a. “Father of Faith” was greatly
multiplied and his sons greatly multiplied all of
which adhered to a “Hebrew”
faith of monotheistic faith in One God and no
other (revolutionary for the
time).
b. His grandson Jacob had 12 sons
which each were to be multiplied into their
own tribe forming a common
bond of Hebraic people.
c. This people was multiplied as
‘outsiders’ in the land of Egypt and were enslaved
for 400 years until they were
delivered by a man named “Moses”.
d. Moses ñ acted as
spokesman, ruler, and spiritual leader to the
Hebrews and led them out of
Egyptian captivity. He codified the oral traditions
passed down from Abraham (possibly even Noah) and
wrote what is called the “Torah” or “Pentateuch” to
Christians, the first 5 books of the
O.T.
a. Torah ñ “The Law”
written by Moses (possibly finished by
Joshua)
b. Talmud ñ Not
“scripture” but VERY highly regarded Jewish library
of oral law and tradition
consisting of Mishnah (oral law in general to be
distinguished from scripture) and Gemara
(commentary based upon the Mishnah).
c. Midrash ñ like the
Talmud in terms of authority ñ is a commentary on
the Torah and rest of Jewish
scriptures.
Monotheistic
with some sects bordering on
secularism.
There are many viewpoints on this
important subject within Judaisim. The primary
approach is that 1. God Exists, 2. Evil Exists -
albeit illusory because evil serves a purpose for
good 3. Judaism exists to conquer that evil by
righteous deeds. A good world with evil within it,
has been compared to a palace on fire. One can see
the palace without the fire which is a world with
only good or the fire - a world that is mostly all
evil, or both and choose to be a person who helps
to put out the fire.
The following is a quote from Dr.
Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew
Congregations of the Commonwealth:
"God exists. Therefore,
everything that is, is because He made it.
Everything that happens, happens because He willed
it. In which case all injustice must be an
illusion. We think it is evil because we don't
really understand. When people suffer, either it is
they are being punished because they did wrong or,
if they are innocent, it is to purge them, to
purify them, to teach them sympathy or compassion
or serenity. Somehow God organises the souls'
perfection through the bodies' torments. All evil
is good in disguise. If we could only see things
through God's perspective, we would have no
question because everything, being from God, is
good. There are no flames: there is only the
palace."
"The primary thing in Judaism is
'doing', is action, is deed, is mitzvah. Because
only the mitzvah makes the world a little less
dissonant between what it is and what it ought to
be.the whole programme of Judaism, the project of
the Torah, is tikkun olam in the precise sense
'mending a fragmented, fractured,
world'.
Again, as with most major issues,
there are various schools of thought within Judaism
regarding what happens when a person dies. One line
of thinking is that because the Torah is supposedly
silent on the issue of the afterlife, that there is
no afterlife. It has been theorized that this was
an intention of the Torah to be silent in order to
steer the Hebrews away from the 'death mentality'
of their Egyptian oppressors. However, it is
conceded, even by those that hold to this view,
that it does not allow for the fairness of G-d to
justly repay those who are righteous and those who
are evil (Hitler). There is another view that bears
striking similarities to the Humanist Manifesto which
follows that there is no afterlife, when one dies,
they just simply die, but one's deeds on Earth will
be as a 'memorial' to them and as they are
remembered, their very memory is their immortality.
Another school of thought is that the Torah indeed
has a multitude of references to the afterlife and
as such, warrants a belief in a heaven of sorts,
and a hell to seperate the righteous from the
unrighteous. Both of which are determined by their
deeds on Earth: Good deeds = heaven (closeness with
G-d) the amount/level of your deeds would determine
your level of closeness to G-d, like eternal seats
at a cosmic gymnasium. bad
deeds = hell. (torment)
1. Orthodox ñ
Traditionalists who are united in their upholding
of the Law and in their
belief in the historical event of revelation at
Sinai. Adheres to the inspiration of
the Old Testament but values the
Torah (1st 5 books) above all
others.
a. believes in a coming Messiah,
and of Israel having a homeland, and of a world
to come. Believes in a type
of “heaven” and “hell” although not consistent
throughout.
2. Conservative ñ Was
started in response to the “enlightenment” period.
Called “conservative” because
it sought to ‘conserve’ Jewish tradition, not
because this sect is particularly social or
politically
‘conservative’.
a. A ‘happy medium’ between
Orthodox and Reformed Judaism, founded in
the 19th century. Does
not believe in a Jewish “homeland”.
b. Teaches that Jewish law is
always in ‘development’ based on the current
culture.
c. Adheres to “textual criticism”
of the Jewish scriptures.
