RE Exam 1 Flashcards - Extended

Immanent

The divine or supernatural is inherent in the physical world, such as in the land and nature eg. Aboriginal spirituality

Transcendent

Separate from nature and humanity, outside of humanity's perception and grasp - a higher power

Monotheistic

believing in one god

Secular

Non-religious

Concerned with worldly rather than spiritual matters

Atheist

A person who denies the existence of God

Agnostic

one who believes that nothing can be known about God; a skeptic; undecided

Worldview

A person's view of the world

eg. Christian worldview, atheist worldview

Supernaturalism

The belief in phenomena beyond our laws of science and nature; eg. magic, miracles

Objective Naturalism

says that a meaningful life is possible, but God or a supernatural element is unnecessary

Subjective Naturalism

God or the supernatural is unnecessary for a meaningful life, but what is meaningful varies from person to person

Nihilism

Belief that meaning is not possible

Animistic

the belief that natural objects, natural phenomena, and the universe itself possess spirit; eg. Aboriginal spirituality

Pantheistic

Traditions which have multiple gods, often anthropomorphised, which share responsibility for everything, e.g. Greek mythology

Semitic

Family of related languages long spoken across parts of western Asia and northern Africa, eg Hebrew, Arabic, and Phoenician

Traditions on the 'western' arm which originated in the middle east from Palestine to Persia, e.g. Judaism, Islam, and Christianity

Sectarian

Devoted to a particular religious sect, particularly when referring to religious involvement in politics

The Dreaming

the mythology of Aboriginal Australian spirituality

Samsara

The Buddhist cycle of life, death, and rebirth (Reincarnation)

Reincarnation

The process by which a person or soul is reborn continuously in new bodies

Nirvana

Enlightenment, liberation from the cycle of death and reincarnation (samsara)

Theodicy

A defence of God and God's goodness in the face of evil and suffering

Evil

The absence of good; wicked, depraved; very bad and wrong

Suffering

pain, distress, hardship; can be mental, physical, emotional, financial, etc

Karma

A moral law, how your actions dictate your future - if you do good, you'll get good in return and vice versa

Eschatology

study of the last things; afterlife, judgement, apocalypse, end times

What is a fundamental question?

A question reaching the heart of humanity, existence, and meaning

3 examples of a fundamental question

1. Why are we here?
2. Who are we?
3. What happens after we die?

What is The Trident?

A visual of the 3-pronged development of the world's religions - Semitic, Indian, and Eastern

Ninian Smart's 7 dimensions of religion

1\. Practical and ritual

2\. Experiential and emotional

3\. Narrative and mythic

4\. Doctrinal and philosophical

5\. Ethical and legal

6\. Social and institutional

7\. Material

Development of Christianity

* Began with the teachings of Jesus, when people were Jewish or Roman
* Jesus claimed to be the Messiah, son of God and saviour of the Jewish people
* After Jesus' death and resurrection Christianity grew in size, beginning as a Jewish sect and growing into a major world religion

Who was St Paul (Saul) of Tarsus?

A Roman who persecuted Christians, but saw a vision of God + converted and spread Christianity across the Mediterranean in the 1st century

Development of Buddhism

* Siddhartha Gautama was a Hindu prince who was sheltered from the world.
* He went out and saw an old man, a sick man, and a dead man
* He wanted to find the cause of, and way to end, suffering.
* He did fasting, meditation, and became ascetic before meditating under a tree and achieving enlightenment, creating Buddhism

Demonic Evil

evil for its own sake, performed for the express purpose of harming others, or for the enjoyment of the experience of watching others suffer

Instrumental Evil

evil that occurs in order to carry out some other purpose; eg. coal mining to make money

Idealistic Evil

evil that is "justified" by some greater cause; eg. the Holocaust

Foolish Evil

evil that occurs based on human incompetence, despite the fact that nobody wished it; eg. plane crash due to piloting mistake

The Inconsistent Triad

* God is omnipotent
* God is omnibenevolent
* Evil exists

Augustinian Theodicy

"The Fall" - Humans were created perfect, but choices made by 'Lucifer' and humanity meant the loss of perfection

Augustinian Theodicy Criticisms

* It's illogical that perfect beings were capable of sinning and committing evil
* \

Irenaean Theodicy

"Rise" - Humans were created imperfect, and suffering is a means to become better. God does not create evil, but nor does he intervene

Irenaean Theodicy Criticisms

\[add more\]

* How can a good God allow such immense suffering, even for moral growth?


* Suffering doesn't always help people grow - it can deeply affect them and make them worse

The Middle Way

between the extremes of indulgence and self-denial, free from sorrow and suffering; a balanced or moderate approach to life.

Why the middle way?

Indulgence is fleeting and leads to suffering, while ascetism is awful

Why did the Buddha dislike Hinduism?

