Final Exam

a. Name.
Kelly A. Weber

b. Username.
Kellywphotography

c. How many posts did you complete in total for the whole semester?
Give me the dates for each. Make sure they are all on your website
(date and number them if possible). You are asked to complete 12
posts total. Even if you do not post on a topic you are still
responsible for it on the final exam...thus, completing all of the
reading for the course is a requirement for all.

I have completed all 12 posts.


Post 1 09-01-08
Post 2 09-04-08
Post 3 & 4 09-07-08
RELIGIOUS LITERATURE 1 Bhagavad Gita 09-10-08
Post 5 09-10-08
Field Trip to the Hsi Lai 09-11-08
Post 6 09-11-08
Post 7 09-13-08
Post 8 09-30-08
Post 10 & 11 10-05-08
The Koran Summary 09-30-08
Post 9 09-30-08
Post 12 10-09-08
New Testament Summary 10-12-08

d. List ALL of the visits you made (extra credit trip to Little
India, Hindu temple, extra credit visit to an Islamic mosque, etc.).
Also, make sure you have a section on your website for your research
where you "detail with thick description" the one required report. If
you did not attend the required field trip clearly indicate this so
that I do not have to go hunting for it if I do not see it on your
site.

The field trip I went on was to the His Lai Temple in Hacienda Heights.

e. List all of the online videos you watched since the midterm.

The video with Huston Smith, world religions scholar.
The film on the Guru.
The documentary on Hinduism from You Tube.
The google video on Jainsim.
The short film on Sikhism from google.
Both videos on Buddhism one from google and one from you tube.
The Tao video from google.
The six part video on Islam from the History Channel.
The second video on Islam narrated by Ben Kingsley.
And the History Channel video on the Bible.

f. Please list what "grade" you received on your midterm
examination. Was there any material you were asked to make up and
did you? Include the makeup work on your website and clearly label it!

I received an A and had already completed the material so I had no material to make up.


g. What reading did you complete in this course? Did you read the
online books and articles (When Scholars Study the Sacred, When Gods
Decay, Why I Don't Eat Faces, Lions in the Punjab, Gnostic Mystery,
etc.)?

During the first half of the semester I read
During the second half of the semester I read the article on gnosticism, Chapter 6 in our book, went over http://www.islamworld.net/ and http://www.religioustolerance.org/islam.htm, The Koran, Chapter 7 in our book, http://www.nv.cc.va.us/home/lshulman/Rel232/JEWNOTES.htm, http://www.jewfaq.org/, http://i-cias.com/e.o/judaism.htm#geogr, http://www.religioustolerance.org/jud_desc.htm, False Testament article, Chapter 8 in our book, Triumph of Christianity, The New Testament, and the summary article on Crossan's book on the life of Jesus.

Did you read ALL OF THE ASSIGNED CHAPTERS in Huston Smith's book?
Which ones?

Yes I did.
The first half of the semester I read 1-5.
The second half of the semester I read chapters 6 –8.

Did you read the Jesus article about Crossan's research? the
Triumph of Christianity and False Testament articles?

Yes I did.

Explain in detail (give specifics) what reading you completed and
what reading you did not read. Be exact.

I read everything that I was assigned to read:

During the second semester I read the article on gnosticism, Chapter 6 in our book, went over http://www.islamworld.net/ and http://www.religioustolerance.org/islam.htm, The Koran, Chapter 7 in our book, http://www.nv.cc.va.us/home/lshulman/Rel232/JEWNOTES.htm, http://www.jewfaq.org/, http://i-cias.com/e.o/judaism.htm#geogr, http://www.religioustolerance.org/jud_desc.htm, False Testament article, Chapter 8 in our book, Triumph of Christianity, The New Testament, and the summary article on Crossan's book on the life of Jesus.

h. Out of all the reading that you were assigned what reading would
you recommend for future world religions classes? be specific.
Which books? which articles? which chapters? is there reading that
you would absolutely not recommend? why? I am very interested in
your response to Huston Smith's book....did this book work for you?

I would definitely not recommend the chapter on the Jewish religion. It is confusing and I received more information on the religion on the Internet rather than in our book. Everything else was very informative and found quit enjoyable to read.

i. Did you complete any extra credit?? explain.
No I did not.
------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -

Here's the tofu of the test: (eight questions: one page per question;
if you write more it is acceptable; avoid writing just a few lines. I
need to see that one read the material, understood it and thought
about it as well; if I cannot tell that you read your score will
significantly suffer). Total test length: approx. 8 pages.

NOTE: WRITE TOTALLY IN YOUR OWN WORDS....Any sign of plagiarism
results in a failing grade. Do not copy anything from any text. Write
simply and clearly. Quotes are not necessary (quote only to back up a
point but not to substitute for you own writing.) I want to see that
you comprehended what you studied...write in your OWN voice but so
draw lots and lots of specifics/examples from the reading.

YOU MAY DRAW FROM SOME OF YOU OWN POSTS IN ANSWERING THESE BUT MAKE
SURE TO REALLY DETAIL YOUR ANSWERS. YOU MAY HAVE TO ADD TO YOUR POST
WORK TO MAKE IT WORTHY OF A FINAL EXAM. I AM LOOKING FOR INDEPTH
ESSAYS FOR THE FINAL. YOU WILL MOST LIKELY NEED TO ADD DETAIL TO THE
TEST. MAKE SURE TO DEMONSTRATE THAT YOU READ THE ASSIGNED READINGS.

ESSAY QUESTIONS:
Essay test questions: there are eight main questions. One page per
question. If you write more it is acceptable but just writing a
couple of lines is not. Total exam length: approx. 8 pages.

ONCE AGAIN, ALWAYS WRITE IN YOUR OWN WORDS. ANY FORM OF PLAGIARISM
WILL RESULT IN A FAILING GRADE. IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO QUOTE. WRITE
SIMPLY AND CLEARLY.

1. Explain in depth what Gnosticism is (drawing from GNOSTIC
MYSTERY). Now explain why do you think that it failed and that
Christianity succeeded? I want you to draw from TRIUMPH of
CHRISTIANITY for this second half of the answer. (do not give a
religious answer here --
like one is God given and the other is heretical; just draw from the
two articles assigned...the Triumph article and the Gnostic Mystery
clearly explains what I am looking for).


Gnosticism is not an organized religion. Gnostic is what numerous schools of thought call themselves from the first and second centuries of the Common Era. There are different sects that are named after the founder. The four most famous are the schools of Marcion, Basilides, Valentinus, and Mani. Through each school the fundamentals remain the same, which is the pursuit of gnosis. Gnosis deals with knowledge of the spiritual world where the highest form of gnosis would be direct knowledge of the Divine that is not taught in Scriptures. This describes a basic goal to raise one’s consciousness beyond the physical world in to the higher spiritual worlds. This happens when the soul leaves the physical body and goes through the various spiritual realms and thus the consciousness becomes purified. Reaching its final destination of home with the Divine. There is a Gnostic text called The Apolcrphon of John where it refers to God as “the invisible One who is above everything,” “unnamable since there is no one prior to him to give him a name,” and the “ineffable”. The Gnostics definitely have a distinction between the physical world and the spiritual world. According to the Gnostics the great “original sin” is where the inner Self is forgotten. When the Divine Man comes down to earth from the spiritual realms and reveals divine secrets and calls the souls back and thus awakens the sleeping spirit. The Mani sect believes that the Divine Man incarnates (which is an eastern belief (incarnation)) into human forms in order to awaken people and restore the soul to its original purity and lead it back to God. Gnostics believe that humans reincarnate until the Divine is realized. The Gnostic draws from different philosophies from neo-Platonism, Judaism, Zorostrainism, Christianity, and maybe Hinduism. It has also been associated with Christianity where Christian Gnostics claim they have the “true” teachings of Jesus. Although orthodox Christians disagree and believe these claims to be absurd and destructive to Christian faith. Between the third and fourth centuries C.E. was the age of the great heresiologists where Christianities boundaries are no longer as fluid. However extreme sharp boundaries were then drawn in order to establish strong institutionalized Church. This was seen as trying to undermine the Church and all Gnostic thought was thought of as a heresy. At this time most Gnostic writings are destroyed. Even though there is a historical connection between Gnostic and Christianity, Gnostic did not emerge from Christianity. On the contrary relates more closely to Judaism. Gnostic used the Old Testament and re-interpreted it giving biblical figures like Adam and new role. This tactic is called a metaphorical teaching device where the twisting of the original story line occurs in order to present their own ideology. Another example of the Gnostic re-interpretation is the way the picture the biblical god. They portray him to be the next to last god, a lower deity and not the Godhead. They also believe the creator god is of an evil origin so creation is as well evil and because of that worldly pleasure impedes spiritual growth. Within the Marcionite doctrine of ethics the nature of Marcionites is evil because an evil Creator created it. Because of this they have decided to reframe from getting married because they do not want to fill the world made by the Creator-God. Because of this decision they are in opposition to their Maker. The Barbeliotes are on the other side of the coin where they supposedly engage in sexual cultic rituals. During these rituals they will begin with a feast of meat, wine and ends in an orgy. These actions are to transmit their sexual emission and the soul of the dead animal to the heavenly world however, refuse giving birth to children. There is a third Gnostic group called the Valentinians who condemn marriage and procreation as well. However have an overall theme of moderation in regards to how to live life. The Gnostic tradition feels that there is an overall objective to return to the Unknown God by realizing its higher nature. They believe the human soul is imprisoned in the body. They instruct believers on how to awaken their human spirit within the Nag Hammadi literature. Gnostic tradition is comparable to medieval and modern Sant tradition where there is a philosophy concerned with traversing spiritual realms to reach God. One reaches God or achieves God-Realization by realizing the relationship with the Divine. Sant’s are believes to be enlightened souls that have accomplished this. Sants’ are like the saint where a person sacrifices one’s life to serve humankind in some way. However a Sant has lost all identity by merging the spirit entity into the Highest Reality no longer subject o any form of maya (illusion) or ego (ahamkara) and embodies the Divine. Such a person is also called the satguru (the true guru) and is believed to have returned to awaken souls from ignorance. So unlike Christianity salvation is not a onetime event. Within the Sant tradition the salvific process is a continuous one. This tradition can be traced back to the fifteenth century C.E. to the North Indian mystic Kabir. What sets the Sant tradition apart from the orthodox Hinduism is the claim that devotion to the Divine Name of God is the only means to attain salvation. There is a second branch of the Sant tradition, which has been active from the fifteenth century up until today. They rebuff orthodox Hinduism for the value it places on rituals, holy books, and idol worship, and they ridicule the caste system. They also reject the authority of the Vedas, which sets the northern Sants outside the Hindu fold. The Maharashtra poet-Sants give deity characteristics to God by referring to it as “father and mother” and reject the saguna God. Since God is beyond all attributes and distinctions, God cannot be captured in an icon or temple. The Nirguna Bhakti suggests this. There is an intense emotional experience (anughava) that is created by the dual structure between the devotee and the object of devotion (the guru) that is supposed to pull the devotee towards the nirguna God. There is little differentiation between the northern and southern Sants when it comes to ethical issues. Both greatly stress living a moral life, which includes three basic requirements: 1. ahimsa, 2. no intoxicants, and 3. a moral life in society. The Sant tradition seems to be a mixture of Vaishnava bhakti and the esoteric Tantric tradition of the Nath yogis. Several scholars have argued that here is a great deal of Sufi influence on the Sants as well. Of course the Maharashtian and Northern Sants differ other wise there would be no reason to have two different sects of Sants. They differ somewhat in their theological approach, which marks them as a distinctive group.

