The History of Western Philosophy
Bertrand Russell
Ch. XXV The Hellenistic World
History of the Greek speaking world can be divided into three periods:
1) The free City States (freedom and disorder)
2) The Macedonian domination (Hellenistic Age)
3) Under the Roman Empire
Alexander tried to meld Greek and barbarian customs into one. But the Greeks were not very impressed with Alexander whom they considered semi-Greek to begin with and not fans of barbarians at all.
After the death of Alexander the Hellenistic world was split into three separate dynasties between some of Alexander's generals: Antigonus controlled the European part, Ptolemy the African, and Seleucus controlled the Asiatic parts.
Ptolemies and the Seleucids ruled as military tyrannies. Ptolemy held sway in Egypt for a time, but it took only two centuries for the Seleucids to fall apart at the seams being gobbled up by Rome and Persia.
India even received a bit of Hellenization, but Asoka (264-28 BC) tried to proselytize the Greeks with Buddhism.
Babylonian and Syria (minus Judea) were completely Hellenized in the urban populations. Only in Judea where the Greeks and the Jews faced off did Hellenization meet stiff resistance.
While Hellenization brought wealth and some stability, it didn't guarantee any individual security. Small dynastic squabbles could up end a populace and its local gentry and leaders instantly. It is no wonder that the religious life of the age found the cult of the goddess Fortune or Luck to be very popular.
"There was widespread social discontent and fear of revolution. The wages of free labour fell,
presumably owing to the competition of eastern slave labour; and meantime the prices of
necessaries rose. One finds Alexander, at the outset of his enterprise, having time to make
treaties designed to keep the poor in their place" (Russell, 225). This was all done to discourage any revolution at a time when civil unrest was ready to burst because of the inequities.
While Hellenization dramatically impacted everywhere the Greeks conquered, the Greeks were themselves conquered in a way by the superstitions of the east. Astrology coming from Babylon took a preeminent role in Greek thought at the time to detriment of Greek thought.
The instability of the age led to a lack of virtue in men. When wealth is only acquired through adventurers despoiling others and that wealth can disappear just as quickly by a stronger adventurer then it becomes almost expected for men to turn bad. Menander notes, "So many cases I have known of men who, though not naturally rogues, became so, through misfortune, by constraint" (Russell, 228).
Showing posts with label Buddhism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Buddhism. Show all posts
Monday, September 23, 2019
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
A mess of ideas. Maybe just a mess.
Originally written August 11, 2010
Chapter One of The Bulgogi
The Value of Self-Help
For Urtsiul
Polytheistic religion with a chief deity.
King had intimate relationship with chief deity.
Military Aristocracy
Priestly Aristocracy
The Priestly Aristocracy encroaches on king's power during weak times
Ate (Greek term) - "a strong if not actually irresistible impulse to crime" (Russell, 12). Study this.
Book Concept: Orphic
Man dies, soul wakes up in the tomb to find a book of instructions.
Question: What happened to the Buddha's son when he abandoned him?
For Upuk look to Rachel's giving birth to Benjamin and subsequent death.
Chapter One of The Bulgogi
The Value of Self-Help
For Urtsiul
Polytheistic religion with a chief deity.
King had intimate relationship with chief deity.
Military Aristocracy
Priestly Aristocracy
The Priestly Aristocracy encroaches on king's power during weak times
Ate (Greek term) - "a strong if not actually irresistible impulse to crime" (Russell, 12). Study this.
Book Concept: Orphic
Man dies, soul wakes up in the tomb to find a book of instructions.
Question: What happened to the Buddha's son when he abandoned him?
For Upuk look to Rachel's giving birth to Benjamin and subsequent death.
Monday, July 16, 2007
The Gay Science (A)
(Originally written July 16, 2007 in Book 25)
The Gay Science (1882)
51: Sense of truth
Skepticism in which one can reply, 'let's try it' is good; but, questions that do not permit experiments stretch beyond the sense of truth and are therefore, forfeit.
108: New Struggles
God is dead, but there may be caves in which his shadow will be shown for thousands of years. We must vanquish his shadow as well.
121: Life no argument
We exist in a world we have fixed up to exist in: a world of bodies, lines, planes, causes and effects, motion and rest, form and content. But these are all assumptions, articles of faith which we could not endure without. But these assumptions are unproved. "Life is no argument, the conditions of life could include error"(171).
129: The conditions of God
Luther said, "God cannot exist without a wise man" and was right. But God can exist even less without unwise men; that Luther did not say.
130: A dangerous resolve
"The Christian resolve to find the world ugly and bad has made the world ugly and bad" (172).
142: Incense
Buddha said not to flatter your benefactor. If this were said in Church it would clear the air of anything Christian.
163: After a great victory
The best part of victory is that it rids the victor of the fear of defeat.
173: Being deep and appearing deep
Those who are deep strive for clarity; those who wish to appear deep strive for obscurity
200: Laughter
Laughter means: being schadenfreude (a mischievous delight in the discomfort of another) but with a good conscience.
205: Need
"A need is considered the cause of the origin: in truth, it is often merely an effect of what did originate" (172).
228: Against Mediators
Mediators between two resolute thinkers are mediocre. They see things as similar because of weak eyes.
231: Thorough
"Those slow in knowledge suppose that slowness belongs to knowledge" (173).
232: Dreams
Dreams are either interesting or nonexistent. We should be awake the same way: interesting or not at all.
258: Those who deny chance
No victor believes in chance
273: Whom do you call bad?
Those who always want to put to shame.
274: What do you consider most humane?
To spare someone shame
275: What is the seal of attained freedom?
No longer being ashamed in front of oneself.
The Gay Science (1882)
51: Sense of truth
Skepticism in which one can reply, 'let's try it' is good; but, questions that do not permit experiments stretch beyond the sense of truth and are therefore, forfeit.
108: New Struggles
God is dead, but there may be caves in which his shadow will be shown for thousands of years. We must vanquish his shadow as well.
121: Life no argument
We exist in a world we have fixed up to exist in: a world of bodies, lines, planes, causes and effects, motion and rest, form and content. But these are all assumptions, articles of faith which we could not endure without. But these assumptions are unproved. "Life is no argument, the conditions of life could include error"(171).
129: The conditions of God
Luther said, "God cannot exist without a wise man" and was right. But God can exist even less without unwise men; that Luther did not say.
130: A dangerous resolve
"The Christian resolve to find the world ugly and bad has made the world ugly and bad" (172).
142: Incense
Buddha said not to flatter your benefactor. If this were said in Church it would clear the air of anything Christian.
163: After a great victory
The best part of victory is that it rids the victor of the fear of defeat.
173: Being deep and appearing deep
Those who are deep strive for clarity; those who wish to appear deep strive for obscurity
200: Laughter
Laughter means: being schadenfreude (a mischievous delight in the discomfort of another) but with a good conscience.
205: Need
"A need is considered the cause of the origin: in truth, it is often merely an effect of what did originate" (172).
228: Against Mediators
Mediators between two resolute thinkers are mediocre. They see things as similar because of weak eyes.
231: Thorough
"Those slow in knowledge suppose that slowness belongs to knowledge" (173).
232: Dreams
Dreams are either interesting or nonexistent. We should be awake the same way: interesting or not at all.
258: Those who deny chance
No victor believes in chance
273: Whom do you call bad?
Those who always want to put to shame.
274: What do you consider most humane?
To spare someone shame
275: What is the seal of attained freedom?
No longer being ashamed in front of oneself.
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
The Birth of Tragedy Section 13-19
(Originally written July 4, 2007 in Book 15)
The Birth of Tragedy
Friedrich Nietzsche
Section 13
Through Socrates and Euripides the Greek culture placed greater emphasis on enlightenment and knowledge.
Socrates found that the 'wisest' of all Greeks really know nothing and only operated by instinct.
Socrates is the anti-mystic. Rather than relying on instinctive wisdom as the mystic does he uses consciousness to develop a hyper logical system.
The dying Socrates replaced all the old hero of Greece and became the image to which every young Grecian strived for.
Section 14
Socrates and his followers despised tragedy, but found solace and joy in the fables of Aesop.
"Poems are useful: they can tell the truth by means of parable to those who are not very bright" (Nietzsche, 90).
Socrates saw that tragedy did not tell the truth and that it was aimed at those who were not very bright. For these reasons it is doubly contemptible.
Plato also held tragedy in contempt, but his own artistic impulses necessitated him to create an art that was borne of the old ones.
Plato saw art as an imitation of a shadow and thus lower than even the contemptible empirical world.
Plato's dialogues blended narrative, lyric, drama, prose and poetry. He broke the strict law of uniformity of linguistics and created a whole new genre of art.
Plato's dialogues served as the savior of old poetry and the template for the novel.
The Apollonian tendency withdrew to logical schematism and the Dionysian transformed into Naturalism.
The optimistic maxims of
1) Virtue is knowledge
2) Man sins only from ignorance
3) The virtuous man is happy man served to fully kill tragedy.
Optimism destroys the essence of tragedy.
Though harsh against art in life at death Socrates obeyed the divine call to music asking, "Perhaps art is even a necessary correlative of, and supplement for science" (Nietzsche, 93).
Section 15
The Socratic way of life which exists today prompts a constant regeneration of art. The infinite of Socrates guarantees the infinity of art.
Socrates, to be recognized as truthful, must be viewed as the "theoretical man whose significance and aim it is our task to try and understand" (Nietzsche, 94).
The artist clings to the mystery while the theoretical man clings to what was once mystery and is non-known.
Lessing [who is Lessing?] is the most honest theoretical man because he announced that he cared more for the search for truth then for truth itself.
With Socrates, a profound illusion was born. This illusion holds that through unshakeable through using causality one can penetrate the deepest abyss of being and can furthermore correct the errors in being.
This metaphysical illusion accompanies science as an instinct and leads science time and time again to its limits where it must transform into art.
Socrates was the first man to live and die by the instinct of science. The dying Socrates is admired because he has absolved all fear of death through knowledge and reason.
Socrates stands as the turning point of history.
Pessimism in a practical sense will take over wherever art does not appear, especially as religion or science.
Socrates is the anti-pessimist. His optimistic faith that nature is intelligible and that sin is error, which is correctible denies pessimism a foothold.
Science needs art to protect it from its own boundaries. At the boundaries of science man becomes pessimistic if not reminded by art.
Section 16
There is a dichotomy between an insatiable lust for optimistic knowledge and the tragic need for art.
Apollo is the genius of the principium individuationis in which redemption through illusion is truly obtained. Dionysus is the mystical union in which the Apollonian principle is broken. It is from these two sources in which all art is born.
We may regard nature and music as two different expressions of the same thing.
Music is a universal language. It resembles geometrical figures and numbers as a definitive universalism. Music as a universal language is experienced a priori.
Music is not a copy of the physical world, but a copy of the will itself. As such, it stands in relation to the world as the will stands in relation to the world.
The world is embodied music as the world is embodied will.
Music, according to Schopenhauer, is the immediate language of the will.
Image and concept attain a higher significance under the influence of a truly corresponding music.
