World Religions

This forum will provide a place for folks to post comments about the four religions we will be studying between now and spring break. 

Humanities Seminar 2009-2010

World Religions Unit

            Our goal over the next few weeks is for you to learn about four major religious traditions and to document your learning in three ways: 

1. Weekly paragraphs.  I will assign weekly paragraphs as is our custom.  We will not take class time to workshop the paragraphs.  Posting online will be required at times and always an option. 

2.  Prepare to answer this question on the final exam.  You will find the Smith book helpful here, in addition to our work in the classroom.

Discuss the four religions we studied this term (Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam).  With regard to each, please discuss

            A) the relationship between the divine and the human;

            B) the elements and purposes of religious practice;

            C) the form and goal of the religious community.

3.  Contribute to your group’s notes, to be posted for the whole group no later than 12 March.  Each monkey group is responsible for preparing an outline to the exam question for one of the four religions.  Group #1 is responsible for Judaism, Group #2 for Christianity, Group #3 for Buddhism, Group #4 for Islam. 

4.  Here is our general schedule, which is subject to change.  Please be on time for class, observe our usual rules about decorum, remember your nametags. 

Dates	Presenter	Topic
10 Feb	All	Introduction.  Please have read introductory chapter in Huston Smith.
12, Feb	Mr. Rottenberg & Mr. Comstock
17,19 Feb	Mr. Comstock	Christianity.  Read chapter in Smith as well as other assignments as posted.
22,24,26 Feb	Mr. Rottenberg	Judaism.  Please read chapter in Smith as well as other assignments posted on weblog.
01, 03, 05 March	Ms. Patlove, Mr. Miller	Buddhism. Have read the chapter before 01 March.
08, 10 March	TBD	Islam.  Have read the chapter before 08 March.
12 Mar	All	Wrap-up discussion

 Here is the weekly paragraph topic for next week.  The paragraph is due on Friday, 12 February.

To follow the news these days is to be confronted with one crisis after another:  the economy, climate change, wars, genocide, etc.  There’s not a lot of time to solve these issues.  As individuals we may be facing such issues for the first time and not know how to respond, participate, or engage the issues before us.  How much control do we have over these issues?  How much control should we have?  What kind of leadership will help us in these times?

            Each of the faith traditions we’ll be studying grew out of moments where humans confronted crisis, suffering, or challenges evident in their worlds.  The established order was no longer effective and needed to adapt or change.  Humans have used religion as a way to change established order and/or establish order. 

            It’s also possible to say that each of these traditions offers two paths, which, for want of better terms, we’ll call “ACTION” and “CONTEMPLATION.” 

            Please engage in a self-assessment about your tendencies toward action and contemplation.  To what extent are you inclined toward action in the face of circumstance?  To what extent are you inclined to contemplate rather than act? 

  Here is the weekly paragraph topic, due 26 February.

World Religions Weekly Paragraph #2

Woman at the Well

Compare the story of the Woman at the Well (John 4:1-30) to either the Garden of Eden story (Genesis 3) or the temptations in the wilderness (Luke 4:1-13).  Identify what seems to be at stake for each character in the stories you choose.

Reading for Wed, 24 Feb:  Exodus 31: 12-18; Exodus 32

Someone asked for a timeline of Christianity similar to the one Mr. Rottenberg created for Judaism, so Mr. Comstock and I collaborated to produce this sketch.

Download Christianity Timeline 2

 

Comments

[alice]

for the "worlds religions" book, I am having trouble finding the introduction, is it the chapter called "point of departure" or the forward?
thanks!

[Todd Sumner]

Sorry, Alice. The chapter is called "point of departure."

Thanks for asking the question.

