Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
summarize and analyze the religion (or some important aspect of it) and state how the
religion (or aspect of it) is relevant to the student's life and quest for meaning. While it is
acceptable to write papers that contend that a religion (or some aspect of it) is irrelevant or
even damaging to the student, the instructor would normally prefer positive reflections. The
paper on each religion is to be handed in within one week of the completion of the classes on
that religion. The reflection paper on how the course has changed the students attitude
toward religion is due the last day of class, December 4. Of course, all papers are to be well
organized and in correct, concise English.
All students will attend at least 8 hours of worship/meditation in a religious
tradition which they are not presently practicing and write a 2-3 page reflection
paper on their experience and make a brief oral report during the final
examination period. The paper is due by November 20. If more than one
member of the class has attended the same worship/meditation sessions, the
attendees can make their oral report as a group. The members of the group
should consult one another prior to the presentation and determine what each
person will share. Failure to make the oral report will result in the loss of a third
of a letter in the course grade.
Grading: An A indicates mastery of the material, and the lowest "A-" indicates a knowledge
of approximately 90% of the content of the course; a B indicates a good knowledge of the
course material, and the lowest straight B indicates a knowledge of approximately 80% of
the material; a B- indicates an adequate knowledge of the course material; a C indicates a
fair to poor knowledge of the material. Grades lower than a "C-" show that the student either
has not completed a substantial portion of the assignments or has learned virtually nothing.
To determine the course grade, the instructor will add up the points earned for the tests (25
points each; 175 total), for the reflection papers on each religion (10 points each; 80 total), for
the reflection paper on the 8 hours of worship/meditation (25 points), and for attendance (2
points for each class session attended or each excused absence (58 points). In accordance
with his Christian faith, the instructor reserves the right to show mercy at the lower end of the
grading scale to students who are studying diligently or are having medical or family
problems.
Student behavior: It is expected that students will attend class regularly, arrive on time, and
keep up with their work. It is particularly important that students study the lecture notes
after each class session. To prevent distracting the class, students should refrain from talking
during lecture and should turn off all cell phones and beepers before the class begins.
Policy for late assignments and missed examinations: Students who have excused absences
will take tests as soon as possible afterward. Students who miss tests without good reason will
receive a zero. Students who cannot complete papers on time should speak to the instructor.
For accommodation of documented disabilities, students may consult the Office of Disability
Services in Bertrand by going there directly or by e-mail at disabilityservices@dominican.edu
or by phoning (415) 257-0187.
This syllabus is subject to change. The instructor will announce all changes.
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Jewish: September 25 (Rosh Hashana) 10:00 A.M. 1:00 P.M.; September 26 (Rosh
Hashana) 10:00 A.M. 1:00 P.M.; October 3 (Kol Nidre) 6:00 P.M. 8:00 P.M.; October 4
(Yom Kippur) 10:00 A.M. 1:00 P.M.
Thursday, August 28
Tuesday, September 2
Thursday, September 4
Tuesday, September 9
Field Trip to Muir Woods and Nativity Greek Orthodox Church;
meet at 12:45 in the Conlan Gymnasium Parking Lot
Thursday, September 11
Tuesday, September 16
Lecture: Hinduism 2
Lecture: Hinduism 3
Thursday, September 25
Tuesday, September 30
Lecture: Buddhism 2
Thursday, October 2
Lecture: Buddhism 3
Tuesday, October 7
Thursday, October 9
Tuesday, October 14
Lecture: Islam 2
Thursday, October 16
Lecture: Islam 3
Tuesday, October 21
Thursday, October 23
Tuesday, October 28
Lecture: Judaism 2
Thursday, October 30
Tuesday, November 4
Lecture: Judaism 3
Guest Speaker: Henry Schreibman, Why I Am a Jew
Assignment: 2-3 page reflection paper on Judaism
Thursday, November 6
Tuesday, November 11
Lecture: Christianity 2
Thursday, November 13
Lecture: Christianity 3
Tuesday, November 18
Thursday, November 20
Tuesday, November 25
Thursday, December 4
Final examination period will be as scheduled by the registrar. Instead of a traditional final,
students will make oral reports on their experience of participating in at least 8 hours of
religious activities.
2. Other religions (e.g., Hinduism) allow a great diversity of belief but dictate
how one acts. We call such religions "orthoprax" (Greek: "right action").
3. Of course, some religions place approximately equal weight on right belief
and correct action. Islam may serve as an example.
4. We can classify religious actions in at least two categories
a. Ritual, i.e., symbolic acts to reverence the higher power or to
participate in it.
b. Morality, i.e., a religious code dictating how one treats others.
D. Some comments on religious experience.
1. Religious experience is very diverse and generally reflects the special beliefs
and actions of a particular community.
2. Nevertheless, two experiences are common and cross-cultural.
a. The experience of the "holy" (Otto). A person experiences her/his
extreme inferiority to the higher power and responds with fear and
reverence. In the presence of the vastness, might, and virtue of the higher
power one feels intensely small, weak, and unworthy.
b. The experience of unity. A person experiences being one with the
higher power and responds with peace and joy. This experience has two
alternate forms:
1). Communion: One feels embraced and filled with a higher
power which remains distinct from oneself.
2). Identity: One recognizes that one's true self is the higher
power.
3. Despite the diversity of religious experience, religion in general tends to move
people away from being centered in themselves toward being centered in
something else (God, nothingness, etc.). This recentering energizes and fosters
generosity and compassion.
4. Religious experience is not primarily empirical (i.e., gained by observing
something objectively through the five senses).
5. Instead, religious experience is primarily participatory (experiencing
something by being part of it).
6. Much religious experience involves perceiving an energy or a presence
(analogous to picking up the vibes in a room).
E. Some comments on blessings obtained through religion.
1. There are at least three types of blessings that people gain or, at least, hope to
gain through religion.
a. Immediate tangible blessings, e.g., riches, health.
b. Inner blessings, e.g., peace, joy, meaning.
c. Benefits after death.
2. Religions differ over whether the expected blessings come primarily through
belief or through experience or through rewards for actions.
VII. One the basis of the definition given above, we can distinguish religion from magic,
philosophy, and science.
A. "Magic" involves gaining control over various forces. Hence, to the extent that
magic succeeds in manipulating spirits, these spirits are inferior to the magician and,
therefore, are not a "higher" power.
B. Philosophy is the quest for an intellectual understanding of the meaning of life. The
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quest necessarily includes a critical examination of the evidence. Religion may include
a philosophy but must, by definition, include much more.
C. Natural science is the attempt to explain things through natural causation, and
social science is the attempt to explain things through social causation. Hence,
1. The natural and social sciences can explain certain things about religion (i.e.,
those things that have natural and social causes).
2. Or validate or call into question certain claims made by a religion (e.g., how
the world came into existence).
3. Nevertheless, religion has a different object: a "higher power" which is
neither natural nor social but transcendent.
VIII. In trying to understand the relationship between different disciplines, such as science
and religion, I believe that epistemological pluralism is helpful. Epistemological pluralism is
the belief that different fields require different methodologies and that the higher the object
being studied the more passive and receptive the observer must be. Thus,
A. If we are studying something much lower than ourselves (e.g., a rock), we learn
about it by manipulation. E.g., we crush the rock and pour acid on it.
B. If we are studying things that are equal to ourselves (e.g., another human being), we
must enter into dialog.
C. If we are studying things that are more spiritual than we are (e.g., a god), we must
allow them to speak to us. Hence, we must
1. Cultivate an inner silence to hear more acutely.
2. Put ourselves in contexts in which the Ultimate is most likely to speak.
IX. In this course we will study the major religious traditions in the world today.
A. We will begin with a brief consideration of earlier religion.
B. Then we will go on to deal with the largest and most influential contemporary
religions.
C. We will
1. Look at how each religion originated.
2. Study its classical form.
3. Consider how someone in the contemporary Bay Area would appropriate that
form today. In this section we will have guest speakers.
D. We will also deal with how each religion can (or might) deal with the crisis of
modernity.
1. All of the religions we will be studying originated over a thousand years ago.
2. Each of them had certain ancient assumptions about
a. The physical universe, including
1). How it originated
2). How it is structured (often with the earth in the center)
b. The ideal structure of society, often including
1). Restricted roles for women
2). A view that homosexuality is unnatural.
3. Each of them had an idealized vision of its own past.
4. Modern cosmology has arrived at startling conclusions about the origin of the
universe and life on earth, and of the evolution of human beings. These new
conclusions conflict with and disprove the cosmologies of earlier eras.
5. Modern "scientific" history has arrived at relatively objective reconstructions
of "what actually happened" in human communities. These reconstructions
8
often give a far less orthodox and less flattering version of how the great
religions originated and grew and why.
6. In the United States and much of the industrialized world there is an
increasing emphasis on the equality of all persons and the need to accept
diversity. This modern perspective often clashes with the ancient (religious)
view that sees certain groups and lifestyles as superior.
7. Consequently, a modern Bay Area disciple of one of the great religious
traditions must revise the faith to take these recent developments into account.
8. In addition, until modern times most people did not have much contact with,
or even knowledge about, many of the great religious traditions that they
themselves did not hold.
9. This lack of knowledge fostered the belief that
a. Other traditions were the product of superstition and ignorance.
b. Only through one's own tradition could one achieve full salvation.
10. In modern times due to such things as worldwide travel and the Internet, it
is difficult to avoid meeting representatives of other faiths and being confronted
with what these faiths teach.
11. Consequently, each religious tradition must figure out why it is distinctive
and why someone should prefer its path to some other.
12. As we enter into dialog with representatives of the various great religions,
we can ask them why they have chosen a particular path and how they respond
to the claims of other religions.
13. In light of their answers we must struggle with the question of what spiritual
path we will follow and why.