3. Reformed ñ very liberal
wing of Judaism that all but denies any
supernatural whatsoever.
a. focuses on race and culture
issues of Judaism, neglecting or avoiding
Jewish religious
issues.
b. Also started as a result of
the “enlightenment” period and supposed necessity
to meet the needs of those
that reject Divine revelation.(Gave rise to
Christianity)
Guru Nanak founded Sikhism as a
method to reconcile the warring belief systems of
Islam and Hinduism. As such, he chose to retain the
idea of Reincarnation which seeks
to solve the problem of evil via an elaborate
system of being reborn again and again, each time,
an individual experiences the victimization of evil
which supposedly works off the evil that he/she
committed in a past life (Karma). This law of Karma
works both progressively and regressively. Sikhs
& Hindus believe that this should motivate a
person to live a 'less evil' life so as to avoid
coming back in the next life and suffering the
negative Karma of their actions. The problem with
this solution is that it doesn't solve the problem
of evil at all, it only perpetuates it. Because
every person that comes back to 'work off' evil
requires another individual to inflict the evil
upon them. That person then needs to come back and
have evil inflicted upon them by someone who needs
to come back and have evil worked off... and so on
and so on,,, ad infinitum. In short, reincarnation
and Karma require evil to vanquish evil
Heaven and Hell not mentioned and
thus not believed in. Life is an opportunity to
seize a union or closeness to god. Reincarnation is
the primary belief held regarding life after death.
At one point, an individual may obtain intervention
by Akhal Purakh which eliminates the rebirth
process
Udasis: an ascetic order of
the Nanakshahi Sikhs
Nirmalas:
Celibates
Akalis: considered
'fanatical' and wear a distinctive dress of blue
with a black turban.
Philosophical Taoism began around
300 BC; Religious Taoism began 2nd
century BC.
Confucianism: Chiu
King
1. Founder ñ Chiu King 550-479
B.C. ñ Shantung Province, China
a. Contemporary of Siddharta
Guatama and born just before Plato and Socrates, he
went from state to state in China calling for
social and political reforms.
b. Was referred to by his
disciples as “King Fu-tzu” or ‘Kung the Master’
which was Latinized into the word
Confucius.
c. Although Confucius referred to
himself as simply a “story teller”, his disciples
considered him a wise teacher and his belief system
spread rapidly. Around the late 2nd century AD, the
Chinese Emperor sacrificed at his tomb as a form of
worship, and from 195-1914 A.D. Confucious was
worshipped as deity.
d. Meng-tzu (Latinized
Mencius) born in 371 BC became a major proponent of
Confucianism and was raised to the rank of
2nd only to Confucius himself
Taoism: Lao Tzu
a. Lao Tzu “Old
Philosopher” ñ a lower level ruler in China like
Confucius would be (He was
possibly a contemporary of Confucious). He railed
against the tyranny of rulers and government in
general. He believed that men were supposed to live
simple lives without honor and without a fruitless
desire for knowledge.
b. Chuang-Tzu ñ Prolific
author in the 4th century, popularizing
the teachings of LaoTzu. He
wrote 33 books.
Confucianism:
a. The Five Classics ñ
Wu Jing - collected manuscripts of the
ancients which Confucius
edited and annotated with commentaries. He put
these works into 4 books and wrote the
5th one himself. They have gone through
much editing and alteration:
i. The Book of Changes (I
Ching) ñ a collection of 8 triagrams and 64
hexagrams consisting of solid and broken lines.
Supposed to have great power if the key were ever
found.
ii. The Book of Anals (Shu
K’ing) A work of history of the 5 prior Chinese
dynasties to Confucius time.
iii. The Book of Poetry
(Shih Ching) An ancient book of poetry believed by
Confucius to make one virtuous.
iv. The Book of Ceremonies
(Li Chi) Taught man to act in an honorable way like
the ancients (an important value to
Confucius)
v. The Anals of Spring and
Autumn (Ch’un Ch’iu) Commentaries written by
Confucius on the state of Lu during Confucius
time.
b. The Four Books ñ Si
Shu ñ “The Teachings of Confucious” used by
him for teaching, some were
written by his disciples and some comprise his
teachings and others collected into the following
works:
i. The Analects ñ The sayings of
Confucius, collected by his followers. Contains
biographical information of Confucius.
ii. The Great Learning
iii. The Doctrine of the Mean ñ
details the relationship of man to the universal
order.
iv. The Book of Mencius ñ The
1st exposition on Confucianism ever
written.
Taosim:
Tao Te King “The Way
and Its Power” also known as the Lao Tzu.
Written by Lao Tzu himself, it is a
little booklet of about 5000 words (about 15
pages)
Confucianism ñ referred to as
“optimistic humanism” ñ was profoundly impacting on
the life,social structure,
and political philosophy of China. It basically
laid the groundwork in the psyche of the Chinese
people for communism and, presumably, is the reason
why it is so tolerated by their government while
nearly every other religion is not.
Taoism -
Mystical enigmatic belief system
whose founder was a contemporary of
Confucius(604-570 BC)
a. All things emanate from the
Tao (The Way) which is an “impersonal
force”
Both are Ethical Systems however
as time went on gods were brought into the
religious system, along with a belief in heaven and
hell and the ultimate deification of Lao-Tzu.which
acted as forerunners to the modern
Marxist/Communist structure in Modern
China.
a. Confucianism attempts to solve
the problem of evil by teaching people to adhere
an ethical code which will
bring about a more fulfilling life.
b. The Taoist believes that
“always without desire we must be found” c.f
Buddhism
c. The Taoist looks for
ways to find harmony between the opposites of life:
The Yin and Yang but
ultimately has no way to solve the problem
of evil due to itspassivity and emphasis on withdrawing from the
ills of society.