Music incites to the symbolic intuition of Dionysian Universality and music allows the symbolic image to emerge in its highest significance.
Music gives birth to the myth, most importantly the tragic myth: "the myth which expresses Dionysian knowledge in symbols" (Nietzsche, 103).
It is only through music that individuals can understand the joy of the annihilation of the individual.
Apollonian art triumphs the joys of this life by overshadowing suffering with beauty. Dionysian art overcomes the suffering of this life through the belief in the eternal life of the unified will.
Section 17
Dionysian art seeks to convince of us of the eternal joy of existence. But as Apollonian art does this through phenomena, Dionysian art seeks this from behind phenomena.
Myth was annihilated by the faith in science. Music is the way for myth to be reborn.
Aristophanes saw Socrates, Euripides and the music of the New Dithyrambic poets which mirrored phenomena, not the will itself, as enemies and destroyers of art.
By setting music to be descriptive of phenomena, music has been robbed of its power to create myth.
Music which merely represents phenomena is wretchedly poorer than the phenomena itself.
In Euripides, we see the triumph of scientific knowledge and the demise of artistic reflection. The phenomenal particulars win out over the universals.
Tragedy revealed a metaphysical comfort through music. But with music stripped of its myth-bearing power there is no metaphysical comfort and knowledge leaves us rawer than before we knew. There is no solace in science apart from art.
The new spirit of Greek art, deprived of myth, was to seek comfort in an earthly, phenomenal dissolution of tragedy. The hated deus ex machina replaced the metaphysical comfort.
The Dionysian spirit having been banished from the stage fled into the degenerate form of cult.
With the deus ex machina the Dionysian spirit was driven underground and individualism heralded the deus ex machina as the true comfort.
Metaphysical, universal comfort was lost and replaced by momentary particular comforts.
Section 18
There are three cultures:
1. Socratic (Alexandrian)
2. Hellenic (Artistic)
3. Tragic (Buddhistic)
The Alexandrian culture idolizes the theoretical man, reason, knowledge and science above all else.
The Socratic culture is delusional optimistic in believing that it possesses limitless power.
Myth is the necessary prerequisite of religion.
The tragic (Buddhistic) culture replaces science with wisdom at its highest end.
The Socratic culture will tremble with fear once its optimism has been shattered by learning of its power limitations.
Section 19
The Socratic culture is the culture of the opera.
The Socratic culture endures the music of opera to hear the words. All the while he trembles at the thought of giving the music too much appreciation and undoing the base of his culture.
The art of the opera responds to a powerful need, but it is a non-aesthetic need. It responds to the need for faith in the existence of the artistic and good man.
The origin of opera is the fulfillment of a non-aesthetic need: the glorification of man. It stands contra to the dogma of the inherently corrupt and lost man.
Opera is a birthing of the theoretical man, not the artist. The non-musical heroes of Opera demand t hat words are nobler than the tones as the soul is nobler than the body.
The opera is a crude unmusical combination of image, music and words.
"The premise of the opera is a false belief concerning the artistic process: the idyllic belief that every sentient man is an artist" (Nietzsche, 117).
The cultured Renaissance man let himself be led back to the primitive artistic man by imitation of Greek tragedy.
The opera does not touch sorrow as art ought to, but rather emphasizes the cheery optimism of eternal rediscovery.
Those who seek to destroy the unmusical opera would have to destroy the whole of the Socratic culture.
Art in the Socratic culture is empty because it is void of its true purpose: "to save the eye from gazing into the horrors of night and to deliver the subject by the healing balm of illusion from the spasms of the agitation of the will" (Nietzsche, 118).
Music is powerless when it is alienated from its true dignity as the Dionysian mirror of the world and as an expression of the will itself.
Music cannot be a slave to the phenomena or be a mere imitation of the formal characteristics of phenomena.
The Socratic culture cannot explain nor tolerate the reemergence of the Dionysian spirit which has taken place in music from Bach to Beethoven to Wagner.
The Dionysian spirit of this German music is the sole purifying fire in the Alexandrian culture of knowledge lust.
"All that we now call culture, education, civilization must some day appear before the unerring judge, Dionysus" (Nietzsche, 120).
Kant and Schopenhauer made it possible for the spirit of German philosophy to destroy Socratic scientific optimism.
The oneness of German music and philosophy points to the emergence of a Hellenic society. The Alexandrian age seems to be receding backwards to the Dawn of a new tragic age.
The Birth of Tragedy
Friedrich Nietzsche
Section 13
Through Socrates and Euripides the Greek culture placed greater emphasis on enlightenment and knowledge.
Socrates found that the 'wisest' of all Greeks really know nothing and only operated by instinct.
Socrates is the anti-mystic. Rather than relying on instinctive wisdom as the mystic does he uses consciousness to develop a hyper logical system.
The dying Socrates replaced all the old hero of Greece and became the image to which every young Grecian strived for.
Section 14
Socrates and his followers despised tragedy, but found solace and joy in the fables of Aesop.
"Poems are useful: they can tell the truth by means of parable to those who are not very bright" (Nietzsche, 90).
Socrates saw that tragedy did not tell the truth and that it was aimed at those who were not very bright. For these reasons it is doubly contemptible.
Plato also held tragedy in contempt, but his own artistic impulses necessitated him to create an art that was borne of the old ones.
Plato saw art as an imitation of a shadow and thus lower than even the contemptible empirical world.
Plato's dialogues blended narrative, lyric, drama, prose and poetry. He broke the strict law of uniformity of linguistics and created a whole new genre of art.
Plato's dialogues served as the savior of old poetry and the template for the novel.
The Apollonian tendency withdrew to logical schematism and the Dionysian transformed into Naturalism.
The optimistic maxims of
1) Virtue is knowledge
2) Man sins only from ignorance
3) The virtuous man is happy man served to fully kill tragedy.
Optimism destroys the essence of tragedy.
Though harsh against art in life at death Socrates obeyed the divine call to music asking, "Perhaps art is even a necessary correlative of, and supplement for science" (Nietzsche, 93).
Section 15
The Socratic way of life which exists today prompts a constant regeneration of art. The infinite of Socrates guarantees the infinity of art.
Socrates, to be recognized as truthful, must be viewed as the "theoretical man whose significance and aim it is our task to try and understand" (Nietzsche, 94).
The artist clings to the mystery while the theoretical man clings to what was once mystery and is non-known.
Lessing [who is Lessing?] is the most honest theoretical man because he announced that he cared more for the search for truth then for truth itself.
With Socrates, a profound illusion was born. This illusion holds that through unshakeable through using causality one can penetrate the deepest abyss of being and can furthermore correct the errors in being.
This metaphysical illusion accompanies science as an instinct and leads science time and time again to its limits where it must transform into art.
Socrates was the first man to live and die by the instinct of science. The dying Socrates is admired because he has absolved all fear of death through knowledge and reason.
Socrates stands as the turning point of history.
Pessimism in a practical sense will take over wherever art does not appear, especially as religion or science.
Socrates is the anti-pessimist. His optimistic faith that nature is intelligible and that sin is error, which is correctible denies pessimism a foothold.
Science needs art to protect it from its own boundaries. At the boundaries of science man becomes pessimistic if not reminded by art.
Section 16
There is a dichotomy between an insatiable lust for optimistic knowledge and the tragic need for art.
Apollo is the genius of the principium individuationis in which redemption through illusion is truly obtained. Dionysus is the mystical union in which the Apollonian principle is broken. It is from these two sources in which all art is born.
We may regard nature and music as two different expressions of the same thing.
Music is a universal language. It resembles geometrical figures and numbers as a definitive universalism. Music as a universal language is experienced a priori.
Music is not a copy of the physical world, but a copy of the will itself. As such, it stands in relation to the world as the will stands in relation to the world.
The world is embodied music as the world is embodied will.
Music, according to Schopenhauer, is the immediate language of the will.
Image and concept attain a higher significance under the influence of a truly corresponding music.
Music incites to the symbolic intuition of Dionysian Universality and music allows the symbolic image to emerge in its highest significance.
Music gives birth to the myth, most importantly the tragic myth: "the myth which expresses Dionysian knowledge in symbols" (Nietzsche, 103).
It is only through music that individuals can understand the joy of the annihilation of the individual.
Apollonian art triumphs the joys of this life by overshadowing suffering with beauty. Dionysian art overcomes the suffering of this life through the belief in the eternal life of the unified will.
Section 17
Dionysian art seeks to convince of us of the eternal joy of existence. But as Apollonian art does this through phenomena, Dionysian art seeks this from behind phenomena.
Myth was annihilated by the faith in science. Music is the way for myth to be reborn.
Aristophanes saw Socrates, Euripides and the music of the New Dithyrambic poets which mirrored phenomena, not the will itself, as enemies and destroyers of art.
By setting music to be descriptive of phenomena, music has been robbed of its power to create myth.
Music which merely represents phenomena is wretchedly poorer than the phenomena itself.
In Euripides, we see the triumph of scientific knowledge and the demise of artistic reflection. The phenomenal particulars win out over the universals.
Tragedy revealed a metaphysical comfort through music. But with music stripped of its myth-bearing power there is no metaphysical comfort and knowledge leaves us rawer than before we knew. There is no solace in science apart from art.
The new spirit of Greek art, deprived of myth, was to seek comfort in an earthly, phenomenal dissolution of tragedy. The hated deus ex machina replaced the metaphysical comfort.
The Dionysian spirit having been banished from the stage fled into the degenerate form of cult.
With the deus ex machina the Dionysian spirit was driven underground and individualism heralded the deus ex machina as the true comfort.
Metaphysical, universal comfort was lost and replaced by momentary particular comforts.
Section 18
There are three cultures:
1. Socratic (Alexandrian)
2. Hellenic (Artistic)
3. Tragic (Buddhistic)
The Alexandrian culture idolizes the theoretical man, reason, knowledge and science above all else.
The Socratic culture is delusional optimistic in believing that it possesses limitless power.
Myth is the necessary prerequisite of religion.
The tragic (Buddhistic) culture replaces science with wisdom at its highest end.
The Socratic culture will tremble with fear once its optimism has been shattered by learning of its power limitations.
Section 19
The Socratic culture is the culture of the opera.
The Socratic culture endures the music of opera to hear the words. All the while he trembles at the thought of giving the music too much appreciation and undoing the base of his culture.
The art of the opera responds to a powerful need, but it is a non-aesthetic need. It responds to the need for faith in the existence of the artistic and good man.
The origin of opera is the fulfillment of a non-aesthetic need: the glorification of man. It stands contra to the dogma of the inherently corrupt and lost man.
Opera is a birthing of the theoretical man, not the artist. The non-musical heroes of Opera demand t hat words are nobler than the tones as the soul is nobler than the body.
The opera is a crude unmusical combination of image, music and words.
"The premise of the opera is a false belief concerning the artistic process: the idyllic belief that every sentient man is an artist" (Nietzsche, 117).
The cultured Renaissance man let himself be led back to the primitive artistic man by imitation of Greek tragedy.
The opera does not touch sorrow as art ought to, but rather emphasizes the cheery optimism of eternal rediscovery.