E. An additional problem of modernity for religion is consumerism.
1. Before modern times the vast majority of people could not gain much wealth
by their own efforts.
2. Religion was popular partly because
a. It assured people that wealth was relatively unimportant and gaining
material possessions must not become the primary goal in life.
b. It often claimed that religious devotion could lead to material
abundance.
3. In modern times most people in industrial countries gained the possibility of
having what historically was unprecedented material abundance.
4. But to gain that abundance people normally had to make it the primary goal
of life. Note the tremendous amount of time most people today spend working.
5. Consequently, people have less need of and less time for religion, and
religious observance has decreased in industrial countries, such as Western
Europe, the United States, and Japan.
F. Nevertheless, industrialization paradoxically may be increasing the need for
religion, since the constant drive for greater material goods is fueling the ecological
crisis. Humans now need to learn how to live with less, and religion teaches us that we
can.
IX. A final modern development that may well contribute to a resurgence of religion is neardeath experiences.
A. Many of the high religions claim to be the path to having a better existence after
death.
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III. Sacrifices
A. A major part of early agricultural religion was sacrifices of animals, agricultural
produce, and even human beings.
B. Such sacrifices seem to be based on the assumption
1. The gods, like human beings, need to eat and enjoy good food.
2. The gods will reward us for providing it.
IV. Much of religious lore existed as stories about the gods. These stories
A. Often pictured the gods as acting like humans
B. Were not necessarily consistent (since logic had not yet been invented).
V. The rise of the axial religions
A. By definition, an "axial" religion
1. Has a more consistent morality than "primitive" religion. In an axial religion
a. The divine principle (whether personal or impersonal) is wholly just.
b. Requires humans to be just.
2. Is more universal.
a. In primitive religion a god may be only the god of the tribe or of a
specific phenomenon (e.g., the wind). The gods can even fight with one
another.
b. In an axial religion, there is some kind of unifying divine being or
principle.
3. Is concerned with overcoming the ego. All the axial religions focus on
overcoming a narrow focus on our selfish and superficial selves.
B. The origin of the axial religion seems linked to at least some of the following
1. A quest for a religion in which there was a just order which in turn required
justice on earth. This quest was at least in part a response to the oppression in
the agricultural societies.
2. A search for some underlying spiritual unity to human existence.
3. An awareness that the forces of nature are not divine.
4. The appearance of critical/logical thinking (Bellah).
C. Frequently, axial religions originated through individuals who were critical of the
social structures and unexamined beliefs of their time.
D. Axial religions emerged in at least four different areas, and each area had a different
emphasis.
1. In Greece the emphasis was on using reason to critique traditional religion
and find a better spiritual path. Consequently, what emerged was primarily
philosophy, and we will not deal with Greece in this course. But we should note
that classical Christianity made use of Greek philosophy.
2. In the Middle East there were the following emphases:
a. Social justice. Middle Eastern axial religions strove to transform social
systems and make them righteous.
b. Militant aniconic monotheism. Middle Eastern religion insisted on
the worship of only one God and forbade making images of him.
c. Exclusiveness. The Middle Eastern religions stressed that their path
was the only valid path and condemned "Paganism" (which was most of
pre-axial religion).
d. Sin. The violation of ethical norms was a betrayal of a personal
relationship with God and was offensive to him.
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3. India by contrast
a. Focused on inner transformation
b. Accepted polytheism and artistic representations of the many deities.
c. Believed in inclusiveness. The religions of India integrated most of
pre-axial religion into a new system.
d. Condemned not sin but ignorance. The violation of ethical norms did
not so much offend the gods as work against impersonal laws (karma).
Hence, the punishment was automatic, and it was foolish to do wrong.
4. In China there was the sense that people should have at least two axial
religions, Confucianism and Taoism which complement each other.
a. Confucianism focused on social ethics and conformity to norms.
b. Taoism focused on mysticism and doing what seems natural.
c. The normal person attempted to combine both paths and with the
arrival of Buddhism added a third.
Brief test on material covered so far.
Assignment: 2-3 page reflection paper on primal religion or out-of-body (near
death) experiences
Hinduism
Mahabharata perhaps around 100 B.C.E. and is often published as a separate book.
C. The section is a long conversation between the great warrior Arjuna and his chariot
driver Krishna who reveals that he is in fact the God Krishna.
D. Krishna in his discourses
1. Affirms the doctrines about the atman, reincarnation, the need for liberation
that already appear in the Upanishads (see above) and stresses that junana yoga
(theological knowledge) and raja yoga (meditation) are valid paths.
2. Two things are new, however:
a. First Krishna is no longer the impersonal Brahman.
1). To be sure Krishna reveals in a dazzling theophany that he is
the origin, sustainer, and destroyer of all things, the essence of the
entire universe.
2). But Krishna is a loving God who whenever the world falls into
moral decadence comes to earth in a new incarnation to bring
salvation.
b. Second Krishna reveals two new paths to liberation.
1). Karma yoga. One can find liberation by detached moral action.
a). One must do one's social duty regardless of its cost or
distastefulness.
b). And one must not be attached to being successful in
accomplishing specific goals or receiving some other
reward (e.g., praise).
c). Through this combination of ethical action and lack of
attachment, one obtains a tranquil mind and overcomes the
karmic forces which would otherwise lead to another
incarnation.
2). Bhakti yoga. One can also find liberation through love for
Krishna and acts of sincere devotion. In response to our love,
Krishna will nullify the forces of karma which otherwise would
lead to future reincarnations.
3). Perhaps though it is better to see these two paths as
complementary: One is able to engage in detached action by
lovingly dedicating everything one does to Krishna.
E. The Gita may be the supreme masterpiece of Hindu literature.
F. It may also be the single most influential Hindu text. Certainly the majority of
devout Hindus follow a path which combines doing one's social duty and having a
loving devotion to one or more Hindu deities.
XVI. The Caste System
A. As we noted above, a fundamental doctrine of Hinduism in that one's present deeds
determine how one is reincarnated after death, with good deeds leading to a better
reincarnation and bad deeds leading to a worse one.
B. Consequently, one is born into a particular social group not by accident but as the
just recompense for one's moral behavior in previous lives.
C. On the basis of the above, classical Hinduism argued that all people should accept
their social status and perform its obligations in the hope of a better reincarnation in
the future.
D. Of course, classical Hinduism thereby endorsed a hierarchical system with
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privileges for those on the top and privations for those on the bottom. In classical
Hinduism there were four major castes (social classes) as well as people who had no
caste.
1. The highest caste was the Brahmins, who were the priests, and were
responsible for teaching the Vedas and officiating at the required sacrifices.
2. The next highest caste was the Ksatriyas, who were the political rulers and
the military. They were responsible for protecting society and teaching and
studying the Vedas.
3. The next highest case was the Vaishyas who were the merchants and farmers
(in modern terms, the entrepreneurs). They were responsible for the prosperity
of society and for studying the Vedas.
4. The lowest of the castes were the Shudras who were to serve the other castes
and did not have the privilege of studying the Vedas.
5. Beneath even the Shudras were those who did not belong to any caste and
were the untouchables. Often they had professions that were ritually defiling
(e.g., dealing with dead bodies).
E. In practice, however, the social system was even more complicated with thousands
of endogamous subcastes each of which had different occupations and social standing.
F. Throughout the history of Hinduism the caste system has been constant.
1. The castes already appear (once) in the Vedic hymns and are linked to the
creation of the world.
2. The caste system received its classical formulation in the Law Code of Manu
which perhaps originated in the first century of the common era.
3. And even today castes are very important in rural India.
G. Nevertheless, the caste system has been controversial.
1. Reformers within India from Siddhartha (the Buddha) in the fifth century
B.C.E. to Ghandi in the twentieth C.E. have attacked it.
2. Outsiders have used it to dismiss Hinduism as backward and inhumane.
3. Especially in the cities, caste is disappearing, and Indian law has declared
that no one is "untouchable."
H. It is difficult to evaluate the caste system fairly.
1. In defense of the caste system one can say
a. All societies have social classes, and the traditional Indian system was,
if anything, less oppressive than that of most cultures (including the
United States which allowed slavery until 1865!).
b. People have different gifts, and it is appropriate for there to be
different strata of society with different obligations and privileges.
2. But it must be noted that the caste system in practice was oppressive.
a. It prevented people born into a lower caste from exercising higher
social roles, even when such persons manifestly had the necessary gifts.
b. It taught people in the lower castes (and, especially, the untouchables)
to feel inferior.
c. It justified social privilege on the basis of birth rather than on the basis
of merit. Of course, an orthodox Hindu would reply that one's birth is a
reflection of previous merit!
d. And for the lower castes it made the road to ultimate salvation seem
almost hopelessly long.
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romances and much flute playing and dancing. Later, as we noted above,
he becomes the revealer of divine wisdom in the Gita.
e. Many Hindus dedicate themselves either to Vishnu or Krishna.
2. Shiva has contradictory aspects being both a creator and (as is better known
in the West) a destroyer. He too has many devotees.
3. The Goddess. The Goddess is a composite of various female deities including
Sarasvati, the goddess of learning and art, Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity
and consort of Vishnu, Parvati, the consort of Shiva and, among other things,
the goddess of marriage, and the fearsome warriors Kali and Durga. Her
devotees often address her as "Mother."
4. A favorite deity is the pudgy Ganesha who has the head of an elephant and
the body of a human. He is revered as the one who eliminates obstacles.
XX. In later Hinduism loving devotion became the dominant spiritual path and sometimes
called into question earlier paths of belief and behavior.
A. Throughout India, and, especially, in the South there were waves of enthusiasm for
having a loving relationship with a god or goddess.
B. This enthusiasm celebrated the joy of love, the agony of separation, and the ecstasy
of reunion.
C. Because of the nature and universality of love, the way of devotion (Bhakti)
sometimes
1. Clashed with the philosophic claim that the Atman and the Divine are
identical. Love implies communion with another, not the loss of a distinctive
identity.
