Transcript World Religious Traditions I

Religious Studies
Summary
The Religious Response
•Why are there religions?
•Modes of encountering Ultimate Reality
•Understanding Ultimate Reality
•Absolutist & liberal interpretations
•Science –vs- religion
•Women & the Godess in religions
Goddess Myths that
Survived
Isis
Madonna
Maya-Shakti-Devi
Male Myths Dominate
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Why are there religions?
•Materialist perspective
•Functional perspective
•Faith perspective
Materialist Perspective
Freud described religion as
a collective fantasy, a
“universal obsessional
neurosis”.
Functional Perspective
Emile Durkheim saw
religion as the glue that
held society together.
Religions phenomena were
symbols and reinforcers of
the social order.
Emile Durkheim - 1917
French sociologist
Considerations…
Some religions demand obedience to
dogma and discourage critical thinking.
Other religions demand critical
thinking and discourage dogma.
Considerations…
“Fundamentally it is the outsider who
names a religious system… The
participant is concerned with God;
the observer has been concerned with
religion.”
Wilfred Smith, scholar
Considerations…
“In each tradition the
one divine Reality,
the one eternal Truth,
is present, but it is
hidden under
symbols…”
Catholic monk,
Father Bede Griffiths
Swami
Kriyananda
“There is a saying
in India that it is
often blessed to
be born into a
religion…but
unfortunate to die
in one.”
The Power of Myth
“Read each other
people’s myths, not those
of your own religion,
because you tend to
interpret your own
religion in terms of
facts—but if you read the
other ones, you begin to
get the message.”
Joseph Campbell,
author & philosopher
Absolutists &
Fundamentalists
Orthodox – refers to those who stand by an
historical form of their religion
Fundamentalists – refers to those who tend to
insist on certain traditions and apply violence to
people of other religions.
th
17
th
19
to
Centuries
Knowledge of nature became more
secularized because scientist developed
rational models of the universe.
Considerations…
Today’s Hubble Telescope
Native Sacred Ways
•Barriers to understanding
•Cultural diversity
•Circle of right relationships
•Spiritual specialists
•Group observances
•Contemporary issues
“Everything is alive.”
Indigenous spirituality is a particular
approach to life, not a separate experience
like going to church.
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Hindu Teachings
•Harappan civilization & Vedic religion
•The Upanishads & the luminous self
•Reincarnation & karma
•Bhakti and the Puranas
•Krishna & The Bhagavad-Gita
•The Four Paths to God
•Major philosophical systems
“Truth is one;
sages call it by
various names.”
Rig Veda, 2,500 B.C.
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Arjuna Confused By
Sorrow
“I can find no means
to drive away this
grief which is drying
up my senses. I will
not be able to
destroy it even if I
win an unrivalled
kingdom… I shall
not fight.”
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Arjuna Asks For
Teachings
Karma Yoga -- Work
Bhakti Yoga -- Devotion
Ghyana Yoga -- Study
Raja Yoga -- Science
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The Guru
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Mantras
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The Jains
•Tirthankaras & ascetic orders
•Freeing the soul: ethic pillars
•Spiritual practices
•World Jainism
Considerations…
The virtuous have no
need for religion.
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Truth has many facets…
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Buddhist Teachings
•From Prince Siddhartha to the Buddha
•The Four Noble Truths
•The Eight-Fold Path
•The Three Jewels
•The spread of Buddhism
Prince Siddhartha
Who Became A Buddha…
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The Four
Noble Truths
1 - Life has pain & suffering
2 - Suffering is caused by ignorance & desire
3 - Reducing desire reduces suffering
4 - The Eight-fold Path provides a way out of our
karmic predicament of continuous re-births that
result in continuous suffering
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The Three Jewels
Buddha
Dharma
Sangha
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The Two Truths:
The Question of Inherent Existence
Conventional
Wisdom
Ultimate
Wisdom
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Taoism & Confucianism
•The Unity of opposites
•Flowing with the Tao
•Tai Chi
•The Practice of Virtue - Confucius
Religion in China
•A radical humanism with a desire to
live in the world in harmony
•Humanity has no need for a savior
since humans are not born in sin
•Humanity is basically good but
needs proper education
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Yin & Yang
Yin is the dark receptive female aspect of chi, and
yang is the bright assertive male aspect of chi.
