is the result of one's previous life.
Karma is not deterministic or fatalistic in Hinduism. One controls one's karma.
Karma is automated in Hinduism. It is not (usually) a judgment passed by a deity.
Karma is negative and pessimistic. It is viewed as perpetual suffering.
The goal of Hinduism is not to accumulate good karma, but to escape the samsara cycle.
There can be a divine intervention in samsara and karma. This is what the Bhagavad Gita tells Hindus.
The negative aspect of karma is even more noticeable in Buddhism and Jainism.
Buddha taught that there is no individual soul and that each person's an aggregate of effects.
Good karma in Buddhism is karma nonetheless and must be balanced out in another life. The goal is to have no karma at all.
In Jainism, Karma is a dust that accumulates on one's soul.
Only a complet abnégation of life leads to release from samsara.
The goal of a Jain monk is to do nothing and to starve himself to death.
Sin belongs within the framework of a system with a personal God. Karma fits into a framework without a personal deity much better.
Christianity alone possesses the notion of "original sin". At first blush this can appear similar to karma in that everyone is born into a state of condemnation through no fault of our own.
The major misunderstanding with original sin is to tie it to finitude. Our finitude makes it impossible not to sin is a common erroneous belief.
Christ proved that human being can live a sinless life.
Original Sin describes the broken relationship between man and God, not the introduction of finitude.
Healing the Breach
Ronal M. Green distinguishes between four senses of reason
1) Theoretical reason - our conceptualization of the world around us
2) Prudential reason - our capacity for living successfully in the world as we understand it
3) Moral reason - places our priorities in order
4) Religious reason - attempts to reconcile the conflict between prudential and moral reason
Response to the World Parliament Statement
Only the most minimal code seems to be fairly universal (truth-property-life-sex) and even these must not be abstracted from their religious context lest they become equivocations and meaningless.
The statement, originally by Hans Küng calls for an end to prejudice and hate. This is all well and good unless it denies objective truth on matters like abortion and homosexuality. Many Christians are labeled as bigots for their stances on these issues.
Likewise, Küng demands that religions denounce their fundamentalists because they deny peace among religions and without religious peace there can be no world peace. But this world be a denouncement of objective truth on many vital issues.
The 1997 Declaration of a Global Ethic affirms an universal moral code and locates it where it ought to be, within a religious context. But, it does not give any implementation strategy and leave evangelical Christians in a place where they cannot agree with it without giving away too much.
Original Monotheism, Special Revelation and other Scriptures
(Originally written April 11, 2007 in Book 15)
Subsequent Reaction to Schmidt & Original Monotheism
Whether or not one accepts Schmidt's theory it is no longer possible to strictly adhere to an evolutionary theory of religion in light of Schmidt's anthropological evidence.
The most common reaction to Schmidt is to reject his conclusions on an idealogical basis.
Joseph M. Kitasawa claims that while historical evidence is good in the origin theory, any religion's origin is ultimately answerable with metaphysical answers.
Others, like many post-modernists, including David Adams Leeming, claim that religion arises out of a specific social context. Historical investigation is wholly absent from this type of analysis.
Raffaele Pettazzoni attempts to bridge the gap of extreme historistic theories and purely a historical phenomenology. He gave history its due place, but did not draw such strong conclusions as Schmidt.
Pettazzoni maintained that the Supreme god of primitive cultures did not constitute monotheistic religion because that god was a creator and sustainer god, but a remote god nonetheless. He argued that only reform from polytheism could lead to true monotheism.
Summary
There is good reason to believe that religion began with the awareness of a single, creator God.
The God of original monotheism is identical to the God of Scripture in his basic attributes.
The persistence of monotheism can be attributed to the historical continuity with the awareness of God by the first human beings and its reinforcement in general revelation.
General revelation has two dimensions:
1) An intuitive one
2) A rational one
Both yield:
1) Knowledge of the existence of God
2) Knowledge of God's attributes
3) Knowledge of a fundamental moral sense
Chapter 3 - Special Revelation and Non-Christian Scriptures
Christianity maintains that special revelation is located in the Old Testament and New Testament, as well as in Jesus Christ himself.
There are many non-Christian scriptures, but the nature of Scripture is radically different in each religion.
Corduan's "The Protestant Fallacy" is reading other religions' scriptures as one would read the Christian Scriptures. Since scriptural nature varies from religion to religion there can be no single way of reading or regarding Scriptures. One cannot assume the role of Scripture in any religion is identical to the role of Scripture in Christianity.
The Protestant Fallacy
Classical Protestantism holds that the Bible is the literal Word of God and thus, the text is inspired by God.
Protestantism asserts "sola scriptura". That is, there is no other source for propositional revelation other than the Bible.
Protestant Christianity is an "extremely book-bound form of religion" (Corduan, 57-58).
Protestant Christianity stands or falls by Scriptural assertions.
The Protestant fallacy is applying this "sola scriptura" mentality (which is appropriate for the Bible) to other religion's scriptures.
Judaism: The Deuterocanon as key to the Canon
The Protestant fallacy manifests itself when one assumes that to understand Judaism one must simply study the Old Testament.
This can lead to assertions like, "since the Jews no longer perform the ritual sacrifices they are required by their own scriptures, Judaism is internally incoherent".
The Scriptures of Judaism are identical with the Old Testament Canon of Christianity. These books are known in Judaism as the Tanak (TNK).
The Tanak is an acronym based on the Hebrew names of the three divisions of writings:
1) the Law - Torah
2) the Prophets - Nebiim
3) the Writings - Ketubim
When Jerusalem fell in A.D. 70 the Jews began writing down the interpretations of the Tanak which had been entirely oral before.