2. Broke down the distinctions of caste. Some of the leaders of devotional
Hinduism came from the lower castes rather than the Brahmins.
D. Loving devotion to various deities remains the most popular form of Hinduism in
India today.
E. It often expresses itself in rituals honoring the images of Hindu deities. For
example, worshipers may place offerings of flowers and food before an image of a god
or goddess in a temple or the image may be carried in public procession.
XXI. Major festivals
A. Because of the diversity of Hinduism it is impossible to describe even the majority
of major festivals, since different deities have their own holy days.
B. The huge number of festivals underlines both Hinduism's great diversity and
generally positive attitude toward life.
C. The following two Hindu festivals are especially important and widely observed.
1. Navaratri. This holiday season takes place in both the spring and the autumn
and continues for ten days. It honors several female deities.
2. Dipavali. The holiday takes place a month later than the autumn Navaratri
and celebrates light and enlightenment and in many places marks the beginning
of a new year.
XXII. Pilgrimage and sacred sites.
A. India has many especially sacred places, and pilgrimages to them form a major part
of Hindu devotion.
B. Nevertheless, the Ganges River and the city of Benares located on it are supremely
holy. Washing in this river or having one's cremated ashes scattered in it contribute to
ultimate liberation.
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India into what are now India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh and the
continuing dispute over Kashmir. In religion this nationalism has
sometimes manifested itself as an aggressive intolerance.
2. The example of Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948). Note: Mahatma is a title
meaning "Great Soul."
a. Gandhi led the successful drive for India's independence from
England.
b. He pioneered the tactic of non-violent resistance which included truth
telling and non-cooperation.
c. He also was an ascetic with almost no possessions.
d. He became the most famous Hindu in the world.
e. Ultimately he was martyred.
f. He is rightly seen by Hindus as a supremely holy person.
g. His example of social activism, non-violence, love for all, and
simplicity of life have been a model for Hindus (as well as the rest of the
world) and a recommendation of Hinduism to others.
B. The religious threat of prosperity.
1. In the last few years India has had tremendous economic growth.
2. This growth has brought new wealth to many in urban areas and a new
enthusiasm for devoting one's life to material gain.
3. Consequently, there is the danger that India will experience the loss of
interest in religion that has already become widespread in such industrialized
places as Western Europe and Japan.
C. A preliminary evaluation of Hinduism in the modern world.
1. Hinduism's emphasis that different religious paths lead to the same goal is
very attractive to the modern world as we become a global culture and strive to
respect one another.
2. On the other hand Hinduism's traditional social structure, especially the
caste system, seems increasingly archaic in a world which strives for democracy
and equal opportunity. Today probably the majority of educated Hindus reject
hereditary caste and only maintain that, of course, different professions are
appropriate for people with different gifts.
3. A major theological question is whether the Ultimate Reality can be both
personal and impersonal.
a. It is relatively easy to accept the claim that when different religions
have different names for God, they are referring to the same Reality and
that God rejoices in many different devotional practices.
b. It is harder to believe that the divine can be both personal and
impersonal.
4. Another theological question is whether reincarnation is the best way of
understanding life after death.
a. Reincarnation has attractive features. If we accept reincarnation,
1). We do not have to postulate other realms (heaven, hell, etc.)
which may not exist.
2). We guarantee the sanctity of the natural world, since even
animals may be reincarnations of humans.
3). We also guarantee that everyone will eventually reach
25
liberation (since they will keep being reincarnated until they do!).
b. Nevertheless, reincarnation has major problems.
1). There are strong reasons to question whether there is
reincarnation.
a). Clearly people do not normally remember past lives.
b). Obviously people when they are born need to learn from
scratch (though some learn more rapidly).
2). Reincarnation becomes a justification for a caste system which
prevents many people from exercising their gifts.
Discussion: What are the features of Hinduism that you like or dislike and why? What can
Hinduism contribute to your own search for meaning?
Guest speaker on Hinduism: Prabha Duneja, "Why I Believe in Hinduism"
Brief test on Hinduism
Assignment: 2-3 page reflection paper on Hinduism
Buddhism
2. About the same time that the Buddha was beginning his religious reform,
Mahavira was founding the Jains, an important religion in India which
continues today.
II. The life of the Buddha.
A. There are scholarly difficulties in reconstructing the Buddha's life.
1. The Buddha's life was first written down more than a century after his death.
2. By then historical fact and edifying legend had fused.
3. Consequently, some of the basic facts are unclear. We do not even know the
century of the Buddha's birth. Estimates have ranged from the seventh century
B.C.E. to the fifth.
B. In any case, for the purposes of understanding Buddhism, the historical facts about
the Buddha are less important than the traditions about him, since these latter are
what the faithful down through the centuries have cherished.
C. A traditional account of the Buddha's life and death.
1. Siddhartha Gautama, who would one day have the title of the Buddha
(Enlightened One), was born a prince of a kingdom in what is today Nepal. He
was a member of the Sakya clan and, consequently, is also known as
Sakyamuni (Sakya Sage). Tragically he mother died when he was only a few
days old.
2. In connection with his birth various miracles occurred.
3. One of them was a prophecy that he would be either a great ruler or a great
religious savior.
4. To prevent him from choosing the second option, his father kept him from
seeing any suffering.
5. Consequently, for many years Siddhartha lived in a palace enjoying carefree
luxury, and during this period he married and had a son.
6. But then on some outings he caught sight of an old person, a sick person, and
a dead person.
7. He realized that pleasure is passing and that he too would fall prey to
suffering and death.
8. As he meditated on the sad lot of human beings, he briefly experienced
serenity.
9. He encountered a wandering ascetic who was seeking salvation.
10. Siddhartha fled from the palace and studied first under one religious teacher
and then under another.
11. Although he mastered what each teacher had to offer, he did not find a final
solution to the problem of suffering and death.
12. He tried extreme asceticism and nearly starved to death, but such self-denial
was not spiritually helpful.
13. He remembered his experience of finding peace through meditation and
resolved to meditate until he found the solution to suffering and death.
14. As he meditated, Mara, the deity of death, became alarmed at the prospect
of losing power and tried to distract him.
15. But Siddhartha remained steadfast.
16. When Mara persisted in harassing him, Siddhartha appealed to the Earth
(Goddess) who produced a great earthquake, and Mara fled.
17. Siddhartha attained full enlightenment along with other gifts.
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2. The laws of karma operate, i.e., how a person behaved in past lives
determines how s/he will fare in future ones, with good deeds leading to better
reincarnations and bad deeds leading to worse ones.
3. The goal of human existence should be to escape from the cycle of birth and
death.
4. One obtains liberation through moral living, meditation, and the extinction of
desire.
5. The universe goes through endless cycles consisting of long ages, and during
the later part of each cycle there is less and less virtue. Then a deity descends to
earth, reestablishes virtue, and inaugurates a new cycle. Subsequent to his
death, Buddhism taught that Siddhartha himself was the Buddha (savior) of the
present age. Buddhists eagerly await the coming of the new Buddha who will
again renew the world.
B. Nevertheless, Siddhartha and his followers broke with Hinduism in several ways.
1. Siddhartha rejected the doctrine of the unchanging atman and instead taught
that the soul is subject to change. Subsequently, the mutability of the soul has
been official Buddhist doctrine, though it is not clear that uneducated Buddhists
understand it.
2. Siddhartha and subsequent Buddhism rejected the ultimacy of the gods and
goddesses.
a. Siddhartha and subsequent Buddhism continued to believe that deities
existed.
b. But these no longer were manifestations of the Unchanging Absolute.
c. Instead, the deities were subject to eventual decay, death, and
reincarnation.
3. Siddhartha and all subsequent Buddhism rejected the caste system as silly
and oppressive. From the beginning Buddhism taught that in principle all
human beings are spiritual equals.
4. Siddhartha also rejected the rituals of Hinduism, especially, animal sacrifices
which were so central to the Vedic tradition.
5. Siddhartha and subsequent Buddhism had a more pessimistic evaluation of
normal human existence. Whereas Hinduism tends to emphasize the positive
features of normal life (You can have what you want--Smith), Buddhism
stresses the negative (see below).
C. The core of Buddhist teaching is the Four Noble Truths which Siddhartha
discovered and which all branches of Buddhism hold.
1. The first noble truth is that life is suffering. This teaching can be interpreted
in various ways:
a. Life in general is miserable.
b. Life may often be pleasant, but there is no avoiding eventual suffering
and death (and rebirth).
c. In comparison with the bliss of final liberation (nirvana), even the
pleasures of life should be seen as (relative) suffering.
2. The second noble truth is that suffering is caused by ignorance which
produces craving. Human beings suffer because we are excessively attached (in
modern terms, addicted).
a. Addiction leads to suffering because
29
reincarnation.
7. Provide religious ceremonies and instruction for lay people.
VI. Traditional Lay Buddhism
A. Of course, the vast majority of Buddhists have not been monks and nuns.
B. Most Lay Buddhists have not engaged in large amounts of meditation.
C. And they did not seek immediate entry into Nirvana at death.
D. Instead, through practicing Buddhism they sought tangible benefits in this life and
a better reincarnation in their next one. Most Lay Buddhists only expected to enter
Nirvana after many more reincarnations.
E. Most lay Buddhists have sought to get these benefits of a better life now and a better
reincarnation later by
1. Supporting monks and nuns.
2. Loving devotion to the Buddha and participation in Buddhist rituals.
3. Acts of kindness.
VII. Some notes on the early growth of Buddhism
A. After the death of Siddhartha, the movement he began continued to grow in India.
B. Buddhism became especially widespread with the conversion of Emperor Ashoka
(reigned c. 273-232 BCE). Ashoka
1. Made Buddhism virtually the official religion of India, though he also
promoted religious freedom and tolerance.