Those who seek to destroy the unmusical opera would have to destroy the whole of the Socratic culture.
Art in the Socratic culture is empty because it is void of its true purpose: "to save the eye from gazing into the horrors of night and to deliver the subject by the healing balm of illusion from the spasms of the agitation of the will" (Nietzsche, 118).
Music is powerless when it is alienated from its true dignity as the Dionysian mirror of the world and as an expression of the will itself.
Music cannot be a slave to the phenomena or be a mere imitation of the formal characteristics of phenomena.
The Socratic culture cannot explain nor tolerate the reemergence of the Dionysian spirit which has taken place in music from Bach to Beethoven to Wagner.
The Dionysian spirit of this German music is the sole purifying fire in the Alexandrian culture of knowledge lust.
"All that we now call culture, education, civilization must some day appear before the unerring judge, Dionysus" (Nietzsche, 120).
Kant and Schopenhauer made it possible for the spirit of German philosophy to destroy Socratic scientific optimism.
The oneness of German music and philosophy points to the emergence of a Hellenic society. The Alexandrian age seems to be receding backwards to the Dawn of a new tragic age.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
The Future in Eastern Religions vs. Christianity
(Originally written April 29, 2007 in Book 15)
The Future in Eastern Religions
Hinduism
Hinduism conceives time as cyclical. Currently we are living in the last age of the last era, the Kali Yuga.
At the close of this era Kalki will appear. Kali is the 10th and final incarnation of Vishnu. Kali will convert the whole world to the dharma and destroy Yama, the god of death.
Kalki and other Indic messiahs do not bring about the end of time. They only initiate the end of an age.
Eliade points out salvation is constituted by an escape from time, not a culmination of time.
Buddhism
The Bodhisattva (Buddha-in-waiting) Maitreya vowed to return as the Buddha of the next age.
Maitreya will bring about a time of universal enlightenment.
After the time of Maitreya a new era will follow and the cycle will restart.
Jainism
The final age will be the dusama dusama, a period of abject misery, no Tirthankaras, no religion and universal suffering.
Time then will begin ascending upwards again.
There will be 25 new Tirthankaras (counterparts to the other 25).
Salvation in Jainism is found in the escape from time.
The Future in Christianity
Christianity was born of fulfilled messianic expectations.
Christians used other Old Testament Messianic prophesies to corroborate the idea that Christ will come again.
Christianity possesses a powerful notion of now and not-yet.
Jesus Christ is central to Christianity in both the historical and spiritual dimensions.
Christ has four roles:
1) Teacher
2) Redeemer
3) Mystical Reality
4) Future King
The incarnation of God in Christ is different than any incarnation of a god in any other religion.
Other religions have incarnations, i.e. the avatars of Vishnu. But these are docetism incarnations.
Docetism was an early Christian heresy which claimed Christ only appeared to be human.
Christianity holds that "Jesus is fully God, but also fully human, and he has not abdicated either nature" (Corduan, 192).
Authentication: The Crucial Issue
20th century Apologetics devised the Legend-Lunatic-Liar-Lord argument about Jesus and who he said he was.
The Jews of the 1st century had no problem in accepting Jesus as supernatural but saw him as evil. The Jews put Jesus to death because they saw him as demonic.
The Future in Eastern Religions
Hinduism
Hinduism conceives time as cyclical. Currently we are living in the last age of the last era, the Kali Yuga.
At the close of this era Kalki will appear. Kali is the 10th and final incarnation of Vishnu. Kali will convert the whole world to the dharma and destroy Yama, the god of death.
Kalki and other Indic messiahs do not bring about the end of time. They only initiate the end of an age.
Eliade points out salvation is constituted by an escape from time, not a culmination of time.
Buddhism
The Bodhisattva (Buddha-in-waiting) Maitreya vowed to return as the Buddha of the next age.
Maitreya will bring about a time of universal enlightenment.
After the time of Maitreya a new era will follow and the cycle will restart.
Jainism
The final age will be the dusama dusama, a period of abject misery, no Tirthankaras, no religion and universal suffering.
Time then will begin ascending upwards again.
There will be 25 new Tirthankaras (counterparts to the other 25).
Salvation in Jainism is found in the escape from time.
The Future in Christianity
Christianity was born of fulfilled messianic expectations.
Christians used other Old Testament Messianic prophesies to corroborate the idea that Christ will come again.
Christianity possesses a powerful notion of now and not-yet.
Jesus Christ is central to Christianity in both the historical and spiritual dimensions.
Christ has four roles:
1) Teacher
2) Redeemer
3) Mystical Reality
4) Future King
The incarnation of God in Christ is different than any incarnation of a god in any other religion.
Other religions have incarnations, i.e. the avatars of Vishnu. But these are docetism incarnations.
Docetism was an early Christian heresy which claimed Christ only appeared to be human.
Christianity holds that "Jesus is fully God, but also fully human, and he has not abdicated either nature" (Corduan, 192).
Authentication: The Crucial Issue
20th century Apologetics devised the Legend-Lunatic-Liar-Lord argument about Jesus and who he said he was.
The Jews of the 1st century had no problem in accepting Jesus as supernatural but saw him as evil. The Jews put Jesus to death because they saw him as demonic.
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.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Philosophy of Religion - Hick: Ch. 8 (A)
(Originally written April 19, 2007 in Book 7)
Philosophy of Religion
John H. Hick
Chapter 8 - The Conflicting Truth Claims of Different Religions
Many Faiths, All claiming to be true
Nearly every religion claims to be true, exclusively.
There cannot be multiple exclusively true religions.
These exclusivity claims of religious has led to widespread skepticism about all religions.
W.A. Christian's Analysis
W.A. Christian differentiates between a proposal for belief and a factual assertion.
Major Belief Proposals:
Jesus is Messiah
Atman is Brahman
Allah is merciful
All the Buddhas are one.
Do these belief proposals really contradict one another?
Christianity claims that Jesus is the Messiah and that the Jews hold that the Messiah is still expected. This appears to be two contrary statements.
But the conception of Messiah is different is Christianity and Judaism. Thus, the Jewish denial that Jesus is the Messiah does not contradict with the Christian assertion that He is the Messiah.
Wittgenstein claimed that each religion was its own unique and distinct language-game. Thus, nothing in Christianity can agree with or disagree with anything in Buddhism, etc.
Critique of the Concept of a "religion"
Wilfred Cantrell Smith challenges the traditional concept of religion. He claims that religion (an empirical entity) can be traced historically and mapped geographically. He holds that religion is a human phenomenon. Cantrell Smith claims that naming religions occurred in the Enlightenment of Europe (except for Islam).
He holds it is inappropriate to speak of religions as true or false. They are merely expressions of the diversity of human types and temperaments and thought forms.
He maintains that the complex religions developed differently because it was impossible to overcome cultural-historical boundaries because of poor communications.
Now that these boundaries are overcome-able, a new form of religious thinking can arise.
Toward a possible solution:
The human being is a naturally religious animal.
The world religions developed gradually as man's religious life evolved.
The multiplicity of religion in ancient times was inevitable because people were locked into geographic regions.
All the world's religions may be rooted in contact with the same ultimate reality, but that the different ways of relating to said reality developed because of geographic-historic-sociocultural circumstances.
The future developments of the World's religions (because of the One Worldedness of today's society) may be headed towards a unification.
There are three main points concerning varying truth claims of religions:
1) Differing modes of experiencing the ultimate reality
2) Differing philosophical and theological theory concerning the ultimate reality and the implications of religious experience
3) differing revelatory experiences that unify religious experience and thought
The most important difference is the experience of a personal deity and an impersonal one.
These personal and impersonal deities are anon-contradictory, but complementary. All religions hold the ultimate reality to be outside the scope of finite human categories.
Theology and philosophy are ever evolving. There is no one reason to deny that in a One World culture that the theological and philosophical differences may dissolve during subsequent development.
The differing revelatory experiences of the World religions is the most difficult difference to dissolve.
Christianity faces a difficulty in asserting the infinite love of God and that only those who have faith in Christ will have everlasting life. These seem incompatible.
"It seems that if the tension at the heart of the traditional Christian attitude to non-Christian faiths is to be resolved, Christian thinkers must give even more radical though to the problem than they have yet done" (Hick, 118).
This is the epitome of arrogant intellectualism. John H. Hick is demanding that a rigorously developed theological philosophical detail be dropped after 2,000 plus years of development!
Philosophy of Religion
John H. Hick
Chapter 8 - The Conflicting Truth Claims of Different Religions
Many Faiths, All claiming to be true
Nearly every religion claims to be true, exclusively.
There cannot be multiple exclusively true religions.
These exclusivity claims of religious has led to widespread skepticism about all religions.
W.A. Christian's Analysis
W.A. Christian differentiates between a proposal for belief and a factual assertion.
Major Belief Proposals:
Jesus is Messiah
Atman is Brahman
Allah is merciful
All the Buddhas are one.
Do these belief proposals really contradict one another?
Christianity claims that Jesus is the Messiah and that the Jews hold that the Messiah is still expected. This appears to be two contrary statements.
But the conception of Messiah is different is Christianity and Judaism. Thus, the Jewish denial that Jesus is the Messiah does not contradict with the Christian assertion that He is the Messiah.
Wittgenstein claimed that each religion was its own unique and distinct language-game. Thus, nothing in Christianity can agree with or disagree with anything in Buddhism, etc.
Critique of the Concept of a "religion"
Wilfred Cantrell Smith challenges the traditional concept of religion. He claims that religion (an empirical entity) can be traced historically and mapped geographically. He holds that religion is a human phenomenon. Cantrell Smith claims that naming religions occurred in the Enlightenment of Europe (except for Islam).
He holds it is inappropriate to speak of religions as true or false. They are merely expressions of the diversity of human types and temperaments and thought forms.
He maintains that the complex religions developed differently because it was impossible to overcome cultural-historical boundaries because of poor communications.
Now that these boundaries are overcome-able, a new form of religious thinking can arise.
Toward a possible solution:
The human being is a naturally religious animal.
The world religions developed gradually as man's religious life evolved.
The multiplicity of religion in ancient times was inevitable because people were locked into geographic regions.
All the world's religions may be rooted in contact with the same ultimate reality, but that the different ways of relating to said reality developed because of geographic-historic-sociocultural circumstances.
The future developments of the World's religions (because of the One Worldedness of today's society) may be headed towards a unification.
There are three main points concerning varying truth claims of religions:
1) Differing modes of experiencing the ultimate reality
2) Differing philosophical and theological theory concerning the ultimate reality and the implications of religious experience
3) differing revelatory experiences that unify religious experience and thought
The most important difference is the experience of a personal deity and an impersonal one.
These personal and impersonal deities are anon-contradictory, but complementary. All religions hold the ultimate reality to be outside the scope of finite human categories.
Theology and philosophy are ever evolving. There is no one reason to deny that in a One World culture that the theological and philosophical differences may dissolve during subsequent development.
The differing revelatory experiences of the World religions is the most difficult difference to dissolve.