The Mishnah was produced around A.D. 500. Later, the Talmud was produced.
Since the production of the Talmud, all Judaism is Talmudic Judaism.
Orthodox Judaism holds that the Talmud, though not inspired, is expendable, but not revisable.
Other sects of Judaism, like Cabalistic movements accepted the Zohar as a supplement, but not a replacement, to the Talmud.
While the Tanak is the only Scripture in Judaism, all governance of life is done via the Talmud.
The Jewish Scriptures (for better or worse) must be interpreted through the lens of the Talmud.
Islam: The Qur'an as Event
The Qur'an is the compilation of what was revealed to Muhammad.
The Qur'an is merely excerpts from God's full book in heaven, the umm-al-kitub.
Muslims believe the Qur'an is as it is exactly as it was when it was revealed to Muhammad.
Despite its lofty place in Islam, the Qur'an was supplemented easy on by another book. The Hadith is a collection of the acts and sayings of Muhammad.
While the Hadith is not considered to be revealed like the Qur'an, it is nonetheless as binding as the Qur'an.
The value of the Qur'an within Islam has little to do with its content. The value lies in its very occurrence.
The Qur'an is utterly pristine, whereas other men's revelatory books like Moses' Law, David's Psalms and Jesus' Gospels while being products of revelation were distorted by their followers.
TO recognize the Qur'an is more important than to read it.
The Qur'an is not a human book at all; whereas, the Bible is wholly human and wholly divine.
Muslims believe that the Qur'an mediates God's presence into their lives.
Even in non-Arabic speaking countries the Qur'an is devoutly recited in Arabic. Recitation of the Qur'an is the most important function of the Qur'an in the Muslim community.
Zoroastrianism: A Ritual Accumulation
Similar to the Bible, the canon of Zoroastrianism is a collection of works spanning many centuries.
The Zoroastrianism Scripture is called the Avesta.
The oldest part of the Avesta is the Yasna, which contains hymns called the Gathas, some of which date back to Zoroaster (6th century B.C.).
The Videvdat is the newest part of the Avesta and dates from when Zoroastrianism was the State religion of Iran (A.D. 226 - 637).
The Avesta is not a great source for authoritative information about Zoroastrianism because the language is so impenetrable.
The language of the Gathas is called Avesta because it is simply so different from any other languages.
"One scholar of Iranian religion [H.S. Nybers] has maintained that the Gathas are so difficult to understand because they are intentional gibberish" (Corduan, 62).
Even in the Zoroastrian community, the Avesta is not supposed to be a source of information.
The Avesta is a ritual text used to recite as worship and purification.
Sikhism: A day in the Life of the Book
The Adi Granth is the Scripture of Sikhism.
Nanak (1469-1539) founded Sikhism as a way to bridge Hinduism and Islam. He taught that there is only one God whose nature lies beyond human reason and religious imagery.
Nanak was considered a holy guru by his followers. He was then followed by 9 other holy gurus, each seen as the embodiment of divine light.
Arjan Dev, the 5th Guru compiled all his and the previous gurus' chants and hymns into the Adi Granth.
Gobind Singh (1666-1708) the 10th and final guru, declared that there would be no more gurus and the Adi Granth would be the guru forever more.
From then on the book itself, which is displayed in the Golden Shrine of Amritsa has been recognized as true and binding by all Sikhs.
The Adi Granth is the very embodiment of God.
The Adi Granth functions in two ways:
1) It is the hymn book of the congregation
2) It is venerated as the holy guru.
The actual book is put to sleep in a bed at night and woken up and placed on an altar each morning.
"The basic function of the Adi Granth is an object of veneration, not as a record of revelation" (Corduan, 65).
Baha'i : A Canon Plus a Canon
Baha'i is a young religion founded by Baha'ullah.
Baha'ullah is considered to be a manifestation of God. He was the 9th manifestation after Abraham, Krishna, Moses, Zoroaster, Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad, the Bab and Baha'ullah.
Baha'ullah taught that all these other prophets had inspired writings and that his own writings complete the canon of world Scriptures for the time being.
The Baha'i Scriptures should be read in a similar fashion as the Protestant Christian Bible is, but the Baha'i Scriptures are paralleled by all the other 8 world Scriptures, whereas the Bible stands alone.
Hinduism: A Protean Canon
Eastern religions have sacred texts in a very different way then to Western religions, especially Christianity.
Hindu sacred texts are divided into two groups:
1) The Shruti
2) The Smriti
The Shruti are "seen", they were directly revealed to the semi-divine rishis of old who passed them down.
The Smriti are "heard", they are merely passed down as tradition only.
Shruti:
- Vedas
- Brahmanas
- Upanishads
Smriti:
- Ramayana
- Mahabharata
- Bhagavad Gita
The Smriti are epic poems and the deuterocanon, while the canon is the Vedic complex.
The distinction is much more ambiguous in reality then in theory.
Buddhism: Canon by Selection
Two major books:
1) Poli Canon
2) Lotus Sutra
The Poli Canon contains the Tripitaka (Three Baskets) and is the oldest Buddhist writings.
The Tripitaka is associated with the older, more traditional form of Buddhism, Theravada Buddhism.
The Lotus Sutra is associated with the more recent and more innovative form of Buddhism, Mahayana Buddhism.
Chinese and Japanese Religions
Scriptures and Canon are not easily adapted for Far East Religions.
