World Religions

Hindu Concepts

•Atman. The essential self of every person.

•Brahman. The unchanging, all powerful force behind everything in the universe.

Aryans and Hinduism

Hindu and Buddhist Concepts
Reincarnation. Being reborn in another form (Samsara is the whole continuum)

•Moksha. The goal of life is to achieve moksha, union with Brahman.

•Karma. Actions that affect faith. Cause and effect.

•Dharma. The moral duties of an individual

•Ahimsa. Nonviolence.

Hindu Gods
Brahma, the Creator

•Vishnu, the Preserver

•Shiva, the Destroyer

•Shakti, wife of Shiva, a creator and destroyer

Hindu Scriptures

•Vedas

–Oldest

–Hymns, poems…

•Upanishads

–Part of the Vedas

–Philosophy, Meditation and nature of God

•Bhagavad-Gita

–One part of Mahabharata

	Similarities	Differences
Hinduism and Buddhism	•Karma •Dharma •Moksha •Reincarnation	Buddhism rejects the caste system. Buddha urged people to seek enlightenment through meditation

Buddhist founder
Gautama, the Buddha

•Tripitaka, the collected teachings of Buddha, the “3 baskets”

Buddhist Concepts
The Four Noble Truths.

1.All life is full of suffering, pain and sorrow

2.The cause of suffering is the desire for things that are really illusions, such as riches, power, and long life.

3.The only cure for suffering is to overcome desire

4.The way to overcome desire is to follow the Eightfold Path.

Buddhist: Eight-fold Path

1.Right views

2.Right aspirations

3.Right speech

4.Right conduct

5.Right livelihood

6.Right effort

7.Right mindfulness

8.Right contemplation

Buddhist Concepts

•Nirvana. Union with the universe and relief from the cycle of rebirth.

Three Schools of Thought in China

1.Confucianism.

Confucius

2.Legalism

Hanfeizi

3.Daoism

Laozi

Confucius

•Like Buddha in India, and Socrates in Greece, who lived about the same time, Confucius never wrote down any of his ideas

•After his death, students collected his writings in The Analects

•He focused on worldly goals, how to have a good social order and good government

Confucius’ 5 Relationships

•Harmony comes from accepting one’s place in society

1.Father to son

2.Elder to younger brother

3.Husband to wife

4.Ruler to subject

5.Friend to friend

Other Confucian Ideas

•Filial piety

•Respect for elders is above all other duties, even loyalty to the state

•Honesty

•Hard work

•The golden rule: (mutual respect) “Do not do to others what you do not wish yourself”

More Confucius

•People are naturally good.

•Lead by example

•Take the advice of wise, educated men

•Education became the road to advancement in Chinese society.

•Confucianism never became a religion as Buddhism did.

•Almost a third of the world’s population came under the influence of these ideas

Legalism

•The nature of man is evil;

•Greed is the cause of most actions and the cause of conflict

•People don’t follow the example of a good leader, they need to have strict laws which are enforced with punishments.

•Strength, not goodness was the ruler’s greatest virtue.

Daoism: The Unspoken Way

•Daoists did not seek to bring order to government or human affairs.

•They sought to live in harmony with nature.

•Laozi wrote The Way of Virtue, a book that heavily influenced China.

•The Dao, or “the way”

•Daoists reject the world of conflict and strife and emphasize yielding.

•“Give it up!”

Buddhism Spreads in China

•Buddhism gradually spread into China.

•Originally there was conflict with the Chinese respect for ancestors and the Buddhist reverence for monks, those who gave up family

•But Buddhism gradually incorporated elements of Confucianism and Daoism

•People gravitated to Buddhism because of its promise of escape from suffering

•Confucianism and Daoism did not offer the idea of personal salvation that Buddhism did.

Christianity

The Causes of the Rise of Christianity

EDWARD GIBBON The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

1.The inflexible zeal of the Christians. They really believed that Jesus was the Son of God, and they wanted other people to know this.

2.The doctrine of a future life. Christians taught that Jesus’ death on the cross provided a way for forgiveness of sins and eternal life in heaven. This attracted people.

3.The miraculous power attributed to the early church. It was not only Jesus who worked miracles, but also Peter and Paul and other Christians in the first century.

Christianity’s growth-Gibbon

4.The pure and austere morals of the Christians. The Christians in the First Century stood out. While Roman society was degenerating into “wine, women and song,” Christians were seeking purity. They did not indulge in the decadence and debauchery that was increasingly spreading in the Roman Empire

5.The union and discipleship of the Christians. The unity of Christians attracted people. The early Christians displayed love and loyalty for each other. Their discipleship, their devotion to following the teachings of Jesus and the writings of Paul in the New Testament unified them and gave them powers in numbers.

