Bible fall exam

Abraham

Founder of Judaism, Covenant with God, promised Great Nation, name, land and blessing to all the earth

King Ashoka

converted to Buddhism, built thousands of stone pillars, sent out missionaries

Baha'u'llah

Founder of the Baha'i faith, most of life spent persecuted/imprisoned, promoted essential unity

Emperor Constantine

makes christianity legal, roman official

Laozi

Founder of Daoism, Wrote Dao De Jing

Prince Arjuna

doesn't want to fight cousins, is spoken to by Krishna

The Trimurti

Hindu trinity, Brahma (creator), Vishnu (preserver), Shiva (destroyer)

Jesus

provides an understandable and relatable conception of "God", teacher of Christianity, son of God

Muhammad

Founder of Islam, "the prophet", heard the angel Gabriel, Preached Allah and submission

YHWH

Name of old testament God, I am that I am, presence was sacred and dangerous, hard to relate to personally

Brahman

Universal soul, true reality, ultimate reality underlying all phenomena

Confucius

Founder of Confucianism, earnest love for learning & history, became teacher, teachings ignored during lifetime, teachings became famous yrs after death

Siddhartha Gautama

founder of buddhist faith, was a prince, turned ascetic, discovered middle path, achieved enlightenment, became buddha

Deepak Chopra

A contemporary physician & metaphysician , presents & integrates the ageless wisdom of spirituality, quantum physics, & medicine

The Vedas

Ancient Hindu scriptures, "Books of Knowledge", organized fire sacrifices, sandskrit

The New Testament

new covenant, life & death of jesus, promised Messiah

The Torah

Law of God recorded in the first five books of hebrew scripture, introduces story of YHWH and his chosen people

The Dao De Jing

coexisted & competed with Buddhism & Confucianism, Yin & Yang, Effortless action, can help center chi

The Talmud

Jewish law code, "oral torah" written by rabbis, came from God

The Koran

God's revelation of himself to humanity, recorded divine recitations of the Prophet Muhammad

The Analects

Confucius' teachings and conversations preserved for later generations

The Bhagavad Gita

One of the most sacred and most popular hindu texts, story of Krishna and Prince Arjuna

Religious Pluralism

belief that many religious worldviews are equally true, valid, or acceptable

Schism

division between strongly opposed sections or parties, caused by differences in opinion or belief

Asceticism

Avoiding all forms of comfort and worldly pleasures for spiritual benefit

Pantheism

Belief that God is everything, non-dualism with divinity

Nominal

Christian in name alone, no deep life-transforming convictions

Non-Dualism

Belief that the Universe/Existence is all ONE, Creator & creation are the same

Gnosticism

search for "secret knowledge" that values deep spiritual truths only discovered by an enlightened few

Hypocrite

someone who only pretends to feel a certain way (with no behavior)

Evangelical

missionary religion

Primitivism

to solve our sufferings, valuing a lifestyle that is simple and unsophisticated and often low-tech way of living

Orthopraxy

valued more by Islam, doing the right things, mkaes Islam easy to teach/learn

Orthodoxy

believing the "right things"

Polytheism

Multiple gods

Filial Piety

respect for parents & ancestors in society

Syncretism

merging of different religions or schools of thought

The Hajj

pilgrimage to Mecca once in your life

"Manifestations of God"

Baha'i belief that multiple religious figures are all different manifestations of the same God

Karma

desirable concept appealing to our innate sense of "fairness"

The Dao

peaceful harmony with nature, fundamental principle of the universe, unchanging, harmonious force that sustains and flows through all things

The Worldview Onion

Behaviors, Values, Beliefs, Worldview

Meditation

Buddhist's primary tool for removing desire

"The Mandate of Heaven"

All relational superiors have a "heavenly order" to rule within society

Hanukkah

reconsecration of the sanctuary, winter festival commemorating the rededication of the Jewish temple aft Maccabean revolt

"The Middle Path"

baalanced life of the Buddha that embraces the present moment and all circumstances therein

"The Satan of Self"

Baha'i term, Satan is you when you're selfish, lazy, and acting against your best self

castes

social system, determined job, who you could marry or eat with

"Catholic"

universal, broadly unified

Atman

little bit of brahman inside of people, our personal eternal soul, makes all humans spiritually equal in value

The Ka'aba

most sacred temple of Islam, at the center of Islam's most important mosque

Moksha

liberation from reincarnation, unity with brahman, salvation

Hijrah

the start of Islam as a movement, migration, muslim exodus

The Trilemma

Jesus is lord, lunatic, or liar

Bhakti Yoga

path to devotion, experiencing pure love towards the gods/brahman, appeal to emotional/relational personalities

Samsara

cycle of reincarnation

"Islam"

Submission, the goal of all muslims

Nirvana

Extinguished, when a great-souled person chooses to stop existing, become Nothing

Chi(Qi)

An individual "life force", soul, spirit, that which animates and balances the living forms of the world

Bodhisattva

"Buddha to be", attained enlightenment but chooses to remain in the world to bring enlightenment to the world