2. Sent out Buddhist missionaries to the rest of the known world.
C. After Asoka's time Buddhism continued to spread thanks to the work of other
missionaries, especially Buddhist monks and merchants.
VIII. Different branches of Buddhism.
A. Different branches of Buddhism arose as
1. Buddhism adapted to the diverse cultures of the lands to which it spread.
2. Different personalities gave competing interpretations of the Buddha's
message.
B. Theravada Buddhism (literally: Traditionalists).
1. Theravada has been dominant in South East Asia and Sri Lanka and,
consequently, is also called Southern Buddhism.
2. It is conservative and stayed closer to the explicit teaching of Siddhartha.
a. Its most sacred texts, the Pali Canon, are the oldest and most reliable
source of information about Siddhartha and what he taught.
b. An especially revered and important text is the Dhammapada which
contains collected sayings of the Buddha.
3. Theravada is relatively severe and teaches
a. Normally a person will go through many more reincarnations before
reaching Nirvana.
b. One must depend solely on one's own efforts to achieve
enlightenment. The Buddha helps us only by providing a path to follow.
c. Monks are the exclusive leaders, and one must become a monk before
taking the final step to Nirvana.
4. Theravada has been a minority within Buddhism and is known pejoratively
as Hinayana (the inferior vehicle).
C. Mahayana (the greater vehicle).
1. Mahayana has been dominant in China, Japan, and Korea and is also called
32
Northern Buddhism.
2. It has been innovative and claims to be faithful to the spirit of the Buddha's
teaching rather than the letter. Mahayana notes that the Buddha not only
taught that there was a path but also helped people on it.
3. It has emphasized the availability of grace from spiritual beings.
a. Mahayana stresses that the Buddha is now a heavenly being with
myriad resources to help those who seek his aid.
b. Other people who have already achieved enlightenment have chosen
not to enter Nirvana but instead to be reincarnated as deities in order to
help people reach salvation. These deities are called bodhisattvas
(literally, "wisdom being").
c. Every Buddhist should seek to become a bodhisattva until all sentient
beings achieve enlightenment.
d. Much of demotic Buddhism consists of devotions to various
bodhisattvas in the hope of obtaining spiritual or even material benefits.
Thus, for example, Pure Land Buddhism teaches that by chanting one of
the Buddha's celestial names, Amitabha, a devotee will be incarnated in a
paradise where it will be easy to reach final enlightenment.
e. Because so much grace is available, Mahayana holds open the hope
that even lay people may be able to reach enlightenment in a single
lifetime.
f. Mahayana is the majority within Buddhism and has many different
sects.
D. Chan/Zen Buddhism is theoretically a school of Mahayana but is so distinctive that
it deserves a separate treatment.
1. Chan/Zen is perhaps the form of Buddhism that is most well known in the
United States.
2. Chan and Zen are respectively Chinese and Japanese (mis)pronunciations
of the original Buddhist term for meditation.
3. The Chan/Zen school emphasizes enlightenment by direct experience during
meditation rather than by studying scriptures or doing devotions.
4. This enlightenment must be found on an individual basis, and the teacher
can only give cryptic indications and keep challenging the student.
5. Koan.
a. The koan is the most (in)famous part of Chan/Zen.
b. It is a riddle (e.g., what is the sound of one hand clapping?) which
logically cannot have an answer.
c. Nevertheless, a monk will engage in long and intensive meditation
seeking an answer.
d. The ultimate result is that normal reality collapses, and the monk has
a spiritual breakthrough and directly experiences that there is no
(separate) self.
e. The use of the koan is somewhat controversial, since even within
Chan/Zen itself critics have alleged that the breakthrough is in fact an
experience of insanity.
f. Chan/Zen meditation gives to one's perception freshness and
vividness.
33
Communism.
C. However, Buddhism is once again growing in these lands.
D. It also has become increasingly respected in the West, though the number of actual
converts has remained relatively small (see below for a discussion of Buddhism in the
United States).
XI. Modern Buddhism in the United States
A. Buddhism has come to America in two ways:
1. Immigration
2. Conversions.
B. Buddhism has been attractive to educated Americans who
1. Are seeking greater inner peace and ability to concentrate through meditation
2. Want a religion that teaches morality but does not rely on faith in God.
3. Easily coheres with scientific investigation.
C. Consequently, Buddhism is growing.
D. (Novak and Smith) American Buddhism has responded to its larger cultural setting
by
1. Becoming politically active
2. Giving a greater role to women and lay people.
3. Combining elements from different branches of Buddhism.
E. There is also the growing phenomenon of what one might label secular Buddhism,
that is people who
1. Practice Buddhist meditation to gain greater tranquility and ability to
concentrate
2. Perhaps believe on empirical evidence in the doctrine of no-self
3. But do not believe in reincarnation or that one can enter nirvana after
physical death.
XII. Some questions for Buddhism:
A. Since Buddhism, like Hinduism, relies on the doctrine of reincarnation, is
reincarnation credible?
B. If there is no unchanging soul, is there sufficient continuity from one incarnation to
the next to guarantee moral accountability (especially since we cannot even remember
past lives)?
C. Is Nirvana as a state of passionlessness and the negation of (the illusion of) self the
ideal goal of life? Would a paradise with passionate communion between distinctive
selves be preferable?
D. Buddhism holds that the laws of karma are absolutely rational and just but does not
posit a divine intelligence. Would it be more logical to believe in a god as the creator of
karma?
Discussion: What are the features of Buddhism that you like or dislike and why? What can
Buddhism contribute to your own search for meaning?
Brief test on Buddhism
Guest speaker on Buddhism: Lee de Barros, "Why I Believe in Buddhism"
Assignment: 2-3 page reflection paper on Buddhism
35
Islam
need.
E. As an adult he married a wealthy widow named Khadija and became a successful
merchant.
F. He also engaged in frequent prayer.
G. In 610 he had the first of the revelations that would become the primary basis of
Islam.
1. He was praying alone in a cave.
2. He encountered the Angel Gabriel who
a. Told Muhammed to be a prophet.
b. Commanded him to recite what he had heard.
H. Subsequently, Muhammed periodically heard new messages from Gabriel for the
remainder of his life.
I. According to the testimony of someone who knew him, Muhammed's revelatory
experiences were extremely intense.
J. Perhaps Muhammed's greatest religious experience occurred when he was
spiritually taken from Mecca to Jerusalem and ascended into heaven and made a
complete submission to God. Note: Partly because of this tradition, Jerusalem is
sacred to Muslims.
K. In response to his intense religious experiences, Muhammed initially questioned his
own sanity and kept the revelations to himself and his wife.
L. However, he later shared them with friends, and after they encouraged him, he
began to share them in public.
M. His revelations in the name of God
1. Demanded strict monotheism and denounced idolatry.
2. Challenged those with money to aid the poor.
3. Insisted on morality in various areas, including sex.
4. Announced a coming day of divine judgment on which those who ignored the
warnings would suffer, whereas those who heeded them would enter into
paradise.
N. Muhammed gained some disciples.
O. But not surprisingly, his attack on both the religious and economic establishment in
Mecca provoked persecution of him and his followers.
P. When his life was increasingly in danger, he accepted an invitation to go to the city
of Yathrib (later renamed Medina, the City of the Prophet) and resolve the internal
dissension there. The year of this migration (622 C.E.) is year 1 of the Islamic calendar.
Q. He became the ruler of Medina and showed great skill as an administrator and a
diplomat.
R. War broke out with Mecca.
S. Ultimately, Muhammed's forces were victorious.
T. He took control of Mecca and cleansed the Ka'ba of idols and dedicated it to the One
God.
U. He returned to Medina.
V. He succeeded in bringing unity to the Arab tribes, partly through taking wives from
various ones.
W. He died in 632 after giving a moving farewell sermon challenging his disciples to
continue to follow his teaching.
X. He was buried in Medina, and Medina is the second most sacred site for Muslims.
38
1. Islam requires its adherents to pray five times a day. While there is some
flexibility about the exact hour, these times are dawn, noon, midafternoon,
sunset, and evening.
2. There is first a call to prayer which ideally is done from a tower called a
minaret; and each worshiper washes ceremonially; and then the actual prayers
begin.
3. The prayers mostly follow a fixed text and are in Arabic and are done facing
the Ka'ba in Mecca.
4. Much of the prayers consists of
a. God is great!
b. No god but the God!
c. Muhammed is the God's messenger!
d. The first sura of the Qur'an.
5. There are also fixed postures. At different times the worshiper stands, bows,
kneels with the head touching the floor, and sits on the heels. Accompanying
the postures are various positions of the hands.
6. The daily prayers serve as a constant reminder within the distractions of life
that God is central and one can be a peace through accepting his will.
C. Pillar 3: Charity (zakat).
1. Islam emphasizes that God rewards every Muslim who to please him helps
others (including animals), especially those in need.
2. Islam stresses that there are innumerable ways that one can exercise charity.
For example, the Qur'an emphasizes God's desire that the faithful buy freedom
for slaves.
3. Islam requires that each Muslim take 2 1/2% of his/her assets (beyond bare
necessities) annually and give it to help the poor.
D. Pillar 4: Ramadan and other sacred times.
1. Some comments about the Islamic calendar.
a. The Islamic year consists of twelve lunar months.
b. Consequently, a full calendar year is eleven days less than the 365
required for the earth to complete a revolution around the sun.
c. There is no fixed correlation between Islamic holy days and the
seasons or Western months or between an Islamic and Western century.
2. Ramadan
a. Muhammed both received his inaugural revelation and later migrated
to Medina during the Islamic month of Ramadan.
b. He taught that this month must be kept with special devotions.
c. These devotions are especially not eating or drinking or engaging in
sex during the day but also include greater time for prayer and greater
generosity to the needy.
d. Perhaps the greatest feast of Islam is the celebration that concludes
Ramadan.