Religion/Scriptures
Daoism - The Doodejing & the Zhuangzi
Confucianism - The Analects
Shinto - The Kojiki, the Nihong and the Amatsu Narito
The Daodejing contains the wisdom of Lao Tzu, the founder of Daoism.
The Zhuangzi is a collection of anecdotal essays by the teacher Laozi (but probably not the same Laozi/Lao-Tzu)
The Analects is the teachings of Confucius.
The Kojiki is the official Japanese traditional myth. The Nihangi is a supplement to the Kojiki. The Amatsu Nihong is a book of standard prayers and rituals of Shinto.
The Singularity of the Christian Scriptures
The Christian Scriptures is different from all other Scriptures and all Scriptures are unique in their own way.
All Scriptures contain some truths, if truth is meant as that which corresponds to reality.
However, if truth is understood under the coherence theory of truth rather than the correspondence theory of truth then no religions can share truth because they will be truths from differing systems.
Cornelius van Til argued that even knowledge of a flower is different for a Christian and non-Christian. To the Christian, a flower is the creation of a personal God whereas it is a product of chance formation of matter to a non-Christian.
Other Scriptures also contain some wisdom. They also contain some religious truths.
That said, the Bible is sufficient. All we (as Christians) have is the Bible and all we need is the Bible.
There is no deuterocannon in Christianity.
Religious truths in other Scriptures can only be duplications of revealed truths in the Bible.
Other Scriptures do not contain special revelation. But other Scriptures can have a basis in general revelation.
Subsequent Reaction to Schmidt & Original Monotheism
Whether or not one accepts Schmidt's theory it is no longer possible to strictly adhere to an evolutionary theory of religion in light of Schmidt's anthropological evidence.
The most common reaction to Schmidt is to reject his conclusions on an idealogical basis.
Joseph M. Kitasawa claims that while historical evidence is good in the origin theory, any religion's origin is ultimately answerable with metaphysical answers.
Others, like many post-modernists, including David Adams Leeming, claim that religion arises out of a specific social context. Historical investigation is wholly absent from this type of analysis.
Raffaele Pettazzoni attempts to bridge the gap of extreme historistic theories and purely a historical phenomenology. He gave history its due place, but did not draw such strong conclusions as Schmidt.
Pettazzoni maintained that the Supreme god of primitive cultures did not constitute monotheistic religion because that god was a creator and sustainer god, but a remote god nonetheless. He argued that only reform from polytheism could lead to true monotheism.
Summary
There is good reason to believe that religion began with the awareness of a single, creator God.
The God of original monotheism is identical to the God of Scripture in his basic attributes.
The persistence of monotheism can be attributed to the historical continuity with the awareness of God by the first human beings and its reinforcement in general revelation.
General revelation has two dimensions:
1) An intuitive one
2) A rational one
Both yield:
1) Knowledge of the existence of God
2) Knowledge of God's attributes
3) Knowledge of a fundamental moral sense
Chapter 3 - Special Revelation and Non-Christian Scriptures
Christianity maintains that special revelation is located in the Old Testament and New Testament, as well as in Jesus Christ himself.
There are many non-Christian scriptures, but the nature of Scripture is radically different in each religion.
Corduan's "The Protestant Fallacy" is reading other religions' scriptures as one would read the Christian Scriptures. Since scriptural nature varies from religion to religion there can be no single way of reading or regarding Scriptures. One cannot assume the role of Scripture in any religion is identical to the role of Scripture in Christianity.
The Protestant Fallacy
Classical Protestantism holds that the Bible is the literal Word of God and thus, the text is inspired by God.
Protestantism asserts "sola scriptura". That is, there is no other source for propositional revelation other than the Bible.
Protestant Christianity is an "extremely book-bound form of religion" (Corduan, 57-58).
Protestant Christianity stands or falls by Scriptural assertions.
The Protestant fallacy is applying this "sola scriptura" mentality (which is appropriate for the Bible) to other religion's scriptures.
Judaism: The Deuterocanon as key to the Canon
The Protestant fallacy manifests itself when one assumes that to understand Judaism one must simply study the Old Testament.
This can lead to assertions like, "since the Jews no longer perform the ritual sacrifices they are required by their own scriptures, Judaism is internally incoherent".
The Scriptures of Judaism are identical with the Old Testament Canon of Christianity. These books are known in Judaism as the Tanak (TNK).
The Tanak is an acronym based on the Hebrew names of the three divisions of writings:
1) the Law - Torah
2) the Prophets - Nebiim
3) the Writings - Ketubim
When Jerusalem fell in A.D. 70 the Jews began writing down the interpretations of the Tanak which had been entirely oral before.
The Mishnah was produced around A.D. 500. Later, the Talmud was produced.
Since the production of the Talmud, all Judaism is Talmudic Judaism.
Orthodox Judaism holds that the Talmud, though not inspired, is expendable, but not revisable.
Other sects of Judaism, like Cabalistic movements accepted the Zohar as a supplement, but not a replacement, to the Talmud.
While the Tanak is the only Scripture in Judaism, all governance of life is done via the Talmud.
The Jewish Scriptures (for better or worse) must be interpreted through the lens of the Talmud.
Islam: The Qur'an as Event
The Qur'an is the compilation of what was revealed to Muhammad.
The Qur'an is merely excerpts from God's full book in heaven, the umm-al-kitub.
Muslims believe the Qur'an is as it is exactly as it was when it was revealed to Muhammad.
Despite its lofty place in Islam, the Qur'an was supplemented easy on by another book. The Hadith is a collection of the acts and sayings of Muhammad.