Confucianism - "Do not do
unto others, what you would not want them to do to
you" - The analects of Confucius.
(c.f. the negative of the statement
by Jesus Christ, "Do unto others as you would have
them do to you.")
Confucianism does not solve the
problem of evil, it is simply a rigid code of
behavior as a method of tolerating or avoiding evil
but there was never a solution offered to solve the
problem of evil.
Taoism- seeks answers to
life's problems through inner meditation and outer
observation
Confucianism
- In Confucianism,
there is no afterlife. When you die, that is it:
the end. Confucius always taught the honoring of
ancestors and ancient rituals but there is no view
of life after death.
“You do not even understand life,
how can you understand death?” ñ
Confucius
The Analects teach that Confucius
believed that if there was indeed a heaven, it
was on his side regarding the
principles he taught. He never necessary declared
belief in or taught of a heaven. He just shifted
the current emphasis in China from heaven to earth
to bring about better conduct. He felt it dangerous
to delve into study of the supernatural so the
question has remained open for 2500 years to his
followers.
Taoism - goal is to
be one with Tao, the impersonal force of the
universe.
Tao ñ Chuang Tzu when asked about
his reaction to his wife dying: “I realize
that originally she had no
life; and not only no life, she had no form; not
only no form, she had no material force. In the
limbo of existence and non-existence, there was
transformation and the material force transformed
to became form, and the form transformed to became
life and life became birth has transformed to
become death. This is like the rotation of the 4
seasons: spring, summer, fall, & winter. Now
she lies asleep in the great house (universe). For
me to go about weeping and wailing would be to show
my ignorance of destiny.” ultimately, there is “Tao” which equates to the
mystical and unknown “nirvana” &
“Brahman” of Hinduism and Buddhism.
People go to ‘sleep’ and are transformed into this
mysterious state as part of nature’s
cycle.
Confucianism - rigid code of ethics
for living
c.f. Humanism
Taoism - living to join the
impersonal force 'Tao'
c.f. Hinduism
Animism is so widely varied,
orally transmitted, and primarily
belonging to nomadic, tribes with
unwritten tradition, that no authoritative
writings exist (nor have ever
been deemed necessary by practicing
Animists).
Pantheistic
Led to creation of Polytheistic
practices, yet is not polytheistic in and of
itself.
Spritism
a. The animist lives in a world
of tribal survival. This survival establishes
social norms as well as a
‘loose’ moral code. Therefore, evil is anything
that threatens the security of the tribe and/or the
individual. This ‘evil’ is caused by good spirits
who are angry or by evil spirits who are just
simply evil. The animist attempts to ward off the
anger of the good spirits (dead ancestors, gods,
demi-gods, etc.) by performing sacrifices prior to
a need required in their department: travel,
harvest, reproduction, etc.
b. Innumerable evil spirits
manifest themselves in possession,
lycanthropy, and/or disease.
The evil spirits can not be appeased and therefore,
the help of a shaman is required to cast the evil
spirit out of an individual and ultimately out of
the community.
c. Ritual is essential for
survival of the tribe in that it wins the favor of
the spirits of one’s source
of food, shelter, and fertility. It also wards off
malevolent
spirits8
d.
Ceremonies of expulsion are designed to banish evil
spirits from the community.
According to EB Tylor, the
animist believes in a spirit world that is arrived
at via a spirit’s journey
after leaving the body. If the spirit left the body
as a result of murder or death at childbirth, it
may return to the village as a malevolent spirit.
There is no ‘heaven’ or ‘salvation’.
a. Survival of the Dead ñ gave
rise to the offering of food, lighting fires etc.
at the grave, as an act of
filial piety then became “ancestor
worship”
b. Widespread respect was paid to
animals as the abode of dead ancestors.
c. Navajo ñ The spirit remains on
the earth as a sometimes malignant
ghost.
Siberian Shamanism -
Voodoo -
European Paganism -
North American Indians -
African Traditional -
Austrailian Aborigene -
South American Animism -
Polynesian Tribal -
Founder - Siddhartha Guatama born
about 560 B.C. in Northeastern India to a
wealthy ruler. His father
sought to make him a prince and surrounded him with
comforts and nice things and kept difficult and bad
things far from Siddhartha.
a. “four passing sights” - On a
journey to see the world, Siddhartha saw four
troubling sights: a decrepit
old man, a sick man, a corpse on its way to
cremation, and a monk begging food. All of which led
to:
b. “The Great Renunciation” Sid
reasoned that the only happy one of the four was
the monk and therefore
renounced his wealth and position to become an
ascetic monk. He was miserable and supposedly lived
on a grain of rice per day. Subsequently, he
renounced this lifestyle as well.