The Gnostic tradition and the Sant tradition are similar in that there is no fixed institution or set boundaries. They also have the same notion of a Transcendent God. The western view of the God from the Old Testament is similar but twisted to fit the theology from the Gnostics’. Through out Gnostic literature as well as Hinduism there are doctrines of reincarnation. Gnostics, and Hinduist accept the idea of Karma. Both the Sant and Gnostic traditions believe in the existence of an Unknown God. Gnostics as well as Sants use sound and light to help in the soul’s ascent to the Unknown God. Both traditions agree that a spiritual guide unravels insoluble mysteries of the universe and awakens the soul from ignorance.

Within the article by Tim Callahan he described the similarities of Christian myth and Roman myth. Such as the Christian myth of the virgin birth, death and resurrection of Jesus can be compared to the myth of Hermes, Dionysus, and Hercules. Even the Christian Eucharist can be compared to when the Titans murdered Dionysus and ate his flesh and drank his blood. Christians tent do denounce this similarities by calling them satanic counterfeits of the Christian faith. Still the question as to why the Christian religion won over the Roman beliefs. Christian’s believe that divine agency was the reason Christianity defeated its rivals. Within this article written by Tim Callahan it presents a different reason. He believes there are three key factors that ensured Christianity’s triumphs. The first being the broad base of its appeal to those searching for what was lacking in Rome’s state religion. Within the Roman Empire doctrines were kept hidden from the population at large. The people who were initiated experienced a sense of belonging and received a cultural identity. In many of their cults there was a mother goddess and a male god who died and rose again which gave the promise that worshippers would also attain immortality. Gnostic religions promise the worshiper transcendence, they saw the material world as an evil deception. Which separated the soul from the true world (spirit world) and was perpetrated by a lesser god they called the Demiurge. Again there are three basic aspects that made alternate religions appealing; a god who transcended the material world and stood separate from it, a myth of overcoming physical death, and a rigorous code of ethics. Within Christianity all three were offered to prospective worshippers. There is a religious syncretism that allowed the Christian religion to eventually co-opt attractive aspects of other religions. One example would be the Mithraic solar deity whose aspects were taken by Jesus whose birthday coincides with his. An even festival like Hannukah celebrated by the Jewish faith, which is a festival of lights, begins on the 25th. This is corresponds to the winter solstice which begins on or near the 25th and is marked by the symbolic act of lighting lamps. A second basic aspect that assured Christianity’s triumph was the acceptance of all people of whatever social station, race, or gender. Religions like Mithraism and Gnosticism excluded people such as slaves and other undesirables therefore reducing their membership numbers. Nearly all of Christianity’s rivals had inadvertent barriers to membership. The third and final basic reason the lead to Christianity’s triumph was its belief that the Kingdom of God was at hand. Christianity was not prone to revolutionary politics because it saw no point in revolting against a system.

2. You were assigned a summary article on the work of the biblical
scholar J.D. Crossan, who paints a picture of who he thinks
the "historical Jesus" was. First describe his specific "research
methodology"
What the "historical Jesus" might have taught, according to Crossan.


Was he a cynic (define)?

In parts of this article he is portrayed as a cynic. Espeically after John’s death the Crossan says that Jesus rejects John’s ideas and is convinced that God would not operate through imminent apocalyptic restoration.


Was he an actual faith healer and what do we mean by that?

Jesus is said to have been a healer of culture’s behavioral rules and his healing activities are subversive. His healing challenged patronage and clientage, which were the ethos of Mediterranean society. The Crossan indicates that the twelve apostles were not some closed off group but Jesus did instruct them to take nothing is authentic.



Was he a radical revolutionary?

The Crossan portrays him as a world-negating figure. The Crossan also portray a historical Jesus scholarship where he has a theory of open commensality, which is a symbol and embodiment of radical egalitarianism. Crossan depicts Jesus’ itinerancy as a radical act. His view of the Kingdom of God is a community of radical equality in which individuals are in direct contact with one another and with God. Because the ethos of Mediterranean society was based on kin and gender and its moral values were rooted in honor and shame Jesus’ practice of open commensality was a challenge to the Mediterranean society.


What does Crossan say Jesus taught and what about his teachings led to his own death?

What the Crossan says Jesus taught (as asked by the previous question what the "historical Jesus" might have taught, according to Crossan.) that Jesus did not condemn family however condemned the abuse of power in his society of those who did not have faith in him. They also portray a historical Jesus scholarship where he has a theory of open commensality, which is a symbol and embodiment of radical egalitarianism.

Do you like the philosophy of the historical Jesus as presented by Crossan?

I do like some of the philosophy used in the Crossan where it is based on historical facts. However there seems to be other parts where he re-summarizes and rewrites certain stories just like he accuses Christians of doing. These stories that seem to be re-written seem to not be based upon historical facts or at least do not present any.



And then, most importantly, his actual findings.

Within Crossan, John Dominic found a comparison of stories between two “sons of God” who had become gods: Octavius who is later known as Augustus, and Jesus Christ. Octavius’s mythical genealogy traces his ancestry back to Aeneas, Anchises, and Aphrodite who was a divine mother. Jesus had a human mother and a divine father as well. He goes further to point out the comparison between that of five acts: The events of an angelic announcement made to Zechariah and the same to Mary. How each child’s birth was publicized. How there was a circumcision and naming of each child. How each child had a public presentation and a prophecy of destiny. And also how each child’s growth. In the book of Mathew he connects Jesus’ birth with the ancient traditions of his people’s sacred writings. In Crossan it draws three parallelisms from Mathew comparing the births of Moses and Jesus. One being where a ruler orders the killing of all male newborns in a response to a prediction of the birth of a rival. Another being the father’s choice to actually be a father, which comes after uncertainty. Finally the child escaping the ruler’s plan to kill them. Within the book of Mathew his comparison of Jesus to Moses of course emphasizes that Jesus is greater than his model. In terms of the virginal birth the Crossan states that there is a widely known linguistic misinterpretation of almah/parthenos, and that someone looked for a portion of the Old Testament that could be interpreted as prophesying a virginal conception which they could give a transcendental importance of the adult Jesus. Both authors, Luke and Mathew, associate Jesus’ birth with Bethlehem in Judea, which was the foreseen birthplace of a second David. In Mathew the face that Mary and Joseph had always lived in Bethlehem was used to the authors advantage. Luke invents a census for the purpose of taxation where Mary and Joseph are required to migrate from Nazareth to Bethlehem. The Crossan claims Luke’s story to be fiction. It states there is no such worldwide census under Octavius Agustus. Luke placed the birth dates of John and Jesus in reign of Herod the Great who had passed away in 4 BCE however, the census was actually under Quirinius and had occurred 6 CE. The practice in regards to the taxation censuses was to register people where they lived and worked so they could be taxed. This article (Crossan) says that Luke’s census story and Mathew’s story of exile in Egypt is ways for the writers to link Jesus’ birth to the Mican prophecy. Both presume that Jesus is a Galilean, not a Judean, by birth. The next question that Crossan trying to answer is that of social class in connection with divinity claims. In the Roman Empire there was two social classes. The gospel’s claimed that Jesus was a carpenter and an Artisan. This class that Jesus was in was considered to be between Peasants and Degrades or Expendables. When someone in the Roman world had a claim of divinity it was not usual a cause of suspect, however when the claim of divinity came from a lower class it was considered absurd. In the Crossan it points out another interesting parallel in regards to Mark’s account of the beheading of John the Baptist and the story of Flaminius who was a Roman Senator of the second century BCE. He beheaded a prisoner at his mistress’s request during a dinner party. The Crossan dismissed Mark’s account for the reason for John’s execution and gave its own reason. John used the Jordan River in symbolic recapitulation of the Israelites’ crossing into Canaan, accompanied by their god. He operated in Perea where he would baptize people in the river. During which he was forming a giant system of sanctified individuals. The Crossan addresses the relationship between John and Jesus and hypothesizes that Jesus was a follower of John and after his death Jesus rejected John’s apocalypticism, and was convinced that God would not operate through imminent apocalyptic restoration. Jesus was not a prophet like John the Baptist however a world negating figure. The twelve apostles are portrayed as fiction. That the Jesus community was reinvented in Israel. The tradition of the twelve apostles is limited to Mark and is absent from the early Christian literature. The passion and crucifiction: Roman crucifixion was used for state terrorism to deter it. The body was usually left on the cross to be consumed by wild beasts. The Crossan claims that the entrance into Jerusalem is fiction and used to link Jesus to earlier prophecy. The article proposes that Jesus’ first followers new almost nothing about his crucifixion. The accounts of these events are not history remembered but prophecy historicized. The article says that there are three stages in the development of these passion stories: First being the historical passion which is what anyone present would have seen happened to Jesus. The next being the prophetic passion where the search for justification in the Hebrew Scriptures for such a shocking eventuality. Finally the narrative passion where the placing of such prophetic fulfillments into a narrative where its origins are hidden within a plausible historical framework. The Crossan points out that often there is not much left to bury after one is crucified due to the fact that animals usually get to the body first. The family members would put themselves in jeopardy to request the body. The family would have to have money in order to burry it properly which Jesus’ family did not have. Those who wrote the crucifixion stories had to find away around all of this. Mark invents Joseph of Arimathea who is said to be a man of some influence to ask for the body. Mathew adds more to the story making Joseph a rich disciple. Luke makes Joseph a member of the council. John makes Joseph a secret disciple and invents Nicodemus who anoints and wraps Jesus’ body. The Crossan demonstrates how the followers of Jesus likely conducted themselves as probably not knowing about it. The stories of the resurrection seem unnecessary and attribute the resurrection stream in early Christianity to Paul. The article says that the stories are deliberate political dramatizations of a leadership group gaining power over the general community. Those stories are just interested in power and how the Christian community will continue. In its final analysis it portrays Peter as a specific leader and the twelve apostles as an exclusively male leadership group. Therefore the religion of Christianity invented a Jesus unlike the one of history making itself the mediator between the people and god.