Christian Theology

•John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

•God became incarnate (took human flesh) in Jesus, the Christ

•He lived a perfect life on behalf of the fallen human race

•Faith in His sacrifice and virtues on behalf of the human race is the basis of “salvation” - eternal life.

•(Substitutionary atonement)

Christian Doctrines

•The human race fell through Adam & Eve

•Jesus was born of a virgin (Mary)

•The Bible is a divine revelation

•Jesus’ death on the cross reconciled God and man

•Faith in Jesus (Christ) is the basis of eternal life.

•Christians should live by the principles in the Sermon on the Mount

Sermon on the Mount

•5:1 Seeing the multitudes, he went up onto the mountain. When he had sat down, his disciples came to him. 5:2 He opened his mouth and taught them, saying,

–5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

–5:4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

–5:5 Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.

•5:21 “You have heard that it was said to the ancient ones, ‘You shall not murder;’* and ‘Whoever shall murder shall be in danger of the judgment.’ 5:22 But I tell you, that everyone who is angry with his brother… shall be in danger of the judgment; and whoever shall say to his brother,… ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of the fire of hell.

Sermon on the Mount

•5:23 “If therefore you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has anything against you, 5:24 leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 5:25 Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are with him in the way; lest perhaps the prosecutor deliver you to the judge, and the judge deliver you to the officer, and you be cast into prison. 5:26 Most certainly I tell you, you shall by no means get out of there, until you have paid the last penny.

Sermon on the Mount

•5:27 “You have heard that it was said, * ‘You shall not commit adultery;’* 5:28 but I tell you that everyone who gazes at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart. 5:29 If your right eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it away from you. For it is more profitable for you that one of your members should perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell…

11.1 The Muslim World, the Rise of Islam
The Arabian peninsula

•Bedouins, nomadic herders

•Mecca, a market town at a crossroads of two main caravan routes

•Mecca was also a pilgrimate center because of the Kaaba, built, supposedly by Abraham

•Muhammad was born in Mecca about 570.

•When M. was 40 he received a vision from Gabriel.

Life of Mohammad

•He was told to proclaim.

•622 - Muhammad fled from Mecca to Medina.

•The hegira or hijra

•First year of the Muslim calendar

•“From Medina, Muslims launched attacks on Meccan caravans and defeated the Meccans in battle.

•Finally, in 630, Muhammad returned in triumph to Mecca, where he destroyed the idols in the Kaaba.”

•Muhammad died in 632.

The Five Pillars of Islam

•1. The declaration of faith: “There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the messenger of God.”

•2. Daily prayer, facing Mecca.

•3. Giving: Charity for the poor.

•4. The Ramadan fast.

•5. The hajj. A pilgrimage to the Kaaba at least once. Wearing of simple clothes, all are equal before God.

The Message of Islam
Strict monotheism.

•One powerful God whose name in Arabic is Allah.

•People are individually responsible for their own actions.

•Each individual will stand before God on the final judgment day

•One of two fates: eternal punishment in hell or eternal bliss in Paradise.

Other Duties

•Jihad is also a way to serve God.

•The Quran. (Koran) The sacred word of God as revealed to Muhammad. The final authority on all matters. Teaches about God and is a guide to life. It emphasizes honesty, generosity, and social justice. It sets harsh penalties for crimes such as stealing and murder.

•Sharia. The Islamic system of law deriving from the Quran. Applies its teachings to daily life. Sharia regulates family life, business, moral conduct, and government. The Sharia does not separate religious matters from criminal or civil law.

•“People of the Book.” Muslims consider Christians and Jews as people of the Book because the Bible and Torah contain partial revelations of God.

11.2 Islam Spreads
When Muhammad died, Abu Bakr united the Arab tribes. He had to overcome the resistance of those whose unity was only based on Muhammad’s personal influence.

•Under the first 4 caliphs, during the first 100 years after Muhammad’s death, Islam, under the Arab caliphates, spread rapidly.

•From Spain in the West to Persia in the East.

•They did not take Constantinople, though, which was a Byzantine city. They abandoned its siege in 718 AD and were turned back at Tours in 732 AD.

Map of Islamic Conquests

The split between Sunni and Shiite Muslims.

•Sunnis. Felt the caliph should be chosen by leaders of the Muslim community. It is Muhammads EXAMPLE which is critical, not his descendants.

•Shiites. Argued that the only true successors to the Prophet were descendants of Muhammad’s daughter and son-in-law, Fatima and Ali. They believed the descendants were divinely inspired.

•Sunnis and Shiites believe in one God, the Quran, making the hajj to Mecca.

•Sunnis are the majority. Today about 90% of Muslims are Sunnis. Biggest Shiite stronghold is Iran.

•Sufis. A third tradition is the Sufis, religious mystics. Some Sufis spread Islam through missionary work.