Transcript Chapter 10 Religion

Chapter 10
Beliefs
Why to have religion?
Religions



Offer a way to rejoice, to give thanks
Provide comfort, a community, a moral code,
traditions
Give to the needy
Religions


The Golden Rule: to treat the others the way
you want to be treated
Believe in a supreme power: monotheism,
polytheism, spirits, ghosts, goddesses, nature
Where Do We Come From? What Are
We? Where Are We Going?
Paul Gauguin, 1897–1898
The UK population: by religion, April 2001
Religious composition of ethnic groups, April 2001, England &
Wales
The Knowledge Contest!
The Catholic Faith in Jesus





Half of the world’s Christians
Infants are baptised shortly after birth
Coming-of-age ceremony at ages 13-15
Priests and bishop officiate
Christ’s teachings in the Bible’s New
Testament
The Catholic Faith in Jesus




“Sign of the Cross”—the Holy Trinity
Father—God, Son—Jesus, Holy Spirit—
presence of God
Eucharist—sacred ritual of Holy
Communication — Lord’s Supper
Visual churches
The Catholic Faith in Jesus






To worship Jesus with all 5 of their senses
Music for the ears,
Incense for the nose,
Statues and art for the eyes,
Little old ladies reach out and touch something;
the beads
To worship Jesus through the taste in communion
Protestant




Each denomination (church group) worships
differently
Some—confirmations at ages 13-15
Some baptise infants to wash away old sin
Roger Williams—Baptist Church, 1638
The Protestant Reformation



Nearly 16 centuries of unbroken Catholic
domination of Christianity, the then wealthiest
and most powerful institution on earth
1302, a formal decree—no salvation outside
the Roman Catholic Church
The Pope—ultimate truth and power,
religious or political
Background
Serious problems




Turmoil within the Church
Moving from Rome to Avignon, France
New papal tower constructed—symbol of the
enormous power of papacy
Fondness of richness and treasure—
corruption of the papal core
Background
Serious problems



People being disturbed
Violent war between France & England (over a
century)
1347, a massive outbreak of the black
plague—25 million Europeans, 4 years
Background
Serious problems




In Rome, a second Pope elected
31 years of battle for control of the church
A third Pope—1409-1415
The situation eventually resolved
Background
Damage




Who to believe?
Arrogance & corruption instead of truth &
goodness
Need of reform
Risks of “heresy”: being put on trial or burned
at a stake, eg. Johaness Hus: Czechoslovakia
The Reformer




Martin Luther: Germany
Strong religious and political belief
The discovery of Christopher Columbus
The mass production of books
The Reformer




October 31st, 1517, to post a list of 95
criticisms, protesting the sale of indulgences
An indulgence: a spiritual favor granted by the
church to sinners
By making difficult spiritual sacrifices
Important source of income for the church
The Reformer





Faith in Bible alone
Refusal to yield to the Pope
3 revolutionary books sold in Germany
January 3rd, 1521, banished from Church
Translation of the Bible into German
The Reformer






John Calvin: predestination (Switzerland)
A terrible example of the majesty of God
To work hard and be thrifty
Capitalism flourished
A special police force to maintain public
morality
Burning heretics
The Reformer






Henry VIII: divorce (England)
The Pope’s refusal to grant him annulment
The enraged king—Act of Supremacy, supreme
head of the Church of England
Six wives
The Roman Church’s control of land and
demand of more money from Henry VIII
Dissolution of monasteries
The Reformer





After his death
The Common Prayer, Sacraments
42 articles
Mary I
Elizabeth I
Orthodox




Orthos: "right“; doxa: "belief"
Different in the way of life and worship
Maintaining the correct form of worshiping
God, passed on from the very beginnings of
Christianity
Ancient Jewish translation into Greek called
the Septuagint
Hinduism





It does not have
a single founder,
a specific theological system,
a single system of morality,
or a central religious organization.
Hinduism


It consists of "thousands of different religious
groups that have evolved in India since 1500
BCE."
Henotheistic: a single deity, & other Gods and
Goddesses as manifestations or aspects of
that supreme God
Judaism





4000 years ago, Abraham (Iraq)
Abraham’s great-grandson: Yehuda, or Judah
(Hebrew: priest)
Rabbi & cantor: coming of age ceremony
The Torah (the Hebrew scriptures) scrolls
The Exodus from Egypt
Judaism




Holidays
Rosh Hashana—Jewish New Year
Yom Kippur—Day of Atonement
Hanukkah—Festival of Lights
Judaism



Jewish Golden Rule:
“What is hateful to you, do not do to your
fellowman.”
Torah, Shabbat, 3id
Islam





Prophets:
Abraham, Moses, Noah, Jesus, Muhammed
(the final messenger of God)
Islam: submission to God
Muslims, Christians, Jews: same God
Islam & terrorism—Jihad
Islam






Salaama: Arabic for peace
Qur’an—Koran (the exact word of God)
Various cultural practices
Women and the head scarf
Friday: the religious day
Praying 5 times a day, facing Mecca (Saudi
Arabia)
Islam






Coming of age:
Boys: 15, praying
Girls: 9, scarf and long sleeves?
Allah/God
Ramadan (fasting)
Imam (supreme leader, prayer leader)
The Five Pillars of Islam