Christianity faces a difficulty in asserting the infinite love of God and that only those who have faith in Christ will have everlasting life. These seem incompatible.
"It seems that if the tension at the heart of the traditional Christian attitude to non-Christian faiths is to be resolved, Christian thinkers must give even more radical though to the problem than they have yet done" (Hick, 118).
This is the epitome of arrogant intellectualism. John H. Hick is demanding that a rigorously developed theological philosophical detail be dropped after 2,000 plus years of development!
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Class notes on grace & redemption
(Originally written April 17, 2007 in Book 15)
Class Notes
The Grace & Redemption Debate
Is Christianity the only way?
Response - the only way to what?
Salvation means different things in different religions.
Salvation meaning:
Christianity -> Atonement
Islam -> Test of Obedience
Zoroastrianism -> Dualism
Hindu Vedanta -> Atman = Brahman
Hindu Bhakti -> Reliance on deity
Buddhism -> Nirvana
Jainism -> Floating to the top
Jodo Shin-Shu -> Escape to Pure Land
Yoga -> Divorce spirit from body
Yoga is an adaptation of the Hindu school Samkhya.
Samkhya is:
1) atheistic
2) Dualistic
- Purusha: Soul
- Prkriti: Matter
3) Pluralistic
The point of Samkhya is to remove your Purusha from the constraints of Prkriti.
Yoga took this general idea and added the god Ishvara.
Ishvara is immovable.
The breathing and postures of Yoga are attempting to imitate Ishvara's immovability.
To practice Yoga for the physical benefits is the same as taking communion for the nutritional value of the bread and wine.
Different religions have different ends and different means to attaining those ends.
Pluralism
Radical Pluralism: J.A. DiNoia & Stephen Heim
-Each religion has its own understanding of salvation and is self-contained without overlap
Heim: "Nirvana - communion with God are contradictory only if we assume that one or the other must be the sole fate for all human beings"
Problem: Heim is not true to the religions here
Problems with radical pluralism:
1) Exclusivity
2) There cannot be mutually exclusive true practices
3) We would have to make up concepts for this methodology because it is self-setting
John Hick's Forced Pluralism
1) All religions serve to bring people into contact with "The Real"
2) No religion has an edge on any others
3) All religions do an equal job of bringing their followers into relationship with the Real
4) The actual beliefs of religions differ from each other.
5) The Real is beyond all human words and concepts
6) All religions are legitimate ways to the Real
Hick on exclusive religions: Since salvation is not confined to Christianity we must reject all the old exclusivist dogma. This has in fact been done by most thinking Christians, though exceptions remain, mostly within the extreme Protestant fundamentalist constituencies.
Hick's Model
Buddhism: stripped of its Buddhist concepts
Hinduism: stripped of its Hindu concepts
Islam: stripped of its Islamic concepts
Christianity: stripped of its Christian concepts
All of these point man towards the real
Hick limits his model to Axial Age and Post-Axial Age religions (6th century B.C. on)
Heim's critique of Hick: The Real is like a cardboard cutout on the boardwalk. Put your head in the hole and you are in contact with the real.
Sumner Twiss' defense of Hick
Higher order theory with a Lower order description
Lower order descriptions that are in each religion may not fit the higher order theory. But that just means that lower order descriptions need to be changed to fit the scheme.
Iranaeus (2nd Century Apologist) vs. Gnostics
Gnosticism:
Monotes (awareness) -> Denotes (otherness) -> Monas (one-ness)-> Hen (other)
Iraneaus' satire of gnosticism
Gourd -> Utter-Emptiness -> Cucumber -> Melon -> The writings of Valentinus
Hick, like Valentinus is completely contrived. The description is totally arbitrary.
Class Notes
The Grace & Redemption Debate
Is Christianity the only way?
Response - the only way to what?
Salvation means different things in different religions.
Salvation meaning:
Christianity -> Atonement
Islam -> Test of Obedience
Zoroastrianism -> Dualism
Hindu Vedanta -> Atman = Brahman
Hindu Bhakti -> Reliance on deity
Buddhism -> Nirvana
Jainism -> Floating to the top
Jodo Shin-Shu -> Escape to Pure Land
Yoga -> Divorce spirit from body
Yoga is an adaptation of the Hindu school Samkhya.
Samkhya is:
1) atheistic
2) Dualistic
- Purusha: Soul
- Prkriti: Matter
3) Pluralistic
The point of Samkhya is to remove your Purusha from the constraints of Prkriti.
Yoga took this general idea and added the god Ishvara.
Ishvara is immovable.
The breathing and postures of Yoga are attempting to imitate Ishvara's immovability.
To practice Yoga for the physical benefits is the same as taking communion for the nutritional value of the bread and wine.
Different religions have different ends and different means to attaining those ends.
Pluralism
Radical Pluralism: J.A. DiNoia & Stephen Heim
-Each religion has its own understanding of salvation and is self-contained without overlap
Heim: "Nirvana - communion with God are contradictory only if we assume that one or the other must be the sole fate for all human beings"
Problem: Heim is not true to the religions here
Problems with radical pluralism:
1) Exclusivity
2) There cannot be mutually exclusive true practices
3) We would have to make up concepts for this methodology because it is self-setting
John Hick's Forced Pluralism
1) All religions serve to bring people into contact with "The Real"
2) No religion has an edge on any others
3) All religions do an equal job of bringing their followers into relationship with the Real
4) The actual beliefs of religions differ from each other.
5) The Real is beyond all human words and concepts
6) All religions are legitimate ways to the Real
Hick on exclusive religions: Since salvation is not confined to Christianity we must reject all the old exclusivist dogma. This has in fact been done by most thinking Christians, though exceptions remain, mostly within the extreme Protestant fundamentalist constituencies.
Hick's Model
Buddhism: stripped of its Buddhist concepts
Hinduism: stripped of its Hindu concepts
Islam: stripped of its Islamic concepts
Christianity: stripped of its Christian concepts
All of these point man towards the real
Hick limits his model to Axial Age and Post-Axial Age religions (6th century B.C. on)
Heim's critique of Hick: The Real is like a cardboard cutout on the boardwalk. Put your head in the hole and you are in contact with the real.
Sumner Twiss' defense of Hick
Higher order theory with a Lower order description
Lower order descriptions that are in each religion may not fit the higher order theory. But that just means that lower order descriptions need to be changed to fit the scheme.
Iranaeus (2nd Century Apologist) vs. Gnostics
Gnosticism:
Monotes (awareness) -> Denotes (otherness) -> Monas (one-ness)-> Hen (other)
Iraneaus' satire of gnosticism
Gourd -> Utter-Emptiness -> Cucumber -> Melon -> The writings of Valentinus
Hick, like Valentinus is completely contrived. The description is totally arbitrary.
Monday, April 16, 2007
Creation & Redemption in Eastern Traditions, Mysticism
(Originally written April 16, 2007 in Book 15)
In Eastern Religions one needs to be redeemed from phenomenal existence.
In Vedantic monistic Hinduism the philosophy begins with the continual existence of a soul (jiva) in this present world. Maya (this world) is full of suffering. So as long as jiva exists in the Maya the jiva will suffer. As the jiva exists in the Maya it is operated from its true state of existence as oneness with the Bhraman.
Samsara, the cycle of reincarnation that keeps the soul anchored in Maya, keeping people trapped in a life of suffering.
Whether one comes back as an animal, human, demon or whatever depends on the amount of Karma one accumulates by committing disruptive actions (Klesha).
The view of Samsara is a hopeless one because they do not see it as very easy to get out of the cycle.
Another major problem in this view is that of ignorance. One may not know his true identity of atman-Brahma. Salvation must come through knowledge (advaita).
Salvation is achieved through knowledge in Vedantic Hinduism.
Moksha is the "release" from Samsara.
Moksha is salvation in the sense that it saves one from phenomenal existence.
Buddhism, Jainism and other forms of Hinduism follow similar lines of salvation, but in there own way.
In Buddhism, it is not the identity of atman (the true self) one hopes to achieve, but anatman (non-self) [This is Theravada Buddhism].
In Theravada Buddhism salvation occurs when one recognizes that one does not exist and stop clinging to this realm of existence.
In Jainism we exist in the realm because of the accumulated karma (which in Jainism is actually physical matter clinging to our souls).
Karma is accumulated by our actions that harm other creatures.
To achieve salvation in Jainism one must cease doing things that accumulates dust on one's soul.
Jainism salvation also starts with knowledge. The soul that knows the truth and then acts on it is the soul that gains release from the cycle of reincarnation.
Chinese and Japanese traditions have no notion of salvation within themselves. Buddhism in these cultures has grafted the notion of salvation into them.
Christianity
Christianity is differentiated from all other religions by its notion of original sin.
Original sin rules out any neutral status of humanity. But, it is not Eastern in that original sin results from phenomenal existence, but fallen phenomenal existence.
The Fall of man resulted in a disruption of the God-man relationship. Salvation in Christianity is the restoration of this all important relationship.
Man is helpless and unable to restore this relationship through his own power.
Christianity holds that all human beings are fallen as a result of Adam's original sin.
Christianity emphasizes the fallenness of all human beings.
In Indic religions the cosmos and physical existence is corrupt; in Christianity the human soul is what is corrupt and if the cosmos and physical existence is corrupt it is because of the result of human fallenness.
The way to salvation in Christianity is through mediation via the atoning death of Christ.
Salvation entails a number of facets:
1) Justification - declaration of the sinner as righteous by God on the basis of Christ's work.
2) Regeneration - God implants a new nature in the person enabling him to live a righteous life.
3) Conversion - sinner turns from sin and trusts in God
4) Adoption - new believer is made a member of God's family
5) Indwelling - The Holy Spirit dwells within the believer
6) Glorification - Elevating the relationship between God and man to a higher status then Adam and God initially enjoyed.
In Christianity faith cannot be supplemented by works, but faith results in good works.
Grace in other religions
Christianity is not the only religion in where one is saved by faith alone.
There is a difference between grace and mercy.
Most religions have a concept of mercy which is usually a central concept.
Grace is entirely the result of the divine person's actions and is unaided by human efforts whatsoever.
Along with Christianity there are two classic examples of grace in world religions:
1) The cat school of Bhakti Hinduism
- Southern school of devotion to Rama
- Rama saves us the way a cat carries her young (in her mouth)
2) The Jodo-Shin-Shu school of Buddhism
- most popular school in Japan
- salvation comes from the buddha Amida
- The legend goes that Amido was a ruler under the influence of the Buddha Lokesvararaja and took up a monkshood. As a monk he went by the name Dharmakara and vowed not to achieve enlightenment until he made it possible for all creatures to achieve it. Thus, he created the pure land in which all would be reborn into and achieve nirvana in the next life.
- The monk Honen in the 12th century A.D. made this legend the core of his buddhism.
- One can enter the pure land in one's next life by stating "Namu Amida Butsu" (I worship the Buddha Amida (or "nembutsu" for short).
- Honen taught to recite nembutsu frequently to achieve rebirth as a male in the pure land.
- The Buddhist monk Shinran actually built on Honen's ideas and formed the Jodo-Shin-Shu school.