While the Hadith is not considered to be revealed like the Qur'an, it is nonetheless as binding as the Qur'an.
The value of the Qur'an within Islam has little to do with its content. The value lies in its very occurrence.
The Qur'an is utterly pristine, whereas other men's revelatory books like Moses' Law, David's Psalms and Jesus' Gospels while being products of revelation were distorted by their followers.
TO recognize the Qur'an is more important than to read it.
The Qur'an is not a human book at all; whereas, the Bible is wholly human and wholly divine.
Muslims believe that the Qur'an mediates God's presence into their lives.
Even in non-Arabic speaking countries the Qur'an is devoutly recited in Arabic. Recitation of the Qur'an is the most important function of the Qur'an in the Muslim community.
Zoroastrianism: A Ritual Accumulation
Similar to the Bible, the canon of Zoroastrianism is a collection of works spanning many centuries.
The Zoroastrianism Scripture is called the Avesta.
The oldest part of the Avesta is the Yasna, which contains hymns called the Gathas, some of which date back to Zoroaster (6th century B.C.).
The Videvdat is the newest part of the Avesta and dates from when Zoroastrianism was the State religion of Iran (A.D. 226 - 637).
The Avesta is not a great source for authoritative information about Zoroastrianism because the language is so impenetrable.
The language of the Gathas is called Avesta because it is simply so different from any other languages.
"One scholar of Iranian religion [H.S. Nybers] has maintained that the Gathas are so difficult to understand because they are intentional gibberish" (Corduan, 62).
Even in the Zoroastrian community, the Avesta is not supposed to be a source of information.
The Avesta is a ritual text used to recite as worship and purification.
Sikhism: A day in the Life of the Book
The Adi Granth is the Scripture of Sikhism.
Nanak (1469-1539) founded Sikhism as a way to bridge Hinduism and Islam. He taught that there is only one God whose nature lies beyond human reason and religious imagery.
Nanak was considered a holy guru by his followers. He was then followed by 9 other holy gurus, each seen as the embodiment of divine light.
Arjan Dev, the 5th Guru compiled all his and the previous gurus' chants and hymns into the Adi Granth.
Gobind Singh (1666-1708) the 10th and final guru, declared that there would be no more gurus and the Adi Granth would be the guru forever more.
From then on the book itself, which is displayed in the Golden Shrine of Amritsa has been recognized as true and binding by all Sikhs.
The Adi Granth is the very embodiment of God.
The Adi Granth functions in two ways:
1) It is the hymn book of the congregation
2) It is venerated as the holy guru.
The actual book is put to sleep in a bed at night and woken up and placed on an altar each morning.
"The basic function of the Adi Granth is an object of veneration, not as a record of revelation" (Corduan, 65).
Baha'i : A Canon Plus a Canon
Baha'i is a young religion founded by Baha'ullah.
Baha'ullah is considered to be a manifestation of God. He was the 9th manifestation after Abraham, Krishna, Moses, Zoroaster, Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad, the Bab and Baha'ullah.
Baha'ullah taught that all these other prophets had inspired writings and that his own writings complete the canon of world Scriptures for the time being.
The Baha'i Scriptures should be read in a similar fashion as the Protestant Christian Bible is, but the Baha'i Scriptures are paralleled by all the other 8 world Scriptures, whereas the Bible stands alone.
Hinduism: A Protean Canon
Eastern religions have sacred texts in a very different way then to Western religions, especially Christianity.
Hindu sacred texts are divided into two groups:
1) The Shruti
2) The Smriti
The Shruti are "seen", they were directly revealed to the semi-divine rishis of old who passed them down.
The Smriti are "heard", they are merely passed down as tradition only.
Shruti:
- Vedas
- Brahmanas
- Upanishads
Smriti:
- Ramayana
- Mahabharata
- Bhagavad Gita
The Smriti are epic poems and the deuterocanon, while the canon is the Vedic complex.
The distinction is much more ambiguous in reality then in theory.
Buddhism: Canon by Selection
Two major books:
1) Poli Canon
2) Lotus Sutra
The Poli Canon contains the Tripitaka (Three Baskets) and is the oldest Buddhist writings.
The Tripitaka is associated with the older, more traditional form of Buddhism, Theravada Buddhism.
The Lotus Sutra is associated with the more recent and more innovative form of Buddhism, Mahayana Buddhism.
Chinese and Japanese Religions
Scriptures and Canon are not easily adapted for Far East Religions.
Religion/Scriptures
Daoism - The Doodejing & the Zhuangzi
Confucianism - The Analects
Shinto - The Kojiki, the Nihong and the Amatsu Narito
The Daodejing contains the wisdom of Lao Tzu, the founder of Daoism.
The Zhuangzi is a collection of anecdotal essays by the teacher Laozi (but probably not the same Laozi/Lao-Tzu)
The Analects is the teachings of Confucius.
The Kojiki is the official Japanese traditional myth. The Nihangi is a supplement to the Kojiki. The Amatsu Nihong is a book of standard prayers and rituals of Shinto.
The Singularity of the Christian Scriptures
The Christian Scriptures is different from all other Scriptures and all Scriptures are unique in their own way.
All Scriptures contain some truths, if truth is meant as that which corresponds to reality.
However, if truth is understood under the coherence theory of truth rather than the correspondence theory of truth then no religions can share truth because they will be truths from differing systems.
Cornelius van Til argued that even knowledge of a flower is different for a Christian and non-Christian. To the Christian, a flower is the creation of a personal God whereas it is a product of chance formation of matter to a non-Christian.