3. Other sacred times are
a. Muhammed's birthday
b. The Feast of the Sacrifice which lasts three days and commemorates
Abraham's willingness to obey God's command to sacrifice his son. Note
that, as in the biblical version of the story, God called off the human
41
dress.
b. Other Muslims reacted against Western ways and aggressively insisted
on traditional Muslim practices.
C. In the twentieth century Islamic nations theoretically gained their independence but
often continued to be dominated by the West.
D. The United States
1. Sometimes supported oppressive Islamic regimes which favored American
policies.
2. Supported Israel despite its occupation of Arab land and unjust treatment of
the original inhabitants, most of whom were Muslims.
3. Intervened militarily in various Muslim countries.
E. As a result, the majority of Muslims (though not necessarily their leaders) became
increasingly anti-American.
F. This atmosphere led small groups to engage in terrorism, even though such
indiscriminate violence is contrary to Islamic teaching and some Muslim leaders have
denounced it.
XX. Issues about the future.
A. Many of the teachings of Islam fit well with the pragmatism and pluralism of
modernity.
1. Islam has a simple theology and is basically a practical religion.
2. Perhaps more than any other religion, it emphasizes the equality of all races
and ethnic groups.
3. At least in the minds of some liberal Muslims, the doctrine that every age has
its own authentic prophet can be an argument for the religious pluralism which
a global culture makes necessary.
B. Consequently, Islam is growing, including in the United States where it is especially
popular among African Americans whose ancestors suffered as slaves under Christian
masters.
C. Nevertheless, modern sexual liberation movements and critical historical inquiry
loom as increasing problems.
1. Muslims have traditionally believed that the Qur'an literally is the words of
God and is eternally valid.
2. Yet much of what the Qur'an claims about historical events is no longer
credible. For example, no objective historian today can believe that such
important Islamic prophets as Adam or Noah even existed.
3. In addition the Qur'an stops short of granting full equality to women and
condemns homosexuality as grievously sinful, whereas modern sexual liberation
insists on equality for women and acceptance of gays.
D. A major theological and spiritual issue is whether "submission" is the best way to
relate to God.
E. An even more fundamental question is why the revelations that Mohammed
received should be seen as more authoritative than the revelations that other holy
persons have received in various religions.
Discussion: What are the features of Islam that you like or dislike and why? What can Islam
contribute to your own search for meaning?
Brief test on Islam
46
Jewish without sharing the religious perspectives of Judaism. Some people even call
themselves Jewish atheists or Jewish Buddhists!
V. More than any other religion that we study in this course, Judaism focuses on a story: The
Jews remember and celebrate their history/story.
VI. Because of the diversity of Judaism and the centrality of the story of Judaism, it seems
best to begin by outlining the history/story of Judaism and noting the origin of the beliefs and
practices which would become central to Classical Judaism from which all modern forms of
Judaism descend.
VII. Judaism shares with Hinduism the distinction of being the oldest of the axial religions,
and at least in some form already existed before 1,000 B.C.E.
VIII. Unfortunately, there is little secure knowledge of the earliest period.
A. The Hebrew Scriptures were written centuries after the earliest historical events
that they record.
B. The scriptural account is at least as much the product of theology as of historical
memory.
C. Extra-biblical sources of information are scanty.
D. The biblical record and what extra-biblical data there are often conflict.
IX. To understand Judaism, the idealized account in the Bible is more important than what
actually happened.
A. Until the rise of modern critical historical studies, the accuracy of the biblical
account was generally accepted and was the basis for Jewish (and even Christian and
Islamic) faith and practice.
B. Today fundamentalists still accept the Bible's historical accuracy.
C. Even contemporary Jews who acknowledge that the biblical account is not
historically reliable read the story for spiritual inspiration.
X. The Bible records that the earliest ancestors of the Jews were known as Hebrews or
Israelites and
A. Were nomadic herders in the Fertile Crescent (the arc of arable land that extends
from the Nile to the Persian Gulf).
B. Received promises from God that their descendants would one day possess the land
of Israel.
C. Practiced male circumcision. Note that ever after male circumcision has been the
physical sign of being Jewish.
D. The most important figures in the biblical record of this early period were the
patriarchs Abraham, Jacob (whose name was changed to Israel), and Joseph.
E. At the end of this period, the Jews migrated to Egypt and fell into slavery.
XI. Moses and the Exodus (1250 B.C.E.?)
A. God then summoned a Hebrew named Moses to free the Israelites.
B. Moses asked the Pharaoh to do so, and when the latter refused, God sent a
devastating series of plagues culminating with the slaughter of all the first-born of
Egypt.
C. In connection with the last plague, God commanded the Israelites to observe an
annual meal called the Passover, because he passed over the houses of the Israelites
and not slaughtered the first-born in them. Ever after the celebration of the Passover
has been central to Judaism.
D. God then enabled the Israelites to escape by dividing the sea so they could go
through it on dry land. When the Egyptian forces attempted to pursue, the sea
48
commentary on the topic from the Talmud, and surrounding that is commentary
from later authorities (especially, Rashi) and surrounding that is blank space for
commentary by the reader!
C. The major doctrines of classical Judaism
1. Ethical monotheism.
a. There is only one God
1). He is the creator and ruler of the universe, but is not part of it.
Note that the Bible begins with God creating the universe.
2). He has a proper name (YHWH) which the Bible relates to the
verb to be. YHWH is the one who exceeds all categories and
simply is and brings into being. Note that in Judaism the divine
name is too sacred to be pronounced. Many modern English
translations substitute "LORD" for YHWH. Older translations
used Jehovah.
b. God demands justice for all and mercy for the needy.
2. Special election. God has chosen to have a special relationship with the Jews.
As part of that special relationship God has given the Jews a special law and the
land of Israel. In exile the Jews looked forward to returning to the Holy Land.
3. Study of the Law (Torah).
a. Torah, which is conventionally translated as Law, can also be
translated as teaching and includes the entire Hebrew Bible plus
subsequent commentaries.
b. Classical Judaism felt that studying the Torah was a sacred activity in
which God's own Spirit was present.
c. Obeying the detailed precepts of the Torah made God's will visibly
present in all of life, and the Jewish home became a sacred space.
d. Jewish study of the Law is characterized by erudition, debate, and the
use of logic. Note that already the Mishnah and the Talmuds express the
differing views of past rabbis on debated questions.
e. To outsiders Jewish legal discussion often seems like excessive
attention to trivial detail, but to Jews it is part of loving God with the
mind and allowing God's people to please him in all aspects of their lives.
4. Eternal life
a. Classical Judaism held that there would be a final resurrection.
b. All Jews who had been basically faithful to the Mosaic Law would
enter paradise, but each Jew would have to suffer temporarily for his or
her sins.
c. Gentiles would also face God's judgment. The righteous would enter
paradise. Note that Gentiles were not required to follow the Mosaic Law
but were expected to follow basic ethical principles (e.g., have courts of
law).
d. Although belief in the "world to come" was required during the period
of Classical Judaism, this belief was not required previously or
subsequently.
5. The Messiah. Classical Judaism taught that God would send a great Jewish
king to bring justice and peace to the earth and deliver Jews from oppression.
D. Holy days
51
1. The Sabbath
a. The Jews gave the world the concept of a week consisting of seven
days.
b. According to Jewish reckoning, a day ends at sunset and the next day
begins at twilight.
c. The Sabbath is the final day of the week and lasts from sundown on
Friday through sundown on Saturday.
d. In the Bible God commands the Jews to observe the Sabbath as a
solemn day of rest, and subsequently much of the legal commentaries
specified what could and could not be done on the Sabbath.
e. The solemn rest on the Sabbath is a prefiguration of the eternal rest
that Jews will have in paradise.
f. The Sabbath is also the day on which most public worship occurs.
2. Passover
a. Passover begins on the first full moon in spring and lasts for a week.
b. As noted earlier, it commemorates God freeing the Israelites from
slavery in Egypt.
c. The rituals of Passover center around a sacred meal at home in which
there is a retelling of the story of the Exodus and there are special foods.
3. Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah) which occurs in the fall.
4. The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur).
a. Occurs ten days after Rosh Hashanah.
b. Is a solemn fast.
c. Centers around worship services in which there are public confessions
of sin. According to tradition, this day God pardons the sins of the
previous year.
5. Sukkot which is a fall harvest festival and ultimately inspired the American
holiday of Thanksgiving.
6. Hanukkah
a. In classical Judaism this was a minor festival.
b. However, it has become important in modern times as a Jewish
substitute for Christmas.
c. The festival lasts a week and celebrates the rededication of the
Jerusalem temple (or a miracle in connection with the rededication) in
164 B.C.E.
d. Since the rededication came as a result of a successful revolt against
religious persecution, modern Jews regard Hanukkah as a celebration of
religious freedom and mutual tolerance.
E. Institutions
1. The Rabbis are the clergy of Judaism and lead worship services and preach.
Since Judaism places so much emphasis on study, Rabbis are also scholars.
2. The synagogue
a. Literally, synagogue means coming together.
b. It indicates the building where Jews gather.
c. The synagogue has traditionally been both a place for worship and for
study.
F. Two especially important Jewish rituals
52
1. Male circumcision which normally occurs on the eighth day of a boy's life and
symbolizes being under the covenant.
2. Bar (Bat) Mitzvah. Around the age of twelve Jewish children go through an
elaborate ceremony in which they take responsibility for following the
commandments.
XVII. Modern Judaism
A. Several events decisively affected Judaism in the last three centuries.
1. Persecution
a. Even previously Jews had suffered persecution.
1). The ancient world, especially, the Greeks and the Romans,
sometimes persecuted Jews, because Jews refused to worship
other gods.