- Shinran taught that there is nothing a person can do to enter the Pure Land other than completely trusting in Amida.
Christian Response
In Christianity salvation comes via faith in Jesus Christ. In the cat school of Bhakti Hinduism comes through faith in Rama/Ishvana and in Jodo-Shin-Shu Buddhism grace comes through faith in Amida Butsu.
Christianity's concept of grace is tied to its concept of redemptive salvation which makes it drastically different than Eastern concepts of grace.
Christianity differentiates itself from all other religions in the role that its founder plays as a historical figure.
Islam could exist without Muhammad. Muhammad taught that Islam was practiced long before him, but it had been corrupted.
Muhammad plays an important role in Islam, but not an essential one.
The Buddha is neither unique nor essential to Buddhism. There were many Buddhas.
Jainism can exist without its founder Mahavira because he is non-essential.
Without the historicity of Christianity is a religion of impossible moral exhortations.
Without Jesus and his death on the cross and his resurrection there can be no Christian atonement.
Christianity is a wholly unique religion because it is falsifiable (Jesus' body could be found and falsify the resurrection) and because it can be shown as plausible because of historical evidence.
Cosmos & Mysticism
Mysticism exists in Eastern & Western Religions.
The essence of a mystical experience is that one participates in an unmediated link with something absolute.
Examples of Mysticism
1) A Sufi (Islam) experiences the closeness of Allah
2) A Kabbalist (Judaism) sees God on his throne (the devekuth)
3) The Vedantic Hindu who realizes the absorption of his atman in Brahman
4) The Bhakti Hindu who has a direct vision (darshan) of his deity
5) The Buddhist who comes to awareness in nirvana
6) The Daoist who yields all to the Dao
Eastern mystical experiences deal with paths of redemption whereas Western mystical experiences merely enhance the total spiritual picture.
There is no good reason to infer that Christian mystics encounter the same reality as non-Christian ones (contra the "Perennial Philosophy")
Mystics do not encounter "Reality" they encounter a deity.
There should not be too much significance placed on mystical experiences within Christianity.
Mystical experiences are not a part of Christianity's theological concept of redemption.
Cosmic Redemption
While there is no notion of Original Sin in Judaism, it stresses the fallen nature of the present world order.
In addition to human beings each needing individual redemption, the cosmos as a whole needs redemption.
In Western Traditions the cosmos will eventually be redeemed: Islam- Heaven & Hell; Judaism - kingdom of God; Christianity - New Heaven & Earth; Zoroastrianism - reclaiming of the universe. But, in Eastern traditions the cosmos are continually renewed, but never redeemed.
In Eastern Religions one needs to be redeemed from phenomenal existence.
In Vedantic monistic Hinduism the philosophy begins with the continual existence of a soul (jiva) in this present world. Maya (this world) is full of suffering. So as long as jiva exists in the Maya the jiva will suffer. As the jiva exists in the Maya it is operated from its true state of existence as oneness with the Bhraman.
Samsara, the cycle of reincarnation that keeps the soul anchored in Maya, keeping people trapped in a life of suffering.
Whether one comes back as an animal, human, demon or whatever depends on the amount of Karma one accumulates by committing disruptive actions (Klesha).
The view of Samsara is a hopeless one because they do not see it as very easy to get out of the cycle.
Another major problem in this view is that of ignorance. One may not know his true identity of atman-Brahma. Salvation must come through knowledge (advaita).
Salvation is achieved through knowledge in Vedantic Hinduism.
Moksha is the "release" from Samsara.
Moksha is salvation in the sense that it saves one from phenomenal existence.
Buddhism, Jainism and other forms of Hinduism follow similar lines of salvation, but in there own way.
In Buddhism, it is not the identity of atman (the true self) one hopes to achieve, but anatman (non-self) [This is Theravada Buddhism].
In Theravada Buddhism salvation occurs when one recognizes that one does not exist and stop clinging to this realm of existence.
In Jainism we exist in the realm because of the accumulated karma (which in Jainism is actually physical matter clinging to our souls).
Karma is accumulated by our actions that harm other creatures.
To achieve salvation in Jainism one must cease doing things that accumulates dust on one's soul.
Jainism salvation also starts with knowledge. The soul that knows the truth and then acts on it is the soul that gains release from the cycle of reincarnation.
Chinese and Japanese traditions have no notion of salvation within themselves. Buddhism in these cultures has grafted the notion of salvation into them.
Christianity
Christianity is differentiated from all other religions by its notion of original sin.
Original sin rules out any neutral status of humanity. But, it is not Eastern in that original sin results from phenomenal existence, but fallen phenomenal existence.
The Fall of man resulted in a disruption of the God-man relationship. Salvation in Christianity is the restoration of this all important relationship.
Man is helpless and unable to restore this relationship through his own power.
Christianity holds that all human beings are fallen as a result of Adam's original sin.
Christianity emphasizes the fallenness of all human beings.
In Indic religions the cosmos and physical existence is corrupt; in Christianity the human soul is what is corrupt and if the cosmos and physical existence is corrupt it is because of the result of human fallenness.
The way to salvation in Christianity is through mediation via the atoning death of Christ.
Salvation entails a number of facets:
1) Justification - declaration of the sinner as righteous by God on the basis of Christ's work.
2) Regeneration - God implants a new nature in the person enabling him to live a righteous life.
3) Conversion - sinner turns from sin and trusts in God
4) Adoption - new believer is made a member of God's family
5) Indwelling - The Holy Spirit dwells within the believer
6) Glorification - Elevating the relationship between God and man to a higher status then Adam and God initially enjoyed.
In Christianity faith cannot be supplemented by works, but faith results in good works.
Grace in other religions
Christianity is not the only religion in where one is saved by faith alone.
There is a difference between grace and mercy.
Most religions have a concept of mercy which is usually a central concept.
Grace is entirely the result of the divine person's actions and is unaided by human efforts whatsoever.
Along with Christianity there are two classic examples of grace in world religions:
1) The cat school of Bhakti Hinduism
- Southern school of devotion to Rama
- Rama saves us the way a cat carries her young (in her mouth)
2) The Jodo-Shin-Shu school of Buddhism
- most popular school in Japan
- salvation comes from the buddha Amida
- The legend goes that Amido was a ruler under the influence of the Buddha Lokesvararaja and took up a monkshood. As a monk he went by the name Dharmakara and vowed not to achieve enlightenment until he made it possible for all creatures to achieve it. Thus, he created the pure land in which all would be reborn into and achieve nirvana in the next life.
- The monk Honen in the 12th century A.D. made this legend the core of his buddhism.
- One can enter the pure land in one's next life by stating "Namu Amida Butsu" (I worship the Buddha Amida (or "nembutsu" for short).
- Honen taught to recite nembutsu frequently to achieve rebirth as a male in the pure land.
- The Buddhist monk Shinran actually built on Honen's ideas and formed the Jodo-Shin-Shu school.
- Shinran taught that there is nothing a person can do to enter the Pure Land other than completely trusting in Amida.
Christian Response
In Christianity salvation comes via faith in Jesus Christ. In the cat school of Bhakti Hinduism comes through faith in Rama/Ishvana and in Jodo-Shin-Shu Buddhism grace comes through faith in Amida Butsu.
Christianity's concept of grace is tied to its concept of redemptive salvation which makes it drastically different than Eastern concepts of grace.
Christianity differentiates itself from all other religions in the role that its founder plays as a historical figure.
Islam could exist without Muhammad. Muhammad taught that Islam was practiced long before him, but it had been corrupted.
Muhammad plays an important role in Islam, but not an essential one.
The Buddha is neither unique nor essential to Buddhism. There were many Buddhas.
Jainism can exist without its founder Mahavira because he is non-essential.
Without the historicity of Christianity is a religion of impossible moral exhortations.
Without Jesus and his death on the cross and his resurrection there can be no Christian atonement.
Christianity is a wholly unique religion because it is falsifiable (Jesus' body could be found and falsify the resurrection) and because it can be shown as plausible because of historical evidence.
Cosmos & Mysticism
Mysticism exists in Eastern & Western Religions.
The essence of a mystical experience is that one participates in an unmediated link with something absolute.
Examples of Mysticism
1) A Sufi (Islam) experiences the closeness of Allah
2) A Kabbalist (Judaism) sees God on his throne (the devekuth)
3) The Vedantic Hindu who realizes the absorption of his atman in Brahman
4) The Bhakti Hindu who has a direct vision (darshan) of his deity
5) The Buddhist who comes to awareness in nirvana
6) The Daoist who yields all to the Dao
Eastern mystical experiences deal with paths of redemption whereas Western mystical experiences merely enhance the total spiritual picture.
There is no good reason to infer that Christian mystics encounter the same reality as non-Christian ones (contra the "Perennial Philosophy")
Mystics do not encounter "Reality" they encounter a deity.
There should not be too much significance placed on mystical experiences within Christianity.
Mystical experiences are not a part of Christianity's theological concept of redemption.
Cosmic Redemption
While there is no notion of Original Sin in Judaism, it stresses the fallen nature of the present world order.
In addition to human beings each needing individual redemption, the cosmos as a whole needs redemption.
In Western Traditions the cosmos will eventually be redeemed: Islam- Heaven & Hell; Judaism - kingdom of God; Christianity - New Heaven & Earth; Zoroastrianism - reclaiming of the universe. But, in Eastern traditions the cosmos are continually renewed, but never redeemed.
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.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Class notes on Salvation
(Originally written April 10, 2007 in Book 15)
(Test Thursday: 4/12/07)
Salvation: Different Concepts
Gandhi - "Religions are different roads converging to the same point".
Two main traditions:
1) Western
- Middle East Originated/Abrahamic
- Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, Islam
- Problem: Our spiritual condition
2) Eastern
- Indic
- Subcontinent originated
- Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism,
- Problem: Our very existence (karma)
Christianity problem of salvation:
-Utter inability to restore a relationship with God (total depravity)
Islam: Test of Submission
-Life is a test to see how obedient we can be to Allah
The Hindu Dilemma
-Salvation is the escape from the never ending cycle of reincarnation (moksha)
How do you escape?
Vedantic Monism: Atman = Brahman
- Find how to become identical with God
Principles of Bhakti (Way of Devotion)
- Cling to one particular god to escape from the cycle of samsara
- This is not parallel to a holy God or a parallel to sin offending the god
3 Main Bhakti Sects
Vaishnavites - Worship of Vishnu or his avatars (incarnations) i.e. Krishna/Rama
Shaivites - Worship of Shiva
Shakti - Worship goddesses like Kali
Salvation from Rama, "Grace" in Hinduism
Monkey School: We must cling to Rama to achieve salvation
Cat School - Rama saves us apart from our works
Often when people refer to the "grace" of other religions they are using it to mean "mercy", not a synonymous term with the Christian concept of Grace.