Other Scriptures also contain some wisdom. They also contain some religious truths.
That said, the Bible is sufficient. All we (as Christians) have is the Bible and all we need is the Bible.
There is no deuterocannon in Christianity.
Religious truths in other Scriptures can only be duplications of revealed truths in the Bible.
Other Scriptures do not contain special revelation. But other Scriptures can have a basis in general revelation.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Quick survey of world religions
(Originally Written March 26, 2007 in Book 15)
A Tapestry of Faiths
The Common Threads Between Christianity & World Religions
Winfried Corduan
Intervarsity Press: Downers Grove, IL. 2002
Chapter 1: Asking the right Questions
Insofar as Christianity is the religion that expresses the preeminence of Christ, Christianity alone is true and worthwhile.
The relationship between Christianity and other religions have many dimensions of similarity.
1. The Soteriological Dimension
2. The Content Dimension
There are many beliefs that Christianity shares with other religions.
3. The Revelatory Dimension
Many religions claim truth is grounded in revelation.
4. The Apologetic Dimension
5. The Moral Dimension
Most religions include a moral system and many areas resemble each other.
6. The Communication Dimension
A Very Brief History of Religion
Traditional/tribal religions in contrast to enscripturated religions:
Traditional religions are closely tied to their local culture.
Traditional religions tend to be animistic and ritualistic.
They recognize nature spirits and ancestor spirits. Frequently they recognize a high god in the sky.
Western Religions in contrast to Eastern Traditions
Western traditions are largely monotheistic like Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, Islam and Baha'i.
Monotheistic Western Religions Normally have:
1. A strong monotheistic emphasis
2. A strong ethical emphasis
3. A positive approach to history. History is an unfolding of divine revelation and action.
Eastern religions are religions like Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Daoism, Confucianism and Shinto.
Buddhism and Jainism are direct offshoots of Hinduism.
Eastern religions are more divers in belief than Western Religions.
3. Beliefs in Contrast to Cultus:
Cultus is the rituals, altars, hymns, temples, offerings and modes of prayer.
The relationship between a belief system and its cultus can be extremely elastic.
I. Judaism
Origin: Moses, 15th Century B.C.
Essential Beliefs and Practices:
- Monotheism
- obedience to a divinely revealed law
Scriptures:
- The Hebrew Scriptures
- Interpretations of the Scriptures (i.e. the Talmud)
Major Contemporary Divisions
- Orthodox
- Conservative
- Reform
II. Zoroastrianism
Origin: Zoroaster, 6th Century B.C.
Essential Beliefs and Practices
- Monotheism
- Conflict between God (Ahura Mazda) and the evil Spirt (Angra Mainyu)
- Ethical purity
- Ritual cleanliness
Major Contemporary Division
- None
III. Christianity
Origin: Christ, 1st Century A.D.
Essential Beliefs and Practices:
- Trinitarian Monotheism
- Jesus as the Messiah
Scriptures:
- The Bible (Old and New Testaments)
Major Contemporary Divisions:
- Eastern Orthodox
- Roman Catholic
- Protestant
IV. Islam
Origin: Muhammad, (A.D. 570 - 632)
Essential Beliefs and Practices
- Monotheism
- Allah
- Judgment based on their obedience to God's requirement
Scriptures
- The Qu'ran
- Hadith
Major Contemporary Divisions
- Sunnite
- Shi'ites
V. Baha'i
Origin: Baha'ullah 19th Century
Essential Beliefs and Practices
- Baha'ullah was the manifestation of God
- Unity of all religions
- New World Order
Scriptures:
- The writings of Baha'ullah
Major Contemporary Divisions
- None
VI. Hinduism
Origin: 1500 B.C., religion of the Aryans who invaded the Indian subcontinent
Essential Beliefs and Practices
- Extremely diverse
- Samsara (reincarnation)
- Karma
Scriptures
- The Vedas
- The Ramayana
- The Mahabharata
- Brahmans
- Sutras
- Puranas
Major Contemporary Divisions
- Monastic Groups
- Bhakti (personalistic)
- Vaishnavitas
- Shaivites
- Shaktites
VII. Buddhism
Origin: Gautama Buddha (600 B.C.)
Essential Beliefs and Practices
- Salvation = deliverance from the reincarnation cycle
- Nirvana
Scriptures:
- The Tripitaka
- The Lotus Sutra
- Other sutras
Major Contemporary Divisions
- Theravada (Hinayana)
- Mahayana
- Zen
- Pure Land
- Soka Gakkai
- Tibetan
VIII. Jainism
Origin: Mahavira (600 BC)
Essential Beliefs and Practices
- Redemption by elimination of solid karma matter from one's soul
- Worship of the Tirthankaras
Scriptures
- The Agamas
Major Contemporary Divisions
- Digambaras
- Svetambaras
IX. Sikhism
Origin: Guru Nanak (16th Century A.D.)
Essential beliefs and Practices:
- There is one God who is represented on earth by the Holy Book the Adi Granth.
- Escape from the reincarnation cycle
Scriptures
- Adi Granth
Major Contemporary Divisions
- None
X. Daoism
Origins - Lao Zi (Lao-Tzu)
Essential beliefs and practices
- Yin & Yang
Scriptures
- Daodejing
Major Contemporary Divisions
- Daoism is interconnected with other religions, especially Buddhism and Confucianism
XI. Confucianism
Origins: Confucius (6th Century B.C.)