c. “The Enlightenment” ñ Sid
continued on his journey for spiritual truth and one
day while he sat under a fig
tree, deep in meditation, he achieved nirvana,
the highest god-consciousness possible
according to the Hindus (he was formerly a Hindu
prior to this day). He achieved enlightenment and was
renamed “The Buddha” (enlightened one) after this,
the fig tree was called the Bodhi or Bo Tree (tree of
wisdom).
a. Theravada ñ Tripitaka
“The Three Baskets” of scripture sometimes called
the Pali canon and is
11 times the size of the Bible.
i. Vinaya Pitaka ñ
discipline basket. contains rules forr the higher
class
ii. Sutta Pitaka ñ
teaching basket. contains discourses of the
Buddha
iii. Abidhamma Pitaka ñ
metaphysical basket. contains Buddhist
theology
b. Mahayana14 ñ
scriptures were originally written in Sanskrit and
paralleled the Pali canon but
have since been translated and added to by the
Chinese, Nepalese, and Tibetan people. The Chinese
canon alone is nearly 5000 volumes. Nearly
any charismatic Mahayana leader’s teachings tend to
be fully accepted by his followers as ‘scripture’
making it nearly impossible to learn (much less
follow) the voluminous and contradictory writings
of the Mahayana Buddhist.
c. Dhammadada ñ contains sayings
attributed to the Buddha
i. He from whom the delights of
the senses fall away as water from the petal
of the lotus or a mustard seed from
the point of a needle ñ him do I call Brahmana.
(priests and/or scholars of the highest Indian
caste)
ii. He who in this world has
shaken off the two chains; the chain of Good and
the chain of Evil; who is pure and exempt from
suffering and passion ñ him I call
Brahmana
iii. He who has
rejected that which causes pleasure and that which
causes suffering, he who is impassive, liberated
from all germs, the hero who has raised himself
above all worlds - him do I call a
Brahmana
Ethical "Humanist-like"
System with similarities to
its Hindu Roots, yet not poly or
pantheistic.
a. They believe that ignorance
fosters the belief that a rebirth is necessary and
therefore one is at the mercy of this ignorance and
subsequent rebirths until this ignorance is
dispelled.
b. This ignorance can be
dispelled and sorrow removed by observing the
following 4 truths: "Four
jewels of Buddhism"
i. Truth of pain ñ
Dukkha In the five components of existence
(birth, old age, sickness,
death, emotion (sorrow etc.), are
painful.
ii. Cause of pain -
Cravings: the cause of rebirth, combined with
pleasure and lust ñ for
passion, existence, non-existence etc.
iii. Cessation of Pain ñ
no craving, abandonment, non-attachement,
forsaking
iv. Path to Cessation of
Pain ñ The “Noble 8-fold
path”
c. 8-fold path:
1. right view,
2. right intention,
3. right speech,
4. right action,
5. right livelihood,
6. right effort,
7. right mindfulness,
8. right
concentration.
a. All Buddhists: Emancipation
from reincarnation cycle via self
effort.
i. Afterlife is, like Hinduism, a
series of life after life after life etc
until Nirvana is
achieved.
1. All
Buddhists
a. Middle Path ñ another name for
the 8-fold path to avoid the two
extremes:
i.“That, conjoined with passion
& luxury which is low, vulgar, common, ignoble
and useless.” ñ Siddharta Guatama (The Buddha)
c.f. Catholicism
ii. “That, conjoined with
self-torture which is painful, ignoble, &
useless”
b. Five precepts: The obstacles
to the attainment of good karma can be overcome by
observing the following 1. Kill no living thing 2.
Do not steal 3. Do not commit adultery 4. Tell no
lies 5. Do not drink intoxicants or take
drugs
2. Theravada ñ Early
Buddhism sect nearly extinct in India but prevalent
in Sri Lanka andsome parts of
southeast Asia.
a. Key virtue is wisdom; religion
is a full-time job (mostly for monks); Eschews
ritual Prayer is meditation
and vice versa.
3. Mahayana ñ Later
Buddhism sect prevalent in China & Japan (and
parts of Southeast Asia)
a. Key virtue is karuna
(compassion); religion is relevant to everyday life
(for all) Esteems ritual;
Prayer is even petitionary
4. Lamaism (Tibetan) ñ
Began in the 7th century AD.
a. primarily combines Mahayana
Buddhism and Tibetan Animism
(Occultism).
b. lamas are priests and the
chief priest is the Dalai Lama who is worshipped as
the reincarnation of the
Buddha (Bodhisattva Chenresi)
5. Zen ñ A branch of
Mahayana Buddhism ñ Derived from Bodhidharma, a
wandering Buddhist master
living in India 600 B.C who claimed that the basic
tenets of Buddhism are not derived from the
scriptures but rather transmitted from mind to mind
and need no explanation in words.
a. have no sacred scriptures for
use in teachings but accept any writings Buddhist
or not
b. look within, you are the
Buddha.