Major Splits in Hinduism
Way of Works:
- Karma marga
- Brahminical Ritual
Way of Knowledge:
- Jñana Marga
- Vedanta
- Atman-Brahman
Way of Devotion:
- Bhakti Marga
Buddhist conception of salvation:
4 Noble Truths:
1) To live is to suffer
2) Suffering is caused by desire
3) To eliminate suffering one must eliminate desire
4) To eliminate desire one must follow the 8-fold path
- Right concentration
- Right View
- Right intention
- Right speech
- Right action (10 Precepts)
- Right livelihood
- Right effort
- Right meditation
Salvation is ultimately elimination of one's self
Pure Land Buddhism- conception of "grace"
"Jodo-Shin-Shu" aka Pure Land
- Worships the Buddha Amida
- Amdia became a buddha in Heaven (Dhyani Buddha)
- Buddha of the West
- Amida created a "pure land" for people who chant to him. Anyone who chants to him will be reborn in this pure land as a male so as to be closer to achieving nirvana.
Obviously, the Pure Land Buddhism's conception of grace is drastically different from Christianity's conception of Grace.
Jainism
Goal: to escape from the cycle of reincarnation and the elimination of karma.
Mahavira (6th Century B.C.) founded Jainism. His story is similar to the Buddha. Mahavira received enlightenment, but unlike the Buddha, retained his ascetic lifestyle.
Tirthankaras - teachers of Jainism
Mahavira was the last of the 24 Tirthankaras.
Two Main Divisions:
1) Shvetambara - "Clad in White"
2) Disambara - "Clad in atmosphere"
In the Shvetambara women are are eligible for salvation, but in the Disambara women are ineligible for salvation.
Karma: Jainism believes in individual souls (as opposed to Buddhism and Hinduism). This is the Jiva.
Jiva, left to itself would rise to the top of the universe. But, Karma adds physical Ajiva to the soul, weighing it down. Ajiva causes the soul to sink.
Salvation is the removing of Ajiva (dead matter) from one's soul.
The most important principle of Jainism is ahimsa.
Conclusion
Religions do not just have different ways of salvation, but their conceptions of salvation are very different.
(Test Thursday: 4/12/07)
Salvation: Different Concepts
Gandhi - "Religions are different roads converging to the same point".
Two main traditions:
1) Western
- Middle East Originated/Abrahamic
- Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, Islam
- Problem: Our spiritual condition
2) Eastern
- Indic
- Subcontinent originated
- Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism,
- Problem: Our very existence (karma)
Christianity problem of salvation:
-Utter inability to restore a relationship with God (total depravity)
Islam: Test of Submission
-Life is a test to see how obedient we can be to Allah
The Hindu Dilemma
-Salvation is the escape from the never ending cycle of reincarnation (moksha)
How do you escape?
Vedantic Monism: Atman = Brahman
- Find how to become identical with God
Principles of Bhakti (Way of Devotion)
- Cling to one particular god to escape from the cycle of samsara
- This is not parallel to a holy God or a parallel to sin offending the god
3 Main Bhakti Sects
Vaishnavites - Worship of Vishnu or his avatars (incarnations) i.e. Krishna/Rama
Shaivites - Worship of Shiva
Shakti - Worship goddesses like Kali
Salvation from Rama, "Grace" in Hinduism
Monkey School: We must cling to Rama to achieve salvation
Cat School - Rama saves us apart from our works
Often when people refer to the "grace" of other religions they are using it to mean "mercy", not a synonymous term with the Christian concept of Grace.
Major Splits in Hinduism
Way of Works:
- Karma marga
- Brahminical Ritual
Way of Knowledge:
- Jñana Marga
- Vedanta
- Atman-Brahman
Way of Devotion:
- Bhakti Marga
Buddhist conception of salvation:
4 Noble Truths:
1) To live is to suffer
2) Suffering is caused by desire
3) To eliminate suffering one must eliminate desire
4) To eliminate desire one must follow the 8-fold path
- Right concentration
- Right View
- Right intention
- Right speech
- Right action (10 Precepts)
- Right livelihood
- Right effort
- Right meditation
Salvation is ultimately elimination of one's self
Pure Land Buddhism- conception of "grace"
"Jodo-Shin-Shu" aka Pure Land
- Worships the Buddha Amida
- Amdia became a buddha in Heaven (Dhyani Buddha)
- Buddha of the West
- Amida created a "pure land" for people who chant to him. Anyone who chants to him will be reborn in this pure land as a male so as to be closer to achieving nirvana.
Obviously, the Pure Land Buddhism's conception of grace is drastically different from Christianity's conception of Grace.
Jainism
Goal: to escape from the cycle of reincarnation and the elimination of karma.
Mahavira (6th Century B.C.) founded Jainism. His story is similar to the Buddha. Mahavira received enlightenment, but unlike the Buddha, retained his ascetic lifestyle.
Tirthankaras - teachers of Jainism
Mahavira was the last of the 24 Tirthankaras.
Two Main Divisions:
1) Shvetambara - "Clad in White"
2) Disambara - "Clad in atmosphere"
In the Shvetambara women are are eligible for salvation, but in the Disambara women are ineligible for salvation.
Karma: Jainism believes in individual souls (as opposed to Buddhism and Hinduism). This is the Jiva.
Jiva, left to itself would rise to the top of the universe. But, Karma adds physical Ajiva to the soul, weighing it down. Ajiva causes the soul to sink.
Salvation is the removing of Ajiva (dead matter) from one's soul.
The most important principle of Jainism is ahimsa.
Conclusion
Religions do not just have different ways of salvation, but their conceptions of salvation are very different.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Book notes on Shinto
(Originally written March 27, 2007 in Book 15)
A Tapestry of Faiths
Win Corduan
12: Shinto
Origin - Japanese traditional religion with no definitive origin
Essential beliefs and practices
- A system of practices, not doctrines, veneration of the Kami (spiritual reality)
Scriptures
- Kojiki, Nihongi, Amatsu Norito
Major Contemporary Divisions
- State, Shrine, Domestic and Sectarian. Other Shinto is fused with Buddhism.
A Tapestry of Faiths
Win Corduan
12: Shinto
Origin - Japanese traditional religion with no definitive origin
Essential beliefs and practices
- A system of practices, not doctrines, veneration of the Kami (spiritual reality)
Scriptures
- Kojiki, Nihongi, Amatsu Norito
Major Contemporary Divisions
- State, Shrine, Domestic and Sectarian. Other Shinto is fused with Buddhism.
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
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Functions of Rules in Various Religions
(Originally written March 17, 2007 in Book 15)
Class Notes
Moral purity vs. Ceremonial Purity
Ritual defilement can:
1) Occur if something is so evil that it may not be touched
2) Occur if something is so holy that it may not be touched
Defilement results in either
1) of one's self
2) of the holy object
Taboo - ultimate form of ritual defilement
Functions of the Rules in Various Religions
Western Religions:
- God as Lawgiver
- People are accountable to God
- Includes interpersonal dimension
Eastern Religions
- Rules are intrinsic to the universe
Lutheran Conception of Law
- 1st use of the Law: makes possible a livable society
- 2nd use of the Law: "Schoolmaster" - display our sinfulness to drive us to the Grace in Christ
- 3rd use of the law: evidence of regeneration
Judaism conception of Law
- The law demonstrates the righteousness that is characteristic for the people of God.
- makes the world a better place
- limited demands on Gentiles
- not tied to heaven or hell in a strict sense
Islamic conception of Law
- Rules as a test to qualify for paradise
5 Pillars of Islam:
1) Confession
2) Prayer
3) Fasting
4) Almsgiving
5) Pilgrimage
Indic Religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism
- Rules are intrinsic to the universe
- divinity revealed the law
- binding on all beings, including gods
Confucianism's conception of rules
- rules bring about harmony among people
- harmony among people brings harmony in the universe
Class Notes
Moral purity vs. Ceremonial Purity
Ritual defilement can:
1) Occur if something is so evil that it may not be touched
2) Occur if something is so holy that it may not be touched
Defilement results in either
1) of one's self
2) of the holy object
Taboo - ultimate form of ritual defilement
Functions of the Rules in Various Religions
Western Religions:
- God as Lawgiver
- People are accountable to God
- Includes interpersonal dimension
Eastern Religions
- Rules are intrinsic to the universe
Lutheran Conception of Law
- 1st use of the Law: makes possible a livable society
- 2nd use of the Law: "Schoolmaster" - display our sinfulness to drive us to the Grace in Christ
- 3rd use of the law: evidence of regeneration
Judaism conception of Law
- The law demonstrates the righteousness that is characteristic for the people of God.
- makes the world a better place
- limited demands on Gentiles
- not tied to heaven or hell in a strict sense
Islamic conception of Law
- Rules as a test to qualify for paradise
5 Pillars of Islam:
1) Confession
2) Prayer
3) Fasting
4) Almsgiving
5) Pilgrimage
Indic Religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism
- Rules are intrinsic to the universe
- divinity revealed the law
- binding on all beings, including gods
Confucianism's conception of rules
- rules bring about harmony among people
- harmony among people brings harmony in the universe
Thursday, March 15, 2007
10 Commandments vs. 10 Precepts
(Originally written March 15, 2007 in Book 15)
The 10 Commandments
1. I am YHWH, you shall have no other Gods
2. You shall not bow down before graven images
3. Don't take the Lord's name in vain
4. Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy
5. Honor your father & mother
6. Thou shall not murder
7. Thou shall not commit adultery
8. Thou shall not steal
9. Thou shall not bear false witness
10. Thou shall not covet
Dalai Lama - "I believe all religions pursue the same goals, that of cultivating human goodness is bringing happiness to all human beings"
Duties in Religion
- Moral Norms
- Religious Norms
--> obligatory actions
--> ritual avoidances (defilement of self, defilement of the Holy)
10 Commandments
1 No other gods
2 No idolatry
3 No Lord's name in vain
4 Honor father & mother
5 Sabbath day
6 No killing
7 No adultery
8 No stealing
9 No lying
10 No coveting
10 Precepts (Buddhism)
1 Protect life
2 Sexual morality
3 No stealing
4 No lying
5 No alcohol
6 Don't eat in excess or at all after noon
7 No entertainment/shows
8 No jewelry/cosmetics
9 No comfortable beds
10 No touching Gold or silver
1-5 are for all people
6-8 are for monks always and the laity on holidays
9-10 are for monks alone
Principle of Ahisma - not to take any other life
The 10 commandments and 10 precepts overlap in 4 categories
No killing - Protect Life
No Adultery - Sexual Morality
No stealing - No stealing
No lying - No lying
Thou Shalt not Kill vs. Ahisma
- 6th commandment better stated as, "Thou shall not murder"
- Ahisma is a refusal to harm any living being whatsoever
Even superficial similarities are influenced by the religion of their context.
Within a particular religion the distinction between moral obligations and religious obligations is blurred.
Codes of morality may overlap to a certain extent between religions, but they are not the same.
