2a Early World Religion

David Wang Early world religion Babylon - earth bound and materialistic - gods indulge in human activities - values coarse and masculine - Anu- head of god had an army of stars - Shamosh – sun god - Ishtar- popular goddess Egyptian - divinity in everything - Hundred of deities many with animal forms - Ra – sun god o Child in the morning o Man in his prime at noon o Old man in evening - Osiris – god of nature Indian (Vedic) - materialistic - reincarnation important - many gods - change forced by Buddha - Vishnu – preserver - Siva – terrifying god of destruction Greek - cherished life - many quarrelsome gods - gods in human from beautiful/powerful - Cronus – chief Titan produced the Olympian gods - Zeus – storm god, supreme deity - Athena – warrior goddess of wisdom Roman - Gods served and protected men - Adapted Greek gods and conformed them to Roman religion - Jupiter (Zeus) ruled the other gods - Saturn (Cronus) ruled Italy and father to Jupiter - Minerva (Athena) warrior goddess over commerce Norse - the best death is to die fighting - Valhalla – warriors paradise - Fierce hard-headed pleasure seeking gods - Odin- chief god master of wisdom, magic, and poetry - Thor fearsome god of thunder - Loki – full of mischief African Consolidated - focus lost paradise and a broke relationship - religious tended to be centered around man - many myths on the creation of man o some having God brining man out of a hole or marsh\ - Lots of variety in the Gods Early Religion Summarized - Wide variety - Nature plays a large role - Male leaders - Sun god and earth mother common - Gods tend to indulge in excessive pleasures

David Wang - Gods very involved with men Hinduism Origin - Hindus – name of Believers - India – place of origin - No one founder o r spiritual leader - Many manifestations of god - Vedas and Upanishads sacred writings Religious Views - strong belief in non violence - reincarnation – allows ppl to continue working for perfection and union with Brahman - caste system based on Karma - belief in a tribune god o Brahman the creator o Vishnu the preserver o Shiva the destroyer Religious Practices - Karma – total affect of a persons actions - Vegetarianism and appreciation for all animals - Importance of duty and unimportance of self Buddhism Origins - Buddhists – name of believers - India – place of origin - Siddhartha Gautama founder - Tripitaka “three baskets of wisdom” sacred writings Religious View - shares some views with Hinduism - trying to achieve Nirvana or paradise - Nirvana achievable by all - Appreciates non violence - Four noble truths o Human situation is suffering (everything is impermanent) o Suffering occurs when ppl try to cling to fixed forms o Suffering is frustration can be ended o Eight fold path is the prescription  Sections 1 and 2 concerned with right seeing  3 -6 concerned with right action  7 and 8 I with meditation Religious Practices - rejected the caste system - faith was spread by traders and missionaries - prayer and meditation Daoism Origins - Taoist – name of believers - China – place of origin - Lao- Tzu founder - Daodejing “way of virtue” sacred writings Religious Views - lived in harmony with nature - disease or other problems caused when things are out of harmony - yin/Yang symbolizes this harmony - honor and duty important - best government is the one that governs least

David Wang Religious Practices - Worshiped nature, right living and natural beauty - Universal force guides all things - Natural order and harmony with nature - Preferred the contemplative life Confucianism Origins - Confucianists – nature of believers - china – place of origin - Confucius founder - Analects – written after Confucius’ death by his students sacred writings Religious Views - taught respect for parents, loyalty to the states, honesty, hard work and concern for others - believed in the natural goodness of ppl - believed education was important - harmony in life was importance - concerned with this world not the text Religious practices - belief that a religious person is a prosperous person - ancestor worship - virtue is important o respect for parents and government o concern for social order o importance of education Judaism Origins - Jews or Hebrews – name of believers - Middle east – place of origin - Sacred writings: o Torah was a collection of Jewish laws, customs and beliefs (1st five books of the old testament) o Ten commandments giv to Moses at Mt Sinai in Saudi Arabia Religious Views - Monotheism (belief in one god) - Yahweh is the name of god - Sabbath – weekly day of rest sundown Friday to sundown Saturday - Jerusalem the holy city Religious Practices - synagogue (temple) place of worship - rabbi (teacher) worship leader - holy days o Passover (spring) o Yom kipper (fall) o Rosh Hashanah (fall) o Hanukah (winter) Christianity Origin - Christians – name of believers - Middle east – place of origin - Jesus Christ the prophet - Holy bible (old and new testament) sacred writings – different versions Religious Views - monotheistic - holy trinity (father, son and holy ghost) - believed Jesus was the prophet

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teachings: o love one another o golden rule – do unto others as you would have them do unto you Religious Practice - Sunday the Sabbath - Church of cathedral place of worship - Priest, minister, pastor, reverend, or chaplain worship leader - Many different churches with different traditions - Ex. Baptists, roman catholic, Lutherans etc - Holy days o Easter o Christmas Islam Origins - Muslims “followers of gods” – name of believers - Mecca and Medina – place of origin - Muhammad 570-632 prophet - Koran (Qur’an) sacred writings Religious Views - monotheistic - Allah – name of god - Islam – submit do the will of god - To enter paradise practice the 5 pillars fight in the jihad (holy wars of Islam) and risk your life against infidels (non- Muslims) Five pillars of Faith - recite the prayer often “there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his prophet” - pray 5 times a day facing Mecca - give money to the poor - fast and pray from sun up to sun down during the holy month of Ramada - Make at least one pilgrimage to Mecca Rules for Daily Life - written in the Koran o prohibitions against eating pork o prohibitions against drinking alcohol o prohibitions against gambling - traditional roles o men make major life decisions o women stay separated from men o women wear veils in public Religious Practices - Mosque place of worship - Friday is holy days – men go to mosque for a noon sermon - Imam prayer leader - Mullah local leader or preacher - Holy city : o Mecca o Medina