[Ali]

something i found interesting about genesis today when we were reading it in class was that the garden of eden is described like a garden, that needs to be tilled and taken care of. at first, this struck me as in sharp contrast with the rousseau and his beliefs on the origin of inequality, because in rouseau's version of the progression of humanitiy, it took a long time for humans to develop from being hunter gatherers to agricultural people who farmed and created gardens, and it was only after the creation of agriculture that permanent inequalities between humans emerged.
however, the more i thought about it, i began to see similarities between genesis and rousseau-- although adam and eve did not develop from primitive hunter-gatherer humans, and instead were created by god in the garden also created by god, it was in this garden that the inequality originated. because, the fact that woman was created after man, and the fact that woman was the one who tasted the forbidden fruit i think created the first inequalities in humanity.

[Becka]

I was wondering where we should post our weekly paragraphs.

[alice]

can you please post the homework and the paragraph assignments on this web log?

[Todd Sumner]

Hi Alice: I had put the weekly paragraph assignment on the World Relig forum page (scroll to bottom) and just put the reading for wed there. I have been relying on email distribution because some of our class has trouble with the weblog on dial-up, but I can put it in both places. Sure.

[Jeannie]

The image that stuck with me most from the whole Smith chapter on Christianity was of the early Christians just going around beaming. The description of these people seemed more joyful, loving, and at peace than any I have met or heard of elsewhere. I wonder if they really felt that way, or if their joyfulness has been exaggerated and perfected as a story. If it was real, I am incredulous to how they achieved it, and wonder why humanity didn't do a better job of holding on to their secret formula. Smith says they were released from fear, guilt, and self-centeredness. And he writes that they were released because they realized God loved them. But how did they know they were loved by God, and if God loves everyone, then why does it make them feel so special and happy? I surely admire the state-of-mind they achieved, but I don't understand how they got there (or how I could!)

[Todd Sumner]

Jeannie, I think you've identified something that's related to all the traditions we are studying. Not quite sure how to phrase it, but it might sound something like "what's the typical emotional state of a _____?" I know Ms. Patlove would say the Buddha is smiling for a reason, and we might remember to ask her about that. Your questions about the early Christians might best be put to Mr. Comstock when he's there some day.

[Todd Sumner]

By the way, I am now fairly certain that we'll have a presenter on Islam join us on Monday, 08 March. She is a divinity student at Hartford seminary and I'll introduce her to you later, but the point is she will be able to be with us for only one day. In the interest of making the best use of the time available to us, I would like the Islam group to prepare some questions--perhaps a dozen or so--that we'd like her to address during her visit. If after reading the Smith chapter on Islam you have a question, please direct it to that group for inclusion on our list of questions.

[Jeannie]

Something I've noticed is part of many religions is a time set aside for self-discovery, often as part of coming-of-age, and often in the wilderness. Leaders in the religion would also isolate themselves, or fast, etc. to assist in their enlightenment. I'm thinking about the aborigines' walkabout, or Jesus in the wilderness, or Buddha under the tree, or Moses on Mt. Sanai. It seems that a lot of thought has come about from isolated time in the wilderness. So I wonder 1) why don't religions or just cultures seem to be taking that approach anymore? 2) why aren't all the religious groups protecting wilderness for its religious value?

[Todd Sumner]

Great observation, Jeannie. As our leaders were observing today, Siddhartha went on his own sort of walkabout (becoming a "seeker" and exploring some of the aescetic traditions available to him in Northern India) and winds up sitting under the Bodhi tree. I think some cultures do have more robust coming of age rituals than we see in our own culture; I often talk about the transition to college as our culture's clumsy approximation of the powerful work each individual has to do developmentally as a young adult. To your point about there not being much that's observably sacred about college life. Some voices are raised about the wilderness, including its ritual/spiritual significance, but they're a minority for sure.

[Todd Sumner]

Some talk today about Rousseau and his idea that pity is a natural human reaction. I also found myself thinking about Plato's cave and the notion of stripping away illusion to see more deeply into reality. Anybody else make connections to other stuff we've read or talked about?