c. Zen Buddhism
and the art of motorcycle maintenance
Humanism, Atheism, Agnosticims in
their most recent form
1770-1800 A.D
Key influencers of
atheism:
a. George W. F. Hegel
(1770-1831) “God was dependent upon the world at
least as much as the world was dependent upon God,
for without the world, God would not be God. Being
that He is not self-sufficient, He was then
unnecessary and ultimately imaginary.”
b. Ludwig Feurbach
(1804-1872) postulated the idea of God arose as a
result of men desiring to have some sort of
supernatural Being as an explanation for their own
existence and the events they observed around
them.
c. Friedrich Nietzsche
(1844-1900) taught that since God does not exist,
man must devise his own way of life.
d. Jean-Paul Sartre
(1905-1981) argued that man not only creates his
own destiny, each man has only himself as the sole
justification for his existence
e. Karl Marx - was greatly
influenced by both Engels and Feurbach and authored
“Communist Manifesto” and "Das Kapital"
Key influencers of agnosticism -
T.H. Huxley (founded name 'agnostic' )
a. David Hume (1711-1776) ñ
British empiricist ‘We do not know for sure: we
are agnostic’
"Belief is not to be confused
with ultimate truth, which is
unknowable."
b. Immanuel Kant (1724-
1804) ñ a theist who believed it was impossible to
know reality. Developed Hume’s
skepticism into agnosticism.
c. Charles Darwin - a
theologian (not a naturalist) authored “Origin
of the Species” which was
largely based on his grandfathers book
“Zooinomia”;
Humanist Manifesto (1933)
ñ “Humanism is the faith in the supreme value and
self-perfectability of human
personality. Based on 15 concepts:
1. The Universe is self-existing
and not created.
2. Man is a result of a
continuous natural process.
3. Mind is a projection of the
body and nothing more.
4. Man is molded mostly by his
culture.
5. There is no
supernatural.
6. Man has outgrown religion and
any idea of God.
7. Man’s goal is the development
of his own personality, which ceases to exist at
death
8. Man will continue to develop
to the point where he will look within himself and
o the natural world for the
solution to all of his problems
9. All institutions and/or
religions that in some wa impede this “human
development” must be changed
10. Socialism is the ideal form
of economics
11. All mankind deserves to share
in the fruits from following the above
tenets.
12. Religious forms and ideas of
our fathers are inadequate.
13. The quest for the good life
is still the central task for mankind.
14. Man is alone responsible for
the realization of his dreams.
15. Intelligence and will, bring
the good life (fulfilled dreams) about.
Also see: "Das Kapital" - Karl
Marx
"Religion is the opiate of the
masses",
and "Origin of the Species" -
Charles Darwin
Atheistic - a (without)
theistic (belief in deity -
theos)
Agnostic - a (without) knowledge
(gnosis)
a. Man is the product of his
society and upbringing and his morals arise from
that which was nurtured in
him.
b. Man is in control of his own
destiny and dreams. Intelligence and will,
properly applied, bring about
the realization of his dreams and the “good
life”
c. Ultimately, man is in a
constant state of evolutionary development and
will continue to improve and
solve problems in his life and the world as he
looks to himself and not an imaginary god or
superstitious ‘outmoded’ faith.
a. There is no need of salvation
as man is basically good and the
supernatural (including the
afterlife) does not exist.
b. The mind and personality are
extensions of the body and therefore cease to
exist when the body dies.
Ultimately, this life is all there is, when we die
it all ends according to the atheist.
Atheist
Agnostic - basically fall
into one of two positions:
i. There is insufficient evidence
available at this time to know whether God exists
or not. Says we “do not” know.
ii. It is impossible to ever know
whether there is a God or not, in that he is wholly
other and knowledge of Him is ultimately
unattainable. Says we “can not”
know.
Marxist
Secularist/Non Religious -
Synonimous with types named above, however, is a term
used by some who consider themselves a variant of the
above but would not categorize themselves necessarily
as either agnostic or atheistic in belief.
1. Founder(s) ñ Aryan nomads from
the Baltic regions
a. Joined two religious systems:
ancient civilization (animist) in the Indus
River Valley (3000 BC) and
their own religious beliefs as they began to invade
northern India appx. 2000 BC.
b. Aryans also settled much of the area of
modern day Greece.
a. The Vedas
(knowledge or wisdom) 1400 BC ñ 500
AD comprised of the mantras
(hymns of praise), brahmanas (guide
for ritual rites), and the Upanishads (teachings on religious truth or
doctrine).
i. contains: law books, Ramayana
& Maabharata, Puranas, aqamas,
sultras,and the bhakti
(devotions to gods)
ii. describes the religion of the
Aryans via the writings of “Holy men” or
rishis (seers).
sruti ñ all that is heard; smriti ñ
all that is remembered
iii. Describes a number of
deities who are mostly personifications of
natural phenomena: storms,
fire, etc. (c.f. animism)
b. The Upanishads(secret teaching) 800-600 BC
i. the “later” Vedas which
reflect the development of Pantheism:
Brahman also the concept of
“Atman is Brahman”; and maya the creation of the
unreal.
ii. spoke of a multitude of
gods
c. Bhagavad Gita ñ
inspired but of lesser authority because it is
smriti and not sruti
i. the “New Testament” of
Hinduism which records a conversation
between the prince Arjuna and
his charioteer Krishna (the incarnation of the god
Vishnu) condoning personal devotion to
deity.