Power of the Koran in Arabic

Most powerful since it is the direct word from Allah through Muhammad

Buddha's "Four Noble Truths"

Life is suffering, The cause of suffering is desire, The cure for suffering is to remove desire, To remove desire, follow the Eightfold Path

Jewish History of Oppression

Almost 2000 years of oppression while they occupied the "Promised Land", intense periods of anti-semitism throughout Western World, endured "Genocide" numerous times over last millennium from groups such as Christians (Crusades), Muslims, and Modern Europeans (French, Germans)

Moralistic Therapeutic Deism

do good things, stay away from bad behaviors, feel good about yourself, believe God exists

Reform Jewish View of the Torah

Do not believe the Torah is divinely inspired our authoritative

Krishna's Advice for Prince Arjuna

"You are a warrior and your duty therefore is to fight", explains essence of Brahman

Multiple Paths to Moksha

yogas

3 Hindu/Buddhist Commonalities

reincarnation, meditation/yoga, Karma

Importance of Mecca and Medina

Mecca: birthplace of Muhammad, home of Ka'aba, holiest Muslim city /Medina: 2nd holiest islamic city, Muhammad's burial site, where Muhammad fled when driven out of Μecca

No desires vs. New Desires

No Desires: Atheism, Evangelism delayed, rebirth or nothing after death, suffering is ultimate bad/ New Desires: God is real, mass evangelism is response to cross, resurrection, suffering can be helpful

Orthodox Jewish view of the Torah

believe that the torah God gave to Moses at Mt. Sinai was perfect and timeless

Institution in Hindu Epistemology

All spiritual intuition is from God, direct perception of truth, source of all knowledge, listening to and understanding guidance from the universe

Judaism: Religion vs. Ethnicity

religion: one of the largest religions in modern world, mass oppression, Messiah is God's chosen people/ Ethnicity: practices Judaism, split between Reform, conservative and orthodox, withstood millennia of oppression

Christian View on The Vulnerable

You can choose to not care about the vulnerable, you just can't choose not to care and be on the side of YHWH

Shi'a/Sunni/Sufi Islam differences

Shi'a- Prophets bloodline, merging of Gov & religious authority, militant toward western influence/ Sunni- leaders chosen by election, strict separation of Gov & Religious authority, secular & materialist leader/ Sufi- mysticism, meditation, self-inflicted pain, spinning

Muhammad's Role as Leader

led 10,000 followers to Mecca, attracted many converts, ruled over people of Medina, became clan warlord

Life of Jesus- Two Tension Points

Jesus claimed to be God, Jesus rose from the dead

Muhammad's Unique Childhood

Orphan-\>Merchant-\> Prophet-\> Warlord, received a revelation from angel

"Karmic Justice" within Hinduism

promises perfect punishment and reward for all action

Jewish View of Human Rights

religious freedom/freedom of opinion, right of life, social justice

Theravada vs. Mahayana Buddhism

theravada- individuals must find the way to Nirvana on their own, Mahayana- Others must be used to help the indiviual find Nirvana

Modern State of Hindu Castes

technically illegal, still affects finances, marriages and friendships

Catholic vs. Protestant Christianity

Catholic- Scripture & tradition, Christ through the pope, Faith & Practice -\> grace, Protestant- Scripture, Christ through Scripture, Faith -\> Grace

Humanism with the Baha'i Faith

humans are the solution to our own problems

Jesus vs. Buddha Moral Teachings

Jesus: Belief that God is creator / Buddha: rejected God as creator

God's Revelation: Koran vs. Jesus

Koran- displays Allah's nature and will/ Jesus- displays God's nature and will

YHWH's Covenants with Israel

great name, great name, promised land, blessing to all the earth, mercy for all generations, "eternal kingdom"

Islam and Assured Forgiveness

forgiveness is hoped and prayed for but never promised

(Extreme) Early Life of Siddhartha

Absolute luxury, comfort and pleaure, Upper caste, prince

Origins of Wisdom in Confucianism

having the ability t make correct judgements using the knowledge one has gained

The Five Bonds of Confucian Society

ruler to subject, husband to wife, father to son, older brother to younger brother, friend to friend

Islam's View of "The Problem"

self-sufficiency

Baha'ism Changed from East to West

became philosophy of life based on social ethics, platform for activism, culture-conforming movement focused on the oneness of humanity

The Relatable God in Christ

relates through birth, life, crucifixion, resurrection

Buddha: "Gained from Meditation?"

Nothing, but lost Anger, Anxiety, Depression, Insecurity, Fear of old age, and death

Gnostic Secret of the Baha'i Faith

god has spoken through all major religions

Strength: Narrative History in Religion

historical truth claims that could have been proven false

Main Metaphors for Nirvana

at this "Nirvana" moment YOU become NOTHING

The Five Pillars of Islam

Performing the hajj, fasting during ramadan, confession of faith, prayer 5x a day, giving alms to Needy

New Age: Spiritual but NOT Religious

finding a path without the organized/formal worship or religious practices