Moral Purity Vs. Ceremonial Purity
Morality: Sin = Guilt
Ceremonial: Violation = Defilement
Moral guilt ultimately depends on intent. Ritual defilement does not depend on intent
The 10 Commandments
1. I am YHWH, you shall have no other Gods
2. You shall not bow down before graven images
3. Don't take the Lord's name in vain
4. Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy
5. Honor your father & mother
6. Thou shall not murder
7. Thou shall not commit adultery
8. Thou shall not steal
9. Thou shall not bear false witness
10. Thou shall not covet
Dalai Lama - "I believe all religions pursue the same goals, that of cultivating human goodness is bringing happiness to all human beings"
Duties in Religion
- Moral Norms
- Religious Norms
--> obligatory actions
--> ritual avoidances (defilement of self, defilement of the Holy)
10 Commandments
1 No other gods
2 No idolatry
3 No Lord's name in vain
4 Honor father & mother
5 Sabbath day
6 No killing
7 No adultery
8 No stealing
9 No lying
10 No coveting
10 Precepts (Buddhism)
1 Protect life
2 Sexual morality
3 No stealing
4 No lying
5 No alcohol
6 Don't eat in excess or at all after noon
7 No entertainment/shows
8 No jewelry/cosmetics
9 No comfortable beds
10 No touching Gold or silver
1-5 are for all people
6-8 are for monks always and the laity on holidays
9-10 are for monks alone
Principle of Ahisma - not to take any other life
The 10 commandments and 10 precepts overlap in 4 categories
No killing - Protect Life
No Adultery - Sexual Morality
No stealing - No stealing
No lying - No lying
Thou Shalt not Kill vs. Ahisma
- 6th commandment better stated as, "Thou shall not murder"
- Ahisma is a refusal to harm any living being whatsoever
Even superficial similarities are influenced by the religion of their context.
Within a particular religion the distinction between moral obligations and religious obligations is blurred.
Codes of morality may overlap to a certain extent between religions, but they are not the same.
Moral Purity Vs. Ceremonial Purity
Morality: Sin = Guilt
Ceremonial: Violation = Defilement
Moral guilt ultimately depends on intent. Ritual defilement does not depend on intent
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
The Categorical difference of Christianity
(Originally written March 13, 2007 in Book 15)
Class Notes
Christianity is categorically different than all other religions.
Muhammad -> Islam
Buddha -> Buddhism
Christ -> Christianity
Islam could still exist even without Muhammad.
Buddhist teaching is more important than the Buddha, the Buddha is non-essential.
You can have the religion without the founder. All you need is the teaching.
It is impossible to live on the basis of Jesus' teachings alone. They are too idealistic. If you take the historical Jesus out of Christianity then you have a religion not worth talking about.
Class Notes
Christianity is categorically different than all other religions.
Muhammad -> Islam
Buddha -> Buddhism
Christ -> Christianity
Islam could still exist even without Muhammad.
Buddhist teaching is more important than the Buddha, the Buddha is non-essential.
You can have the religion without the founder. All you need is the teaching.
It is impossible to live on the basis of Jesus' teachings alone. They are too idealistic. If you take the historical Jesus out of Christianity then you have a religion not worth talking about.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Chapter 13 - Pocket Guide to World Religions
(Originally written February 25, 2007 in Book 14)
Pocket Guide to World Religions
Win Corduan
Chapter 13 - Shinto
Name
This Japanese religion comes from the Chinese term, "shen-dao" which means, "the way of the gods".
The Japanese equivalent of "shen-dao" is "kami-no-mihi".
It should never be referred to as Shintoism.
Numbers and Distribution
"Nearly all Japanese people are influenced by Shinto, but few would declare Shinto to be their religion" (Corduan, 121).
Many Japanese combine Shinto and Buddhism into their faith.
There are only 3 or 4 million pure Shinto practitioners, but over 100 million who incorporate parts of Shinto into their belief structure.
Shinto is confined sole to Japan and is not readily exportable.
Symbols
The most prominent symbol is the torii gate.
The Japanese flag is also a Shinto symbol standing for the rising sun and the sun goddess, Amaterasu
History
Shinto goes back to pre-historic times. It was established long before the 6th century B.C. when Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism came to Japan.
Buddhism slowly replaced Shinto as the dominant religion in Japan but in 1868 Shinto was reinstated as mandatory practice for all of Japan.
The end of WWII saw the end of the emperor as a god and Shinto declined.
Scriptures
There are three major writings of Shinto, but these are descriptive rather than Shinto rule books.
1) The Kojiki
- Shinto Mythology
- Collected by Yasumaro in A.D. 712
- Tells how the gods (kami) came into being
- tells how the god Izanagi and goddess Izanami married and created the Japanese islands
- tells how Amaterasu become the ancestor of the emperor of Japan
2) The Nihongi
- finalized by Yasumaro in A.D. 725
3) The Amatsu Norito
- collection of prayers and rituals of Shinto
Major Beliefs
Shinto is not a set of beliefs that lead to salvation. It is a set of practices to maintain harmony with the Spiritual world.
There is a spirit world; individual spiritual forces called Kami indwell in this world
A Kami can be many things:
1) impersonal spiritual force that is latent in nature
2) personal spirits that inhabit our environment
3) personal gods
People can relate to the Kami and harness their power by respecting them. If one offends the Kami they run the risk of being thwarted by the Kami.
Subgroups
State Shinto - the emperor is divine (officially repudiated)
Shrine Shinto - holy sites
Domestic Shinto - practices that are part of the traditional Shinto home
Sectarian Shinto - the new Japanese religion
Worship practices
One must offer prayers and sacrifices to the Kami.
One must inform the Kami of one's plans because the Kami is unhappy when it is surprised.
Religious Buildings
Shinto buildings are called shrines
The Shinto Shrines often have:
1) A torii gate entrance
2) a left curved walkway
3) The outer part (haiden) to be entered by worshippers
4) A ball with a rope to get the Kami's attention
5) The inner part (honden) is reserved for priests
6) Inside the honden there are Shintai, the sacred objects of that shrine's particular Kami
Japanese couples are married in Shinto Shrines, but funerals take place at Buddhist temples.
Home Practices
A home should have a but sudan, a shelf with a statue of a Buddha.
It should also have a Kamidan, a shelf with prayer objects dedicated to the Kami.
Clothing
There are not regulations on clothing, but Shinto festivals often have Shinto practitioners wearing traditional Japanese clothing.
Diet
There are no regulations on what not to eat, but red meat cannot be offered as a sacrifice.
Calendar
Japan operates on the Gregorian calendar.
New Year's is January 1st and is a day of purification.
February 3rd is the beginning of spring.
March 4 is Doll Day when girls display their dolls.
April 8 is the birthday of the Buddha and the day when the Kami descend from the mountains.
May 5 is Boys' day when boys are recognized
June 30 is the renewal of purification.
In the middle of July there is a time for commemorating the dead.
Pocket Guide to World Religions
Win Corduan
Chapter 13 - Shinto
Name
This Japanese religion comes from the Chinese term, "shen-dao" which means, "the way of the gods".
The Japanese equivalent of "shen-dao" is "kami-no-mihi".
It should never be referred to as Shintoism.
Numbers and Distribution
"Nearly all Japanese people are influenced by Shinto, but few would declare Shinto to be their religion" (Corduan, 121).
Many Japanese combine Shinto and Buddhism into their faith.
There are only 3 or 4 million pure Shinto practitioners, but over 100 million who incorporate parts of Shinto into their belief structure.
Shinto is confined sole to Japan and is not readily exportable.
Symbols
The most prominent symbol is the torii gate.
The Japanese flag is also a Shinto symbol standing for the rising sun and the sun goddess, Amaterasu
History
Shinto goes back to pre-historic times. It was established long before the 6th century B.C. when Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism came to Japan.
Buddhism slowly replaced Shinto as the dominant religion in Japan but in 1868 Shinto was reinstated as mandatory practice for all of Japan.
The end of WWII saw the end of the emperor as a god and Shinto declined.
Scriptures
There are three major writings of Shinto, but these are descriptive rather than Shinto rule books.
1) The Kojiki
- Shinto Mythology
- Collected by Yasumaro in A.D. 712
- Tells how the gods (kami) came into being
- tells how the god Izanagi and goddess Izanami married and created the Japanese islands
- tells how Amaterasu become the ancestor of the emperor of Japan
2) The Nihongi
- finalized by Yasumaro in A.D. 725
3) The Amatsu Norito
- collection of prayers and rituals of Shinto
Major Beliefs
Shinto is not a set of beliefs that lead to salvation. It is a set of practices to maintain harmony with the Spiritual world.
There is a spirit world; individual spiritual forces called Kami indwell in this world
A Kami can be many things:
1) impersonal spiritual force that is latent in nature
2) personal spirits that inhabit our environment
3) personal gods
People can relate to the Kami and harness their power by respecting them. If one offends the Kami they run the risk of being thwarted by the Kami.
Subgroups
State Shinto - the emperor is divine (officially repudiated)
Shrine Shinto - holy sites
Domestic Shinto - practices that are part of the traditional Shinto home
Sectarian Shinto - the new Japanese religion
Worship practices
One must offer prayers and sacrifices to the Kami.
One must inform the Kami of one's plans because the Kami is unhappy when it is surprised.
Religious Buildings
Shinto buildings are called shrines
The Shinto Shrines often have:
1) A torii gate entrance
2) a left curved walkway
3) The outer part (haiden) to be entered by worshippers
4) A ball with a rope to get the Kami's attention
5) The inner part (honden) is reserved for priests
6) Inside the honden there are Shintai, the sacred objects of that shrine's particular Kami
Japanese couples are married in Shinto Shrines, but funerals take place at Buddhist temples.
Home Practices
A home should have a but sudan, a shelf with a statue of a Buddha.
It should also have a Kamidan, a shelf with prayer objects dedicated to the Kami.
Clothing
There are not regulations on clothing, but Shinto festivals often have Shinto practitioners wearing traditional Japanese clothing.
Diet
There are no regulations on what not to eat, but red meat cannot be offered as a sacrifice.
Calendar
Japan operates on the Gregorian calendar.
New Year's is January 1st and is a day of purification.
February 3rd is the beginning of spring.
March 4 is Doll Day when girls display their dolls.
April 8 is the birthday of the Buddha and the day when the Kami descend from the mountains.
May 5 is Boys' day when boys are recognized
June 30 is the renewal of purification.
In the middle of July there is a time for commemorating the dead.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Chapter 11 - Pocket Guide to World Religions (B)
(Originally written February 22, 2007 in Book 14)
Pocket Guide to World Religions
Winfried Corduan
Chapter 11 (continued)
Jehovah's Witnesses
Founded by Charles Taze Russell in 19th century America.
Born as a prophecy movement within Christianity.
Believe one's soul lies in their blood.
Jehovah's Witnesses tries to be considered a legitimate form of Christianity, but their beliefs are truly incompatible.
Juce
Juce is the official religion of North Korea and is a spiritualized form of Marxism.
Mormonism
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints began in 1830 in America, under Joseph Smith.
Smith claimed to receive new revelations in tablets from the angel Moroni. Moroni told Smith that none of the churches of his day represented Christ.
The Book of Mormon tells the story of how Jesus came to America after the resurrection.
Mormons hold that human beings eventually become gods and rule over their own planets.
Nation of Islam
The American Black Muslim movement.