Hint: Focus here on the "biographical" details of the "historical
Jesus" (as opposed to the more traditionally religious perspective) .
For biographical details focus on the life of Jesus and

(note: Crossan is not interested in the theology of Christianity
which took centuries to develop but in examining Jesus as
a "historical philosopher. ") See the following website for a
summary of Crossan's work:
http://elearn. mtsac.edu/ msullivan/ critbibliohome. htm (look at A
Revolutionary Biography section)

3. Outline the main argument in FALSE TESTAMENT and offer several
(offer "five to seven") specific examples of why they call it "false
testament." That is, compare/contrast the academic biblical research
in the article with a more conservatively religious view which takes
the Hebrew Scriptures/Old Testament at face value. (For instance,
tradition says David was a major king but research in the article
argues what?)


Archaeologists can agree that the Old Testament has a bit of truth, even with all of the embellishments and contradictions. It seemed clear that the Israelities did start out as a nomadic band somewhere in the area of ancient Mesopotamia and first migrated to Palestine and then to Egypt. Archaeologists at first were confident that they had covered a few basic facts however that has proven to be false. Who the ancient Israelites were and where they came from was proven fast, rather than invaders who fought into the Holy Land they are thought to have been an indigenous culture who developed west of the Jordan River around 1200 B.C. Patriarchs appear to have been put together out of local lore. The Davidic Empire is now seen as an invention of Jerusalem-based priests during the seventh and eight centuries B.C. Judaism appears to not have come from a dark period of history but more of a modern age derived by big power politics. At this time they had little in military and financial means, the priests and rulers got the idea that their national deity was the king of the universe who would transform them into a great power. From a “henotheistic cult to a monotheistic religion, Yahweh went from being the head god to being the only god. This is not the story told in Paul Johnson’s 1987 bestseller, A History of the Jews where Abraham departed the ancient city of Ur. There is no evidence that any such figure as Abraham ever lived and archaeologists believe there is no way such a person could have lived given what we know about ancient Israelite origins. Evidence indicates that the flight from Egypt did not occur at all. The Old Testament account of the conquest is fictional as well. Archaeologists believe that David was not a mighty potentate but rather a freebooter. Archaeologists have dismantled two myths one with the origins of ancient Israel and the other with the relationship between the Bible and science. The new archaeology has gone back to a “Higher Criticism” which comes from a large German school of biblical study. By the late 19th century they had concluded that Moses himself did not write the first five books of the Old Testament. They were products of a “post-exilic period”. The Higher Criticism did not disprove the Old Testament as a whole. The tribal founders depicted in the Book of Genesis were not real. The first modern archaeologists that set foot in the Holy Land were New England Congregationalists who made use of rigorous scientific methods. The first archaeologists had tried to fit these so called scientific facts into preconceived theoretical framework. During the 20th century the Zionist pioneers were eager for evidence that the Jewish had a claim to the Holy Land. Members of a settlement known as Beth Alpha uncovered an ancient synagogue mosaic while digging an irrigation ditch in 1928. These members were of a left-wing faction known as Hasomer Hatzair and some would argue that the find should be left to the dustbin of history. The number of digs multiplied and became a national passion, Eliezar Sukenik, an Israeli archaeologist, described these times as “Jewish archaeology” being born. During the 1950s there was a happy union of science, religion, and politics. Politicization of archaeology however reached a climax in the early 1960s. The fortress where nearly 1,000 Jewish warriors had committed suicide rather than surrender to the Romans in A.D. 73 lacks in evidence of a mass suicide which leads us to believe that the events were deliberately falsified. Around that time James Michener author of The Source used a fictional archaeological dig to put together a series of tales about Palestinian life from prehistoric times to the modern era. This “historicity” resurrected a theory that was first proposed in the 1920s. Yohanan Aharoni, an Israeli, argued for evidence in support of an Israelite war of conquest in the 13th century B.C. had a weak premise. His argument was based on re-dating pottery shards found in the biblical city of Hazor. Rather the first Hebrew settlers had filtered into Palestine in a nonviolent fashion settling with the Canaanites. Archaeologists claimed in the 1930s to have uncovered evidence that the walls of Jericho had fallen like the Book of Joshua said they did. However a British archaeologist, Kathleen Kenyon, demonstrated based on Mycenaean pottery shards found within the ruins that the destruction occurred no later than 1300 B.C. which was seventy or more years before the conquest was said to have happened. Attempting to figure out exactly when Abraham had departed the ancient city of Ur, American scholar William F. Albright theorized that he had left as part of a great migration of “Amorite” desert nomads sometimes between 2100 and 1800 B.C. Research into nomadic growth patterns and urban development indicated to Albright that no such mass migration had taken place. He even hypothesized that several cities within the Genesis book did not exist during the time frame. The biblical text did not match up with what archaeologists were learning about the land of Canaan in the second millennium. In their recent book The Bible Unearthed, Israel Finkelstein an archaeologist and Neil Asher Bilberman a journalist point out that in the patriarchal tales they frequently mention camel caravans. However analysis of ancient animal bones confirms that camels were not widely used for transport in the region until well after 1000 B.C. There was no evidence of the Israelites having lived in Egypt prior to Exodus for five centuries. So it is believed that they invented an identity as exiles and invaders because people in the ancient world did not establish rights to a particular piece of land by farming or by raising families on it but by taking it by force of arms. The Israelites claimed to have conquered it sometime ago in order to establish a moral right to the land they inhabit.

I think that this article does a good job of stating what other people have found in order to use it as a premise in the argument that religion, the Bible namely, and all of its origins are false. However it fails to present the hard-core facts in more depth. There are a couple of times where it is presented well for instance the patriarchal tales they frequently mention camel caravans however analysis of ancient animal bones confirms that camels were not widely used for transport in the region until well after 1000 B.C. Towards the beginning of Daniel Lazare’s essay he throws out theories and what archaeologists believe as if they were facts without any premise just like the Bible he is trying to disprove. As the essay moves a long he does present some evidence in regards to falsifying Biblical stories and figures. However I wonder the religious origin of the archaeologist’s he has received his information from. Where any of them prejudice against Jews? Have any archaeologists been able to duplicate the same conclusions that these have been able to? Have these theories ever been presented with enough evidence to disprove without a reasonable doubt that they are true? I don’t know if we will ever have enough concrete evidence to know which stories in the Bible are true and which are false.


4. Utilizing Smith's material (chapter 8) on Christianity, outline
the history of Christianity, paying special attention to the
differing schools of thought/branches (Protestantism, etc.) within
it. Compare and contrast the different schools of thought. (make
sure to use the required text). Next, discuss the 60 min. film from
the History Channel. What did you get out of the video and find
interesting and even challenging? Detail.