2). Christianity for much of its history severely persecuted the
Jews, because
a). They would not accept Jesus as the Messiah or worship
him as divine.
b). Jews dominated much of the banking industry, and
Christians were eager to seize their wealth.
b. But in modern times Judaism suffered perhaps even more
1). Under the Nazis (1933-45) who slaughtered millions on the
erroneous belief that Jews were an inferior race.
2). Under the Arabs who objected to Jewish rule in Israel.
2. The refounding of the state of Israel in 1948 which
a. At last gave the Jews back their ancient homeland and a safe place to
practice their religion.
b. Raised ethical questions as the Jewish state seized land from
Palestinian Arabs and oppressed them in various other ways.
3. The growing challenge of secularism.
a. Modern biblical scholarship disproved the literal truth of much of the
Hebrew Bible.
b. And it showed that many of the ethnic commandments in the Bible did
not come directly from God to Moses but were only ancient cultural
conventions.
c. As Jews in some areas (e.g., the United States) became increasingly
accepted, there was greater opportunity to participate in the larger
culture and greater temptation to assimilate.
B. Consequently, Judaism separated into various branches.
1. Orthodox Judaism
a. Continued to follow strictly the customs and beliefs of classical
Judaism.
b. However, this traditionalism not only separated the orthodox from
Gentiles but even separated them from the vast majority of Jews.
2. Liberal religious Jews
a. Under this label I am lumping Reformed, Conservative, and
Reconstructionist Judaism.
b. While each of these groups have their distinctive histories and
emphases, they all
53
2. However, it does not fit well with the modern democratic view that all people
are equal.
3. It may not fit well with monotheism, since perhaps God should not play
favorites.
4. It may also have contributed to anti-Semitism.
5. Consequently, some more liberal Jews have dropped the idea that the Jews
are especially chosen by God but instead emphasize that they choose to be
Jewish.
C. Israel.
1. Does it make sense today to have a nation with an official religion? Of course,
lots of other nations have official religions.
a. Can Jews feel secure in a world where they still suffer persecution if
there is no state to which they have the right to flee? At present any Jew
can immigrate to Israel.
b. But can a state which has an official religion be totally fair to residents
who do not share that religion?
c. In practice has Israel treated the Palestinians ethically?
d. Should Jews support Israel if they feel that it is behaving (or even
must inevitably behave) unethically?
2. For nearly two thousand years Judaism survived without Israel, and has the
existence of Israel made Judaism better or worse?
Discussion: What are the features of Judaism that you like or dislike and why? What can
Judaism contribute to your own search for meaning?
Brief test on Judaism
Guest speaker on Judaism: Henry Shreibman, "Why I Believe in Judaism"
Assignment: 2-3 page reflection paper on Judaism
Christianity
55
elsewhere.
I. An encouraging development in recent years has been the revitalization of Christian
philosophy in the United States.
XV. Some questions for Christianity today.
A. Can Christianity acknowledge the value of other religions and still maintain its
claim that Jesus is the unique incarnation of God and salvation comes through belief in
him?
B. Even if one concedes that Jesus is the unique incarnation of God, why is someone
who lived two thousand years ago central to our lives today?
C. Is the claim that Jesus is the incarnation of God credible given the fact that critical
historians hold that he never claimed to be divine and belief in the divinity of Christian
only began with the resurrection?
Discussion: What are the features of Christianity that you like or dislike, and why? What can
Christianity contribute to your own search for meaning?
Speaker: Scott Sinclair, "Why I Believe in Christianity"
I. Christianity has a basic similarity to other axial religions and a basic difference.
A. By "axial" I mean religions that have gotten beyond
1. Simply deifying natural phenomena.
2. Depending solely on story telling (mythology).
C. Like other axial religions Christianity believes that there is an Ultimate Reality
(God), and this Ultimate Reality is transcendent (i.e., not limited by time and space),
ethical, and compassionate and invites us to be ethical and compassionate.
D. Unlike any other axial religions that I am aware of, Christianity teaches that this
Ultimate Reality became human and suffered torture and death. Note that the two
world religions that are otherwise closest to Christianity, Judaism and Islam, explicitly
reject this Christian teaching.
E. Christianity claims that this distinctive teaching is so important that Christianity in
the primary path to God.
II. Therefore, to understand Christianity we must examine these two basic claims.
III. Belief in an ethical and compassionate God arises from at least two factors
A. The human need for a transcendent source of love and ethics.
1. As humans we have the mental capacity to imagine other times and other
places.
2. We can also to some extent imagine the feelings of others.
3. We realize that we are only a small part of a greater universe.
4 Consequently, we also have the capacity to question whether we as individuals
or as groups are acting ethically.
5. Yet, we also are physically vulnerable and often, both as individuals and
groups, selfish.
6. Hence, we need to believe that there is an Ultimate who will stand by us in
every time and place and who will encourage us to act ethically and who will also
forgive us.
7. Note that if we do not believe in such a God we will end up making ourselves
God (e.g., we will have to decide whether we should forgive ourselves!).
64
B. The human experience of God. That experience includes the following elements
1. God is personal. We sense that there is a Spiritual Reality beyond ourselves
who knows us, loves us.
2. God has no limits. God is available in all times and places and indeed
transcends time and space.
3. God commands and promises.
(4. If you do not have this experience, try talking over your day with God and
see what begins to happen.)
IV. We can see that Judaism from which Christianity came already had these insights by
looking at Exodus 3:1-14.
V. Nevertheless, there are major problems with belief in God.
A. Our natural (i.e., based on universal human experience, including spiritual
experience) knowledge of what God is like is very limited.
B. In our ignorance we tend to make God rather like ourselves.
C. This God is either
1. Self-centered
a. He (usually it is a he, especially in patriarchal cultures!) wants us to
praise him all the time.
b. He expects us to make sacrifices for him, when he never has to make
any sacrifices for us.
c. He gives us a set of commandments that we are to obey blindly, just
because that is what he wants.
d. Human beings must constantly ask God what he wishes us to do.
e. We must never get angry with him but accept everything that happens
as his will.
2. Indifferent to our problems.
a. He lets the universe go on without interference.
b. He seldom reveals what he wants.
c. He cannot change or suffer.
D. Another problem with belief in God, especially in one Omnipotent, Virtuous God, is
that it easily leads to trivializing evil.
1. If a good God made and rules the universe, then nothing serious can really be
wrong.
2. If something is wrong then it is the fault of the person who is suffering.
Innocent people do not suffer.
3. People who do evil are solely responsible for their deeds.
VI. Islam and Judaism, the two religions that are closest to Christianity, avoid these problems
to some extent, but the basic problems remain.
VII. The belief that Jesus of Nazareth was the incarnation of God (the human life of God)
arose because of a series of factors.
A. The extraordinary personality and power of Jesus's words and deeds.
B. The fact that he pointed away from himself to God and yet seemed to embody God.
C. The events that occurred after his death.
1. The finding of the empty tomb.
2. The appearances of Jesus himself.
3. The coming of his Spirit.
D. Consequently, Jesus, especially in his risen state, was both personal and had no
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Reading assignment for Confucianism and Taoism: Smith, chapters 4-5; Novak,
chapter 3-4.
A key Confucian quote: Filial piety and fraternal submissionare they not the root of all
benevolent actions? (Confucius).
A key Taoist quote: Open yourself to the Tao, then trust your natural responses, and
everything will fall into place (Lao Tzu).
Discussion: It is better to behave naturally and be yourself or to live up to expected social
standards?
I. So far in this course we have dealt with axial religions that originated in India (Hinduism
and Buddhism) or originated in the Middle East (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam).
II. We now turn to China.
III. Some observations about primordial religion in China.
A. The ancient Chinese believed in a supreme deity, sometimes called Shangdi.
B. Underneath him were a series of deities and other spiritual beings.
C. An important part of Chinese religion was ancestor worship.
1. After death some aspect of the deceased entered into a spiritual realm and
acquired new power.
2. The family of the deceased honored and even offered sacrifices to sustain
him/her.
3. In exchange the deceased intervened to help the family.
4. Prominent people after their death especially received honor and were
believed to be members of Shangdi's court.
5. Hence, it is not surprising that in popular religion both Confucius and Lao
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him in poverty.
3. Probably Confucius's early sufferings help explain his lifelong sympathy for
the common people.
4. As an adolescent Confucius found work.
5. He also engaged in intense study, especially of the Chinese classics, a study
which continued through the rest of his life.
6. As an adult he apparently got married and had children.
7. He was only able to obtain low level government posts.
8. And he primarily supported himself by teaching students for a fee. However,
he also taught students who could not pay.
9. In time he became well known both because of the excellence of his
instruction and because some of his students became prominent officials.
10. To promote peace and public welfare in China, he traveled from state to
state seeking to get a state to follow his vision of how to reform society.
11. Some rulers refused to see him, and other rulers, perhaps to gain favorable
publicity, consulted with him but did not actually follow his advice.
12. Ultimately, Confucius returned to his home state and concentrated on
teaching.
13. He died around the age of seventy-two.
X. The personality of Confucius.
A. He was the quintessential Chinese gentleman, polite, serious, idealistic, hard
working, a lover of music and poetry, kind to all.
B. But he was also down-to-earth, humble, practical, truthful, able to point out
people's faults, able to enjoy a party.
XI. The basic teaching of Confucius.
A. Confucius's thought was a direct response to the wars, chaos, and cruelty of his era.
B. His teaching lays out a path to restore peace, order, and morality.
C. Confucius believed that the secret to a better society was to return to the ways of
ancient history, which he along with others idealized.
D. Consequently, Confucius did not see himself as an innovator. Instead, he advocated
the earlier Chinese classics which included books on such diverse subjects as poetry,
history, and divination.
E. Nevertheless, in important respects he did improve the material that he passed on.
F. In line with the China of his day, Confucius believed in some divine presence
(Heaven) in the universe.