He despised the Hindu caste system, which doesn’t allow upwards social movement, said only through reincarnation can people get a better life, and only the highest cast could reach moksha - Buddha believed anybody could achieve enlightenment

The Eightfold Path

Ethics (Right action, right speech, right livelihood)

Meditation (Right midfulness, right effort, right concentration)

Wisdom (Right view, right intention)

The Wheel of Life

A visual representation of the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth; divided into six realms, Gods, titans, hungry ghosts, hell, animal, and human

omnibenevolent

all good / possessing perfect goodness

particular judgement

catholic belief - the immediate judgement the soul receives after death where we account for the good we have done and the sins we have committed

omnitemporal

existing in all places

the two kinds of judgement

particular judgement, the last judgement

doctrinal and philosophical dimension of religion

a system of values and beliefs or laws, providing an overview for many of the practices and ideas of the religion

material dimension of religion

music, art, symbols, architecture/buildings, etc.

social and institutional dimension of religion

focuses on the community of believers and the hierarchy/organisation of the institution

ethical and legal dimension of religion

the idea that rules must be applied to uphold the values and understandings that a religion may offer the world

narrative or mythic dimension of religion

stories from a particular religion that aim to explain and inspire

practical and ritual dimension of religion

worship, prayer, regular gatherings, rites of passage, etc.

experimental and emotional dimension of religion

emotive content behind ritual and prayers. people react emotionally when they encounter something they believe is very profound

Free Will defence

god maximised the goodness in the world by creating free beings, and being free means that we have the choice to do evil things - a choice that some of us exercise

moral evil

evil committed by humans

omnipotent

all powerful

omnipresent

existing at all times

last judgement

At the end of time, the Lord will come again to judge the living and the dead. Those who have already died and have been judged will stay in Heaven and Hell. Those who have not died will now be judged and enter Heaven and Hell.

4 types of moral evil

demonic, instrumental, idealistic, foolish

criticism of the free will defense

it does not resolve natural evil

the year the first census was held

1911

Muslim burial

must be buried with 24 hours of death

omniscient

all knowing

purgatory religion

catholic

non theistic

not having or involving a belief in a god or gods

non maleficence

the principle of not causing harm, or allowing harm to occur

last judgement time

end of the world

the 4 noble truths

1. there is suffering
2. suffering is caused by our desires
3. we can manage our desires by changing our perspective instead of trying to change our circumstances
4. we can free ourselves from suffering by following the eightfold path/the middle way

Victor Frankl’s book

Man’s Search for Meaning

logotherapy

the belief that the primary human drive is not pleasure, but the pursuit of what we find meaningful

7 lessons learned from Man’s Search for Meaning

1. he who has a why to live for can bear almost any how
2. the salvation of man is through love and in love
3. you can get used to anything
4. you can resist your environment’s influence
5. there is meaning in suffering
6. without hope, meaning, a future; death will soon come
7. logotherapy is a practical solution to your problems

paradoxical intention

cognitive technique that involves persuading people to engage in their most feared behavior

Frankl age when he wrote Man’s search for meaning

41

Viktor Frankl lifespan

1905-1997 (92 years)

Bertrand Russell argument on theodicy

the universe needs no explanation; it just is the way that it is; and this includes evil and suffering, which just happen

Dostoevsky stance on theodicy

if god exists, and allows suffering, then he is not all loving

David Hume stance on theodicy

while God may exist, an orderly universe does not prove the existence of God

Emmanuel Kant stance on theodicy

God wills that we endure and eliminate evil through a progression toward a perfect adherence to the moral law

viktor frankl

the two Eastern religions clearly referred to in Soul

Buddhism and Taoism

Soul’s “great beyond”

a void where dead peoples souls go

Soul’s “great before”

where personalities come from before a soul is matched to a life

Soul’s “earth portal necessity”

a personality / earth pass

Soul’s “lost soul’s”

some people just cant let go of their own anxieties and obsession’’s, leaving them lost and disconnected from life, and this is the result

what joe (in the cats body) says about paul in the barber shop

don’t pay any mind to paul. people like him just bring other people down to make themselves feel better.

Soul’s “Blue Suit” symbolism

Good Karma for reflection and being truthful - links to the four noble truths / love thy mother and father

example of joe’s bad karma

Being caught by Terry and being sent back to the Great Before because he cheated

Example of rebirth in Soul

Joe’s soul in the therapy cat - bad karma for being selfish so now he is put in the body of a selfless being

Soul - example of Frankl’s lesson: you can resist your environment’s influence

22 vs Joe in the subway

Subjective naturalism in Soul

Joe’s meaning in life vs 22’s

Example of Joe’s good Karma

gaining the earth pass for being selfless and kind