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K’ung Fu-tzu
• 6th century BC
•Lord on High
•Mandate from heaven
•Moral virtues
•Orderly society
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Shinto
•Kinship with nature
•Honoring the kami spirits
•Shrines & purification
•State Shinto
Shinto & Buddhism
Japanese go to Shinto for
life-affirming activities,
and Buddhist temples for
death rites.
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The Sikhs
A Celebration of one of my teachers
Yogi Bhajan
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"It's not the life that matters…it's
the courage that you bring to it."
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Judaism
A Covenant with God
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Old Testament
Timeline
• 1250 B.C. – oral history of the conquest of the
land of Caanan
• 1000 – united tribes under King David, stories
written by J-author (Judah view)
• 900 – death of Solomon sees kingdom split
into Judah & Israel (10 tribes north). The
northern view written by E-author that
emphasize Moses
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• 722 B.C. – Assyria conquers Israel and some
flee back to southern Judah. Two versions
combined into JE version document. Thus
two creation stories, two Ten
Commandments, etc.
• 650 – Temple rites given in P-document, most
is in Torah today
• 609 – “lost” scroll of Moses found, called the
D-document, book of Deuteronomy
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• 580 – Judah conquered by Babylon and
exiled for 50 years.
• 450 – A “Redactor” with lots of cuts and
pastes, combines JE, P, and D into one
smooth flowing narrative. The five books of
Moses are assembled. There have been no
more changes since that time.
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Two Creation Stories
•Genesis 1 – poetic account of creation
in seven days, man & woman placed
as masters of the earth (Priestly source)
•Genesis 2 – Earlier version, supreme
male diety, woman is offshoot and
cause for man’s trouble (Yahwist source)
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Abraham
• Born Ten generations
after Noah,
• Has son with Eqyptian slave woman Hagar –
Ishmael isArab ancestor that gives birth to the
Arab world and Islam
• Wife Sarah has son when 90 – Isasac , father
of Jacob, who gives birth to Judaism and
eventually Christianity
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Zoroastrianism
Satan, hierarchy of angels,
reward or punishment in
an afterlife, final
resurrection of the body,
and the Day of Judgment
influence Judaism
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Ruth
“…for whither thou goest, I will go; and
where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy
people shall be my people, and thy God
my God…”
(Ruth 1:16)
Ruth acted in the highest standards of the Jewish Torah by
caring for her mother-in-law. Ruth eventually re-married and
had a son Obed. Obed had a son Jessie………the father of the
future King David. (David was not full-blooded Jew!)
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Jesus was born
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The Jews are dispersed again
•Some turn to
•Judaism could
Jesus as the
have died then
Jewish answer to
•Many turn to the
the Messiah
rabbis and the
•Both groups build
Torah
on the Hebrew
Bible
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Crown
The
Holy
Kabbalah
Understanding
Wisdom
Strength
Mercy
Beauty
Power
Intuition
The World
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Glory
Outward & Return Journey
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Christianity
“Jesus Christ is Lord”
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Primary Tenents
•Born in Original Sin (430 CE)
•Jesus is the Son of God who paid for
this Original Sin
•Everyone must go through Jesus to
get to God
•Everyone must go through the
Church to get to Jesus
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Radical Ethics
•Jesus touched lepers and bleeding
women
•He ate with tax collectors and
prostitutes
•Sermon on the Mount taught love
and forgiveness not revenge
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Key Event:
Fall of Jerusalem - 70 CE
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A Jewish Movement
•Christianity was a Jewish movement
until 70 CE when Romans destroyed
the Temple
•Jews lost their physical center
•Scattered Jews used the law for a
focal point for next 1900 years
•Christian Jews used Jesus for a focal
point
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The Split – 90CE
•Jews created new prayer called
“Shemoneh Esreh” to curse new
Christian heretics
•Jews blamed Jesus followers for
subverting Judaism and brining
forth God’s anger by the Romans
•Gospel of John encouraged Jews to
follow Jesus
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Bible Scholarship
•Matthew, Mark, and Luke together
are called the Synoptic Gospels
•There was a “Q” document that was
the source of all of them
•Only Matthew and John of the
Gospels ever knew Jesus
•Paul, Mark, and Luke never met
Jesus
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Paul
•Kicked out of early Church twice
•Roman citizen and thought a spy
•Self-mutilator, women inferior,
admitted self-loathing, anti-flesh
•His Christ offered unconditional
love and forgiveness
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•1551 – Matthew Bible by Rogers
•1569 – Great Bible by Cromwell
•1560 – Geneva Bible
•1606 – Bishop’s Bible
•1611 – King James Bible
•1718 – Catholic English version
•1815 – Catholic Bible Society NT
•1870 – idea of papal infallibility
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From the Hebrews to
the Christians
“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet
before the great and dreadful day of the Lord.”