Essential Beliefs and Practices
- Ethical System
Scriptures
- Analects
Major Contemporary Divisions
- None
XII. Shinto
A Tapestry of Faiths
The Common Threads Between Christianity & World Religions
Winfried Corduan
Intervarsity Press: Downers Grove, IL. 2002
Chapter 1: Asking the right Questions
Insofar as Christianity is the religion that expresses the preeminence of Christ, Christianity alone is true and worthwhile.
The relationship between Christianity and other religions have many dimensions of similarity.
1. The Soteriological Dimension
2. The Content Dimension
There are many beliefs that Christianity shares with other religions.
3. The Revelatory Dimension
Many religions claim truth is grounded in revelation.
4. The Apologetic Dimension
5. The Moral Dimension
Most religions include a moral system and many areas resemble each other.
6. The Communication Dimension
A Very Brief History of Religion
Traditional/tribal religions in contrast to enscripturated religions:
Traditional religions are closely tied to their local culture.
Traditional religions tend to be animistic and ritualistic.
They recognize nature spirits and ancestor spirits. Frequently they recognize a high god in the sky.
Western Religions in contrast to Eastern Traditions
Western traditions are largely monotheistic like Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, Islam and Baha'i.
Monotheistic Western Religions Normally have:
1. A strong monotheistic emphasis
2. A strong ethical emphasis
3. A positive approach to history. History is an unfolding of divine revelation and action.
Eastern religions are religions like Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Daoism, Confucianism and Shinto.
Buddhism and Jainism are direct offshoots of Hinduism.
Eastern religions are more divers in belief than Western Religions.
3. Beliefs in Contrast to Cultus:
Cultus is the rituals, altars, hymns, temples, offerings and modes of prayer.
The relationship between a belief system and its cultus can be extremely elastic.
I. Judaism
Origin: Moses, 15th Century B.C.
Essential Beliefs and Practices:
- Monotheism
- obedience to a divinely revealed law
Scriptures:
- The Hebrew Scriptures
- Interpretations of the Scriptures (i.e. the Talmud)
Major Contemporary Divisions
- Orthodox
- Conservative
- Reform
II. Zoroastrianism
Origin: Zoroaster, 6th Century B.C.
Essential Beliefs and Practices
- Monotheism
- Conflict between God (Ahura Mazda) and the evil Spirt (Angra Mainyu)
- Ethical purity
- Ritual cleanliness
Major Contemporary Division
- None
III. Christianity
Origin: Christ, 1st Century A.D.
Essential Beliefs and Practices:
- Trinitarian Monotheism
- Jesus as the Messiah
Scriptures:
- The Bible (Old and New Testaments)
Major Contemporary Divisions:
- Eastern Orthodox
- Roman Catholic
- Protestant
IV. Islam
Origin: Muhammad, (A.D. 570 - 632)
Essential Beliefs and Practices
- Monotheism
- Allah
- Judgment based on their obedience to God's requirement
Scriptures
- The Qu'ran
- Hadith
Major Contemporary Divisions
- Sunnite
- Shi'ites
V. Baha'i
Origin: Baha'ullah 19th Century
Essential Beliefs and Practices
- Baha'ullah was the manifestation of God
- Unity of all religions
- New World Order
Scriptures:
- The writings of Baha'ullah
Major Contemporary Divisions
- None
VI. Hinduism
Origin: 1500 B.C., religion of the Aryans who invaded the Indian subcontinent
Essential Beliefs and Practices
- Extremely diverse
- Samsara (reincarnation)
- Karma
Scriptures
- The Vedas
- The Ramayana
- The Mahabharata
- Brahmans
- Sutras
- Puranas
Major Contemporary Divisions
- Monastic Groups
- Bhakti (personalistic)
- Vaishnavitas
- Shaivites
- Shaktites
VII. Buddhism
Origin: Gautama Buddha (600 B.C.)
Essential Beliefs and Practices
- Salvation = deliverance from the reincarnation cycle
- Nirvana
Scriptures:
- The Tripitaka
- The Lotus Sutra
- Other sutras
Major Contemporary Divisions
- Theravada (Hinayana)
- Mahayana
- Zen
- Pure Land
- Soka Gakkai
- Tibetan
VIII. Jainism
Origin: Mahavira (600 BC)
Essential Beliefs and Practices
- Redemption by elimination of solid karma matter from one's soul
- Worship of the Tirthankaras
Scriptures
- The Agamas
Major Contemporary Divisions
- Digambaras
- Svetambaras
IX. Sikhism
Origin: Guru Nanak (16th Century A.D.)
Essential beliefs and Practices:
- There is one God who is represented on earth by the Holy Book the Adi Granth.
- Escape from the reincarnation cycle
Scriptures
- Adi Granth
Major Contemporary Divisions
- None
X. Daoism
Origins - Lao Zi (Lao-Tzu)
Essential beliefs and practices
- Yin & Yang
Scriptures
- Daodejing
Major Contemporary Divisions
- Daoism is interconnected with other religions, especially Buddhism and Confucianism
XI. Confucianism
Origins: Confucius (6th Century B.C.)
Essential Beliefs and Practices
- Ethical System
Scriptures
- Analects
Major Contemporary Divisions
- None
XII. Shinto
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Chapter 2 - Pocket Guide to World Religions
(Originally written February 15, 2007 in Book 14)
Pocket Guide to World Religions
Win Corduan
Chapter 2: Baha'i
Name
Baha'i literally means a "follower of Baha" referring to Baha'ullah, the founder of Baha'i.
American Baha'i is represented by the American National Assembly of the Baha'i faith.