[Jeannie]

Yes I too had been thinking about Plato as I read the Buddhism chapter. As Smith describes it, Buddha saw himself as the enlightened one (i.e. he had come out of the cave and looked into the sun) AND that put him at a kind of level above everyone else AND he did not dwell in the blissful state he experienced under the tree, but exited it in order that he might help others be enlightened (went back to the cave to release the other prisoners.)

[Ali]

our discussion about buddhism today reminded me of existentialism. though i do not actually think the two philosophies have the same... intent, maybe, i think they have distinct similarities.

existentialism is about learning not to feel trapped in a situation. it is about making the most of your surroundings, and not feeling helpless and out of control. it is about finding freedom in an unchangeable situation.

similarly, buddhism teaches to recognize and accept suffering. according to buddhists, suffering is a fact of life and the only way to "cease" the suffering is to let go of the desire to have things go a different way and be content with the natural flow of things, even if that natural flow includes discomfort. buddhism does not try produce change in ones environment in order to imporve a situation; rather, it encourages you to change how you think in order to accept the world the way it is.

both philosophies do not seem to attempt progress or development in the way we usually think of it. they do not seek to solve their problems by changing the world or the frame that we live in, but instead by changing their mindset to adjust to the way things are.

[Todd Sumner]

Ali, I was thinking the same thing today and wondering if anyone else noticed the resonance. I was thinking about the question of freedom, how for the existentialists one is always free to choose and that choice is so integral a part of freedom for them. I was also thinking about freedom FROM certain things plays in Buddhism after (Isaac?) asked about progress, how one doesn't have to buy the latest gadget just because one could, choosing NOT to include certain things in one's life, and so forth. At several points today I was also reminded of Jeannie's post a couple of days ago about joy, and I was wondering if folks have ever had the experience Susie described of having a "space open up" in how you saw things or experienced the world. Any thoughts on that?

[Todd Sumner]

Thanks, Jeannie, for the observation about Plato's allegory of the cave! I wonder what we'd say about the images on the cave wall with respect to Buddhism? Plato is pretty clear that they're illusions. I wonder how Buddhism would account for the images. Any thoughts on that?

[Jeannie]

Hmmm.. Interesting point. I'm not quite sure how Buddhism's take could be put into the metaphor, because judging from what we heard today the images are very much NOT illusions, but rather real, practical, everyday parts of life. Or maybe they can be seen as illusions, but so that after having been out and looked at the sun (or near it) one could see the truth behind them? Kind of? I don't think that's a perfect variation of the metaphor, but what I'm trying to get at is that Buddhism would use the enlightenment to assist in living in "samsara," whereas Plato's allegory rejects everything in and about the cave. Both stress the importance of coming back, but Plato just for the sake of helping the others out, and Buddha because he also saw the cave as a reality that continues to be relevant and necessary.

[Ali]

There were a lot of interesting connections between all of the religions we studied, but i thought the most interesting ones were the connections between religions that are not normally thought of as connected at all (unlike christianity, judaism, and islam). here is one i noticed:

christians believe that christ is both God and man. they don't believe that he is half God and half man, but that he is fully both, which is "a blatant contradiction." This contradiction of Jesus allowed him to both "provide the perfect model by which to order human life" (because only God can be that perfect) and introduce a new kind of God to people; a God who was concerned enough about humanity to live a difficult human life and die a human death. Thus, christ was the bridge between God and people, because his divinity made him a shining example, but his humanity made the standard he set an accessible and realistic goal for all.

This reminds me of buddhism. in buddhism, there is the ideal state that all are striving to attain-- enlightenment, or the ability to feel totally connected to everything around you and indistinguished from the world. on the other hand, buddhists believe that you cannot live in that indistinguished world all the time because you must also live your life, and even buddha left the bodhi tree after 49 days so that he could teach.
it seems to me that both religions have these paradoxes between the ideal/divine and the realistic/human, and that all humans that practice these religions must find a balance between the two.

[Jeannie]

In case anyone is confused, as I was, the world religions outline is all under Spring Term Point Distribution. It's still missing Christianity part C.