Christianity consists of three major divisions: Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Protestantism. Christianity centers in the life of Jesus born in Palestine around 4 B.C. He grew up in Nazareth and was baptized by the prophet John. In his early thirties he had a teaching / healing career that lasted around one to three years. During this time he received hostility from some of his own compatriots and the suspicion of Rome that later lead to his crucifixion. Jesus was a charismatic wonderworker who alleviated suffering and wanted a new social order. Jesus opened his ministry by quoting a statement from Isaiah, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.” He also added, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled.” His spiritual order included angels and other invisible beings, and centered in Yahweh. Jesus’ historical career stood squarely in the tradition of these Spirit-filled mediators. John who is a prophet baptized Jesus became his immediate predecessor. When John baptized Jesus he opened his spiritual eye. This enabled him to see “the heavens opened and the Spirit descending upon him like a dove.” This spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness where he fasted and prayed for forty days and this was when the Spirit had entered him. Jews accepted without question the supremacy of Spirit over nature. What made him outlive his time was the way he used Spirit to heal humanity beginning with his own people. The political position of the Jews in Jesus’ time was desperate. There were four responses to their predicament; Sadducees favored accommodating themselves to Hellenistic culture and Roman rule. Hoping for change was the other three positions. The fourth position thought that change could come only through armed rebellion. Jesus introduced a fifth option were he extolled peacemaking and urged that even enemies be loved. Pharisees stressed Yahweh’s holiness while Jesus stressed Yahweh’s compassion. Jesus’ idea proved to be too big for a single religion to accommodate. The Pharisaic platform was majestically holy himself, Yahweh wanted to hallow the world as well. Jesus could not accept the lines that the holiness program drew between people. Jesus could see the social barriers as an affront to Yahweh’s compassion. This made him a social prophet advocating an alternative vision of the human community. However his protest did not prevail but did alarm the Roman authorities, which led to Jesus’ arrest and execution on charges of treason.
Jesus’ miracles were performed quietly apart from the crowd and as demonstrations of the power of faith. Peter epitomize Jesus’ life when he said, “He went about doing good.” Jesus would heal them and counsel them. All of Jesus’ teachings have counterparts in the Old Testament or Talmud. The language Jesus would use is in itself fascinating being compact and invariably cuts to the message. His teachings may be the most repeated in history; we are not to resist evil but to turn the other cheek, love our enemies and bless those who curse us, the sun rises on the just and the unjust alike, outcasts and harlots enter the kingdom of God before many who are perfunctorily righteous. Jesus’ extraordinary admonitions come from his understanding of the God who loves human beings absolutely. His entire life was one of humility, self-giving, and love that sought not its own. After having taught his people for a number of months Jesus was crucified. His close associates reported that he appeared to them in a new way and that he was resurrected. People who believed or had faith in Jesus’ resurrection produced the Church and its Christology. The love the disciples had encountered in him was victorious over everything, including death. This movement started in an upper room in Jerusalem where they spread their message. To mark where these meetings were held Christians began to scratch an outline of a fish with its head pointing to the location on walls and the ground. They chose this logo because the Greek letters for fish are also the first letters of the Greek word for “Jesus Christ, Son of God, and Savior.” People were impressed by what they saw as well as what they heard. Two qualities factored into this; one being how Christians loved one another. They saw men and woman who not only said that everyone was equal in the eyes of God, but lived it as well. The second was joy. They were persecuted and yet in the middle of it all they found inner peace that surfaced as happiness. This joy came from the lifting of three intolerable burdens; fear (ie. Fear of death), guilt, and self-centeredness. This is documented in the New Testament. The power that effected these transformations of the order is love. Christian love became known as the love that emanated from Christ embraced sinners and outcasts, Samaritans and enemies and was giving in nature. Within the Christian belief are differences as to whether salvation is possible outside the Body of Christ. Liberals believe that it is. Fundamentalists insist that no one but those who are knowingly and formally Christians will be saved. There is a middle of these two extremes where Christians were all human beings who live honorably, uprightly and by their best lights will be saved as well. The Christian God was alarmed with humanity enough to suffer on its behalf. The conservatives became threatened with Christian’s radically egalitarian social views and felt they needed to be silenced. This is where the persecution of Christians stemmed from. The incarnation of Christ asserts that he was both divine and human. The Apostle’s Creed moves to establish that the man part of the God-man splice was human in every respect. The doctrine of the Atonement has a root meaning of reconciliation, which is the recovery of wholeness. Christians believe that Christ’s life and death had affected an unparalleled rapprochement between God and humanity. Sin is considered a disconnectedness or estrangement from God. The third essential Christian doctrine is the Trinity where God is fully one, and God is also three. The claim that God is also three leads Jews and Muslims to wonder if Christians are truly monotheists. However Christians are confident that they are. The Pentecost, a third visitation came. The disciples were together, suddenly from heaven there came a sound and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. All of the disciples became filled with the Holy Spirit. Thereby generating the third Person of the Trinity.
The Church divided into three great branches: Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Protestantism. Up to 313 A.D. the church faced Roman persecution. That same year it became legally recognized and received equal rights with other religions of the empire. In 380 it became the official religion of the Roman Empire. It continued as a single institution until 1054. Then it divided into the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church. The next division occurred in the Western Church with the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century. In regards to the Roman Catholic church it does accept the church as Teaching Authority with the premise that God came to earth in the person of Jesus Christ to teach people how to live so as to inherit eternal life. With Bible study however, individuals come up with different interpretations. The Church stands as the “supreme court” to avert such disintegration adjudicates between truth and error. The Church as Teaching Authority leads to the doctrine of papal infallibility. The earthly head of the Church is the Pope. The doctrine of papal infallibility asserts that the Pope speaks officially on matters of faith and morals only and God protects him from error. It does not mean that Catholics have to accept the Pope’s view on politics because he too can make mistakes. Only in regards to faith and morals is where he is infallible. The second central idea in Catholicism is the Church as Sacramental Agent. The Sacraments help with being able to do as they teach. The number of Sacraments in the Roman Church has been fixed at seven; Baptism, confirmed, Holy Matrimony, Holy Orders, Sacrament of the Sick, Reconciliation, and Mass known also as the Holy Eucharist or Communion. Sacrament is a literal transfusion of energy from God to the human soul. When the Eucharistic elements consecrated, they become Christ’s body and blood. With the exception of Baptism, the other six sacraments convey grace as a letter conveys meaning.
The Eastern Orthodox Church officially separated from the Roman Church in 1054 A.D. The two share far more than they differ over. They honor the same Sacraments, and share the same intention regarding the Teaching Authority. Although one of the differences is the Eastern Church sees fewer issues on which unanimity is called for. Another difference is in how many dogmas are appropriate. The two Churches differ on how they are arrived at. The Roman Church holds that in the final analysis they are delivered through the Pope. The Eastern Church holds God’s truth through the “conscience of the Church.” All Christians consider themselves to be “members of one another.” The Eastern Church has taken this notion most seriously. Each Christian is working to attain salvation with and through the rest of the Church. Orthodoxy as a whole carries this to its logical limit by picking up on Paul’s theme of the entire universe as “groaning and in travail” as it awaits redemption. Church dogmas reflect the conscience of Christians generally. Priests need not remain celibate. Christianity believes that reality contains two realms being the natural and the supernatural. After death the human live moves to the supernatural domain. Roman Catholicism holds that the Trinity dwells in every Christian soul.
The break between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism had a basic cause that was a new conception of Christianity that emerged. Two central features are Justification by Faith and the Protestant Principle. The Protestant conception includes a movement of the mind, movement of the heart, and a movement of the will. When Protestants say that human beings are justified they are saying that it is a movement of the self on all three of its fronts that effects the change. Unless they awaken the actual experience of God’s love they too do not suffice. No number of good deeds performed can be counted on to change the way one experiences life in the present. Protestant Principle warns against absolutizing the relative and warns against idolatry. Idolatry is not limited to idol worship but also is giving one’s life first and foremost to something in the finite world. Protestants consider the dogma of papal infallibility as idolatrous. Protestants believe that faith must be a living experience. They also speak for its distinctive version of faith including the Bible because they hold it in such high esteem. They believe the Bible to be ultimate and present Protestants with their clearest picture of God’s goodness and the way human beings can connect with it. It is also believed that the most reliable way they can enter the divine life is by reading this record of God’s grace with total openness and divine intent. The Bible is the prospect that people will derive different truths from their encounters, which has resulted in the splintering of Protestantism into innumerable denominations. However Protestants do not consider diversity to be bad.

5. Utilizing Smith's material in chapter seven discuss the Jewish
quest for "meaning." What does Smith means by this and give numerous
examples/"details" /specifics from the text to illustrate it.

There is an estimated one-third of the western world has Jewish ancestry. The Jewish quest for meaning was rooted in their understanding of the Supreme Being. The glory of the Hebrew search for meaning lies in its refusal to give into any prosaic, chaotic, amoral, or hostile characteristics. Hebrew differs from neighboring religions by focusing on the personal traits of the Other in a single, nature transcending will. The Bible, in its nature was entirely created by, and under the sovereignty of the Lord of all being. They believe that if God is that to which one gives oneself completely, to have more than one God is to live a divided life. The supreme achievement of Jewish theology lay not in its monotheism but the character it ascribed to its single God. The account of creation is in the opening chapter of Genesis within the Bible. Within their views they believe that on one hand we can do something about problems and on the other hand we are helpless pawns. Much of the Greek thoughts take a dim view of matter, as well so does Indian however, the Jewish view of the material world is “very good” and radically departs from Greek and Indian philosophies. They would not even renounce the body in death, which gives a reason for their belief in resurrection. Another part of their anthropology is that without losing sight of human weakness they saw concomitantly its unspeakable grandeur. One of their greatest heroes is David who is presented in the Book of Samuel has been called the most honest historical writing of the ancient world. Jews forge their destinies through freely chosen decisions because they have never questioned human freedom. For Jews moral weakness is weighed heavier, “I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me” (Ps 51:5) In the Jewish concept of God they view God as loving and people are seen as God’s beloved children. God told Braham to go to a new land and find new people and because Abraham did that he became the first Hebrew to be considered the first of a “chosen people.” The historical outlook of the Israelites is different from that of India and Israel’s neighbors because they had a different idea of God. The Jews established history as both important and subject to review. The groundwork for the social conscience was created by Judaism and has been a hallmark of Western civilization. These are protected by religious sanctions. The Hebrew prophets were a reforming political force which history has never gone beyond and perhaps never will. Within the 613 commandments of the Rabbinic Law there are the Ten Commandments where there are four ethical precepts. They were created to control the four principal danger zones in human relationships; sex, force, wealth, and speech. When they talk of force, “Thou shalt not murder.” In regards to sex, “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” As for wealth, “Thou shalt not steal.” And for speech, “Thou shalt not bear false witness.” The Western Civilization owes its convictions of individual responsibility, social structures of their society, and a basic idea of justice to the Prophets. The prophetic movement passed through three stages; The Prophetic Guilds, Individual Pre-Writing Prophets, and the great Writing Prophets. The prophets heard God’s warning to shape up or suffer the consequences. They believe that every human is a child of God and therefore in possession of rights that even kings must respect. The deepest meaning the Jews found in their Exile was that of vicarious suffering. The meaning for their suffering climaxed in Messianism. There was an upward tilt of Jewish hopes and imaginings impressed on the Western mind. The Messianic idea came to have two sides one being a politico-national side and a spiritual-universal side. Another tension reflected the restorative and utopian impulses in Judaism. Messianists differed concerning whether the new order would be continuous with previous history or replace it with an aeon that was supernaturally different in kind. Judaism is the most historically minded of all the religions and finds holiness and history inseparable. The Jews recorded Yahweh’s (God) disclosures in a book called the Torah. The Israelite’s God had come to them through an historical event. Because of this the Jews do not consider themselves special. They in fact believe that they were not singled out for privileges but for responsibilities, they were chosen to serve.


Thank God you (Professor Diem) for providing an Internet sources to research Judaism. Cause this chapter in our book really didn’t make that much sense to me. Bellow is a summary I gathered from the Internet recourses you provided that I feel were not mentioned within our chapter in our book:

In 2000 BCE God made Abraham the patriarch of many nations. Judaism is an Abrahamic Religion because it can trace its religious roots to Abraham. Judaism prohibits against the spelling of the full title of God. During the extent of this essay God is referred to as G-d. There are Jewish Scriptures called Tanakh, however called the Old Testament by Christians which consists of three books; the Torha (which has Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy), the Nevi’im (which is composed of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremia, Ezekiel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zachariah, and Malach Isaiah) and the Ketuvim (which has the Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes, Ruth, Esther, Lamentations, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Chronicles). The basic Jewish beliefs were written by Rabbi Hillel during Medieval times and are as follows; (1) God exists, (2) God is one and unique, (3) God is incorporeal, (4) God is eternal, (5) Prayer is to be directed to God alone and to no other, (6) The words of the prophets are true, (7) Moses was the greatest of the prophets and his prophecies are true, (8) The Written Torah (first 5 books of the Bible) and Oral Torah (teachings now contained in the Talmud and other writings) were given to Moses, (9) There will be no other Torah, (10) God knows the thoughts and deeds of men, (11) God will reward the good and punish the wicked, (12) The Messiah will come, (13) The dead will be resurrected. Some Jewish Practices include observation of the weekly Sabbath as a day of rest. This starts at sundown on Friday evening. Jewish males must have a regular attendance at Synagogue. There is an annual celebration of Passover held each spring were a ritual Seder meal is eaten. A Seder meal is where six foods are placed on a seder plate; Karpas (veggies dipped in salt water), Maror (bitter herbs), Chazeret (bitter veggies), Choroset (apple, nuts & spices with wine). There is also Zeroa (lamb shankbone) and Beitzah (roasted egg), which are not eaten on the seder plate. There are other celebrations like Rosh Hashanah, which is the Jewish New Year. Yom Kippur, which is 10 days from Rosh Hashanah and is a day of fasting until sundown. Sukkoth, which is harvest festival for 8 days. Hanukkah where an 8-day feast occurs. These are just some of the celebrations that occur within the Jewish religion. There are different sects of Judaism which include; Conservative, Orthodox, and Reform (these three are the largest). There is also Humanistic, and Reconstructionist. The Jewish community has some dietary laws, which are described as eating kosher-style. These laws are described within the Kashrut and describe foods they can and cannot eat and how they must be prepared and eaten. Fruits and veggies must not have bugs or worms in side of them. Meat and dairy must be kept separate. Utensils that are used must be kept separate (ie. Utensils used to cook dairy must not be used to cook meat.).