G. Heaven supported moral behavior, and, as a result, ethical action would ultimately
prevail.
H. However, Heaven primarily worked through human beings.
I. Therefore, the challenge for Confucius was how to make the people of his own day
better.
J. To do this he relied on three things which probably in his own mind were aspects of
a single reality.
1. From a Western perspective those three things were: education, decorum
(li), and art.
2. Nevertheless, I suspect that Confucius would not have been able to
distinguish these three, since much of Chinese education consisted of
inculcating decorum and art, and for him the aesthetic and the moral were a
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single reality.
K. By education Confucius meant
1. The formal study of texts, especially, the learning of ancient tradition.
2. The study of everything we experience in daily living. Confucius learned from
everyone he met, though in some cases that learning consisted of mistakes to
avoid!
3. An honest and constant examination of one's self and a daily effort to
improve.
4. Learning the limits of one's own competence and always being willing to
admit past mistakes and improve.
5. Learning and living the morality that is the basis for a civilized society.
6. Realizing the importance of moderation (the middle way).
L. Li (decorum)
1. Included sacred rites to honor the gods and, especially, the ancestors.
2. Good manners both at home and in public, especially deference to superiors
and courtesy to all people.
3. Nevertheless, Confucius was not in favor of mere rites or conventional
manners. Instead,
a. The rites had to be the expression of a genuine devotion.
b. Religious ceremonies should not consume excessive resources, since
Confucius believed it was more important to concentrate on human
welfare.
c. Manners must not degenerate into mere outward show but be an
honest expression of one's inner attitude. Hence, manners must not be
fussy and self-conscious.
d. And manners must not be mindlessly following rules regardless of the
situation but be appropriate to particular situations.
M. Confucius also believed passionately that music and poetry improve character. Of
course, he was thinking of the classical music and poetry of ancient China (not the
music and lyrics of punk rock!). Partly because of Confucius, China has a higher regard
for art than many other cultures do and has made tremendous achievements in many
art forms (painting, poetry, ceramics, jade carving).
N. Underlying Confucius's thought was the assumption that a human being is
primarily a member of a community, not an isolated individual.
O. The most important community was the family.
P. Within the family there was a natural hierarchy in which parents, husbands, and
older relatives, took precedence over children, wives, and younger relatives.
Q. The top members of the hierarchy gave guidance and protection.
R. The lower members were to be obedient and respectful. However, if the upper
members of the hierarchy were acting irresponsibly, it was the responsibility of the
lower members to rebuke them politely.
S. Confucius especially emphasized the importance of filial piety.
T. Confucius felt that if the family was functioning well, society would follow.
U. He also envisioned the larger society as analogous to the family.
1. The emperor corresponded to the father and was responsible for protecting
his people and giving them a moral example to imitate. Confucius had endless
confidence that the ethical example of a ruler would determine the behavior of
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the ruled.
2. The emperor's subjects corresponded to sons and daughters and owed loyalty
and obedience to ethical rulers.
XII. Confucius emphasized that good government can only exist when
A. Things are called by their right name.
B. Rulers put the welfare of the people ahead of egoistic seeking for riches or renown.
C. Officials are appointed on the basis of merit rather than on birth or political clout. The
influence of this perspective became decisive in subsequent Chinese history, leading to
civil service examinations which were open to all.
XIII. Since society is analogous to the family, there should be special social respect for the
elderly, just as in a family children should respect their parents.
XIV. Confucius especially emphasized the importance of humaneness (ren), stating that since
we are human we must treat other humans as we would wish them to treat us. Ren combines
respect for others with respect for oneself. One becomes a "superior person" not by noble
birth but by exercising ren.
XV. In the period in which Confucius lived there were two competing theories of social ethics
(in addition to Taoism which is discussed below).
A. The Realists taught that human beings were basically selfish, and a leader had to
govern through intimidation.
B. The idealists, also called Mohists after the name of their most prominent
spokesman, thought that human beings could have an identical love for every person
and that absolute pacificism was practical.
XVI. In response Mencius (=Master Meng; his real name was Meng K'o; 372 BCE-289), the
leading follower of Confucius, successfully argued that
A. Human beings have a natural orientation toward goodness, but need instruction to
solidify this inchoate virtue.
B. Since loyalty to one's family is natural, it is unrealistic to expect humans to love
everyone equally.
C. A ruler is only legitimate when he rules with the welfare of his people in mind.
1. Only then does he have the "Mandate of Heaven."
2. Rulers who act tyrannically forfeit their right to office.
3. Hence, rebellion and tyrannicide become ethical and even necessary.
D. Mencius became the basis for orthodox Confucianism.
XVII. Another important follower of Confucius was Hsun-tzu (c. 312 BCE-c. 238).
A. Contrary to Mencius, Hsun-tzu argued that human nature is bad but agreed that
education could improve it.
B. He attacked superstition (divination, prayers for rain, etc.) as unworthy of educated
people.
C. Although ultimately less influential than Mencius, he is important because
1. He helped produce a more rational religion among the intellectual elite.
2. But unfortunately also helped produce an aristocratic contempt for others
who followed more traditional beliefs and practices.
XVIII. Initially it was unclear that Confucius's perspectives would triumph.
XIX. An especially difficult period was during the reign of Emperor Ch'in
who unified China by force and then ruled with a brutality that only the Realists could have
accepted. When Confucian scholars criticized him, he buried the scholars alive and burned
their books.
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XX. However, as Confucius would have predicted, the Ch'in dynasty soon collapsed.
XXI. The next dynasty, the Hans, who ruled for four centuries, used Confucianism to bolster
their own legitimacy.
XXII. The Han made a knowledge of the classics that Confucius himself revered necessary to
pass the civil service examinations.
XXIII. Thereafter, Confucianism remained the civil religion of China until modern times and
also became influential in the neighboring countries of Korea, Japan, and Vietnam.
XXIV. Confucius himself received increasing veneration. Sacrifices were offered to him and
temples were dedicated to his worship.
XXV. In keeping with the Chinese tendency toward combining religions, Confucianism
increasingly adopted elements from other systems including Taoism and Buddhism.
XXVI. As a result, Neo-Confucianism included both meditation and a greater concern with
metaphysics without abandoning the core of Confucianism. Indeed, Neo-Confucianism
emphasized the study of the writings of Confucius himself and his followers and deemphasized the study of the "classics" that Confucius himself recommended.
XXVII. With the collapse of the Chinese imperial system in the twentieth century, there was a
reaction against Confucianism.
A. In the early twentieth century liberal Chinese blamed the social conservatism of
Confucianism for the technological backwardness of China which allowed Western
nations to exploit the country.
B. Under communist rule, all religion initially suffered persecution, and the
persecution became extreme during the Cultural Revolution.
XXVIII. In recent years, however, the Chinese government has become more tolerant of
religion, and there seems to be a Confucian revival.
XXIX. It also seems that the Confucian emphasis on hard work, integrity, and cooperation
have greatly contributed to the amazing economic growth of China and adjoining lands in
recent times.
XXX. We have also seen the rise of New Confucianism which combines traditional Confucian
perspectives with contemporary values (e.g., equality for women).
XXXI. The major Confucian holiday is Confucius's birthday which is celebrated on September
28.
XXXII. In my opinion Confucianism had a decisive impact on Chinese painting.
A. To be sure, not much of the iconography is explicitly Confucian, though there are
representations of Confucius and Mencius in Chinese painting.
B. Nevertheless, the ideology of the dominant school of Chinese painting seems to me
to be Confucian.
1. The dominant school of Chinese painting is the Literati (scholarly).
2. The Literati School was composed not of professional painters but of scholars
who pursued painting as a serious pastime.
3. The Literati were not interested in technical expertise.
4. Instead they cultivated amateur styles that expressed their own poetic
sensitivity and grandeur of soul.
5. Moreover, they often deliberately incorporated archaic material into their
work, but used that material to express a personal taste.
6. This approach seems very Confucian (Cahill).
XXXIII. Some reflections on Confucianism and American culture today.
A. The values of Confucianism, family, respect for the elderly, tradition, decorum seem
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C. Responded by writing the work before he abandoned civilization for a peaceful old
age.
XXXVIII. The key concept of Lao Tzu is the Way (the Tao). Note that the Tao is prominent in
Chinese thought as a whole, including Confucianism. But in Confucianism Tao has the sense
of proper moral conduct. In what follows I will restrict the discussion to the Taoist
understanding of the concept.
A. The Tao in itself is ineffable, and Lao Tzu insists that we cannot describe it.
B. However, it is clear that for Lao Tzu the Tao is
1. Eternal and unchanging. Note that the Tao is even older than the gods who
originate from it and embody it.
2. Inexhaustible and limitless.
3. Impersonal. It does not have desires or goals.
4. Beneficent. The Tao is wholly good.
5. Creative. All things come from the Tao and return to it.
6. Directive. The Tao guides all things.
7. Non-controlling. But the Tao is small, i.e., not manipulative.
8. Because the Tao guides all things but does not control them, it is possible for
human beings to act against the Tao, but when they do, nothing positive occurs
and nothing lasting results.
9. Lao Tzu likes to use feminine images for the Tao. She is the mother of all
things. The physical image Lao Tzu likes to use for the Tao is water.
XXXIX. Nevertheless, it must be stressed that Lao Tzu and subsequent Taoist spiritual
teachers were not primarily concerned with intellectual concepts about the Tao but with inner
transformation through embodying it. Taoism is a practical religion and not interested in
theological speculation for its own sake.
XL. Sages in their own lives embody the Tao by
A. Being humble
B. Being free of ambition and desire
C. Having little property
D. Being able to respond to every situation
E. Being able to change with the times while still maintaining integrity.
F. Being gentle
G. Being non-competitive, except in a playful way
H. Being kind to all, even to the wicked
I. Not depending on the approval of others.
J. Being oneself, especially being spontaneous rather than self-conscious.
XLI. Yin-yang
A. Yin and yang were already important concepts in Chinese thought before Lao Tzu's
time.