Polytheistic /Pantheistic
a. karma ñ
action The process by which an individual is
either rewarded for his/her good deeds and also the process by which they
are punished for their bad deeds. This karma is usually expected to be
carried out in the individual’s next incarnation,
however, it seems there is a tendency among Hindus
to believe that karma can be effected in this life
as well.
i. The present is determined by
the past, however the present, if acted out
properly can determine the future.
ii. Karma is ultimately a
perpetuation of evil and doesn’t solve it. In order
for an individual to get their “evil” karma worked
off, evil things must be carried out against them
in this or the next life, which in turn requires
that THAT individual’s karma must ALSO be worked
off by someone ELSE and so on and so on.
iii. Rabi Maharaj, a former Hindu
Brahman priest, points out that ultimately, Hindu
society is supposed to be progressing and getting
better after thousands of years of this karma
practice. However, he notes that it only seems to
be getting worse!11
iv. Karma is responsible for
widespread neglect and needless suffering in India
in that a Hindu believes that if they help a person
in pain, trouble, etc. they are inhibiting that
person’s necessary karma and will force that person
to have to relive it all over again to work it off
properly.
b. The caste system
- social classes with
thousands of sub-groups in each caste.
and the laws of karma make social
reform or improvement nearly Determined at birth by
family, and/or by personal karma.
i. Bahmins ñ are the priestly
class and the highest order in the caste
system.
ii. Kshatriyas ñ warriors or
ruler class. 2nd only to the
Brahmins.
iii. Vaisyas ñ merchant or farmer
class follows the Kshatriyas
iv. Shudras ñ laboring class
“bottom feeders”
v. Dalits ñ untouchables or
“outcastes” which are outside the caste
system.
The caste system and the laws of
karma make social reform or improvement
nearly impossible. One can’t
help a person in need for fear of jacking their
karma. One cannot improve his/her social position
because it is contrary to the caste system.
Whatever caste you were born into is the one
you die
in.
c.Samsara or
“reincarnation” is the method by which bad
karma is worked off and good
karma rewarded. The more the Hindu overcomes evil
in his/her own life, the better chance of being
reincarnated in a higher caste and eventually
achieving enlightenment ñ the knowledge that there
is no ‘self’ just ‘brahman’.
a. Moksha - The process by
which a Hindu achieves true salvation -
escaping the cycle of
reincarnation and becoming “one with all things
seen and unseen” (Brahman). This has also been
referred to by some Hindus as “Nirvana” (c.f.
Buddhism). Three possible paths to
moksha:
i. karma yoga ñ The way of
works. moksha may be obtained by fulfilling one’s
familial and social duties and ultimately
overcoming bad karma accrued. The rules are listed
the “code of Manu”
ii. jnana yoga ñ The way
of knowledge. Overcomes the avidyya
or ‘ignorance’ that brings on the bondage of
rebirth cycles. Achieved via deep meditation, a
state of consciousness that we are one with
Brahman. Selfhood is an illusion, there is only one
reality: Brahman (cf Buddhism)
iii. bhakti yoga ñ The way
of devotion. Personal devotion to deity is
considered (in the Bhagavad Gita) as a way of
salvation for all classes of people. It is
the most popular in Hinduism due to its emphasis on
personal relationship to a god or many gods. The
acts of worship at the temples is called
puja which seeks the aid of a god to
help one escape samsura.
b. Brahman - Until Moksha
is attained there is no afterlife…just “life after
life after life”. Once Moksha is attained, the
Hindu goes into a being non-being state of
oneness with all the universe
(Brahman) or it is believed that the Hindu
has a closer and more personal relationship to a
particular god.
Mohammed, born in 570 A.D. in
Mecca, Arabia. Died 632 A.D.
a. He married into wealth at the
age of 25 and began regular mediation in a
cave (every month of
Ramadan).
b. He started receiving
revelations at the age of 40 from the “angel
Gabriel”. c.f.Mormonism
c. He became disgusted with
idolatry and desired to rid Arabia of
polytheism.
d. Due to his opposition to
polytheism of Mecca, Mohammed and his bands of
men were
persecuted.
There are four inspired books of
Scripture which god has revealed to man. (article 3 of 5)
a. The Law of Moses -
although they believe that Ishmael received the
blessing of Abraham and not Isaac as the Jewish and
Christian faiths believe.
b. Psalms of
David
c. Gospel of Jesus Christ
- They believe that Jesus was a great teacher and
some believe he was a prophet but not the
incarnation of Almighty God as the Christians
believe.
d. The Koran (Quoran).