6. Detail the life and teachings of Muhammad according to Smith.
Basically, give an outline of Islam as "he presents it." For this
question do not draw from another source. I want to see that you
read his work. Make sure to discuss the evolution of the Islamic
tradition, etc. Next, discuss the videos assigned (two total...discuss
both separately) on the website. What did you learn from the films?

The word Islam comes from the world salam which has a first meaning of peace and a secondary meaning of surrender. This peace in which salam means comes from surrendering one’s life to God or Allah. Allah translates literally as “the God” because there is only one god. In the Koran (which is considered their “Bible) Allah created the world, then human beings. The first man was Adam and the first woman was Eve (just like Christianity). The story in the Koran and in the Bible is the same up until the point where Abraham banish Ishmael and Hagar from the tribe. Then the Koran becomes different within its story. Ishmael goes to a place where Mecca was to rise and his descendants, his descendants live in Arabia and became Muslims. In the later half of the 6th century A.D Muhammad who is a prophet helped Islam reach its definitive form. They also believe that there had been authentic prophets of God before him however, he was their culmination and called The Seal of the Prophets. Muhammad (which means highly praised) was born approximately 570 A.D. into the leading tribe of Mecca called the Koreish. His uncle adopted him because both of his parents died while he was young. Muhammad was pure-hearted and beloved in his circle, he was also said to be of a sweet and gentle disposition. When was became mature he entered the caravan business and at the age of twenty-five entered the service of a wealthy widow named Khadija. His demeanor impressed her and eventually the two grew to love one another and were married. His ministry began after fifteen years. During these years Muhammad wanted solitude and began to visit a cave in the outskirts of Mecca. Through vigils Muhammad became convinced that Allah was greater than others had perceived him to be. This was expressed in the greatest phrase of the Arabic language, “La ilaha Illa ‘llah!” which means There is no god but God! Around 610 A.D. during a night referred to as the Night of Power, an angel in the form of a man came to Muhammad who’s words Muhammad felt as if the words the angel spoke were branded into his soul; “Proclaim in the name of your Lord who created man from blood coagulated! Proclaim: your Lord is wondrous kind, who teaches by the pen, Things men knew not, being blind.” (Koran 96:1-3) He became frightened and went home to tell Khadija he either became a prophet or a madman. After hearing his full story she became his first convert. Muhammad’s life was no longer his own and had became for God and for humanity. Preaching the words that God was to transmit for twenty-three years. Muhammad had insisted that Allah had not sent him to work wonders. Nature was the only miracle that Muhammad claimed was that of the Koran itself. Muhammad’s message created a violently hostile reaction for three reasons: its uncompromising monotheism threatened polytheistic beliefs and the considerable revenue that was coming to Mecca from pilgrimages to its 360 shrines (one for each day of the lunar year); its moral teachings demanded an end to the licentiousness that citizens club to; and its social content challenged an unjust order. The Meccan leaders did not like any of this and began their attack with by ridiculing him, which proved ineffective. They then tried threats and persecution with did not work either. Muhammad continued to throw his heart and soul into preaching gaining listeners even though the odds were against him. By the end of the decade Muhammad had been acclaimed as Allah’s authentic spokesman. The Meccan nobility had become alarmed and wanted to get rid of Muhammad. In 622 A.D. Muhammad set out for Yathrib, this migration became known as the higra and was regarded as a turning point in world history. Yathrib then became known as Medinatal-Nabi, the City of the Prophet, and then as Medina, “the city”. Once Muhammad arrived in Medina he assumed a different role than that of a prophecy. He was pressed into administration. Even as a statesman he was brilliant, gentle and merciful, even to his enemies. The remaining ten years of his life he welded the five heterogeneous and conflicting tribes of the city into orderly confederation. People began to flock from every part of Arabia once his reputation had spread. They wanted to see the man who had wrought the miracle. However the Meccans attacked Medina changing victories from one hand to another for several years however ended permanently in Muhammad’s. Eight years after hijra Muhammad returned to Mecca as a conqueror and forgave his former oppressors and then returned to Medina. In 632 A.D., two years later, Muhammad had died.

Muhammad considered the Koran to be the only miracle God worked through him; he called it God’s “Standing miracle”. Muslims tend to read the Koran literally. Muhammad would receive the words of the Koran when he would enter trance-like states. At first the voice sounded like reverberating bells but over the course of twenty-three years became one single voice that identified itself as Gabriel’s. They would come through manageable segments that his followers would memorize and record on bones, bark, leaves, and scraps of parchment with God preserving their accuracy. The Koran is said to be a continuation of God’s revelations from the Jews and Christians. It passes judgment of the Old and New Testaments and states that it has two defects, which of course the Koran is free of. One being that the Hebrew and Christian Bibles only has a portion of the truth, which is why the Koran has similarities with these Bibles. Second the transmission of their Bibles is partially corrupted. The book however does present some obstacles. No other language seems able to play on human emotions the way Arabic can. The contents are also like no other religious text; Unlike the Upanishads it is not explicitly metaphysical. Unlike the Indian epics it has not grounded its theology in dramatic narratives. Unlike Hebrew Scriptures it is not based on historical ones. Also unlike the Gospels and the Bhagavad-Gita God is not revealed in human form. The Koran is directly doctrinal and indirectly historical. God presents himself in the first person within the Koran and describes himself and makes his laws known. The Koran is considered a manual of definitions, guarantees, a road map for the will, and a collection of maxims to meditate on in private in order to deepen one’s sense of the divine glory.

The Basic theological concepts of Islam are virtually identical with those of Judaism and Christianity; God, Creation, the Human Self, and the Day of Judgment. God is immaterial and therefore invisible and the religion is based around him. Muslims see monotheism as Islam’s contribution not simply to the Arabs but to religion in its entirety. Hinduism never arrived at the worship of the single God. Judaism was correctly instructed however confined to the people of Israel. Christians compromised their monotheism by deifying Christ. Jesus is recognized, as a prophet by the Koran as well as his virgin birth however, does not agree with the doctrine of the Incarnation and the Trinity. God is depicted as having Unlimited power which inspires fear so Muslims fear Allah for the magnitude of the consequences that people face for their sins. The fear for Allah is outweighed by his love for his creatures. Creation of course comes from God where Allah deliberately created the human self. The nature of the human self is unequivocally good. Here is where Islam comes close to the Christian doctrine of original sin where it is the concept of forgetting. Forgetting to acknowledge that life is a gift from its Creator and surrendering to that belief. In Islamic parlance that to be a slave to Allah is to be freed from other degrading forms of slavery, greed, anxiety, and ambition. The final part of the doctrine is the Day of Judgment where the soul will either go to the Heavens or the Hells. Allah is exempt from having direct involvement altogether with this choice because souls judge themselves. If the self is extracted from the realm of lies it can ascend to the Heavens. The Koran is a book that emphasizes deeds rather than ideas.

Islam teaches people to live by teaching them to walk the straight path. God’s revelation to humankind is expressed in four great stages in which God revealed the truth of monotheism to Abraham, the Ten Commandments to Moses, and the Golden Rule to Jesus. The first Pillar is known as shahadah, “There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is His Prophet.” The Muslim faith gets its authenticity from Muhammad and the validity within his revelation. It is said that in each male or females life they must recite the shahadah correctly, slowly, thoughtfully, aloud, with full understanding, and with heartfelt conviction for it is the ultimate answer to all questions. The Koran considers keeping human life in perspective the most difficult lesson because human beings are derivative. Muslims must pray five times a day. This number was arrived at through negotiations by Moses and Muhammad even though Moses still considered it too many. There is a specific five times of the day in which they pray; on arising, when the sun is overhead, in mid-afternoon, at sunset, and before retiring. Islam does not emphasis congregational worship however; Muslims are expected to pray in mosques when they can and encouraged to do so Friday noon. A Koranic Revelation then instructed them to pray in the direction of Mecca. The prayers begin by standing but reach their climax in the fetal position with the forehead touching the floor. Charity is the third pillar of Islam. The Koran is explicit; annually, 2.5 % of one’s holdings should be distributed to the poor. The observance of Ramadan takes the fourth pillar of Islam. It is considered a holy month in the Islamic calendar because the Koranic revelation commenced and Muhammad migrated from Mecca. To commemorate these great occasions able-bodied Muslims fast during Ramadan and are not sexually active. This makes one reflect, teaches self-discipline and reminds one of their frailty and dependence. It also teaches compassion for those who are hungry. The fifth pillar is pilgrimage is my favorite part of this reading. Every Muslim who is physically and economically able to is expected to journey to Mecca with the purpose of heightening the pilgrim’s commitment to God and his revealed will. It is a reminder of human equality (which is why its my favorite) because pilgrims exchange their clothes for two simple sheet-like garments. The gathering also promotes international understanding by bringing together people from multiple countries. The things Muslims do (the Five Pillars of Islam) are to support the house of Islam. There also should not gamble, steal, lie, eat pork, drink intoxicants, and be sexually promiscuous.

There was virtually no restraint on violence before Muhammad. Women were regarded more as possessions than human beings, drunkenness and gambling were alive in the city. However within a half century a remarkable change in the moral climate occurred. Because the Koran joins faith, politics, religion and society inseparably it is not only a spiritual guide but a legal compendium.