B. However, Lao Tzu and his Taoist successors placed special emphasis on them.
C. According to them, yin and yang come from the Tao.
D. Yin includes such categories as earth, dark, feminine, valley.
E. Yang includes such categories as heaven, light, masculine, mountain.
F. All things contain some mixture of yin and yang.
G. Yin and yang also presuppose each other. Thus, there cannot be light without
darkness or masculine without feminine.
XLII. The Tao pervades the world that arises from it and, consequently, everything that is
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natural is good. Note that here natural does not mean non-human, but that which
corresponds to the essence of things (the Tao). Of course, the natural world always follows
the Tao if human do not interfere.
A. The world is constantly changing, but as long as we do not interfere with the Tao,
only good arises.
B. When we perceive something natural as evil or destructive, we are merely
ignorant about how that thing contributes to the whole.
XLIII. Evil appears when we interfere in the natural working of things.
XLIV. Consequently, the sage (i.e., the ideal spiritual person) usually allows things to take
their natural course with the knowledge that
A. Interfering will only make matters worse.
B. Things that appear to be evil, such as ugliness or death, are necessary complements
to those that appear to be good and, therefore, are not evil in the final analysis.
C. In due course, the world will through the guidance of the Tao set itself right.
XLV. Hence, the sage is tranquil and is not disturbed by the seeming disasters of this life. Of
course, this philosophy was reassuring during the chaos and cruelty of the era of Lao Tzu.
XLVI. The tranquility of the sage positively affects others.
XLVII. Nevertheless, the sage apparently will intervene to prevent catastrophe, but once
catastrophe has been averted, the sage relinquishes power over others.
XLVIII. If the sage is in a position of governmental leadership, the sage does not try to control
or manipulate but through humility and tranquility empowers others to realize their own
achievements. Thus, even though they were guided by the leader, the people scarcely are
aware of that fact and imagine they achieved everything by themselves.
XLIX. Consequently, the Tao Te Ching emphasizes the principle of non-interference (wu
wei). By not seeking to manipulate or dominate, the sage accomplishes all that needs to be
done or even can be done.
L. A major question is to what extent the Tao Te Ching advocates political action to counter
injustice.
A. For the most part, the book insists on non-action, even in the face of opposing force.
Paradoxically, the sage overcomes by yielding.
B. Yet section 31 insists that it may even be necessary to engage in war to counter evil,
but one should only do so with extreme reluctance.
LI. Perhaps the best solution is that one can take action, but only when one is in touch with
the Tao and doing what is "natural."
LII. After Lao Tzu, Chuang Tzu (399 BCE-295) expressed many of the same ideas, but
insisted
A. The sage was not to get involved in politics.
B. The sage should practice a mysticism of unity in which one loses all sense of
individual identity and becomes one with the universe.
LIII. A founder of "religious" Taoism was Zhang Daoling (2nd c. C.E.).
A. Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu did not found a continuing religious institution with
officials, rites, dogmas, and property.
B. According to tradition, Zhang Daoling
1. Spent years as a recluse and an ascetic
2. Then he had a vision of Lao Tzu who told him that
a. The present world would soon come to an end.
b. There would then be a golden age of peace.
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E. Can the West produce a religion that incorporates the best of Taoism without
adopting the more questionable features?
Discussion: What are the features of Confucianism and Taoism that you like or dislike and
why? What can Confucianism and Taoism contribute to your own search for meaning?
Brief test on Confucianism and Taoism
Assignment: 2-3 page reflection paper on Confucianism and Taoism
Exclusiveness, Pluralism, or Something Else: The Problem of Many Paths and One Ultimate
Reality
I. Perhaps by definition there can be only one Ultimate Reality.
II. And religion, almost by definition, posits that this Reality is helpful (or, at least, can be
helpful) to human beings.
III. Yet, as we have seen, different religions have very different descriptions of the Ultimate.
IV. Various ways that one can view the competing claims of different religions and the
strengths and weakness of each way.
A. Option 1: Only one religion has the truth; other religions are useless.
1. Some religious groups have even condemned other religions as perverse. For
example, conservative Protestants traditionally taught that salvation was only
through faith in Christ, and conservative Muslims believed that idolatry was an
unforgivable sin.
2. This uncompromising approach has its strengths.
a. It obviously allows one to affirm completely one's own religion.
b. It produces a concept of the Ultimate that is relatively simple and
clear.
3. But there are major difficulties.
a. The position that only one path is helpful consigns the majority of
humans to perdition (sometimes even to eternal damnation).
b. It ignores the many positive features of all the axial religions, and even
of the non-axial religions.
c. It does not fit well with the fact that all the axial religions have large
areas of agreement (e.g., on ethics).
B. Option 2: One religion is in all respects superior, but other religions are helpful to
the extent that they agree with that definitive religion.
1. This option has the strengths of the first.
2. In addition it allows for a greater appreciation of other paths, though not for
their diversity.
3. It also is the position which many adherents of various religions hold.
C. Option 3: All the axial religions (and others as well?) are equally valid paths.
1. This option has the strengths of
a. Honoring various religions and their diverse achievements.
b. Producing good will and tolerance. Note that exclusive religious
claims have sometimes produced intolerance and even attempts to force
people to convert.
2. But there are problems.
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a. The inclusive approach does not honor religious traditions that insist
on the superiority of one path, and at least orthodox Buddhism,
Christianity, and Islam all do. Hence, it is questionable whether the
inclusive approach actually honors all paths or even is truly open and
tolerant. Condemning intolerance can be itself intolerant!
b. The resulting picture of the Ultimate is extremely fuzzy and
paradoxical.
1). If we claim that all paths have valid understandings of Ultimate
Reality, then
a). Ultimate Reality is both one and many, both personal
and impersonal, both active and passive.
b). The ultimate goal of human life includes the fulfillment
of desire in Islamic paradise and the extinction of desire in
Nirvana!
2). Inclusivists have responded that various traditions from
Christianity to Taoism agree that human beings cannot fully
understand the Ultimate and, therefore, we agree that the Ultimate
is paradoxical. But in my opinion, this claim does not respect what
some of the religious traditions actually teach. Thus, although
classical Christianity stressed that we know God only by analogy,
God is at least greater than our analogies. God is supremely
personal, supremely active, and to claim that God is impersonal or
passive is from a classical Christian perspective absolutely false.
D. Option 4: Each path has strengths and weaknesses, and today we should combine
the best features of each.
1. This eclectic approach has strengths.
a. Different religions focus on different things (meditation, political
activism, etc.).
b. Many people from various religions have adopted aspects of other
religions. For example, many Christians have found Eastern meditation
practices helpful, and many Buddhists and Hindus have adopted the
Western emphasis on the need for religion to address political issues.
And as we noted above, in some cultures (e.g., China) people have
normally practiced more than one religion.
c. One can produce a personal religion that fits one's own needs.
2. But there are problems.
a. How do we determine which aspects of each religion are the best?
b. If we tailor a religion to fit our own needs, there is the extreme danger
that we are producing beliefs and practices that cater to our own limited
understanding and goals or even our own egoism. At least the various
axial religions have stood the test of time and challenged people of
various cultures to become more than they were.
E. Option 5: The disagreements among the axial religions about the nature of the
Ultimate help prove that there is no higher power, and the only ultimate reality is the
material universe from which humankind arose by accident.
1. The strength of this atheistic position is that it does take the competing
understandings of the Ultimate seriously and does not try to explain them away.
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2. However, it does not take the agreements of the religions seriously (e.g., that
there is a moral force in the universe totally apart from human beings).
3. And atheism dismisses so much of human spiritual experience.
4. Of course, atheism leads to a fundamentally pessimistic view of the final end
of human life (whether the life of every individual, the survival of humanity, and
even the survival of the universe).
F. Option 6: The disagreements among the axial (and other?) religions prove that
there is more than one ultimate reality. The different paths of, say, Islam and
Buddhism go to different places both of which are equally real, valuable, and eternal.
Paradise and Nirvana both exist, and neither is superior.
1. The great advantage of this pluralistic universe is that all (axial?) religions are
fully valid.
2. But there are severe problems
a. Metaphysical chaos. The spiritual universe is hopelessly fragmented.
b. None of the axial religions endorses this solution. Even Hinduism
believes that the many paths lead to a single reality, not that they arrive in
very different destinations.
Discussion: Which option do you prefer?
V. Regardlesss of which option one prefers, the undeniable fact remains that there are
millions of sincere adherents of each of the religions we studied in this course (as well as
millions of sincere adherents of religions we did not have time to study).
VI. The primary questions--both practical and theoretical--that this diversity inevitably poses
are
A. What do all the religions which we studied share despite the obvious areas of
disagreement?
B. How can we live together in mutual respect?
C. Can we somehow enrich one another?
D. And can we work together for the good of the larger societies of which we are part
and the world as a whole?
VII. Here are my (tentative) answers to these vital questions:
A. All of the religions which we studied (and many others that we did have time to
study)
1. Agree that every human being is entitled to justice, and in principle all human
beings are precious.
2. Are serious and fruitful paths toward peace, joy, and compassion.
3. Agree that this ethical commitment and these fruitful paths are grounded in a
more fundamental reality (God, karma, the Tao, Heaven, and so forth) that
exists totally apart from human beings as well as within us all.
B. Because of what we share, we can, despite our profound disagreements, cooperate
in the continuing struggle for the well being of the world.
C. As we recognize what we share and we work together for human welfare, we
naturally grow in appreciation for one another and contribute to each other's (and the
world's) spiritual wholeness.
VIII. Is there a special role for the United States in world religion?
A. None of the religions that we studied arose in the United States (although some of
the Native American religions which arose in North America ended up in the United
States).
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