Shahadah: pledge of faith
Salah: daily prayers
Sawm: fasting
Zakah: giving
Hajj: pilgrimage (millions of Muslims)
Muslim Golden Rule



“Love for others what you love for yourself
and dislike for others what you dislike for
yourself.”
Muhammed (Hadith)
Hadith, the report of the sayings, deeds and
approvals of the Prophet Muhammad
Mosque
Sikhism



An Indian religion combining Islamic and
Hindu elements
Punjab, late 15th century, by Guru Nanak
Nanak: the first of the Ten Gurus, of whom
Sikhs consider themselves disciples
Harmandir Sahib (The Golden Temple)
Gurdwara (Gateway to the Guru)
Sikhism



One God for all people of all religions, full
equality of all people, of men and women
Living a virtuous and truthful life
Condemnation of blind rituals such as fasting,
visiting places of pilgrimage, superstitions,
worship of the dead, idol worship etc.
Atheism




An atheist believes there is no god or gods.
An Agnostic believes it cannot be known if a
god or gods exist.
Moral code of behavior
Life’s meaning
Taoism
Taoism




A more relaxed and natural way of finding
happiness
300BC
Tao: a silent, pure, all powerful force that
existed before there is heaven or earth
Living in harmony with nature
Taoism




Secularisation: ornate shrines, brilliantlycolored statues, offering
Chinese folk gods
Public rituals
Immortality
Lao Tzu




Contrastive unification mutually convertible
Good Fotune Lieth Within Bad, Bad Fortune
Lurketh With Good.
A small country with a small population
Daodejing/Tao Te Ching—Classic of the Way and
Its Power
Chuang Tzu






The all-in-one idea—Tao as the root and basis
for all existence and transformation
Spiritual freedom—I’d rather be dragging my tail
in the mud.
Zhuang Zi/Chuang Tzu (Nanhuajing)—
Neipian (Inner Chapters)
Waipian (Outer Chapters)
Zapian (Miscellaneous Chapters )
http://www.theodora.com/wfb/china_people.html





Fangxian Tao—Alchemy and Immortals
Huanglao Tao—Reigns of Wen and Jing (the
Western Han Dynasty)
Huangdi (Yellow Emperor) and Lao Zi
Wudoumi Tao (Zhengyi Tao orTianshi Tao) and
Taiping Tao
Five Decaliter of Rice Sect & Peace Sect:
immortality, spells
http://www.theodora.com/wfb/china_
people.html




Quanzhen Tao—Baiyun Temple
王嚞 张三丰
马钰、谭处端、刘处玄、丘处机 (The Great
Master“大宗师” "活神仙")、王处一、郝大通、孙
不二 (The Taoist Holy Man“真人”)
Wang Chongyang—the theory of the three
religions of the same origin; to cultivate oneself
Buddhism
Buddha



Sakyamuni—Siddhartha Gautama, born on April 8,
464BC, a Hindu prince in India, in search of
wisdom through poverty and meditation
Buddha (sanscrit: the enlightened one)
Buddhism—A religion, a discipline, a practice
Buddhism





Suffering
Craving
Dharma
Karma
Reincarnation
Buddhism



Mahayana Buddhism and Hinayana
Buddhism (大、小乘 )
social concern and universal salvation (Japan,
Korea, Nepal, Tibet, Mongolia, and China):
one for all; heal the world
the non-theistic ideal of self-purification to
nirvana (Sri Lanka, Burma, China, and
Cambodia): all for one; all by myself
Buddhism




Exoteric and Esoteric Buddhism (显宗、密宗)
Exoteric Buddhism educates all beings with
simple and easily understood doctrine.
Esoteric Buddhism expounds Buddhist dharma
by means of oral transmission.
Ppt, Word files, spoken lectures (eg. I Have A
Dream): exoteric or esoteric?
Zen


Huineng (638-713), the founder of southern school
of Zen— The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch
intuitive insight instead of hard work and the
acquisition of even more knowledge and scriptures,
wisdom and understanding beyond mere logic and
reasoning
Zen




Holding a flower
如是我闻:世尊在灵山会上,拈花示众,是时众皆默
然,唯迦叶尊者破颜微笑。世尊曰:“吾有正法眼藏,
涅盘妙心,实相无相,微妙法门,不立文字,教外别传,
付嘱摩诃迦叶。
Neither the wind nor the banner is moving.
It is like a man drinking water and knowing
whether it is cold or warm.








To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour.
Auguries of Innocence——William Blake (17571827) British poet
The Marriage of Heaven and Hell：
“ If the doors of perception were cleansed,
everything would appear to man as it is, infinite.”
《六祖坛经》: “即时豁然，还得本心”




The spring flowers, the autumn moon;
Summer breezes, winter snow.
If useless things do not clutter your mind,
You have the best days of your life.





一花一世界，
一沙一天国；
君掌盛无边，
刹那含永劫。
（李叔同）宗白华
Reference




http://www.statistics.gov.uk/CCI/nugget.asp?I
D=1086&Pos=2&ColRank=1&Rank=326
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/CCI/nugget.asp?I
D=293&Pos=7&ColRank=1&Rank=176
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/tools/quizzes/
(BBC quizzes)
http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/
client_ftp/ks1/re/teddys_day_out/index.htm
(Teddy bear game)