7. Compare and contrast Islam with Judaism and then compare it with
Christianity. How is it similar to Judaism and how is it different?
How is it similar to Christianity and how is it different? Draw from
the reading. There is a lot to discuss here. Discuss each
separately. Do not just list a few ideas but develop a well thought
out essay here. This is an important essay.


Islam vs. Judaism
Both believe in the Bible but Islam starts to differ where Abraham banish Ishmael and Hagar from the tribe. Also Judaism calls their bible the Bible and Islam refers to the bible as the Koran. Judaism also believes that the Bible was entirely created by, and under the sovereignty of the Lord of all being. Whereas Muslims believe that their prophet Muhammad wrote the Koran by transmitting messages from an angel named Gabriel. Both are monotheistic religions. . The Koran is said to be a continuation of God’s revelations from the Jews and Christians. It passes judgment of the Old and New Testaments and states that it has two defects, which of course the Koran is free of. One being that the Hebrew and Christian Bibles only has a portion of the truth, which is why the Koran has similarities with these Bibles. Second the transmission of their Bibles is partially corrupted. The book however does present some obstacles. Both believe that God created human life. Juadaism is the most historically minded of all the religions and finds holiness and history inseparable. Unlike Hebrew Scriptures the Koran is not based on historical events. The Koran is directly doctrinal and indirectly historical. Judaism view God as loving and people are seen as God’s beloved children. Where Muslims fear Allah for the magnitude of the consequences that people face for their sins. Muslims believe that the nature of the human self is unequivocally good. However Judaism believes, “I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me” (Ps 51:5). Both believe in the Messiah coming to earth. Muslims recognize Jesus as a prophet as well as his virgin birth however does not agree with the doctrine of the Incarnation and the Trinity. Judaism does not recognize Jesus what so ever. Muslims observe Ramadan where able bodied Muslims fast and are not sexually active. Jews observe Yom Kippur where 10 days from Rosh Hashanah and is a day of fasting until sundown. Muslims do not eat pork or drink intoxicants however in Judaism they drink wine and do eat meat. There are dietary laws, which are described as eating kosher style. These laws are described within the Kashrut and describe foods they can and cannot eat and how they must be prepared and eaten. Muslims do not gamble, steal, lie, and cannot be sexually promiscuous. In Judaism they are not to commit murder, commit adultery, not steal, and not bear false witness (lie). The basic theological concepts of Islam are virtually identical with those of Judaism; God, Creation, the Human Self, and the Day of Judgment. God is immaterial and therefore invisible and the religion is based around him. Muslims pray five times a day where in Judaism they do not. Muslims and in Judaism God’s revelation to humankind is expressed in four great stages in which God revealed the truth of monotheism to Abraham, the Ten commandments to Moses, however only Muslims believe in the Golden Rule that Jesus revealed. Muslims do not emphasis congregational worship however, are expected to pray in mosques when they can. Judaism worship is in temples and on a regular basis. In the Koran it is explained that an annual 2.5% of one’s holdings should be distributed to the poor. Within the Jewish faith they have no such requirement. They also do not have any sort of pilgrimage however Muslims do. Every Muslim who is physically and economically able to is expected to journey to Mecca with the purpose of heightening the pilgrim’s commitment to God and his revealed will.

Judaism vs Christianity

The biggest difference between Judaism and Christianity is in the belief of Jesus Christ. Christians believe in Jesus Christ, his virgin birth, and resurrection. Judaism does not recognize Jesus what so ever. Their belief systems both include the Old Testament however Christians include the New Testament. They accordingly both believe in everything that comes along with the Old Testament such as the 10 commandments. Being that Christians are the only ones who believe in Jesus they are the only ones who believe in the Golden Rule. Christians specifically the Catholic sect believe that the earthly head of the Church is the pope. In Judaism there is no earthly head. They also focus on the personal traits of themselves in order to transcend to heavens. Each Christian however is working to attain salvation with and through the rest of the Church. In the Jewish community there is an annual celebration of Passover held each spring were a ritual Seder meal is eaten. Passover is observed in the Christian faith however does not have a Seder meal. There are no dietary laws within the Christian community. However Judaism has some dietary laws, which are described as eating kosher style. These laws are described within the Kashrut and describe foods they can and cannot eat and how they must be prepared and eaten. Fruits and veggies must not have bugs or worms in side of them. Meat and diary must be kept separate. Utensils that are used must be kept separate. (ie. Utensils used to cook dairy must not be used to cook meat.)

8. Of all the religions we studied this semester (Eastern and
Western) which one do you find most appealing to you (outside of
your own religious tradition)? Explain why. Offer interesting
personal insights here and what attracts you to this alternative
philosophy. Explain in depth---there is a lot one can write here!!
How can the ideas of this religion impact your life? Explain in
depth.

I find myself enjoying both the Hindu and Buddhist traditions. They are completely different from that of the religion I was brought up to follow being that of Catholicism. Catholicism is monotheistic where Hinduism believes in many gods. Buddhism does not believe in a creator of life at all they have a belief in life always in existence thus never having a beginning nor an end. Although I enjoy Hinduism a little bit more. Simply for the fact that they except everyone’s point of view and even recognize Jesus. Their ideas of “what we really want” are especially heart warming for me. Pleasure, success, and duty are not what we really want, the Hindus say: what we really want is to be, to know, and to be happy. Pleasure, success, and duty are only approximations of what we really want; they are apertures through which our true wants come through to us. The whole foundation of Hinduism is that there is one God that appears in many ways. One of the main reasons I find myself drawn to Hinduism is yoga. I practice yoga four to five times a week and more so if there is a special event or workshop going on in the community. I have been able to pull myself out of a deep depression because of my reconnection to my spirit through yoga. I love that they use this as a tool among other tools as a path to God. There is no one-way or right way, in fact you can take bits and parts of each path and make your own. Within our readings it has been described as such:
Hinduism’s way for actualizing the human potential come under the heading of yoga. Yoga is a method of training designed to lead to integration or union. It includes physical exercises, but its ultimate goal is union with God. There are four spiritual trails that the Hindus use towards this goal. There are four paths because we do not all start from the same point. Because there are different spiritual personality types Hinduism has identified the principal types and delineates the programs that are suited to each. For each type of personality (reflective, emotional, active and energetic, and lastly experimental) Hinduism prescribes a distinct yoga. The first step of every yoga is replacing bad habits with good ones such as non-injury, truthfulness, non-stealing, self-control, cleanliness, contentment, self-discipline, and a desire to reach the goal.

The ideas of religion, any religion can impact ones life greatly. Giving morals and goals and one a sense of purpose. Having something to live for in its self a reason to believe in a religion for most people. It also teaches one right from wrong. If a thief never knew it was wrong to steal he would continue to steal. However faced with morals presented within a religion he might be persuaded to have a change of career. Ideas like the Golden Rule and Karma that are similar basically state to treat one, as you would want to be treated. If we all did that disrespect would not be in existence nor would cheating, lying, stealing, or adultery. Religion also gives one a sense of belonging. We as human beings need a community to belong to and to connect to. We have an undying desire to communicate, which we can find within a community. Religion also offers an answer to the question us as humans ask repeatedly, why are we here?, where did we come from? These questions have not even been attempted to be answered by any other means.

THE END!!!

NAMASTE to you all!!

Religious Literature: The New Testament

5. Religious Literature: New Testament: Read four Gospel accounts (Mathew, Mark, Luke and John) in the New Testament dealing with the death and resurrection of Jesus (the end sections of each gospel). Note the similarities of each and the differences of each. Pay close attention to each pertinent detail. Write up your findings.


Mathew

Within this section of the New Testament it traces Jesus’ ancestors back to the biblical patriarch Abraham who was the founding father of the Israelite people. It describes Jesus’ conception and how Mary was “found to be with child from the Holy Spirit” (1:18). Joseph is praised for not abandoning his fiancé. In Bethlehem Jesus was born. He and his parents were visited by the three wise men from the East bearing gifts. They had followed the star to Bethlehem. Because their king Herod the Great hears that a baby named Jesus is the “king of the Jews” (2:2), he ordered that all young children in Bethlehem were to be killed. To avoid Jesus being killed Joseph, Mary, and Jesus go to Egypt. They later return to Israel after Herod is dead and then move to Nazareth to a town in the north known as Galilee. Jesus then grows up. The prophet John the Baptist, who lived off of wild honey and locusts and would wear a loincloth, began to prophesize throughout Judea stating that Jesus was the one who will come to “baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (3:11). John the Baptist later meets Jesus and baptizes him where he receives the blessing of God, who says, “This is my Son, the Beloved” (3:17). Jesus then enters the wilderness for forty days without food or water and is tested by Satan. After the forty days Jesus emerges triumphant and begins to preach his most repeated proclamation: “Repent! For the kingdom of heaven has come near” (4:17). This is when Jesus’ ministry begins. His earliest followers were Simon, Peter, Andrew, James, and John. Early on his ministry reached a peak with the Sermon on the Mount because it deeply impressed his large group of followers. The sermon emphasizes humility, obedience, and love of one’s neighbor, the proper way to pray, and trusting in God. Jesus also says that the poor, meek, and hungry are blessed. Jesus travels through Galilee attracting more and more people. There are ten miracles that he performs that are also described in the Gospel of Mark. He cures a paralytic, a leper, a hemorrhaging woman, a centurion’s servant, and Peter’s mother-in-law, he calms a storm, exorcizes demons, brings a dead girl back to live, and gives eyesight to the blind. During this time he (Jesus) appoints twelve apostles to preach that the “kingdom of heaven has come near”. They are told that they will be persecuted but should not be afraid. Jesus also instructs them to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, and cast out demons, all without payment (10:7). Chapter 11 focuses on Jesus himself and goes over opposition Jesus faces. Jesus associates with sinners, tax collectors, and prostitutes and some people disapprove of this. They call him names but Jesus does not apologize he admonishes those who reject him. He responds with a collection of parables; the parables of the sower, the weeds, the mustard seed, and the leaven and explains that his disciples are part of his family. After traveling throughout Galilee he comes to his hometown of Nazareth where he is rejected. Even though he performs miracles people become more resistant and do not believe him. The miracles he performs are multiplying loaves of bread and fish, which give him the ability to feed thousands on very little food. Even after continuing to heal the sick and preaching the message of spiritual righteousness his disciples repeatedly lack faith in him. When he walks across water his disciples assume he must be a ghost. Simon is the only one who properly professes his faith, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (16:16). Simon is then renamed by Jesus as “Peter” and announces, “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church” (16:18). He then lays out the rules for communal relations among Christians, emphasizing humility, forgiveness, and obedience to his teachings. He also forbids divorce and advocates chastity. In Jerusalem he is greeted by cheering crowds and expels moneychangers from the Jewish temple, “My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of robbers” (21:13). Jesus sees the wickedness of Jerusalem and tells his disciples to be prepared for the end of the world but the Son of man, Jesus himself, will come and the righteous will be saved. Chapter 26 talks about Jesus celebrating the Last Supper with the disciples during which Jesus indicates that Judas will betray him. He also predicts that after his (Jesus’) death the other disciples will flee and Peter will betray him as well. During the Last Supper the breaking of bread and drinking wine with the disciples initiates a ritual that has become known as the Eucharist. The Eucharist’s is where the consumption of bread and wine symbolizes Jesus’ body and blood. Afterwards Jesus goes into Gethsemane, which is a garden, and prays to God asking if it is possible to escape suffering. After leaving the garden he is approached by Judas who is accompanied by a mob and a great number of Roman soldiers. Judas identifies Jesus as the man who claims to be the Son of God by kissing him. Jesus is then arrested and brought to the Jewish court and convicted of blasphemy. For a final ruling Calaphas, the high priest, sends him to Pointius Pilate who is the governor of Rome. Pilate is indecisive and turns to the crowd for judgment and they all chant, “Let him be crucified!” (27:22) and he agrees. A crown of thorns is placed on his head and lead out, mocked, and crucified. While on the cross, Jesus cries out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (27:46) and then dies. There is are many woman at the execution with whom include Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee. After his passing he is buried by Joseph of Arimathea and a guard is set over the tomb. Three days after the crucifixion Mary and Mary Magdalene go to visit Jesus’ tomb to anoint his body with oils and spices but find the tomb empty. They are astonished and see an angel who tells them that Jesus has been resurrected from the dead and they can find him in Galilee. They women leave the tomb and are greeted by Jesus who asks them to have his disciples meet him in Galilee. The guards report to the city’s chief priests what has happened and the priests bribe the guards to report that Jesus’ body was stolen while they had fallen asleep. In Galilee Jesus teaches his disciples to baptize unbelievers as they travel throughout the world.