Numbers and Distribution
There are more than 6,000,000 members of Baha'i.
Baha'i is represented in over 200 countries, second only to Christianity in 250+ countries.
Baha'i originated in Iran, but most followers are found in Westernized, industrialization areas.
Symbols
The 9-pointed star.
The number nine is extremely important in Baha'i. "Nine represents the diversity (the 'nineness') that is enmeshed within unity (the 'oneness' of the single number)" (Corduan, 17).
Baha'i hopes to show that while there are many ways to God, there is only one God and one truth.
History
Baha'i emerged out of tumultuous times in the Middle East. It began in 1844 in Iran. A pious man declared himself to be a Bab (a gate) through which God communicated his message to the people.
His followers called themselves the Babis. They saw the Bab as the long-awaited Islamic Mahdi.
The Babi movement was immediately eliminated by the government. Many of its adherents including the Bab, were executed.
In 1863 a young man declared himself to be the successor to the Bab. He called himself Baha'ullah, which means the "Glory of God".
Baha'ullah was tortured and imprisoned. He went from Persian to Turkish custody and died in custody in 1892 in Acre.
During his life, Baha'ullah producers a number of books which are considered sacred by the Baha'i faith.
After his death, his son took over the leadership of the Baha'i faith.
He called himself Abdul Baha which means, "Servant of the Glory".
Abdul Baha died in 1921, but appointed his grandson Shoghi Effendi as his successor. Shoghi Effendi had a global vision for the Baha'i faith.
He established a representational system of government and emphasized the publication of Baha'i Scriptures.
Under his leadership, Baha'i became an international religion.
The administration of Baha'i moved into the hands of the nine-membered Universal House of Justice, located in Haifa, Israel.
The members of this group are elected by the National Spiritual Assemblies of each country. There are nine members in these bodies too.
Scriptures
Baha'i accepts the scriptures of all major faiths as holy, inspired writings.
Baha'ullah's writings have a special place as the final revelations. His major writings:
- The Seven Valleys
- The Four Valleys
- The Hidden Words
- The Book of Certitude
- The Most Holy Book
- Tablets of Baha'ullah
Abdul Baha and Shoghi Effendi also wrote books considered scriptural.
Major Beliefs
Baha'i beliefs center on the idea that Baha'ullah was the last of Nine Great Manifestations:
1) Abraham
2) Krishna
3) Moses
4) Zoroaster
5) Buddha
6) Jesus
7) Muhammad
8) The Bab
9) Baha'ullah
Each of these prophets taught God's revelation for their respective age. The revelation expanded with each manifestation.
A convenient way of stating the major beliefs of Baha'i is one list of 10 principles:
1) The oneness of humankind
2) The independent investigation of truth
3) The common foundation of all religions
4) The essential harmony between science and religion
5) The equality of men and women
6) The elimination of prejudices of all kinds
7) Universal compulsory education
8) A spiritual solution to economic problems
9) A universal auxiliary language
10) Universal peace upheld by a world government
Baha'i faith maintains that under the spiritual guidance of Baha'ullah's teachings the world can achieve a utopian state.
Subgroups
There are no major subgroups of Baha'i.
Worship Practices
Communal worship takes place within members' houses.
Worship takes place on the first day of each of the 19 months in the Baha'i calendar.
The 1st day of each of these months are called feast days.
There are no professional clergy.
Baha'i practitioners are often involved in local social action movements and their community worship sessions involve strategy and planning for social action.
Religious buildings
Their large and beautiful temples are properly called "houses of worship".
They function as testimony to faith; they serve as common its centers.
The initial goal was to have a house of worship on every inhabited continent, which has been accomplished. The next step is to have 9 temples and then many more. The present locations:
1) Apia, Western Somoa
2) Delhi, India
3) Frankfurt, Germany
4) Kampala, Uganda
5) Panama City, Panama
6) Sydney Australia
7) Willamette, IL (USA)
Baha'i temples are architecturally beautiful and often have an imposing dome.
Baha'i temples all have nine sides with a door on each side.
Home Practices
Family is extremely important for Baha'i.
A proper Baha'i home is focused on faith.
Chasity before marriage is taught.
Marriage is the opportunity for both partners to develop spiritually.
Every Baha'i practitioner is supposed to read holy scriptures each day and spend time in prayer.
Baha'i membership consists mainly of converts from other religions.
Clothing
Nothing rigorous, there than a basic expectation of modesty.
Diet
Baha'i practitioners cannot partake of alcohol or illegal drugs.
Calendar
Baha'i has its own complex calendar that is essentially superimposed on the Western Gregorian calendar.
It is a solar calendar of 361 days: 19 months with 19 days. There are four special days between the 18th and 19th month.
Baha'i observes a 7-day week with Friday as the sacred day of rest.
Major Holidays (take off work)
March 21 - New Years
April 21-May 2 - Ridvan (off work on 1st, 9th and 12th days)
May 23 - Declaration of the Bab
May 29 - Ascension of Baha'ullah
June 9 - Martyrdom of the Bab
October 29 - Birth of the Bab
November 12 - Birth of Baha'ullah
(Not take off work)
November 26 - Day of the Covent (birth and life of Abdul Baha)
November 28 - Ascension of Abdul Baha
February 26 - March 1 - The extra days of the calendar
March 2 - March 20 - The Fast: no food or drink between sunrise and sunset, a special time for prayer and meditation
Pocket Guide to World Religions
Win Corduan
Chapter 2: Baha'i
Name
Baha'i literally means a "follower of Baha" referring to Baha'ullah, the founder of Baha'i.