Wherever the first 3 disagree
with the Koran, the Muslim feels that they have
been corrupted. The Koran supercedes all other
revelations and is Allah’s final word to man.
c.f. Mormonism and the 'Book of
Mormon'
Monotheistic
Allah (Muhammad's tribal 'moon'
deity)
Arose from polytheism of Arabia,
specifically Mecca of Mohammad's time, whereby
Mohammad declared Allah as the only god to be
worshipped and all other gods declared idols. This
was due to the influence of Jewish and Christian
caravans that traveled through Mohammads
town.
Through self-effort man improves
his situation and eventually, a great judgement
day
is coming where all
people will be judged according to their works and
the evil doers, unbelievers, sin and sinners will
all be done away with. c.f. Catholic
Christianity
a. Judgement day, one’s good
works must outweigh the bad in order to go to
paradise. Otherwise he/she
will go to hell. Article 5 of 5
b. Jihad ñ holy war ñ If a Muslim
dies in a jihad he/she has immediate access
to paradise. (This is the
primary motivation for suicide bombers)
c.f Shintoist:Kamikaze fighters
c. Paradise is a physical place
of sensual pleasures where each man will have a
harem of beautiful women who
will bear children for him. c.f
Mormonism
Even if the Muslim does great
works, it is still not a certain thing that he/she
will get into heaven. Ultimately, Allah could have
his reasons for denying them entry and he can
change his mind at any moment. In other words, they
won't have confidence of heaven until the gate
slams closed behind them - according to the Quoran.
c.f. Catholic Christianity
1. Sunni ñ The majority of Islam
today, they are a more moderate sect of Islam
formed by 4 Orthodox schools
of thought accepting The Quran, The Sunna (the
practice of the prophet as expressed in the
Hadith), the four bases of Islamic Law
2. Shi’ite ñ A more “fundamental”
sect of Islam primarily in Iran but also found
spread throughout the middle
east. They believed that the rightful replacement
to Mohammed as prophet was
the Caliph Ali the son-in-law of Mohammed who was
murdered by Mu’awiya who claimed the role for
himself. the Shi'ites claim
that Allah has sent over 124,000
prophets.
*** NOTE: Nation of Islam or
"Black Muslims" as they're known in the US are not
listed here. This group is not considered orthodox
by Muslims but rather, they are looked upon as a
type of cult founded by Wallace Fard Muhammad in
1930 who was preached, by Elijah Mohammad, to be
"God incarnate". He was touted as being the
Christian Messiah and the Muslim 'Mahdi'
(Redeemer). But he mysteriously disappeared only a
few years after appointing an unemployed auto
worker, Elijah Poole, who renamed himself Elijah
Mohammad, as his primary spokesman. Fard was never
heard from again and Elijah immediately assumed
leadership of the group.
The primary leaders were Elijah
Mohammad (considered a prophet), Malcolm X who was
a charismatic outspoken proponent for the nation of
Islam who was murdered by Elijah Mohammad's men as
a result of Malcolm's discovery and subsequent
complaints of Elijah's impropriety with women in
the movement. (Two secretaries had filed paternity
suits against Elijah).
They basically believe in the
supierority of the black race and that all white
men are the devil and they believe in a different
version of Allah and Mohammad the prophet which is
why they are considered a cult by many
Muslims.
a. A Jewish man born of a virgin
girl named Mary by the power of the Holy
Spirit.
b. At the age of 30 He began to
proclaim that the “Kingdom of Heaven is at
hand”.
c. Preached of repentance and
ultimate trust in Himself and His finished work as
the only way to God (John
14:6)
d. Because Jesus was called (and
called Himself) the Son of God, he was condemned as
a 'blasphemer' by the Jewish
leaders of His time and was ultimately sentenced to
die according to Jewish law, however, Judea was
under the rule of Roman authority and therefore the
Jewish leaders could not carry out the death
sentence. Jesus was handed over to the Romans who
carried out the death sentence under Pontius Pilate
via pressure of the Jews.
e. He suffered, died, was buried,
and on the 3rd day He was resurrected
from the dead and appeared to
his 12 disciples and then to as many as 400 at
once. He ascended into Heaven and declared that he
will return again in accordance with the
scriptures.
a. Bible ñ Consisting of
the Old & New Testaments
i. O.T. - 39 books consisting of
Law, history, proverbial and prophetical
sayings and words which all point to
man’s need of a Savior.
ii. N.T. ñ 27 books consisting of
the 4 gospel accounts of Jesus life,
ministry, passion, and
resurrection, acts of the 12 apostles, and epistles
(letters of instruction, encouragement,
exhortation, and training) from the Apostle Paul,
Peter, John, Jude, and James (the half-brother of
Jesus)
iii. There is sufficient
Manuscript evidence, Archaeological
evidence, Predictive
prophecy, and scientifical/statistical probability
to support the Christian belief that the Bible is
the inspired word of God. (II Tim. 3:16)
b. Canonization
process19: why are some books in the
Bible and others are not?
i. Was generally received by
people of the time as scripture: was used
regularly as part of
worship.
ii. Self-authenticating quality
with a unique power over the lives of
men.
iii. Is internally consistent
with the rest of the received canon of
scripture.
iv. Considered
to have had genuine Apostolic authority.