Mark

This Gospel begins by describing Jesus’ adult life, “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (1:1). It tells of John the Baptist baptizing Jesus after which the Holy Spirit of God recognizes Jesus as his son. It tells again of Jesus going into the wilderness where Satan tests him for forty days however Jesus comes back triumphant. He travels to Galilee and gathers the first of his disciples Simon and Andrew who are brothers who are both fishermen. Jesus tells him that if they follow him he will show them how to fish for people rather than fish. Simon and Andres follow Jesus as well as James and John. In Galilee Jesus cleanses a leper. He also heals a paralytic, Simon’s sick mother-in-law, and a man with a withered hand. These miracles have been mentioned in the Gospel of Mathew as well. These miracles cause crowds to gather to watch Jesus however become fearful. The followers of Herod and Pharisees begin plotting to kill Jesus however he stays focused on his ministry. Through the miracles Jesus’ performs he displays the supernatural power of his authority. During which he becomes misunderstood and rejected. These accounts are again mentioned in the Gospel of Mathew. He is continued to be spoken of abusively in his hometown of Nazareth. Jesus’ ministry is mentioned to King Herod Antipas who is the ruler of Galilee. Again this is mentioned in the Gospel of Mathew. He tells his disciples to disperse and has them spread the Gospel and to heal the sick. It seems as though the Gospels of both Mathew and Mark are very similar through the course of the story. One of the differences is Mark delves into more detail when Jesus feeds people from a loaf of bread. Mark actually indicates that Jesus divides five loaves of bread and two fish and feeds all 5,000 people. Mark also mentions that When the Pharisees question Jesus about abandoning the traditional Jewish laws he replies by saying that it is important to obey the spirit of the law rather than simply going through the technical actions that he law proscribes. He says that human intention, not human behavior determines righteousness. Mark also indicates another similar miracle where in Palestine he multiplies a small amount of bread and fish to feed 4,000 people. In Mark he accounts of when they travel across Galilee that Jesus appears to some of his disciples to be transfigured and made of brilliantly white light. Not only does he preach against divorce like in Mathew but against remarriage as well. Like in the Gospel of Mathew Jesus journeys to Jerusalem and drives the moneychangers from the Jewish temple and preaches of loving one’s neighbor. However in Mark says that loving one’s neighbor is the greatest commandment. In the Gospel of Mark Jesus talks about the eternal sin being one of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Jesus goes to the garden to pray and once he returns he is approached by Judas with the chief priests and a crowd. (Just like Mathews Gospel.) Judas kisses Jesus to identify him to the priests in which he is arrested and taken to the court of the high priest. Then the Jews deliver him to Pointius Pilate and agrees to crucify him where Jesus cries out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (15:34) He dies and is then buried by Joseph of Arimathea. Mary Magdalen and other woman come to Jesus’ grave on the third day after the crucifixion just like in the Gospel of Mathew hand are told by an angel of Jesus’ resurrection and told them to tell Peter of Jesus’ resurrection. However they failed to do so. Jesus then appears to his apostles in resurrected form. It seems as though Mark relies much on the Gospel of Mathew for much of its information. However adds additional information as well.


Luke

In two chapters of Luke the story of the miraculous births of Jesus and the man who becomes his prophet John the Baptist is told. It differs from the other two Gospels when the angel Gabriel appears to Zechariah and tells him that his wife Elizabeth is pregnant. Soon afterwards, Gabriel appears again but to Elizabeth’s relative the virgin Mary, who is betrothed to Joseph and tells her that she is going to give birth to a child by the grace of the Holy Spirit. This Gospel continues to differ from the others by adding the story of how Zechariah was struck mute for the duration of the pregnancy as a punishment for his lack of belief in Gabriel’s prophecy. The story proceeds and is more similar to the Gospels before. Mary and Joseph travel to Bethlehem where Jesus is born. It differs again when Jesus is presented at the temple where two Jewish prophets, Simeon and Anna, recognize the sanctity of the child. Again becomes similar to the other two Gospels when speaking of Jesus growing up and being baptized by John the Baptist. However differs when Luke gives Jesus’ genealogy all the way back to the first man Adam. Again is similar when speaking of Jesus being tested by Satan for forty days in the wilderness and returns victorious. He is rejected in his hometown of Nazareth and then wanders through Galilee and works many miracles. One miracle that is mentioned here and not in other Gospels is the miracle enabling Simon Peter, a fisherman, to catch many fish. The Gospel becomes similar again when he against his apostles. He encounters the Pharisees who question his adherence to traditional Jewish laws such as the Sabbath observance, fasting and what not. He gains popularity and delivers a shorter version of Mathew’s great Sermon on the Mount. It continues to differ from the other Gospels when John the Baptist who is imprisoned, sends messengers to ask Jesus who he is. Rather than give a straightforward answer he responds only by pointing out the many miracles he has worked. It becomes similar to the prior Gospels again when talking of Jesus’ travels continuing as he preaches and works miracles. These miracles include calming a storm, curing a man possessed by a demon and a woman with a hemorrhage, and revives the daughter of Jairus. Jesus sends twelve Apostles out to preach the Gospel and to cure illness. He performs another miracle of the loaves and fish multiplying to feed 5,000 people. It begins to differ yet again from the other Gospels when it goes into Jesus questioning the faith of his apostles by asking, “Who do you say that I am?” and Peter replies, “The Messiah of God.” The Gospel of Luke becomes similar again when Jesus predicts that he will be executed and resurrected and continues to travel toward Jerusalem. Yet differs again when he appoints seventy missionaries to spread his word among all the nations. When he tells his disciples how they should pray; in this Gospel he teaches them the Lord’s Prayer, and says, “Ask, and it will be given you” (11:9). When Jesus warns his followers to be prepared for the unexpected final judgment and of the danger of riches it is similar to the previous Gospels. More information than the other Gospels is added to the story when Jesus arrives in Jerusalem and foresees the destruction of the great city as a punishment for its failure to recognize him. The similar story continues when Jesus goes into the temple and compares the chief priests to wicked tenants, who will be evicted and punished by the Lord. Jesus celebrates a Seder meal with his disciples, which later becomes known as the Last Supper. The creation of the Eucharist happens here where the ritual consumption of wine and bread are symbols of Jesus’ blood and body. During the meal Jesus also foretells that Simon Peter will falter in his faith. The Gospel ends unlike other Gospels with the story of Jesus healing a woman with a haemorrhage accidentally. She is in a crowd and touches Jesus’ cloak and is then miraculously healed. He continues into a family’s home where he raises a young girl from the dead.