American Baha'i is represented by the American National Assembly of the Baha'i faith.
Numbers and Distribution
There are more than 6,000,000 members of Baha'i.
Baha'i is represented in over 200 countries, second only to Christianity in 250+ countries.
Baha'i originated in Iran, but most followers are found in Westernized, industrialization areas.
Symbols
The 9-pointed star.
The number nine is extremely important in Baha'i. "Nine represents the diversity (the 'nineness') that is enmeshed within unity (the 'oneness' of the single number)" (Corduan, 17).
Baha'i hopes to show that while there are many ways to God, there is only one God and one truth.
History
Baha'i emerged out of tumultuous times in the Middle East. It began in 1844 in Iran. A pious man declared himself to be a Bab (a gate) through which God communicated his message to the people.
His followers called themselves the Babis. They saw the Bab as the long-awaited Islamic Mahdi.
The Babi movement was immediately eliminated by the government. Many of its adherents including the Bab, were executed.
In 1863 a young man declared himself to be the successor to the Bab. He called himself Baha'ullah, which means the "Glory of God".
Baha'ullah was tortured and imprisoned. He went from Persian to Turkish custody and died in custody in 1892 in Acre.
During his life, Baha'ullah producers a number of books which are considered sacred by the Baha'i faith.
After his death, his son took over the leadership of the Baha'i faith.
He called himself Abdul Baha which means, "Servant of the Glory".
Abdul Baha died in 1921, but appointed his grandson Shoghi Effendi as his successor. Shoghi Effendi had a global vision for the Baha'i faith.
He established a representational system of government and emphasized the publication of Baha'i Scriptures.
Under his leadership, Baha'i became an international religion.
The administration of Baha'i moved into the hands of the nine-membered Universal House of Justice, located in Haifa, Israel.
The members of this group are elected by the National Spiritual Assemblies of each country. There are nine members in these bodies too.
Scriptures
Baha'i accepts the scriptures of all major faiths as holy, inspired writings.
Baha'ullah's writings have a special place as the final revelations. His major writings:
- The Seven Valleys
- The Four Valleys
- The Hidden Words
- The Book of Certitude
- The Most Holy Book
- Tablets of Baha'ullah
Abdul Baha and Shoghi Effendi also wrote books considered scriptural.
Major Beliefs
Baha'i beliefs center on the idea that Baha'ullah was the last of Nine Great Manifestations:
1) Abraham
2) Krishna
3) Moses
4) Zoroaster
5) Buddha
6) Jesus
7) Muhammad
8) The Bab
9) Baha'ullah
Each of these prophets taught God's revelation for their respective age. The revelation expanded with each manifestation.
A convenient way of stating the major beliefs of Baha'i is one list of 10 principles:
1) The oneness of humankind
2) The independent investigation of truth
3) The common foundation of all religions
4) The essential harmony between science and religion
5) The equality of men and women
6) The elimination of prejudices of all kinds
7) Universal compulsory education
8) A spiritual solution to economic problems
9) A universal auxiliary language
10) Universal peace upheld by a world government
Baha'i faith maintains that under the spiritual guidance of Baha'ullah's teachings the world can achieve a utopian state.
Subgroups
There are no major subgroups of Baha'i.
Worship Practices
Communal worship takes place within members' houses.
Worship takes place on the first day of each of the 19 months in the Baha'i calendar.
The 1st day of each of these months are called feast days.
There are no professional clergy.
Baha'i practitioners are often involved in local social action movements and their community worship sessions involve strategy and planning for social action.
Religious buildings
Their large and beautiful temples are properly called "houses of worship".
They function as testimony to faith; they serve as common its centers.
The initial goal was to have a house of worship on every inhabited continent, which has been accomplished. The next step is to have 9 temples and then many more. The present locations:
1) Apia, Western Somoa
2) Delhi, India
3) Frankfurt, Germany
4) Kampala, Uganda
5) Panama City, Panama
6) Sydney Australia
7) Willamette, IL (USA)
Baha'i temples are architecturally beautiful and often have an imposing dome.
Baha'i temples all have nine sides with a door on each side.
Home Practices
Family is extremely important for Baha'i.
A proper Baha'i home is focused on faith.
Chasity before marriage is taught.
Marriage is the opportunity for both partners to develop spiritually.
Every Baha'i practitioner is supposed to read holy scriptures each day and spend time in prayer.
Baha'i membership consists mainly of converts from other religions.
Clothing
Nothing rigorous, there than a basic expectation of modesty.
Diet
Baha'i practitioners cannot partake of alcohol or illegal drugs.
Calendar
Baha'i has its own complex calendar that is essentially superimposed on the Western Gregorian calendar.
It is a solar calendar of 361 days: 19 months with 19 days. There are four special days between the 18th and 19th month.
Baha'i observes a 7-day week with Friday as the sacred day of rest.
Major Holidays (take off work)
March 21 - New Years
April 21-May 2 - Ridvan (off work on 1st, 9th and 12th days)
May 23 - Declaration of the Bab
May 29 - Ascension of Baha'ullah
June 9 - Martyrdom of the Bab
October 29 - Birth of the Bab
November 12 - Birth of Baha'ullah
(Not take off work)
November 26 - Day of the Covent (birth and life of Abdul Baha)
November 28 - Ascension of Abdul Baha
February 26 - March 1 - The extra days of the calendar
March 2 - March 20 - The Fast: no food or drink between sunrise and sunset, a special time for prayer and meditation
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