For 1 Billion Christians
(Catholics), there are additional books of the
Bible that are accepted as scripture but were so
accepted outside of the historic canonization
process and are therefore rejected by Protestant
Christianity. These additional books are commonly
referred to as the "Apocrypha" which means "the
hidden".
Catholicism also believes in the
inerrancy of the church (Catholic leadership) and
the Pope, therefore, two more authoritative
writings exist for this denomination:
Vatican I council -
Codification of the Catholic position on specific
doctrinal issues as delivered by the Pope at the
time of the council.
Vatican II council -
Codification of the Catholic position on specific
doctrinal issues as delivered by the Pope at the
time of the council.
Protestant and Orthodox
Christianity rejects the idea of the inerrancy of
the Catholic church and its Pope and therefore
rejects these writings as authoritative.
Monotheistic
Trinity: One God in three persons
- Father, Son (Jesus), & Holy Spirit
a. The plan to do away with evil
has been provided for in the person of Jesus
Christ.
His atoning death
and subsequent resurrection has stripped the evil
one of his right to hold mankind accountable in
that mankind’s sin account has been settled (in so
far as he has appropriated it through faith in
Jesus).
God Almighty will ultimately do
away with all pain and suffering at the return of
His Son Jesus. Until that time comes, The Father
will continue to use the difficulties and hardship
in this world to bring about a greater good in
people.
a. Those that die without
receiving Jesus’ death on the cross as payment for
their sins personally, will
have made a conscious choice to reject Him forever,
sealing their own fate of eternal separation from
God (all things even remotely ‘good’ or
‘pleasurable’) and will have, in their rejection of
God’s goodness and ultimate eternal gift, accepted
a position in torment called ‘hell’.
b. Those that die after having
accepted Jesus atoning death as full payment for
their sins, will be forever
present with the source of all things good, kind,
loving, wonderful, pleasurable, and pure: namely
God Almighty. They are then to receive rewards for
all of the good that they did from the motivation
of love (not works) and will have their works of
poor motivation destroyed before them. Christians
will rule and reign with Jesus, the King of Kings
and will be given tasks and authority to even judge
angels.
Christian Denominations - (not
referred to as "sects" or
"religions")
1. East/West Schism ñ 1054 A.D.
arose as a political dispute regarding the
authority of the Pope at Rome
vs. The authority of the Bishop of Constantinople.
Split the church.
2. The Reformation
Martin Luther ñ 1517 nailed his 95
thesis to the door at Wittenberg outlining
the unbiblical practices and
disagreements with Catholic doctrine, resulted in
the first Protestant denomination
"Lutheran".
3. King Henry the VIII of England
- Desired a divorce from his wife and was refused
the right to do so by the Pope. The King then
formed his own national denomination called the
Church of England or "Anglican" church. This church
gave rise to many denominations today: Methodists,
Church of Scotland, etc.
4. For a detailed breakdown on how all of the
Christian denominations were formed at a glance,
please reference The Christian Family
tree chart
*** Please note, on this family
tree you will not find groups like Christian
Science, Jehovah's Witnesses, and Mormons/LDS
belief systems. That is because this chart is
representative of Christian denominations that
adhere to the historic theological position of One
God in Three Persons (The Trinity), The Biblical
understanding of Jesus as Almighty God incarnate,
and the person and nature in general of Jesus the
Son and the Holy Spirit.
for example:
Jehovah's Witnesses believe that
Jesus is Michael the Archangel and was not One in
Being with Almighty God. They believe that the Holy
Spirit is a sort of "divine spark" but not a
person, much less God Almighty in the 3rd person of
the Holy Trinity. This is a completely different
Jesus than that of the Bible and of Orthodox
Christianity. These are the teachings as passed
down from Russel and Rutherford and are perpetuated
by the Watchtower Bible and Tract
Society.
Mormons believe that God the
Father came from a planet near a star named Kolob,
came to earth grew into man and then into God and
then proceeded to make spiritual children. Two of
which are Lucifer (the devil) and Jesus (brothers).
This is clearly a different god from the Biblical
God of Christianity even though the names are
the same. The biblical account of Almighty God
is that He is the creator of ALL planets and ALL
stars, and all things seen and unseen (including
the planets and the star named Kolob if such a star
existed). The Biblical account of Jesus is that all
things seen and unseen were created through Him,
for Him, and by Him (Colossian ch1) and that means
that even Lucifer was created BY Jesus and not the
product of a sexual relation by His Father. These
are the teaching as passed down from Joseph
Smith.
The LDS faith and the Jehovah's
Witness faith as well, are both considered non
Christian and because of the controlling history of
both organizations over their adherents as a result
of their charismatic founders Joseph Smith - LDS,
Russel & Rutherford - Jehovah's Witnesses, they
are considered cults. Members in both cults deny
that they are in a cult in a similar fashion as the
members of Jim Jones following in the '70s. Oddly
enough, both LDS and JWs consider each other
cults