John

This Gospel opens up by stating that John is God’s witness to the light. John is questioned by the priests the Jews sent asking who he is. John replies with, “I am 'the voice of one crying in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the Lord' as Isaiah the prophet said." (1:23). The following day John saw Jesus walking towards him and he identified him as “The Lamb of God” (1:29). John, Andrew and Simon Peter began to follow Jesus’. Simon proclaimed, "We have found the Messiah!" (meaning, of course, Christ).(1:39) Jesus then renamed Simon, the son of John, Peter. Jesus then traveled to Galilee. Up until this part of the story it has been similar to the other Gospels. Here there is more information added to the story. Two days after having arrived in Galilee Jesus, Jesus’ mother, and his disciples attend a wedding where they had run out of wine. Jesus asked the servants to gather the six very large stone water-jars that stood on the floor. The servants were instructed to fill them with water and then to take it to the master of ceremonies. By the time it had arrived to the master of ceremonies it had been transformed into wine. Afterwards Jesus, his mother, and his disciples traveled to Jerusalem. This is where the story again becomes like the previous Gospels. In Jerusalem Jesus drives out the pigeon-dealers out of the Temple. Through a conversation with Nocodermus Jesus states his reason for coming down from heaven to earth. To save earth and that any one who believes in him will not be judged at all but those who do not are already condemned. Jesus then travels to Judea with his disciples. During which Jesus has a conversation with John explaining Heaven and how to gain eternal life through believing in God. Jesus then meets a Samaritan woman asking for a drink of water. She is surprised, "How can you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?" Jesus doesn’t answer the question straightforward but tells her about how praying with just your eyes close will change. Praying in spirit will be the new way to pray. Jesus then went to Galilee to heal a young boy who was on the verge of death. Jesus then went to Jerusalem and met a sick man whom he told to “Pick up your bed and walk!” (5:8) The man then picked up his bed and walked. He had become healed. Because these events had occurred on the Sabbath the Jews wanted to persecute Jesus and also because he referred to his father as God. Jesus then refers to him self as the man that Moses had wrote about. Jesus then crossed the Lake of Galilee. Many people who were hungry around 5,000 followed him. He took five loaves of bread and a couple of fish and multiplied it to feed the hungry crowd. The next day he walked on water toward the men. They were terrified but assured them that it was he and they calmed down. Later on Jesus speaks of one of the apostles who will betray him, Judas. He continued to move around Galilee towards a festival, which he delayed, going into because he knew the Jews wanted to kill him. Then he proceeds to the Temple in which he proclaims his authority as the Son of God. Jesus reassured the Jews, "If you are faithful to what I have said, you are truly my disciples. And you will know the truth and the truth will set you free!" (8:31) They argued with Jesus over whether or not he was mad and the Son of God and tried to stone him. Jesus made his way through the Temple and escaped. On the Sabbath Day Jesus came upon a man who was blind from birth. He made clay out of his saliva and the dirt and applied it to the man’s eyes and said, "Go and wash in the pool of Siloam" (9:6) and his eyesight was restored. The Pharisees hear of what has occurred and send for the man that was once blind who can now see. And he confirms the stories they have heard. Jesus then walks around inside the Temple in Solomon's cloisters and is approached by the Jews who want to stone him for saying, “I and the Father are One." (10:25) He escaped their arrest and went across the Jordan. Jesus then traveled to Bethlehem where he had found that his friend Lazarus has been dead and in the grave for four days. He went to the grave and said, "Lazarus, come out!" (11:43) and he came out and was alive again. The Pharisees heard of these events and became threatened and planned to kill Jesus. These events are similar to the ones in the previous Gospels. This is where this Gospel ends unlike the other Gospels it does not speak of Jesus’ crucifixion.

Post 12

[post twelve: give a detailed summary of the material presented in this chapter.]

Christianity consists of three major divisions: Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Protestantism. Christianity centers in the life of Jesus born in Palestine around 4 B.C. He grew up in Nazareth and was baptized by the prophet John. In his early thirties he had a teaching / healing career that lasted around one to three years. During this time he received hostility from some of his own compatriots and the suspicion of Rome that later lead to his crucifixion. Jesus was a charismatic wonderworker who alleviated suffering and wanted a new social order. Jesus opened his ministry by quoting a statement from Isaiah, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.” He also added, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled.” His spiritual order included angels and other invisible beings, and centered in Yahweh. Jesus’ historical career stood squarely in the tradition of these Spirit-filled mediators. John who is a prophet baptized Jesus became his immediate predecessor. When John baptized Jesus he opened his spiritual eye. This enabled him to see “the heavens opened and the Spirit descending upon him like a dove.” This spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness where he fasted and prayed for forty days and this was when the Spirit had entered him. Jews accepted without question the supremacy of Spirit over nature. What made him outlive his time was the way he used Spirit to heal humanity beginning with his own people. The political position of the Jews in Jesus’ time was desperate. There were four responses to their predicament; Sadducees favored accommodating themselves to Hellenistic culture and Roman rule. Hoping for change was the other three positions. The fourth position thought that change could come only through armed rebellion. Jesus introduced a fifth option were he extolled peacemaking and urged that even enemies be loved. Pharisees stressed Yahweh’s holiness while Jesus stressed Yahweh’s compassion. Jesus’ idea proved to be too big for a single religion to accommodate. The Pharisaic platform was majestically holy himself, Yahweh wanted to hallow the world as well. Jesus could not accept the lines that the holiness program drew between people. Jesus could see the social barriers as an affront to Yahweh’s compassion. This made him a social prophet advocating an alternative vision of the human community. However his protest did not prevail but did alarm the Roman authorities, which led to Jesus’ arrest and execution on charges of treason.
Jesus’ miracles were performed quietly apart from the crowd and as demonstrations of the power of faith. Peter epitomize Jesus’ life when he said, “He went about doing good.” Jesus would heal them and counsel them. All of Jesus’ teachings have counterparts in the Old Testament or Talmud. The language Jesus would use is in itself fascinating being compact and invariably cuts to the message. His teachings may be the most repeated in history; we are not to resist evil but to turn the other cheek, love our enemies and bless those who curse us, the sun rises on the just and the unjust alike, outcasts and harlots enter the kingdom of God before many who are perfunctorily righteous. Jesus’ extraordinary admonitions come from his understanding of the God who loves human beings absolutely. His entire life was one of humility, self-giving, and love that sought not its own. After having taught his people for a number of months Jesus was crucified. His close associates reported that he appeared to them in a new way and that he was resurrected. People who believed or had faith in Jesus’ resurrection produced the Church and its Christology. The love the disciples had encountered in him was victorious over everything, including death. This movement started in an upper room in Jerusalem where they spread their message. To mark where these meetings were held Christians began to scratch an outline of a fish with its head pointing to the location on walls and the ground. They chose this logo because the Greek letters for fish are also the first letters of the Greek word for “Jesus Christ, Son of God, and Savior.” People were impressed by what they saw as well as what they heard. Two qualities factored into this; one being how Christians loved one another. They saw men and woman who not only said that everyone was equal in the eyes of God, but lived it as well. The second was joy. They were persecuted and yet in the middle of it all they found inner peace that surfaced as happiness. This joy came from the lifting of three intolerable burdens; fear (ie. Fear of death), guilt, and self-centeredness. This is documented in the New Testament. The power that effected these transformations of the order is love. Christian love became known as the love that emanated from Christ embraced sinners and outcasts, Samaritans and enemies and was giving in nature. Within the Christian belief are differences as to whether salvation is possible outside the Body of Christ. Liberals believe that it is. Fundamentalists insist that no one but those who are knowingly and formally Christians will be saved. There is a middle of these two extremes where Christians were all human beings who live honorably, uprightly and by their best lights will be saved as well. The Christian God was alarmed with humanity enough to suffer on its behalf. The conservatives became threatened with Christian’s radically egalitarian social views and felt they needed to be silenced. This is where the persecution of Christians stemmed from. The incarnation of Christ asserts that he was both divine and human. The Apostle’s Creed moves to establish that the man part of the God-man splice was human in every respect. The doctrine of the Atonement has a root meaning of reconciliation, which is the recovery of wholeness. Christians believe that Christ’s life and death had affected an unparalleled rapprochement between God and humanity. Sin is considered a disconnectedness or estrangement from God. The third essential Christian doctrine is the Trinity where God is fully one, and God is also three. The claim that God is also three leads Jews and Muslims to wonder if Christians are truly monotheists. However Christians are confident that they are. The Pentecost, a third visitation came. The disciples were together, suddenly from heaven there came a sound and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. All of the disciples became filled with the Holy Spirit. Thereby generating the third Person of the Trinity.
The Church divided into three great branches: Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Protestantism. Up to 313 A.D. the church faced Roman persecution. That same year it became legally recognized and received equal rights with other religions of the empire. In 380 it became the official religion of the Roman Empire. It continued as a single institution until 1054. Then it divided into the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church. The next division occurred in the Western Church with the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century. In regards to the Roman Catholic church it does accept the church as Teaching Authority with the premise that God came to earth in the person of Jesus Christ to teach people how to live so as to inherit eternal life. With Bible study however, individuals come up with different interpretations. The Church stands as the “supreme court” to avert such disintegration adjudicates between truth and error. The Church as Teaching Authority leads to the doctrine of papal infallibility. The earthly head of the Church is the Pope. The doctrine of papal infallibility asserts that the Pope speaks officially on matters of faith and morals only and God protects him from error. It does not mean that Catholics have to accept the Pope’s view on politics because he too can make mistakes. Only in regards to faith and morals is where he is infallible. The second central idea in Catholicism is the Church as Sacramental Agent. The Sacraments help with being able to do as they teach. The number of Sacraments in the Roman Church has been fixed at seven; Baptism, confirmed, Holy Matrimony, Holy Orders, Sacrament of the Sick, Reconciliation, and Mass known also as the Holy Eucharist or Communion. Sacrament is a literal transfusion of energy from God to the human soul. When the Eucharistic elements consecrated, they become Christ’s body and blood. With the exception of Baptism, the other six sacraments convey grace as a letter conveys meaning.
The Eastern Orthodox Church officially separated from the Roman Church in 1054 A.D. The two share far more than they differ over. They honor the same Sacraments, and share the same intention regarding the Teaching Authority. Although one of the differences is the Eastern Church sees fewer issues on which unanimity is called for. Another difference is in how many dogmas are appropriate. The two Churches differ on how they are arrived at. The Roman Church holds that in the final analysis they are delivered through the Pope. The Eastern Church holds God’s truth through the “conscience of the Church.” All Christians consider themselves to be “members of one another.” The Eastern Church has taken this notion most seriously. Each Christian is working to attain salvation with and through the rest of the Church. Orthodoxy as a whole carries this to its logical limit by picking up on Paul’s theme of the entire universe as “groaning and in travail” as it awaits redemption. Church dogmas reflect the conscience of Christians generally. Priests need not remain celibate. Christianity believes that reality contains two realms being the natural and the supernatural. After death the human live moves to the supernatural domain. Roman Catholicism holds that the Trinity dwells in every Christian soul.
The break between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism had a basic cause that was a new conception of Christianity that emerged. Two central features are Justification by Faith and the Protestant Principle. The Protestant conception includes a movement of the mind, movement of the heart, and a movement of the will. When Protestants say that human beings are justified they are saying that it is a movement of the self on all three of its fronts that effects the change. Unless they awaken the actual experience of God’s love they too do not suffice. No number of good deeds performed can be counted on to change the way one experiences life in the present. Protestant Principle warns against absolutizing the relative and warns against idolatry. Idolatry is not limited to idol worship but also is giving one’s life first and foremost to something in the finite world. Protestants consider the dogma of papal infallibility as idolatrous. Protestants believe that faith must be a living experience. They also speak for its distinctive version of faith including the Bible because they hold it in such high esteem. They believe the Bible to be ultimate and presents protestants with their clearest picture of God’s goodness and the way human beings can connect with it. It is also believed that the most reliable way they can enter the divine life is by reading this record of God’s grace with total openness and divine intent. The Bible is the prospect that people will derive different truths from their encounters, which has resulted in the splintering of Protestantism into innumerable denominations. However Protestants do not consider diversity to be bad.