Founded in 1930 by W.D. Ford and Elijah Muhammad (Poole) who claimed to be the incarnations of Allah and Muhammad.
The Nation of Islam holds that blacks are the only true humans and all other races are evil imitations.
Malcolm X realigned the Nation of Islam with more traditional Islamic teachings. But, Louis Farrakhan and 20,000 followers still adhere to the Nation's more radical teachings.
Rastafarianism
Began in the 1930's with the coronation of the Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie.
Some preachers in Jamaica, under the influence of Marcus Garvey's philosophy of black self-determination saw the coronation as the coming of liberation for African people.
They saw Selassie as an incarnation of god.
There are about 600,000 Rastafarians.
A part of Rastafarian worship includes sacramental smoking of marijuana (ganja).
Scientology
Resembles eastern thought like Tibetan Buddhism in certain ways.
Founded by L. Ron Hubbard, an American science fiction writer.
It's aim is to bring about, "increased awareness and spiritual freedom for the individual and rehabilitation of his basic decency, power and ability" (Corduan, 111).
Scientology is known for the book of Dianetics. Hubbard explains his conception of the relationship between the body and soul here.
Soka Gakkai
A Japanese form of Buddhism beginning with the Japanese monk Nichiren (1222-1282). Nichiren claimed the primacy of the Lotus Sutra.
There are about 10 million followers of Nichiren in Japan and 1.5 million followers elsewhere.
Tenrikyo
An offshoot of Shinto.
Tenrikyo means "sect of Tenri".
Founded by a female faith healer in the 19th century. Nakayama Miki claimed to be possessed by the god Oyagami.
She taught suffering was due to spiritual dust accumulating on human souls. This dust is wiped away by devotion to Oyagami.
Followers still believe that Miki is alive today.
Unification Church
Founded by Sun Myung Moon in Korea in the 1950's.
Combined Eastern ideas with Christian teachings.
Believes that spiritual redemption was done by Christ, but full physical redemption would be carried out by the second Messiah, Sun Myung Moon.
It has about 3 million members.
Wahhabite Islam
Began as an 8th century reform movement under Muhammad Ibn Abd al-Wahhab in Saudi Arabia.
Al-Wahhab believed Islam had been corrupted by superstitions.
When Saudi Arabia became a nation in 1932, King Abdul Aziz al Saud implemented the harsh Wahhabite principles.
Wahhabite schools eventually produced the Taliban and aided Al-Qaeda.
Wicca
The Western religion of witchcraft.
It does not endorse evil or worship Satan. It promotes goodness and healing by drawing on spiritual powers in the Universe.
It is polytheistic, whose supreme goddess is represented by the moon.
Pocket Guide to World Religions
Winfried Corduan
Chapter 11 (continued)
Jehovah's Witnesses
Founded by Charles Taze Russell in 19th century America.
Born as a prophecy movement within Christianity.
Believe one's soul lies in their blood.
Jehovah's Witnesses tries to be considered a legitimate form of Christianity, but their beliefs are truly incompatible.
Juce
Juce is the official religion of North Korea and is a spiritualized form of Marxism.
Mormonism
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints began in 1830 in America, under Joseph Smith.
Smith claimed to receive new revelations in tablets from the angel Moroni. Moroni told Smith that none of the churches of his day represented Christ.
The Book of Mormon tells the story of how Jesus came to America after the resurrection.
Mormons hold that human beings eventually become gods and rule over their own planets.
Nation of Islam
The American Black Muslim movement.
Founded in 1930 by W.D. Ford and Elijah Muhammad (Poole) who claimed to be the incarnations of Allah and Muhammad.
The Nation of Islam holds that blacks are the only true humans and all other races are evil imitations.
Malcolm X realigned the Nation of Islam with more traditional Islamic teachings. But, Louis Farrakhan and 20,000 followers still adhere to the Nation's more radical teachings.
Rastafarianism
Began in the 1930's with the coronation of the Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie.
Some preachers in Jamaica, under the influence of Marcus Garvey's philosophy of black self-determination saw the coronation as the coming of liberation for African people.
They saw Selassie as an incarnation of god.
There are about 600,000 Rastafarians.
A part of Rastafarian worship includes sacramental smoking of marijuana (ganja).
Scientology
Resembles eastern thought like Tibetan Buddhism in certain ways.
Founded by L. Ron Hubbard, an American science fiction writer.
It's aim is to bring about, "increased awareness and spiritual freedom for the individual and rehabilitation of his basic decency, power and ability" (Corduan, 111).
Scientology is known for the book of Dianetics. Hubbard explains his conception of the relationship between the body and soul here.
Soka Gakkai
A Japanese form of Buddhism beginning with the Japanese monk Nichiren (1222-1282). Nichiren claimed the primacy of the Lotus Sutra.
There are about 10 million followers of Nichiren in Japan and 1.5 million followers elsewhere.
Tenrikyo
An offshoot of Shinto.
Tenrikyo means "sect of Tenri".
Founded by a female faith healer in the 19th century. Nakayama Miki claimed to be possessed by the god Oyagami.
She taught suffering was due to spiritual dust accumulating on human souls. This dust is wiped away by devotion to Oyagami.
Followers still believe that Miki is alive today.
Unification Church
Founded by Sun Myung Moon in Korea in the 1950's.
Combined Eastern ideas with Christian teachings.
Believes that spiritual redemption was done by Christ, but full physical redemption would be carried out by the second Messiah, Sun Myung Moon.
It has about 3 million members.
Wahhabite Islam
Began as an 8th century reform movement under Muhammad Ibn Abd al-Wahhab in Saudi Arabia.
Al-Wahhab believed Islam had been corrupted by superstitions.
When Saudi Arabia became a nation in 1932, King Abdul Aziz al Saud implemented the harsh Wahhabite principles.
Wahhabite schools eventually produced the Taliban and aided Al-Qaeda.
Wicca
The Western religion of witchcraft.
It does not endorse evil or worship Satan. It promotes goodness and healing by drawing on spiritual powers in the Universe.
It is polytheistic, whose supreme goddess is represented by the moon.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Chapter 11 - Pocket Guide to World Religions (A)
(Originally written February 21, 2007 in Book 14)
Pocket Guide to World Religions
Win Corduan
Chapter 11: New Religions
Introduction
All religions are constantly changing, but religions generally abhor change.
Definition
In order for something to be a "new religion" it must not be old and have the character of religion.
A "New Religion" is a religion that is still working to be recognized as a separate religion.
Aleph (formerly Aum Shinrikyo)
Chizuo Matsumoto (Shoko Asahara) formed a small Japanese group in 1995.
There are somewhere between 1500 - 25000 practitioners of Aleph.
It focuses on finding mystical knowledge through Hindu meditation and Yoga.
Shiva is important to Aleph.
Aleph believes that the world is going to end soon and that the practitioners were to hasten this end's by causing catastrophes.
The 1995 nerve gas attack in a Tokyo subway was carried out by followers of Aleph.
Ahmadiyya Islam
This is an Islamic movement that originated in Pakistan.
It is extremely pacifistic and opposed to all violence, including self-defense.
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1839-1908) was its founder and claimed to be the Islamic Mahdi, the second coming of Christ and the Hindu coming of Krishna.
There are two sects of Ahmadiyya Islam:
1) The Qadiyan group
- Sees Mirza Ghulam Ahmad as a prophet equal to Muhammad
2) The Lahore group
- sees Mirza Ghulam Ahmad as a reformer of Islam.
The Qadiyan group is exiled from Islam, but the Lahore group is recognized as a valid sect of Islam.
Ahmadiyya Islam actively recruits converts and claims 200 million followers.
Cao Dai
Originated in Vietnam in the 1920's.
Has up to 4 million followers.
It attempted to combine all the best aspects of religion into one practice using Christian, Buddhist and Hindu ideas.
It has become more of a mystical and occult practice that are tangential to its parent religions.
Christian Science
Founded by Mary Baker Eddy in 1875.
She combined traditional Christianity with Eastern philosophy and psychosomatic healing.
She taught that human illness was caused by the illusion that the material world was real.
Christian Science forbids the use of modern medicine.
Falun Gong (or Falun Dafa)
Li Hongzhi, its founder uses unsophisticated Daoist and Buddhist principles to promote health and material well-being.
Falun Gong claims 100 million followers and is heavily persecuted in the People's Republic of China.
Iskcon (Hare Krishna)
A long-standing movement in Hinduism, Hare Krishna is perceived as a cult.
Caitanya taught devotion to Krishna in the 16th century.
It claims that Krishna is the supreme personal godhead.
It came to the U.S. in 1969 under A.C. Bhaktivedanta Prabhupada.
Pocket Guide to World Religions
Win Corduan
Chapter 11: New Religions
Introduction
All religions are constantly changing, but religions generally abhor change.
Definition
In order for something to be a "new religion" it must not be old and have the character of religion.
A "New Religion" is a religion that is still working to be recognized as a separate religion.
Aleph (formerly Aum Shinrikyo)
Chizuo Matsumoto (Shoko Asahara) formed a small Japanese group in 1995.
There are somewhere between 1500 - 25000 practitioners of Aleph.
It focuses on finding mystical knowledge through Hindu meditation and Yoga.
Shiva is important to Aleph.
Aleph believes that the world is going to end soon and that the practitioners were to hasten this end's by causing catastrophes.
The 1995 nerve gas attack in a Tokyo subway was carried out by followers of Aleph.
Ahmadiyya Islam
This is an Islamic movement that originated in Pakistan.
It is extremely pacifistic and opposed to all violence, including self-defense.
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1839-1908) was its founder and claimed to be the Islamic Mahdi, the second coming of Christ and the Hindu coming of Krishna.
There are two sects of Ahmadiyya Islam:
1) The Qadiyan group
- Sees Mirza Ghulam Ahmad as a prophet equal to Muhammad
2) The Lahore group
- sees Mirza Ghulam Ahmad as a reformer of Islam.
The Qadiyan group is exiled from Islam, but the Lahore group is recognized as a valid sect of Islam.
Ahmadiyya Islam actively recruits converts and claims 200 million followers.
Cao Dai
Originated in Vietnam in the 1920's.
Has up to 4 million followers.
It attempted to combine all the best aspects of religion into one practice using Christian, Buddhist and Hindu ideas.
It has become more of a mystical and occult practice that are tangential to its parent religions.
Christian Science
Founded by Mary Baker Eddy in 1875.
She combined traditional Christianity with Eastern philosophy and psychosomatic healing.
She taught that human illness was caused by the illusion that the material world was real.
Christian Science forbids the use of modern medicine.
Falun Gong (or Falun Dafa)
Li Hongzhi, its founder uses unsophisticated Daoist and Buddhist principles to promote health and material well-being.
Falun Gong claims 100 million followers and is heavily persecuted in the People's Republic of China.
Iskcon (Hare Krishna)
A long-standing movement in Hinduism, Hare Krishna is perceived as a cult.
Caitanya taught devotion to Krishna in the 16th century.
It claims that Krishna is the supreme personal godhead.
It came to the U.S. in 1969 under A.C. Bhaktivedanta Prabhupada.
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