Malachi 4:5
Jesus states ten times
in the New Testament
that John the Baptist
is the reincarnation of
Elijah.
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The Gnostics
Teachings
Jesus had a secret doctrine.
In Mark 4:11 he says,
“Unto you it is given to
know the mystery of the
Kingdom of God; but unto
them that are without, all
these things are done in
parables.”
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Gnostic Christians – 200 A.D.
“To become enlightened…
Remove physical desires,
Reduce chaos in the mind,
Open to internal visions,
Ponder what is seen,
Become troubled,
Go into isolation in the desert,
And receive the messenger of the light.”
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Emperor
Constantine
United what was left of the
Roman Empire in 315 A.D.
Made Christianity the state
religion.
Chose the books that would
be included in the Bible.
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Blavatsky on
Constantine
Constantine, “…who drowned his wife in
boiling water, butchered his little nephew,
murdered with his own pious hand two of his
brothers-in-law, killed his own son Crispus,
bled to death several men and women, and
smothered in a well an old monk. However, we
are told by Eusebius that this Christian Emperor
was rewarded by a vision of Christ himself…”
Isis Unveiled, page 304
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Emperor Justinian
Eight years Pope Vigilus his prisoner and finally murdered.
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The Dark Ages
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Paramahansa
Yogananda
“It is true that Christ
lived in India during
most of the eighteen
unaccounted for
years of his life…”
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The Outward & Return
Journey
Outward
Return
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Islam
There is no God but God
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One-fifth of the world now belongs to the
religion of Islam. Their creed is simple…
“There is no god but God,
and Muhammad is his
Messenger.”
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The Five Pillars
•Belief & Witness – (the Shahadah)
•Daily prayers – five times
•Almsgiving – percentage to the poor
•Fasting – daylight during Ramadan
•Hajj – pilgrimage to Mecca
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“The Qu’ran taught that the Jews and
Christians had distorted the pure
monotheism of Abraham; Muhammad had
been sent to restore and supplement the
teachings of the apostles and prophets.”
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Ancient
Baghdad
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Science Philosophy Medicine Art Literature Freedom
The
Crusades
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Sufism
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Meher Baba
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Quantum Physics
& Consciousness
+ photon
gamma photon
electron
- photon
Photon polarity has positive & negative states.
States are unknown until one is measured.
State of other photon revealed instantaneously!
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At this point…
There is definitely something
beyond space-time.
The universe appears
interconnected.
The universe may be a product
of consciousness.
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Energy Follows Thought
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Consciousness
In quantum
physics, objects
are seen as
possibility waves.
What converts
possibilities into
actuality?
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“Dying is a time when the deeper levels of mind
manifest themselves.”- The Dalai Lama
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Quantum Mental
Body
Energy
Body
Quantum
Theme
Body
Physical
Body
The Five Bodies
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Quantum
Bliss Body
The Clear
Light of Death
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The Future
“Some day, after mastering the winds, the waves, the
tides, and gravity, we shall harness for God the energies
of love. And then, for the second time in the history of
the world, man will have discovered fire.”
Teilhard de Chardin
Notes
These slides are designed to accompany an oral presentation
that compliments the book “Living Religions” written by
Mary Pat Fisher and published by Prentice-Hall. The serious
student would benefit greatly by using this book as an
excellent additional source of information.
Anyone duplicating this free presentation by One World
Insight for educational purposes should be aware of copyright
laws protecting some of the words and pictures and perform
due diligence to use them appropriately.
Please keep our URL at the bottom of the slides so the serious
student can go to our web site to do additional research.
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